Day 6 - Oia and Winery Tour
I was up at about 7.30 am this morning and climbed the 130+ steps up to the main alley…. I found an excellent cafe shortly afterwards to enjoy a lovely cappuccino with a lovely view of the area near our apartment. Also as it was early there were no tourists!!!!
After coffee it was back to the apartment balcony for breakfast. The breakfast food is yogurt and cereal with a fruit bowl (maybe) some continental sliced sausage, cold boiled eggs, cucumber with sliced breadstick and a waffle. Too much for breakfast so we save some for either lunch or pre- dinner drinks!
The weather today was warm with a haze …temps in the high 20’s.
Christopher and Neat had organised ( and paid) for a trip to a local winery near Thira which is a short car ride from Oia. The plan was to meet a driver who would take us to the winery where we had a wine tasting of local wines with a light lunch which was matched with the wines…
The driver was full of knowledge about Santorini even though he was from South Africa and we learned a lot about the local economy ( mainly tourism) the fact that prices for accommodation have dropped since the recent earthquake and that Julia Roberts and Robert DiNiro have expensive holiday homes on the island.
At the winery we were met by a lovely host who gave us a quick tour of the winery and showed us to our table overlooking the caldera…. Great view.
We sampled 4 wines from the vineyard which were very good… the wine industry in Santorini is quite big really and there seems to be plenty of good wines we have found. The grapes a grown on the ground without trellis and formed into the shape of a bowl…. This approach helps to retain moisture on the vine as the island is very dry. The soil is very rich being volcanic which makes for a good rich grape. The grapes are picked and placed in large areas to dry in the sun ahead of crushing. Some grape varieties stay for days in the sun whilst others are only out for a day or so.
The results are quite striking!
After enjoying the wines and lunch we decided to take the local bus back to our apartment…. It was a bit of an adventure as we needed to catch a bit along the side of the road to Thira…all sounds simple but the traffic was horrendous… we were told by our South African friend that there are no traffic lights in Santorini…which is true but it makes for interesting times at busy intersections!
The bus to Thira was good and full of tourists like us…At Thira we were met with a bus interchange with my guess of 20 buses and we needed to find our bus to Oia… it was after a lot of walking and asking we found our bus… the route the bus took back to Oia was incredible as it was along the high point of the former volcano cone. This provided some lovely views!
After arriving back we relaxed in the apartment spa and nearby hotel pool ahead of dinner at a local Trattoria restaurant. Dinner for me was mousaka with local wine.
Great way to finish the day!
Day 5 - At Oia
Well we awoke at another stunning morning with temperatures in the mid to high twenties rising to over 30 in the afternoon.
I went on a long walk through town alleys to find a coffee shop which had a view…. Seems that nothing really opens until after 8.00 am so with a walk starting at 7, I had a bit of a wait!!!
No matter the coffee and the view was worth it.
I arrived back at our small villa… I say small villa because it is not a hotel in the normal way with no restaurant or reception. We simply call this guy Manos who organises everything for us!
After breakfast, which is brought in by tray by one of Manos’s employees, it was reading time to finish my book. We then took a walk down to the harbour at the bottom of the hill which was interesting.
The slope was about 15% plus for most of it and for me the descent was more difficult than the climb back. I have always had trouble with descending! The path surface was a little uneven with some loose paving which made it interesting.
At the bottom harbour there are about 6 or 7 cafes and we chose one to have a well earned drink!
The choice to return was either to walk it, catch a ride on a donkey at € 10 each it get a car ride at € 20! We chose to walk!!
It was a steady climb of about 300 metres and I counted over 200 steps mostly well spaced with about 2 metres. The climb was steady and I stopped several times to enjoy the view!!
When this venture was finished we returned to the villa for a bite of lunch, which was bread left over from breakfast with cheese, bratwurst sausage , tomato and cucumber.
The afternoon was a lazy one enjoying the sunshine and views.
