The Aitken Creek Ride was a fantastic success. 21 people on 19 bikes, including several children, battled the strong wind to have a fun ride to Highlands Lake where we took over half the Waterside Cafe. The whole group were often spread out over a large distance during the ride!
Crossing Bridgewater Rd was the worst part of the ride, but the children negotiated it safely thanks in part to some adult riders placing themselves in front of oncoming vehicles to slow them down.
We rode around the Craigieburn Golf Course, through Fairways Village and back onto the Aitken Creek Path. We diverted onto some residential streets, crossed the dirt reservation of Aitken Blvd, and continued along the next section of Aitken Creek Path passing the bird viewing platform and playground. It’s a beautiful area for riding.
We followed the path under Craigieburn Rd, where Aitken Creek overflowed onto the path making it slippery and dangerous. The lake materialised, and we made our way around it and plonked our bikes down at the Waterside Cafe. After about three quarters of an hour, we took some photos of the group and continued around the lake. With so many paths there, some riders took the wrong path and had to dismount to climb down one or two steps, or took the quick way through to catch up.
Up Waterview Blvd we rode, against the very strong wind. At Grevillea St, outside the new Craigieburn West Primary School being constructed, the leading riders halted to let the others catch up. Here, two cyclists departed to make their way home. The others continued along to Aitken Blvd, where the new Craigieburn Library and Learning Centre is being constructed beside the new Town Centre which is still to be built.
The path along Aitken Blvd had us fighting against the wind again. Once more, the leaders stopped to let others catch up, this time at the beginning of the Malcolm Creek Path, opposite the Highgate Recreation Reserve.
At Windrock Ave, once again the leaders had to stop for others to catch up, but this time it was the mechanical failure of a bike slowing them down, shown by the oily fingers of a casual bike mechanic. Eventually, the last few cyclists caught up with the main group, and we crossed and continued along the Malcolm Creek Path. Near Hanson Rd we stopped to say goodbye to the children and some adults, who departed to the nearby home of some cyclists. The remaining half a dozen or so cyclists continued on their way.
At Hanson Rd, we rode up onto the footpath until Emerald Circuit. At the end of Emerald Circuit, Kevin the ride leader disappeared through the noise wall, which was the last thing the riders expected! When they followed and came out on the verge of Sydney Rd, with no more houses but the view of the distant hills, their looks of surprise and exclamations were a delight.
It was only a short ride on the dirt track to Hamilton St, then we rode past the Bike Shed, waving to Aleks inside the store. We crossed the fairly busy intersection with Kingswood Drive and continued along Hamilton St to Craigieburn Rd, then made out way along the footpath opposite the library and crossed over to our starting point. We had ridden a total of 14.5 kms in just over two hours, including the stop at the cafe. It was an enjoyable day for all the cyclists, several of whom discovered the paths and sights of Craigieburn for the first time.
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