Rail Trail Adventure - Afterthoughts

CAfterthoughts

It has been several days since I returned home from my Rail Trail Adventure and I believe that I should give it a wrap up.

First the Trail itself.  Did it meet my expectations?

The answer is yes as it actually exceeded them.  The trail is about 120Km long plus the additional spur line to Alexandra.  I rode about 270Km over seven days, all but about 30Km on the trail itself , and never found riding the trail boring or dangerous.      My 30Km road riding I found confronting due to large vehicles passing too close and/or narrow roads.
The trail follows the disused rail bed of the Mansfield to Tallerook railway.  Its surface was either a hard packed gray gravel material, which could be a bit rough to ride on but was not affected by rain,  or a yellow sandy material, which gave a smoother ride but became soft and sticky after rain. Both  were more difficult to ride on than normal bitumen roads and my average speed was quite low.
While rail trail grades are not very steep they can be relentless and after 10Km of steady climbing  it can be quite tiring.  Nevertheless I think that anyone who is reasonably fit and happy to ride a bike several hours a day can complete the trail.

Next  -  My Bicycle

Due quite significant damage to my left leg I can't ride a normal diamond frame bike with a cross bar.  Instead I ride a Bike Friday Expedition bicycle which has smaller (20inch) wheels and a low step over height.  It is designed to fold and breakdown to enable it to be packed in a standard airline sized suitcase for travel. This makes it much easier for me manage when flying.
A couple of years ago I had a minor stroke which left my left hand a bit weak so I modified my bike to use internal hub gears (IGH) operated by my right hand only.  I use the Shimano Alphine 11 speed  IGH which has a wide gear range and more than adequate for this ride.
The bike travelled well and I didn't have any problems with it other than bottle cages rattling loose due to the roughness of the trail.
I carried my luggage in two Ortlieb front panniers mounted on my rear rack with a trunk bag mounted on top to carry snacks, rain gear and easy to reach items such as a bicycle lock .  I still carried too much but was never short of clean clothes.
I carried a tool bag slung under my saddle containing basic tools a couple of spare inner tubes but apart from using an Allen Key to tighten up my bottle cage mounting bolts it wasn't used.
I think that my set up was ideal for riding the trail.

My Accommodation.

My first and last nights in Mansfield  were at the Travellers Lodge which was in comfortable  warm motel rooms.  The proprietor, Jed, looked after my bike case while I was riding and provided a good continental style breakfast. The local hotel or restaurants provide good evening meals.  This is a good starting point to start and finish the ride.
I spent three nights in the B&B attacked to the Yarck General Store.  This was top class accommodation and I had a full cooked breakfast in the General Store each morning to set me up for my day's ride. Meals are available, except for Monday nights, at the local hotel.  Easily the best.
I rated the Yea Motel as the next best on the ride.  Although it is an older style motel every thing worked and I was warm.  My bicycle was locked in a shed overnight. It was an easy walk to local hotels for dinner.
The B&B at the Trawool Shed was a bit isolated and as I ate dinner in my cottage on my own a bit lonely.  Letting the fire go out and getting cold was my own fault.
The Bonnie Doon Caravan Park provided basic accommodation,  a crummy continental breakfast with no choice and a fair walk for an evening meal which was the only bad meal of the trip.

My Health

I started the ride a bit worried about my leg and general fitness.  I started the ride with easy days and built up to three longer days at the end.  I also made sure that I had adequate food while riding and took regular rest stops.  My medications limit my peak power output so whenever I felt tired I got off and walked for a while which enabled me to recover.  At no time did I become exhausted and I never suffered next day.  After a shower I felt pretty good everyday.
The only physical problem I had was my right thumb.  It is a bit arthritic and became sore after changing gears but nothing that paracetamol couldn't fix.