For dinner we went to a lovely Taverna nearby to enjoy the local fare with wine and great views of the sunset.
After dinner we trecked home another 200 or so steps …. I think during the day I probably would have climbed over 1000 steps!!! Not bad for an old bloke!
I was asleep early at 9.00 !!!
Day 4- At Oia
Awake early for a walk and a coffee!!!
Seems walking is very therapeutic now as the number of steps travelled at this location is going to be a real challenge! Everywhere you go there are steps and the steepness of them can be quite a challenge!
I counted the number of steps to get to the main alley near our hotel…. It was 85! That was over a distance of about 200 metres!
We today and all the time at Oia is going to be an interesting time of climbing!
After breakfast on the balcony of our room we went for a walk in the town… the narrow alleys were full of tourists from the local hotels and the cruise ships… it was quite warm here as well with temperatures in the high 20’s with some humidity.
The walk was through alleys with all sorts of shops and cafes. Along the way there was opportunity to see the waters of the Caldera with ships and boats making their way through the sea. Quite lovely… but the crowds were another thing!
We stopped for cool drink at a cafe looking for a table with a view but were ushered to a table near the back …only to be greeted with front row seat when we ordered some food! Seems that the bold face of commerce works well in Greece!
After our refreshments we made our way back to our hotel via a restaurant called ASPA where we booked for dinner.
The afternoon was spent on the balcony and in the spa reading, sleeping and enjoying the view of passing boats and people.
Late in the afternoon we had a drink on the balcony ahead of going to ASPA for dinner…. Well getting to this place was a journey in itself with many flights of stairs both up and down…but the view when we got there was spectacular with the sun going down ! The food was good and we enjoyed traditional Greek fare with local wines!
The walk home was an adventure but we arrived back safely by about 9.00 pm .
A great day with lovely weather and views….and plenty of climbing of stairs!!!
Day 3 - Athens to Santorini
It was an early start as we were traveling by Aegean Air to Santorini. After packing and a quick breakfast near our hotel it was off by taxi to the airport.
Fortunately we were travelling by business class and getting through security and checking in was a breeze!
We were quite early for our 1.30 pm flight so we were able to enjoy the comfort of the business class lounge. Robyn thought the food selection for the lunch was great!
We boarded our flight for the short trip to Santorini…. Only about an hour including mucking around on takeoff and landing….
After arriving at the airport we picked up our luggage and headed for our driver to take us to our accommodation…. The driver had a card with the name “Harrison Chris” which seemed ok given our son Chris had sorted this out. So we took off with the driver in his lovely van…. After a few kms he asked us for the address of the hotel which we supplied him…
Well seems we were in the wrong car!!! Bugger!!!
So we headed back to the airport to find the right driver…. Fortunately he was there with the name Chris Harrison on his sign… gosh what a coincidence having the same name with reverse surnames and first names!
Anyway it was off to Oia the town on Santorini Island where we are staying…
I guess it was about a half an hour’s drive to the car park near the hotel… the town of Oia is entirely a walking town with no cars so our driver took our luggage by hand and took it to the hotel….well the route was up and down many alleys and stairs to our hotel. God only knows how we would have found it if we were on our own!
Anyway the hotel room is dug into the side of the hill about halfway down the slope of the former rim of the volcano that forms Santorini. It has lovely views with an outside balcony and private spa overlooking the coast…very comfortable!
After settling in we made our way to have a bit of a look at the town nearby but as it was getting to sunset the crowds were starting to build for the finish of the day.
Fortunately nearby we spotted a restaurant for dinner which we booked as we headed back to our room to watch the sunset!
After viewing the lovely sunset over the Caldera waters we had a lovely dinner at the restaurant!
A lovely day!
Day 2 - Athens
I was up again early for the coffee fix at the same cafe…. Good to get the day started!
The weather was similar as yesterday but in the afternoon there was a heavy shower of rain!
After breakfast we were off to the Acropolis area for the walking tour. Seems easy to get around Athens walking with the aid of google maps!
