Cycle Across Oz in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Sport & recreation

Cycle Across Oz

Locality: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 427 655 678

Address: 58 Mentone Parade, Mentone 3194 Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.cycleacrossoz.com.au

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25.01.2022 Day 14 Stage 2 MSM Virtual Ride 2020 Day 12 was a rest day at Corowa. There was lots of bike maintenance happening during the day but all the ladies and myself, of course, checked out all the shops and ended the afternoon at the chocolate shop where they do the best hot chocolates ever. Couple of the guys had a game of golf, it was international countries against the aussies and I think Peter may have won. Day 13, we were back on the road again yesterday, very conscious of th...e fact that there is only 4 more riding days left. This leg has gone way too quickly. We had a lovely morning tea at Lake Mulwala with treats bought at Corowa. Because it was only 75 kms, we decided to keep lunch until we arrived at Barooga. Barooga is situated on the Murray as well and is situated in the Riverina. Found a lovely country pub for dinner. Today we are heading to Echuca and our last rest day. It's 105 kms and the weather is looking promising with a cool change happening tonight. It's not looking too promising for tomorrow. Todays forecast is for 19 degrees with a cool change and rain coming through around 4 pm and bringing the temperature down to 14 degrees top tomorrow. Georg just heard this news and keeps saying "Horrible". Georg likes to ride in the heat. Echuca is a very large town on the Murray with lots of walks, fishing opportunities, more golf clubs and heaps of cafes.

23.01.2022 Day 11 Stage 2 MSM Ride 2021 Today we're off to Corowa and another rest day. Jingellic (Thursday night) was enjoyed by everyone- we had the pub and campgrounds to ourselves and enjoyed a late night party- hehe! You do realise a late night for us is around 10 pm. Ian took on the task as barman and soon learnt the Aussie measurements for different drinks, etc. Jerry read us a few more of his poems and Bobby ran the days general knowledge questions. Gill enjoyed two hot showers... without any issues with the coins. Yesterday the ride to Lake Hume was very scenic. It started off cold again in the morning but the sun and the hills soon warmed everyone up. We had a few flat tyres along the road today, Lynne, Maureen and John F, but this has only brought the tally up to 10 flats since we left Melbourne. Collis enjoys fixing tubes so he was a happy chappy last night. It was very scenic riding along the banks of the weir and some great photos gained by most riders. Lots of wild life around the weir as well. Today we have 75 kms into Corowa. Morning tea was at the park in Howlong and then lunch will be once we get to the end of the day. Just a short one today. There are a couple of jump ups but Collis has said they are minor ones. The Ball park caravan park has a great camp kitchen if you want to cook dinner tonight but it was under renovations when we were last there so hopefully they have finished it by now. The local pubs have good meals as well. Corowa is a town in the state of New South Wales. It is on the bank of the Murray River, the border between New South Wales and Victoria, opposite the Victorian town of Wahgunyah. The name could have derived from an Aboriginal word referring to the curra pine which yielded gum used by Aborigines to fasten the heads of spears to the shafts. Another translation is rocky river. There are two bridges over the Murray to Wahgunyah in Victoria: the heritage-listed John Foord Bridge and the Federation Bridge (opened on 2 April 2005). Corowa Golf Club is open for business as of yesterday.

18.01.2022 Day 8 MSM Stage 2 Virtual Ride 2020 I'm really glad Collis has decided to bring this ride earlier in the year in 2021 because it's so cold at the moment. Some riders are concerned about the heat but anyone that has ridden with Cycle X Oz is used to riding in some heat. We are better equipped to deal with some heat rather than any cold. Nothing worse than camping in freezing cold temperatures! At least we've had very little rain. It got down to 1 degree overnight but actually ...felt like -0.4 degrees. In other words- cold. OK let's stop talking temperatures and instead talk hills for today. There is a steady climb coming out of Jindabyne and up till just after Thredbo (approximately 40 kms) with a jump up of 9% around the 18 km mark. Then once you get to the top of the mountain there is a 20 km downhill with slopes of up to -15%. The rest of it is just undulating hills until we ride to our first bush camp. No good talking wind as there is apparently very little of it around today and no rain, so at least we will stay dry. Then it's not a real bush camp as it is classified as a rest area and has toilets. No showers though! Wet ones will come in handy tonight. Morning tea will be at Thredbo before the end of the climb and hopefully will provide lots of energy and sustenance. Lunch is planned at Tom Groggin- the upper reachers of the Murray River. Total 85 kms riding. Now if we have to take the 2 alternate routes for any reason we would end up in Tumut in one and Tumbarumba in the other. Both nice places. Meal provided tonight and we will be having Chilli Con Carne or Chicken Risotto- I'll decide when we get there. Dessert will be Golden Syrup Dumplings with cream and ice cream for Lorraine. Should be warmer tonight.