My Tablet Computer

This is a love hate relationship.  There is no easy way to upload photos from a normal digital camera or  SD card so I used my smart phone and Bluetooth to upload photo. Android has some reasonable Photo Editing Apps but  none, I found, enabled one to batch resize.  Finally I used a Bluetooth keyboard to speed up writing my blog and spent most of the time deleting spurious additional characters.  Today I discovered that this is caused by interaction between the Bluetooth and Wi Fi interfaces being on at once. This is all being typed using the Bluetooth keyboard with the tablet Wi Fi off with no problems.
The smart phone took reasonable photos but I kept putting my finger in front of the lens and lost a few good shots.

Finally a great few days with no problems and the knowledge that Mark was there to rescue me if needed took care of any worries I might have had.

Rail Trail Adventure - Day 9

Day 9

I had to go to a fancy restaurant last night as Mansfield was full of BMW motor cyclists and the High Country Festival was also in progress.  I had to share a table with A couple from West Australia who were caravaning around Victoria. I didn't photograph my dinner but I had a half chicken cooked in a Mediterranean fashion and tasty.  Back at my motel I packed my panniers for the last time for this trip and had an early night.

I had a continental breakfast and waited outside for Mark to pick me up at 10.00 am for the drive to Melbourne Airport.  He was being driven by his friend, Sandy , as he was leaving us at Merton to attend to business.  Sandy runs a horse property near Yarck and was helping Mark out.  It was nearly a three hour drive and we had a great talk about the trail which has a horse trail running parallel to it all the way.  Sandy rides her horses along the trail most days.

At Melbourne I checked in and dropped off my bike case and duffel bag before having a light lunch.  My flight left at 3.00pm and arrived back in Brisbane just before 4.00pm (actually 5.00pm Melbourne time as QLD  doesn't have Summer time).  I just caught the 4.15pm  shuttle back to Tewantin and was home  by 6.30pm.

I made myself my favourite light meal and had a couple of glasses of cheap red plonk before going to bed.

This morning I did my washing, re-assembled my bicycle and went and picked Louis up.  He  has recovered from his illness but is on a fat free diet from now on.

It has been a great, if some what strenuous, nine days made even better with Louis's return to normal health.

Rail Trail Aventure - Day 8

Day 8

Last night I had dinner at the Yarck Hotel - fancy fish and chips before collapsing in my huge bed.
This morning I had breakfast in the General Store before saying goodbye to my host Marie and setting of on another long day in the saddle.

From Yarck there is a 15Km climb to the top of Merton Gap and on the way I stopped for a snack with an interested observer.  Then it was more climbing until the top.  I  stopped at Merton for a snack and a drink.  Here I was visited by a Koala but he wouldn't stay around for a photo.

The stretch to Bonnie Doon was mainly down hill and I rode through and over Lake Eildon towards Mansfield.  To my surprise  I had one more appropriately named uphill drag before the last few kilometres to Mansfield.

The last section of the trail was  rails and sleepers which had been covered over with gravel and leveled off.  The it was Mansfield and my motel.  I broke my bike down an put it in its case.  I phoned Mark who will pick me up at 10.00am to take me to Melbourne Airport.

I rode  61Km today.

Rail Trail Adventure - Day 7

Day 7

My dinner was served in the cottage last night by Bruce.  It was Steak and Chips with a salad.  I opened a bottle of Shiraz to go with it and after dinner sat down in front of the TV to finish it off.  The fire was burning brightly and it was pleasantly warm.  The next thing knew it was 11.00pm the fire had gone out and I was cold.  Now the main thing wrong with  old cottages is that they don't have airconditioning and it was too late to look for kindling.  It was off to bed to snuggle down with the electric blanket turned up high.  I left a third  of bottle of Shiraz for Bruce.

I had bacon and eggs for breakfast in the main house before setting off down the Goulburn Valley Highway.  It was very cold and I was dressed in my leg and arm warmers and wore my rain jacket and full fingered gloves.  For the first 20km there was a good shoulder to ride on but the traffic included the massive B-doubles which blew me all over the place.  Then the road narrowed and the shoulder disappeared.  It was time to head back to the trail.

At about 29Km I rode into Yea where I stopped for a sandwich and coffee before returning to the "sticky" trail and heading up to the Cheviot tunnel.  It was tough going but the views along the trail made it worth it.  I met several groups of cyclists riding the other way and who were finding it tough riding into the wind as I did yesterday.  After the tunnel I stopped for a snack but my bicycle ruined his photo by getting in way of my finger.  The tunnel also did the same earlier.