The walking tour of the Acropolis area was quite spectacular and the tour guide was very helpful and informative. But….there were tourists everywhere!
The walk was quite pleasant but hilly and there was virtually no shade! The climb to the Pathenon was through many of the old areas of theatres and temples to the gods etc. Very interesting with the commentary by the guide. Reaching the top we saw the remarkable Parthenon which we saw last evening at the restaurant! The interesting thing to note is the fact that the hilltop is very uneven with no pavement!
After making our way down the hill we visited the Acropolis museum which was quite spectacular and our tour guide gave us a private tour of the museum…. Quite interesting and worth a visit.
After this we made our way back to the hotel courtesy of google maps with stop offs along the way to avoid the rain showers and to do a bit of shopping.
After a shower and change of clothes we made our way to another rooftop bar for a drink ahead of going to a cafe for dinner!
The cafe we chose for the meal was not far from our hotel and the waiter was quite friendly as we enjoyed our meal and a local bottle of wine!
We were in bed again early at about 9.00pm!
Another great day in Athens
Day 1 Athens
After arriving from the Athens airport from our long flight from Melbourne we had a bit of a difficult time getting the key to our room…. Fortunately there were some other patrons from the hotel who were able to let us in and find our way to the room…
The nights sleep was welcomed after the long journey and I was up at around 7.00 am to look for a coffee shop… fortunately the district we were located had plenty of eating options.
After coffee Robyn and I went to a cafe for breakfast ahead of going on a hop on and off bus trip around inner Athens.
The weather was quite warm with temperatures in the high 20’s rising to 31 in the afternoon! Better than cold Melbourne!
The bus trip took us along the key tourist attractions including the Acropolis area, Olympic Stadium, parliament building etc.
We stopped at the Hando shopping mall and had a lemoncello cocktail at the rooftop restaurant which was quite good. After a bit of shopping we made our way to the Olympic Stadium which was quite spectacular! This is the restored original stadium which was used in ancient times. The history of the place was very interesting.
It was quite hot now and getting quite late so we headed back on the bus towards our hotel to have a shower ahead of dinner. Along the way we spotted a number of rooftop bars and restaurants which were open and after freshening up we returned to them for a drink and dinner…. Quite spectacular with a view of the Acropolis as the sunset took place. Dinner was lovely and feeling tired we were in bed by about 9.00 pm!
A great first day!
Trip To Europe August September 2025
I am about to leave on Sunday for a trip with my wife Robyn to the countries noted on the title.
It will be for about 5 weeks with little or no bike riding.
We travel to Santorini for a few days then on to Athens and Rome ahead of a Mediterranean cruise to Barcelona. After this we are traveling by train to Madrid then home via the Seychelles where we meet my youngest son and his family after their trip to African game parks….
We get home on September 23 just before the AFL grand final!
Good to be getting out of Melbourne’s cold weather!
I will try doing a daily blog and try to keep fit somehow and not put on too much weight!
Hope you enjoy the blog
Peter
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Melbourne Adelaide Ride
Well we’re off again on a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide comencing on Sunday March 16 and finishing in Adelaide on March 30. The distance is about 1200 kms and we climb about 4000 metres over the 2 weeks of the ride.
On this ride we have 7 riders plus a driver as it is a supported ride. This means we carry very little on our bikes as the luggage is taken in my ute.
Our driver is Ian Hollebon who was our driver on recent rides in New Zealand. We are also joined by my friend Chris Jones from New Zealand who has been my regular rider in many escapades in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The other riders from the Wheeliebinners riding group in Melbourne are Abdy Sadri , Ellio Stocco, Frank Parvizian, Anthony Walsh and Steve Seymour.
The ride takes us in a westerly direction to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and through the Coorong National Park. Heading west might be a bit challenging if there is bad weather but hopefully the recent mild winds might prevail!!
