Midland Hwy Meander overnighter 14 & 15 April 2021

Pics from Peter 'The lens' Barclay

Report to follow. The following pics may not be in the correct order, will sort when report arrives.

Thanks Jules, and especially thanks to Peter "the Lens" Barclay for his usual high standard of photo taking.
The pics above are mostly in order, and they include shots from:

1. Midland Hwy just North of Ballarat
2.      "               "                  "
3. Me at the start briefing at Rippleside Park
4. Morning tea at Yarck - Day 2
5. Lunch at Guildford - Day 1
6.      "            "              "
7. The Royal Hotel, Benalla (pre-dinner drinks)
8.           "                 "                 "
9. Morning tea at Yarck - Day 1 (Buck's Country Bakehouse)
10. The final crew at Murchison Gap, Strath Creek, on the way home.

The report is coming, and there are more photos to add.

Mark.

... and here it is!

 
With the forecast as it was a week out, and even a few days before, we thought we were going to have a wet one. But no – it wasn’t to be!
 
All the riders arrived nice and early at the departure point in Rippleside Park, and once everyone was there, I outlined the basics of the Quiz I had prepared to make the day’s ride a little interesting.
It involved reading a few questions ahead at each of our stops, which were mostly about significant historical buildings, towns, and other features of the route, and then trying to remember what we had seen and write the answers down as we went – or later in the day if they trusted their memory!


So off we went to do the full length of the Midland Highway/A300/B300.
Morning tea, after a long stretch of roadworks that should have been finished by now, was in Buninyong. Then it was through Ballarat with a stop to the North for a group photo at a sign.



Out through Daylesford, then into Guildford for lunch at the General Store.
This was a nice easy stop, instead of the original plan to stop in chaotic Castlemaine!



Then off through Castlemaine (which was looking very busy!), then along a section of the A300 which combines with the Calder Hwy for about 30km.
We got fuel at the Caltex on this section, and I must say it is huge!
We all had a pump each and there was still more available.
Then an easy run through Bendigo and then some open road all the way into Elmore for a toilet and afternoon tea stop.
The day so far had been very windy, with strong gusty Westerly winds.
So, from Elmore we turned East, and we had strong tail winds for the next 2 hours. This certainly helped ease our fatigue and definitely improved fuel consumption!
A quick toilet stop and one short range bike refuel in Mooroopna, then it was into our final stop for the day at Benalla.
Despite doing the whole day on the one Highway, it was certainly not dull.
It had everything from big wide multi lane sections, hills and twisty sections through central Victoria, rolling hills further North, and big open and fast sections to the North-East. There is a lot of variety and a lot of history along the Midland.
 
A very comfortable night’s stay at the Avondel Motel, and good food and good fun at dinner only 200m away at The Royal Hotel.
Here is where we wrapped up the quiz, even though some members had tossed it in. A few because they couldn’t remember anything (a common problem for some of us!), and a few because they couldn’t be bothered as it all seemed too hard!
This left several members in the action as we went through the questions and answers. At the end we had a tie!  Then several tie breaker questions later, we finally had a winner.
Congratulations to John Tomlin our winner, and also to Phil Cumming for coming equal first, at first, then a close second!
 
The next day started with a buffet breakfast at the Motel, fuelling up the bikes nearby, and we were all on the road before 8.30am.
A few riders with other plans branched off into Mansfield, and the main group took the Midland Link to Bonnie Doon and then into Yarck for our morning stop.
The delightful Buck’s Country Bakehouse was a great stop, and despite breakfast only being an hour before, a few members were seen eating some of their giant muffins!

   with "the Lens" captured in the lens...

Then off through Yea, Strath Creek, with a photo stop at the picturesque Murchison Gap Lookout.

   With 'the Lens" in the centre having a short rest!


Despite the forecast and most of us having our wet-weather gear on – no showers yet!
Then some back roads, criss-crossing over and around the Hume Fwy, into Wallan Service Centre for fuel and lunch.
After that it was via the familiar back roads through Darraweit Guim, Gisborne, around Bacchus Marsh, Balliang and Anakie, finishing at the BP on the Ring Rd in Corio.    Still no rain!
Some of the highlights of Day 2 were – The Midland from Benalla to Mansfield; the Goulburn Valley Hwy from Molesworth and through Yea; King Parrot Creek Rd and up through Murchison Gap; and avoiding the Hume Snoozeway through Sunday Creek and Wandong.
 
We said our farewells at Corio and went home, and I think everyone made it home before some showers finally arrived. Excellent timing!
A big thankyou to Greg for being a very capable TEC for both days - between us I think we kept the group in order!
A great two-day journey with a great bunch of members, good company and a lot of fun. Cheers! And thanks everybody for helping make it so!
 
Mark Nicoll
Ride Leader.

What a great couple of days - even more so as it didn't rain.  Mark did a terrific job in planning the overall ride, including accommodation, meals and the obligatory Bakeries.
The Questionnaire was a great idea, although it was hard to take notes whilst riding.   Discussion over the answers was very funny - John and Phil should be congratulated for their tied position.
There is a bit of concern with the mind-set of one rider, who when presented with the question "At Creswick there is a rotunda/bandstand.  Who was it dedicated to?  Whilst the answer was Queen Victoria, he was convinced it was dedicated to 'Alice Cooper!'
Well done Mark for a great ride