A ride through and around the edge of Melbourne, avoiding all major roads and with a focus on back roads and country lanes. 'Rounding up' a number of favorite club sites and roads into one ride. And 'rounding up' club members ready to ride again.
Beautiful roads between Yan Yean, Arthurs Creek to Diamond Creek. And again, the back routes ride around Eltham all the way to Heidelberg
This ride is suitable for all Vespa and rider experience as long as you can do 90 kph on some stretches. Country roads, variable road quality, occasional 100 kph zone, some steep hills and drops.
Meeting at ASSEMBLY GROUND cafe - 104 Fletcher St ESSENDON (MAP) right on the big roundabout. They are open from 7.30 AM for breakfast and coffee. Departing at 9.30 am
Stopping at:
Woodlands, Melbourne Airport for a rest and plane spotting. Bulla
Old Kalkallo bridge.
Over the Hills to Eden Park then Yan Yean Reservoir.
Beautiful back roads to Arthurs Creek, through Nutfield, and behind Hurstbridge.
We'll stop in quiet Diamond Creek - a 'bakery stop' lunch, and refuel if required.
Then some more beautiful back roads from Eltham to Heidelberg, where the ride will finish for coffee at the East Ivanhoe village at approximately 3.00 PM.
Note: Old Sydney Road has been washed away again, and the surface is pretty bad. So we'll have to skip the stop at Beveridge and divert. Unfortunately this puts us on Donnybrook Rd and some extra 100 kph stretches. But we do get to stop at the Old Kalkallo bridge. Modern Vespa speedo are 10% out. So you need to do 100 kph on your speedo (a real 90 kph). If you are not comfortable with this, then this ride maybe isn't for you.
Ride Route on plotaroute:
https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1391786
This ride is under construction, so the route will change.
Comments
Please note - Old Sydney Road has been washed away and the surface is not rideable. That means I have deleted the stop at Beveridge from the ride. Unfortunately this means a diversion down Donnybrook Rd, and a couple of extra 100 kph stretches. Sorry. If you are not comfortable with this then it's probably now not the ride for you.
On the other hand we found the Old Kalkallo bridge on our recce ride for a "David stop"
Note slightly different meeting point is at Assembly Ground Cafe across the road.
Johnny Pump has emerged from lockdown no longer opening for breakfast.