Accommodation has been booked in caravan parks, hotels and even in the Mt Gambier gaol! I have attached a copy of a “flyer” which was prepared by our driver, Ian who has some experience in the travel industry having worked for Air New Zealand.
I will be doing my blogs each day of our adventure and hope you enjoy them.
Rome to Paris Ride for Alkira
I am writing this blog to inform you all that I , along with my NZ pal Chris Jones and Steve Seymour from Melbourne, will be riding from Rome to Paris to raise funds for fitting out a cafe for Alkira Disability Services.
I am hoping to raise $25,000 for this project which will be used by Alkira Participants to be trained as baristas and cafe staff for later employment.
The ride itself starts on June 10 when I fly out of Melbourne. After a bit of work to set up our bikes and a bit of sightseeing it is off through to the Dolomites and the Stelvio pass then through Austria, Switzerland, Germany and northern France with us arriving in Paris for the start of Olympic Games.
Over the journey we will cover about 3000 kms over about 45 days. We will be staying in cheap hotels, backpacking hotels and hostels along our journey.
A copy of our proposed route is shown below which shows us traveling further after the Games to Calais.
I want to thank everyone who has supported the ride so far and it is pleasing that in a 2 week period $4000 has been raised
I also include a photo of myself, Chris and Steve outside the proposed Cafe in Box Hill
Day 7- Wangaratta Hub & Spoke- Eldorado Loop
Today we transitioned from daylight saving to normal Eastern Standard Time so we put our clocks back by an hour or to put it more plainly we had an extra hour of sleep!
No matter we were still up at 6.00am for an 8.00 am start as we had to have breakfast, shower and pack up ahead of starting the ride…. Thank goodness for the extra time!
Anyway we were all ready to ride at the allotted time and even managed an early morning coffee before 8.00am!
The ride this morning was in good weather again with a cool start at about 12 degrees with cloud cover which cleared somewhat as the morning wore on.
The ride to Eldorado was through flat farming country initially but getting closer to Eldorado it developed into rolling hills.
Just before Eldorado we stopped at the Dredge which is a hudge digger which was used to dredge the lake to look for gold and tin. The machine is on a type of floating barge and digs up material from the bottom of the lake and sifts it for gold and tin. The machine operated from 1936 through to 1954 almost on a 24/7 basis until it became uneconomic.
After this it was off to the cafe in Eldorado for coffee and a break.
The ride after coffee back to Wangaratta was essentially downhill for the fist 10 or so kms flattening out after that.
All up we travelled about 50 kms for the morning in good time to be back at the cars by about 11.45 am.
Lunch was at a local cafe ahead of picking up Phil in the caravan park for the ride home.
The ride home from Wangaratta was about 3.5 hours after dropping off Frank and Phil.
It was rather sad to say goodbye to all the “boys “ after 7 days of magnificent riding in great weather conditions and congratulations needs to go to Steve Seymour for his excellent organisation.
The company of all on the rides made the whole experience a great one full of many wonderful memories.
There is no doubt about it, the Wheeliebinners make a wonderful group of friends and with our sister organisation in NZ now we are something quite special.
Looking forward to the next adventure!
Today’s pictures are as follows:
Today’s route
2 pictures of the Eldorado Dredge
Early morning coffee at the cafe
Final lunch at the same cafe
Day 6- Wangaratta Hub & Spoke Ride- Silo Art Ride
To begin with it is worth recounting the pizza dinner last night….. it was again at Rinaldo’s restaurant which is very good!
The dinner was included in our “package” so we could in a sense “lash out”. But sanity prevailed and after an entree feed of calamari and arantcini balls we were into the pizzas. Once again the banter was good with plenty of talk about the day of riding, politics and many other things.
We all went to bed with full stomachs and feeling quite tired!
This morning it was another early morning at 6.00 am with both Chris and I being ready after breakfast at about 7,00 am. The issue for us this morning was the steady rain which was falling. After consulting the radar we agreed to go ahead with the ride which was to take in some lovely country near Benalla following the silo art trail.