The kilometres rolled by and soon I could shed my rain jacket.  Then I was back at the Alexandra turn off but today I was heading for Yarck and my B&B.  After one final stop I was there.

After cleaning up and sorting out my photos and blog notes I was of to the pub for dinner and an early night.

I had ridden 60Km.. A tough but great ride.

Rail Trail Adventure - Day 6

Day 6

I ate a small continental breakfast in my old style motel room and was on the road by just after 9.00am.  First I rode back to the Yea main street where I bought myself a big sticky bun to eat on the way as it was a long way between stops today.  After the rain it was also cold and was wearing both arm and leg warmers and my rain jacket.

As left town I decided to try the trail which wasn't too bad and I rode it all the was to its end at Tallarook. Most of the day I rode parallel to the Goulburn Valley Highway and changed sides several times during the ride.  The trail was "sticky" by which I mean that my bicycle didn't roll along but had to be pedaled all day.  There was also a significant head wind all day so my average speed barely made 10KPH all day.

I stopped just after 10.30am for a snack,  a  nut and fruit bar and a drink, and took a short walk to ease my legs.  The it was on to the end of the trail. In places the trail was very soft and I had to walk some stretches.    As I passed the 5Km to Trawool sign I was tempted to cut the ride short as I had a B&B booked at Trawool for the night.  I still 18Km to Tallarook to go and then 11Km back to Trawool.   Instead I stopped at Trawool and ate my sticky bun for lunch and carried on.

Finally I made it to Tallarook the end of the trail.  I stopped at the general store for a snack and a drink before returning along the highway to Trawool and my B&B at the Shed.  It was amazing how much easier it was to ride on a firm roadway than a soft trail.      There were a few short steep hills which i walked as the was no shoulder and I didn't want to wobble into passing traffic.  Even so the 11Km took under 45 minutes.

At tthe shed I was welcomed by an enthusiastic young Staffy and  Lindy who showed me to my home for the night, Briar Cottage.  I cleaned up and lit the fire and settled down in front of the TV until Bruce brought me my dinner of steak, salad and chips.  I opened a bottle of red wine to go with it but will have to donate a third of it to Bruce as I feel asleep before I could finish it.

Tomorrow a am riding along the highway back to Yarck which is about 50KM.

Today's ride was 43Km tough riding along the trail and 11Km along the highway.

54Km is the longest I have ridden in one day in the last two years.

Rail Trail Adventure - Day 5

Day 5
First, what I ate last night,  Lamb Shanks.  Well I only ate one the other, with food left by Jo and Mark, got wrapped up and taken home for their dogs. It was even too much for the  locals.

This morning I had poached eggs on toast for breakfast before packing up and exploring th sights of Yarck.  Then it was off along the trail back by the intersection to Alexandra and on to Yea my next stop.  The day was overcast and threatening rain.  On the way I crossed the Goulburn River and rode along the Goulburn Valley parallel to the Goulburn Valley Highway.  It was quite isolated and it was nice to see signs of civilization.

The highlight of the day was the long drag up to the Cheviot Tunnel which is over 200 metres long.  It is unlit and very dark in the middle.  Even my little bicycle night wasn't much good so I walked through the tunnel.  Then it was a long drop down into Yea where I had a fish and chip lunch before checking into the Yea Motel for the night.  This is a 1960s type motel but everything works and it is warm.  My bicycle is locked in the shed.

I walked into town to get a small dinner and actually got a small, cheap seniors' serve which I managed to eat washed down by a couple of  glasses of Chardonnay.

We have just had a couple of torrential rain showers which isn't ideal for ridinng a gravel rail trail.  I will probably ride the Goulburn Valley Highway to Tallarook the end       of the trail and the try riding back along the trail to Tarool my next night's stop.
If I am lucky with the weather I can then ride back along the trail to Yark my last night on the trail.

Today's distance 30Km.