This ride is to support the Bendigo crew and their breakfast meet. We have now booked accommodation for the 6 members who indicated their attendance. If you want to join the ride you can, but if you want an overnight stay then you will now need to book your own accommodation. Start with where we are staying at The Elm Hotel.
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Thanks David for the route and the mapping. This is an overnight ride, leaving Melbourne on Saturday morning, travelling towards Bendigo and across some of the central goldfields towns. On Sunday morning we'll have breakfast with the Bendigo crew in Harcourt before travelling back to Melbourne. We are also going to try and connect with our members across the central region.
Accommodation has been booked for the 6 members who have already confirmed their attendance so far at the Elm Motel, 454 High Street, Golden Square. If you decide to join us please mark your attendance but you'll need to book your own room at the Elm Hotel or close by. Rooms are still available so just call (03) 5447 7522.
Departure Point and Time:
Assembly Ground Cafe, 104 Fletcher St, Essendon
Departure is at 9:00 am Saturday 27 Nov. You'll need to arrive by 8:30 am if you want a coffee before we head off or earlier if you are thinking of breakfast. The cafe opens at 7 am.
Departure Location:
https://goo.gl/maps/cMGP6H3Hu1XQHdom7
Saturday
We will be using off-highway backroads which will provide very pleasant scenic riding throughout the 208 km trip. As we haven’t been able to get out and about much lately we will travel at a leisurely pace of 80-90 kms/hr. We skirt around the northeastern flank of Mt Macedon and then enjoy some beautiful forested roads west of Woodend. We’ll stop for a short 30 minute mid morning break at the pretty town of Trentham arriving around 10:40 am where we meet up with other club members who are riding from the South. Lunch is planned for the Guildford General Store at about noon. From there we ride through gold mining towns surrounding the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park such as Vaughan, Fryerstown, Chewton and Harcourt stopping for a bit of sight-seeing along the way in this historic area. There is an option to ride over Mount Alexander for some stunning views across the Northern plains. We should arrive in Bendigo around 2:45-3:15 pm giving you time to either relax and unwind or to explore the majestic inland city of Bendigo.
Fuel: Please arrive at our departure point with a full tank of fuel. A modern automatic Vespa should be able get to Bendigo on a tank. For older classic Vespas there is a small petrol station in the back streets of Trentham (100 kms from Melbourne) otherwise our next fuel stop is at Chewton (165 kms from Melbourne). Please fill up your tank when we arrive in Bendigo before we check into our motel as we have an early 8:45 am start for our 38 km ride to Harcourt for breakfast.
Route Map for Saturday
https://goo.gl/maps/wnDQV1aoEy6AxdLC6
Sunday Ride Options
Some Melbourne participants will spend Sunday night in Bendigo which will allow us to explore goldfield towns further afield to the West after breakfast with our Bendigo friends.
Three rides of different lengths have been planned to suit various levels of stamina, enthusiasm and time constraints.
For those who need to return home on Sunday directly after breakfast, here are some options for off-highway routes back to Melbourne to give you a pleasant ride back:
https://www.motowhere.com/explore/route/Bendigo-via-Backroads
Let's ride.
Ride Advice: While we'll keep away from major highways, there will still be 100 km zones on country roads. There are also two full days of riding - two long days in the saddle. Your Vespa must be serviced and roadworthy and you need to carry tools to repair your own bike if needed.
You'll need to be fully vaccinated to attend this event and access the businesses included.
Comments
Hi Jennifer, we will arrive at Guildford General Store for lunch around 12 noon.Look forward to seeing you there. David
Possible I can rejoin the team Sunday. Stay overnight with you & ride together Monday. What could possibly go wrong 😂😂😂
Saturday only for me. Meet somewhere near Ballarat and ride for a while before heading back home.
Looking forward to catching up.
I'm in, but just for Saturday/sunday - returning Sunday after the breakfast
Hi Noelene and Pete. Great to know you are coming on the ride. There are rumours afoot that for those who can, we might stay an extra night in the region and ride back on Monday. For anybody else who needs to ride back on Sunday, a clear off highway route will be posted soon. Greatly looking forward to a ride out to the country at a lovely relaxed pace as we freshen up our rusty riding skills, David
Hi Julie. I'll probably stay in ballarat for the Sunday. Cheers
Hi Rolf
I think we'd be looking at approx 600 kms over the two days, depending on who comes along.
We're looking at building in a late brunch meet in Ballarat on Saturday - with hopefully Ballarat locals, and the next morning breakfast with the Bendigo crew. (Both of which takes time off the road)
If David joins then the route will be more interesting and longer.
Interested, but can you give a rough total Km please?
This meet up has been in the making for so long, but finally we can break out of the city and meet up with our Bendigo and Ballarat members.
Accommodation is available, but don't leave it too long to let us know you want to join us please.