This meant we had to transport all of us plus bikes to Benalla which was the coffee stop. We left the motel at about 8.30 am after saying goodbye to Ric who was heading back to Melbourne.
Arriving at Benalla the rain was still falling but a few of us donned our wet weather gear and rode to look at the local buildings which are adorned with paintings…. Quite interesting really!
Those who did not ride due to the wet weather found a coffee shop which was the meeting place for us all.
The coffee and coffee scroll were perfect as a starter for the day ahead.
Returning back to the cars we then headed off by car ( with bikes on board) to Tungamah which was the starting point for the main ride. We left Ellio’s car back in Benalla to be used as the link up car for those with bike racks which were left at Tungamah… sounds complicated and it was!
We left the cars and made our way along quiet country roads to the lunch stop at Devenish. Along the way each of the towns adjoining the railway line had painted grain silos which reflect part of the history of the area. They are really quite impressive! The pictures really tell the story.
Lunch at the Devonish pub was quite good. I had a small fish and chips
After lunch we continued in to Benalla but the wind was blowing in our faces so we did drafting to make the ride easier. This worked for the most part but really requires constant practice to make it work well and for all riders to have confidence in riding close together.
We had a small section of the ride of about 2 kms was on a gravel road. In all of our riding this was the only unpaved surface which is quite remarkable.
After this it was in for the 10 km push to Benalla on the Murray-Valley Highway except Phil experienced a puncture which was a result of hitting a piece of plastic on the side of the road… sorry Phil.
Steve, Ellio, Mike, Chris and I pushed on to Ellio’s car in Benalla so we could make our way back to Tungamah to collect the cars with bike racks.
The trip to Tungamah and back was fairly uneventful and it was good to see the boys back in Benalla. After mounting the bikes on the cars we made our way back to the Motel in Wangaratta. Arriving back at about 6.00 pm it was the end of a long day of riding and shuffling but we enjoyed the artwork on the silos! This is certainly worth a visit when visiting Victoria.
From a weather perspective, after the early showers the day cleared to warm but overcast conditions with temperatures in the early 20’s.
After a well earned shower it was off the the local Indian restaurant for dinner. Ellio was a bit late after watching his team Carlton will against the Dokkers.
Dinner was very pleasant with good food and chatter and we said our thanks to Steve Seymour for his excellent organisation of this trip.
Today’s photos are as follows:
The silo art route from Tungamah to Benalla
The route we took on ride around Benalla
Last nights dinner
A celebration of Ric’s birthday
A photo of us all at Tungamah ahead of the ride
The lunch venue at Devinish
Several photos of the art silos
Day 5 -Wangaratta Hub & Spoke Ride- Beechworth to Myrtelford and Back
Last night Abdy organised dinner at the local pub. The food and ambience was good and after the flat ride to Rutherglen and back it was just the thing to restore the energy.
After dinner a few of us watched the AFL football between the Demons and Crow’s. Fortunately my team, the dees won which was the perfect end to the May.
This morning was another early morning wake up at 6.30 am. After breakfast we loaded the bikes on the cars ahead of driving to Beechworth where the ride was to start.
On the way to Beechworth we stopped at Tarrawingee for coffee at the coffee van. This seems to be the most popular meeting point for all of the locals as well as riders like ourselves.
After reaching Beechworth and unloading the bikes we were on our way to Stanley for another coffee break. To be honest I probably did not need another coffee!
The ride to Stanley was mostly uphill and to add to the slowness of the ride my Garmin was playing up which was a real pain! Thankfully I was able to use Strava to record the ride. I will need to get my Garmin checked ahead of future rides.
After coffee at Stanley the ride continued on undulating country roads through orchard country. It was very pretty with apple orchards and all sorts of other fruit trees. We managed to stop at an orchard shop where we purchased some delicious apples on an “honesty” system. It was a lovely break!
The next section of the ride was a “ big downhill “ and flat section into Myrtleford for lunch. Lunch was at the bakery which was just okay compared to other lunch stops earlier in the week.
