Bright Weekend Ride Report

 

Day 1 Friday was a glorious sunny day reaching 32C.

Three groups chose rides out eastwards from Bright:

  1. The Hotham Heroes – Ant, Glynn, Iain and Alex made the mighty trip to the top of Mt Hotham with support crew Louise and Lee taking the photos to prove it.
  2. The Tawonga Gappers – Tony, Pete, Derek, Will, Orna, Joseph, Mark, Raffy, Frank and Steve all reached the lookout and found different ways back; Tony and Pete down to Mt Beauty and back up the east side of Tawonga; Derek going solo the very long way round via Rosewhite Gap and Happy Valley to Ovens; and the rest of us rolling happily back down to Bright the way we came.
  3. The Harrietville Cruisers – Fran, Carolyn, Kim, Maria and Jane found the best coffee spot of the day up the road at Harrietville via the new riverside trail.

Even better – dinner at the famous Wandiligong Pub with snags to die for.

Day 2 Saturday was seriously wet.

  • Most of us kept bumping into each others’ umbrellas sightseeing in charming Beechworth.
  • Orna went off solo before the rain arrived, mistook Mt Buffalo for Lake Buffalo, made it half way up the long climb and was saved from soaking rain by a handy husband driving the sag wagon.

Day 3 Sunday restored the sunshine and warmth, but added a very unwelcome southerly wind

Four rides took shape on Sunday, all towards Myrtleford this time, which unfortunately meant battling horrible headwinds on the way back to Bright.

  1. Follow that Derek – Ant, Glynn and Iain reprised Derek’s Friday ride round the Gaps, and loved the descent through Happy Valley. The headwind home from Ovens was less enjoyable.
  2. The Stanley Sloggers – Derek, Will, Tony, Pete and Mark went for the hard climb to Stanley knowing that the descent to Beechworth and then down the rail trail makes the pain worth it. Pete turned at Stanley and took the direct route back to Myrtleford.
  3. The Buffalo Lakers – other than Alex and Maria who had to head home early most others rode to Lake Buffalo, took some great photos, and joined forces to fight the headwind out to the Lake and back to Bright.
  4. The Eurobin Rail Riders – Kim and Fran took the rail trail towards Myrtleford returning to the ever-popular Porepunkah Rail Trail Café.

And we had another terrific dinner at the Wandi Pub with lots of reminiscences and a great wrap-up speech from President Ant.

 

Mark Reynolds