18.01.2022 Day 9 Stage 2 MSM Virtual Ride 2020. Great sleep last night even though it got down to 1 degree only overnight. Everyone was able to keep warm in their little tents as they were all dressed appropriately and their sleeping bags are all suitable for this weather. It was a bit cold for those that got the call of nature during the night but movement around the camp was pretty quiet. We did hear some night animals moving around though. It's warming up fairly quickly this morning ...so not so hard to get moving. Robbo and Peter J have been up early boiling water for the first cups of coffee and the thermos for morning tea. We are off to Jingellic today. Jingellic is a small town nestled on the shores of the Murray River so we have officially come down off the mountain. First today we have to travel 600 mts up and over 15 kms then we have lots of downhills and undulating roads for the rest of the day. We are camping down behind a pub tonight, we are right on the river with lovely green grass. Showers and toilets are on tap although this is one place where you do need to pay for the shower water. Meals are available at the hotel. Really nice quiet spot. Yesterday wasn't as bad as we all thought it was going to be. The riders were strung out across the mountainside especially while we were climbing but they had all met up in time for morning tea. The downhill after the climb was appreciated by all riders. Thought I would add one of Jerry's poems written about the nightly briefings on the Melb to Cairns Ride in 2013: The Briefing He gathers asked for his daily sermon Poms, Aussies, Yanks and one German These nightly briefings take a while Delivered Molly Meldrum style He tries to give precise directions Over Robbo's interjections Every night he guarantees We'll get assistance from the breeze Kathy sits there with teeth gritted Then tells us what has been omitted But despite the info and the warnings We all take a wrong turn in the mornings.

13.01.2022 Final Day MSM Virtual Ride 2020 Well it's nearly over for another year. It's been fun, interesting and the fact that we had to dodge the Corona Virus police, made it exciting as well. The group mostly got on and they mostly behaved themselves. I always say that in every group there is always one! Collis says I can't leave out yesterday where we rode from Heathcote to Riddells Creek- 80 kms. The weather was 12 degrees and zero rain. The winds were not of assistance. Morning t...ea was on the side of the road with lots of treats bought at Heathcote and lots of hot tea and coffee. We are also trying to finish off our supplies as well so there was literally heaps to eat that flowed over to lunch as well. Lunch was at Lancefield. Finished the day at our first You Camp in Riddells Creek and dinner was supplied. The meal was a pretty good 3 course meal with soup, roast and apple pie, to finish, from the camps cafe and provided by Cycle X Oz. Everyone seemed to sleep like logs with extra full tummies. This morning was a late start as we only had a 20 km ride to Sunbury Station where we caught the train into Melbourne CBD. Celebratory meal held at The Sebel Hotel in Docklands. Final Imaginary Tally for ride: Stage 1 was 1345 kms and Stage 2 was 1190 kms Only 7 rest days in total. 9 meals provided. 4 nights with upgraded accomodation provided. 22 riders on 1st leg and 19 riders on 2nd leg. 19 punctures all up over 9 riders. 3 broken spokes. Spare bike used by 2 different riders. 2 tumbles off the bikes and a few close calls with trucks on the road. 2 riders breaking the rules regarding riding before sunrise- not permitted. 3 riders making use of the sag wagon on 10 days. Georg had 15 steaks in total and managed a beer every night and a can of coke every morning tea. We had 3 Peters and 2 Johns and one married couple ( who remained married). Two married couples if you count Collis and I- and yes our marriage has survived another ride. This ride ended up with more females than males. All with road bikes and one electric bike.

08.01.2022 Day 16 MSM Stage 2 Virtual Ride 2020 Our final rest day seemed to be enjoyed by all riders. We had a large group that went on the afternoon tea river steamboat cruise- actually we took up the whole boat. A couple of riders upgraded to an old favourite farm stay of Collis and I at Barmah called Morning Glory. It was lovely for Collis and I to catch up with the previous owners who are the parents of current owners. The farm stay has certainly changed from the little huts we st...ayed in about 30 + years ago. No need for riders to do a food shop except for immediate consumption(if they are planning to cook at camp) as we only have a few days left on the ride. Time for everyone to start using up all their food supplies. There was another international golf game with Ian coming out the overall winner. Quite a few souvenirs bought down at the Echuca Wharf- fudge was a big favourite. Today we are going from Echuca to Heathcote 115 kms. It should be lovely and green from now on as Victoria has had a fair bit of rain recently. It looks like we may miss the rain again today. We have once again been fairly lucky with some major threats of rain but very little outcome. Now the wind today is a different matter as it will probably be in our faces most of the day. Morning tea at a rest area 45 kms down the road and I've bought some major treats whilst in Echuca. Lunch will be on the Campapse River around the 70 km mark. Heathcote seems to be always cold when I'm there so I really don't expect any different tonight. Riders better be prepared to rug up. At least there are lots of fire pits at this campground so we could have a big fire if they want.