After lunch we then joined the rail trail back to Beechworth. Along the way Ric, Jeff , Ellio and Mike took a shorter route back to Beechworth! The only issue was a steep section of road which proved to be a challenge!
The rest of us took the rail trail back which included a long steady climb which for me seemed to go on forever!
We all arrived safely back to the cars, although Jeff and Ellio took their time on the ride back to enjoy the views!
After an exhausting 78 km ride we decided to go to the Beechworth bakery to enjoys milkshake and cake which was just the right thing!
The day ended with the car ride back to Wangaratta and a recovery shower ahead of dinner.
I forgot to mention the wonderful weather we had again today. The day started a bit coolish ( 12 degrees) and warmed up to about 25 degrees. Although there was clouds for most of the day it was warm with no wind. Another interesting point to note is the constant smoke haze from planned burns being undertaken in the region!
As a final point for the blog today I want to mention the absolutely terrible state we are finding in some of the public toilets along the ride. Today at at Beechworth station and at Myrtleford the state of the toilets were terrible! This is certainly a shocking observation in our wonderful country and I am sure we can all do better in keeping public conveniences in better shape for all users.
The pictures today are as follows:
Today’s ride route…. Note the missing bit at the start from Beechworth courtesy of the Garmin!
Morning coffee at Tarrawingee
All of us lined up at the Beechworth station ahead of the ride
Morning coffee at the Stanley pub
Apples at the orchard
A view on the decent from Stanley…note the smoke haze
Jeff recovers after the short ride!
All of us arriving safely back at Beechworth
Day 4- Wangaratta Hub & Spoke- Rutherglen Loop
To begin with I should give you all the story of the dinner last night which was prepared by our head chef , Ellio Stocco and his souix chef , Jeff Jones. The venue for the dinner was in the car park at the motel which was set up ideally for all 11 of us for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles and a white table cloth dinner. It is amazing what you can do with a bit of creativity!
The main course was bbq steak, chicken and sausages with salads. The food was great and the ambience of the night was amazing…. Well done Ellio and Jeff!
This morning was another early wake up at 6.00 am to get ready for the drive to Springhurst where we were to leave our cars for the Rutherglen loop.
We started the ride at about 9.30 am and the initial part of the ride was beside the Hume Freeway. Chris , Ellio and I rode on the same roads about 18 months ago but in the reverse direction on the Sydney- Melbourne ride.
There were a couple of hills initially which were a bit of a challenge but Ric won the KOM title on these….well done Ric!
The first stop was at Chilton where we had coffee in the converted Masonic Hall. This was a venue we visited on the Sydney-Melbourne ride and the quality of the service was again excellent!
After coffee we said goodbye to Ric and Phil who were taking the shorter route to Rutherglen and the rest of us took the longer route via Barnawartha. Once again the route to Barnawartha was on roads which were familiar to Chris, Ellio and myself.
After reaching Barnawartha we turned off on the road to Howlong. The first 10 km approximately was on a quiet road but after crossing the Murray Valley Highway the road was a lot busier with many trucks, cars and farm equipment. The road had no shoulder and on several occasions I found myself heading on the the gravel beside the road to avoid semi-trailers! On 2 occasions they passed with less than a metre from my bike….quite scary!
Once we reached the Rutherglen turn off the traffic was very light and we made good progress along the 14 km ride into Rutherglen.
Along the way I received a phone call from Phil who was wondering where we were as they had arrived at the designated lunch cafe and the kitchen was potentially going to close! Luckily we arrived at 1.15 pm just prior to the 1.30 pm time limit…..whew….we didn’t want another missed lunch!
Phil and Ric advised that their ride was “delightful “ with virtually no traffic and a good riding surface. They arrived about an hour ahead of us.
Lunch was good with me having a chicken avocado sandwich and 2 soft drinks.
