Melbourne to Ballarat on two wheels!

If you read the previous blog post on The Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club Melbourne to Ballarat Classic you would have known why there were 250 cyclists on the M8 (Western Freeway) today!

....... and what a ride it was!

All of the following images were taken at the top of the climb after Pykes Reservoir, a beautiful part of Regional Victoria.

it was quite a climb for the riders here, though there was to be another further along as they approached the Gordon area!

Pykes Creek Reservoir is located on a tributary of the Werribee River and is 72 km west of Melbourne on the Western Highway.

I hope you enjoy the following images. Think of these riders - and their sore muscles tonight - as they rode the 98 klms along the Western Freeway to Ballarat today ....

a few URL's that maybe of interest:

Cycling Australia

Cycling Victoria ..... Cycling in Victoria has a rich and exciting past and Cycling Victoria (CV) is committed to the preservation and honouring of this rich history.

Ballarat-Sebastopol Cycling Club ....... came into being as Ballarat Sebastopol Amateur Cycling Club in 1974, following the disbanding of two independent cycling clubs, Ballarat Amateur Cycling Club and Sebastopol Amateur Cycling club.

Victorian Veterans Cycling ...... The VVCC is the governing body for veterans cycling in Victoria and is constituted from delegates of its member clubs. The VVCC runs under the auspices of the Australian Veterans Cycling Council (AVCC) for the promotion of veterans cycling in the state.

Bicycle Network Victoria ....... is a charity that promotes the health of the community. We work with our supporters to get “More People Cycling More Often” and measurably grow the bike riding world.

all of the above images were taken by John Fabre.

Road trip (Ballan to Daylesford)

Everyone loves a road trip, short or long, there is nothing better than getting in the vehicle and heading off into the far blue yonder ....

Yesterday we drove from Ballan to Bendigo (in Victoria, Australia) to see the Grace Kelly Exhibition. It only took 1.5 hours to get to Bendigo, the weather was perfect and it was a great day to be out.

This post shows the images from Ballan to Daylesford only.
We (here in Australia) are only a week away from the start of the southern hemisphere winter. But even though it is late Autumn, we are still experiencing some lovely sunny days and yesterday was one of them.

We have noticed since being back in Australia that the cost of 'eating out' is exorbitant, so for any road trip, we now pack a 'picnic lunch' to tide us over. Yesterday was no different. A couple of sandwiches and a few drinks for us, a bottle of water and a few treats for Oscar and we were ready for our day to Bendigo.

Many people that have not been to Australia have no idea what the roads are like, the scenery etc, so this post is to show some of my friends what a country road here in Victoria is like!

Most country roads are a 'normal' two lane, bitumen paved roadway. Speed limits through the small towns or villages is usually 50k's and on these open roads, 100k's.

When traveling these roads, one must always be aware of cyclists that also frequent these 'quiet' country roads, the wildlife (usually Kangaroo's!) from dusk to dawn and certainly be aware of the school buses that travel these routes and stop frequently to let the children on or off the bus.


Next part of the journey is from Daylesford to Bendigo .... which will be the next post.