Bike Ride Nov 2018

Notes about a 5-day cycling adventure starting at Drouin, through Poowong, Korumburra, Leongatha, Meeniyan, Foster, Toora, Welshpool, Yarram, Woodside, Seaspray and Golden Beach to Sale. Train to Drouin from Southern Cross and from Sale to Southern Cross for Rick & Noel. Mike and Kevin drove to Drouin started and finished there.

The Participants

Rick (the writer), Noel, Kevin and Mike.


Total Distance Travelled

Approximately 300 km.

Best Scenery

Drouin to Korumburra.

Accommodation

Motels booked in advance. All adequate except for one. All gear carried in panniers.

How we Navigated

  • I had an iPad running Maps.Me in a waterproof holder in view on my handlebar bag. Maps.Me has useful features such as off-line mapping and automatic rerouting. It sometimes suggests unnecessary deviations off main roads which may result in hills, unmade tracks or goat paths. We have learnt to detect these suggestions and work around them when needed. Only needed Maps.Me for the first few days and to find a quiet cycle route between Korumburra and Leongatha.

  • Noel used Strava to record each day’s trip. Strava records the route, elevation, speed and many other useless parameters. He uploaded the information to the internet at the end of each day.

Lost
Never

Most Boring Town

Poowong. Arrived lunchtime Monday and town dead. Nothing open except IGA Supermarket. See this photo outside the IGA

Food Issues

  • Had dinner in hotels and a Chinese restaurant. Mike cooked Spaghetti Bolognese (see this photo) at Golden Beach. All good meals.

  • Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea along the way where possible. Some days we took lunch with us. See this photo at Leongatha. This photo at Welshpool. This photo at Woodside. This photo at Seaspray. This photo at Sale.

  • Took all breakfasts with us.

Weather

Pleasant. Couple of showers out of Yarram but none lasted more than 15 minutes. Medium headwind between Welshpool and Yarram.

Things of Interest

  • Swing bridge near Sale.

  • This sign near Giffard.

The Drone
Mike flew his drone in four places:

  • On the Great Southern Bike Trail on a bridge near Koonwarra. First time we had seen the drone in action and it was impressive. See this video

  • At a lookout near Foster on the Great Southern Bike Trail. Great views to Wilsons Promontory. See this video.

  • On an open section of the Great Southern Bike Trail near Welshpool. Set it up to track us whilst riding.

  • At Golden Beach. Great views of the ocean and beach and highlights the isolation of the house. See this video.

Worst Accommodation
Coal Creek Motel. Very old. Musty smell in rooms. Most expensive accommodation. Near highway so was noisy.

Highest Altitude Reached

317 m on road from Drouin to Korumburra about 10 km from Korumburra.

Bike Issues

Noel had three flats, all on the front. Kevin had one rear flat. Kevin found 3 pieces of metal in Noel’s dodgy tyre. See this photo.

Trip Rating

8 out of 10.