The weather was quite warm over lunch at about 28 degrees and we enjoyed the good food and a chat about many things! I must admit I enjoy the chats and banter the goes on at coffee and meal breaks.
After lunch the whole crew made their way back on the 14 km ride back to Springhurst. As the road was not busy and there was a small tailwind the speeds were around 30 km/ hr for most of the trip! It was most enjoyable!
Arriving back at the cars we packed the bikes and drove back to Wangaratta… arrived back at the motel at about 4.00 pm. To our surprise Ellio produced drumstick ice creams for us all the enjoy being left overs from the previous night’s dinner…. A perfect way to end the day of 72 kms of riding.
Dinner tonight is being orgyby Abdy at the pub and I will report on this in tomorrows blog
The pictures today are light on as I had a day off the camera… so apologies!
We have today’s route
Last night’s dinner
Coffee at Chilton
Day 3 - Wangaratta Hub & Spoke Ride- Warby Ranges
Before I get to today’s ride , I should mention the dinner last night. Ric organised for us all to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was called Ronaldo’s Casa Cucina. The meal started with a couple of shared pizzas then pasta for everyone. The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed their meals. The conversation over dinner was bubbling from the adventures of the ride earlier.
This morning was an early start again for Chris and I in getting showered and dressed and having breakfast ahead of the start of the ride at 9.30 am.
All but Ric and Phil were on the Warby ride today. Ric and Phil did a shorter ride out to Milawa today which they said was delightful.
Before I get in to the ride, I should mention the weather which was great. Quite sunny with virtually no clouds and wind and temperatures in the low 20’s.
The ride started in Wangaratta and we made our way out of town in a westerly direction through some quite nice streets. Quite different from the areas we have travelled through before.
After reaching the outskirts of town the Warby ranges came into view! They looked quite imposing with quite high hills! I thought gosh we are in for a hard day today! Fortunately the route took us to a lower saddle to climb the mountains.
The climb was about 3 kms with some parts about 9% but it was through quite pretty countryside. Reaching the top of the climb we all exchanged our experiences on the climb which were largely very positive. Then it was off on the downhill!!!
A wonderful experience with speeds reached of about 50 km/ hour!
After this we rode on to our lunch venue at Thoona! Well to say that Thoona was dead would be an understatement!
The cafe was shut! The pub was shut! ….and there was no lunch!
Luckily most of us had muesli bars, bananas or other snacks to stave off the hunger! We sat outside the CLOSED cafe to eat and observed a couple of folk collecting their mail.
After lunch (????) we then rode on to the second climb for the day…once again crossing the Warby ranges at the Taminick saddle. This climb started with low grades but built towards the end to fades over 9%. Once again it was about 3 kms. Reaching the top we once again assembled to greet riders as they completed the climb.
After this it was another great decent for the final 20 kms back to Wangaratta.With the wind behind us the flat ride into town was quite fast and we arrived back at about 2.00 pm.
With an early finish the search went out to find a bakery for a spot of late lunch. Chris had researched this earlier and led us to a lovely bakery to get some well earned sustenance of pies, sandwiches cakes and teas coffee and drinks.
Today was a good day of riding for us all in delightful weather and lovely country.
Arriving back at the motel we were able to shower and clean up ahead of the Ellio inspired bbq dinner! I will report on this in tomorrow’s blog.
Several of us learned today how to use the group tracker function on our Garmins. This appears to be an effective way of determining where riders are who are in the group and have turned on the tracking function. To say that this has been a difficult process would be an understatement! Unfortunately what is a great function needs the combined intellect of about 4 Einsteins to get it to work! But today we seemed to have cracked the code. Well done to Chris and Ellio for their achievements!
Today’s pictures are as follows:
The ride route today
All of us enjoying last night’s dinner
The ride group assembled at the start of the ride
At the top of the first climb
Our failed lunch stop…. But we made do!
Ellio and I on the way down from the second climb…. A selfie!
A church converted to a house
Me on the road!
A view from near the top of the second climb looking east
