4 cyclists arrived by train to Sunbury Railway Station to discover 3 other cyclists already waiting for them.
With Initial introductions out of the way, and general agreement about the first and last rider, we all set off towards Vineyard Rd. The Sunbury Bike Hub Shop was highlighted.
We made it safely to the start of the new path, past houses and driveways to the path proper.
Up hill, and within 4 1/2 kms and 15 minutes of the railway station, Stephen gets a puncture! He doesn't have a spare tube, so "borrows" one from Kevin, with all crowding around providing advice on how to change a tyre. At least by huddling close together we kept warm!
We kept going, changed to road riding, over the Calder Freeway into Diggers Rest with a brief stop outside the Railway Station and Store to let all catch up. Kept going along the Old Calder Hwy and Kevin stopped for a toilet break within a couple of hundred metres.
Again, we kept going, through a big roundabout, back over the Calder Freeway into Hume, turned off at Duncans Lane and followed that through to Calder Freeway near Calder Park Motor Raceway. From here, riding in the emergency lane of the freeway was required for at least 600 metres, to the horror of a couple of cyclists. The alternative was several kilometres of emergency lane riding! Extremely difficult was the turn off into Calder Park Drive. The two or three leading cyclists were able to ride non-stop into the median strip, but the others were forced to stop and wait, crossing as pedestrians. The same process had to be repeated from the median strip. After a lengthy wait, all crossed safely into Calder Park Drive, which had its own problems being narrow and single-lane each way with not much of a sealed shoulder which had soft edges and was crumbling.
Fortunately, we made it down to the country railway line crossing and a bit further on was a footpath and eventually service road. Along Melton Hwy was a wide footpath, service road and bike lane offering riders a choice.
At Watergardens, a discussion ensued about whether to stop for lunch and a cuppa. A couple of cyclists decided to take the train home, while the remainder continued along the Melton Hwy on-road bike lane to Sunshine Avenue where the large roundabout and much traffic to negotiate provided fun but not quite merriment. Pushing in between the cars into the middle lane, Kevin and Gavin were able to negotiate the right turn while riding beside a police car, to the amusement of the officers inside. No laws were broken!
The Old Calder Hwy was easily negotiated. However, Kevin's GPS holder and phone fell off his bike onto the road, with following cyclists successfully avoiding the new obstacle. After a couple of minutes stop to put it all back together and make sure it was still working, all cyclists continued onto and past Keilor Village.
A right turn up a short sharp hill and sweeping downhill bends lead us to a ford crossing of the Maribyrnong River into Brimbank Park. Another discussion ensued and it was agreed to stop at the cafe for a cuppa.
A relaxing cuppa and conversation refreshed us, and we decided to not continue along the river path but instead head to the top of the park to the Ring Road Path. From there, we rode onroad to Buckley Street, through Essendon, saying goodbye to firstly one cyclist, then another. Up the Moonee Ponds Creek Path to Gaffney Street, where another cyclist said goodbye. By now, there were two cyclists, who rode onroad following the Craigieburn Railway Line to Jacana station where they parted for the eventual end of the HumeBUG Ride.
