I entered the ‘Variety dirt bike bash for the kids’ last weekend. It was an amazing event with over 200 riders covering an 80km look through the Neerim state forest.

They did a fantastic job of organising this with huge prizes to be won, an auction, full catering, fun events, poker run, etc. Everything was donated. The course was great with marshals and support staff at every bend. They raised just on $29,000 for the day.

I made it to the end (just), if not a bit beaten up thanks to the $1,500 suspension
upgrade recommended to me prior, that made my KTM almost unrideable and spat me off at will without notice (and, boy, do I have the bruises to prove it).

From 8.30am, a group of riders began assembling at Pearcedale shops for their weekend ‘fix’ – a ride to Mt Macedon. By briefing time, 10 riders were ready to go. The weather was
fine, as forecast … welcome after more than a week of rain.

We headed off down the Westernport Highway and along Eastlink to exit at Ringwood, then to Warrandyte, St Andrews and to Kinglake. The ride up the Heidelberg-Kinglake Road through the Kinglake National Park was slow, twisty and scenic, and not particularly busy. On arrival at Kinglake, we found a café where they served excellent coffee.

While chatting out the front, a constant procession of bike riding groups kept us entertained.

There were also cyclists – very fit cyclists – who had made it all the way up to Kinglake. One man’s bike, made of carbon fibre, weighed only 7kg!

The next leg of our trip was all the way back down the hills to Whittlesea, where we made a sharp right-hand turn to head through Upper Plenty and on to Wallan. From there, the road takes many interesting dips, rises and turns through to Romsey.

From Romsey, the forestation thickens as the distance to the Macedon Ranges closes.
We did a loop out to see Hanging Rock, then up Mt Macedon – over the top and down again to Mt Macedon.

Riding through the town, it’s as though you’ve stepped back in time. High walled fences surround the beautiful gardens that attract huge numbers of visitors to the town. We pulled up at the Mt Macedon Hotel for lunch. It is not a venue I’d recommend for a quick lunch! Even ordering lunch is a bit difficult. Despite that, the food was great when it was finally served.

After lunch, we rode back up the mountain to the Memorial Cross. Again, this was overrun with visitors and we had to spread out to park our bikes.

There’s a 10-minute walk to the memorial cross, through the lovely English-style garden, with hydrangeas in full bloom. The cross itself it a memorial built after WW1 to commemorate the heroics of those who served. It has been rebuilt more than once due to fire and general disrepair.

By the cross is a compass showing the directions and distances to various towns and landmarks.

Ross was pleased to show us the Major Mitchell Lookout, which has expansive views from Woodend down towards Melbourne.

From there, it was time to head home. It was slow going down the mountain with a public event underway. We rode through New Gisborne to Riddells Creek, through Sunbury to Bulla, around the back of the airport, then onto the Tullamarine Freeway. Murray stopped near the airport to do some plane spotting.

Exciting times as the traffic came to a crawl on the Bolte Bridge which made lane splitting the best option. I discovered it’s not yet my forte. Glenn and Woody headed home down Eastlink, while the remaining riders followed the Monash to finish at Cranbourne West.

The ride was 326km in total and a fair commitment in time, finishing at about 4.55pm (I may never be asked to lead a ride again!). Thanks to Ross for being Tail End Charlie for the day – and thanks to all the riders who came along. It was great to welcome Nolan on his first ride with the Wanderers, and it was a pleasure to experience the different countryside and stretch the legs on the mountain.

Cheers, Val