3 Creeks Ride

Its that time of year again when the cream of Melbourne's social set gather to celebrate Christmas in July at the Melbourne Airport Club. As usual the men worked up to the elite dance level slowly over the course of the evening to ultimately display their colourful plumage and carefully choreographed dance moves in an attempt to catch the eye of a prospective mate. As usual I was pleasantly surprised at just how well I danced, an opinion not necessarily shared by my discerning wife. And I just got better and better as the night progressed.

Swaying skillfully through the car-park of luxury vehicles in the wee hours I tossed up whether to go home and change into my knicks or go straight to the start point as is, but chose the former. The alarm went off just moments after I hit the pillow. I awoke to the rythmic beat of my heart. It felt like a black smiths hammer on the anvil of my head. I prayed in vain for inclement weather.

8.30 am at the old Katrina Drive Kinda for a 9.00am start. Kevin was first to arrive followed by Bill and Phillip. Frank from Team MooneeBUG was a last minute wild card entrant that performed extremely well over the arduous course. The English team arrived together in their funny imported support vehicle just before the ride began. The French team was unable to attend as they also had a small local ride called The Tour De France which apparently is a race of sorts. With the cream of English riders out here to participate in the HumeBUG event, I don't hold much hope for the British contingent on the Tour. There were 7 riders in all.

While riding along the magnificent Yarra river, we stopped at Collingwood Children's Farm for muffins and scones then said hello to the chickens and donkeys before continuing on to Docklands. Here we tucked into Monster Burgers and hot chocolate. One rider had purchased an air-horn from Chain Reaction and brought it along for our entertainment. Pumped up with the bike pump it produces a sound akin to a VLine train. It proved very effective at scaring off untethered dogs and those with iPod speakers stuck in their ears. It also proved a very effective laxative when it went off without notice.

Today was Phillips first ride in two months following a serious crash on the steep detour around the ring-road extension. At which time he required an ambulance to extract him and administer aid. It was noted that being a member of Bicycle Victoria provides free insurance in the form of legal advice for its members.

The ride took us approximately 4+ hours. We were slowed up on the way home by a refreshing light head wind along the Moonee Ponds Creek. The rain threatened to start on many occasions but in the long run we escaped with dry saddles. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I look forward to our next ride on July 17th. This will be the Aitken Creek Ride of 14km which is considered a beginners/family ride.