Epping to Marysville.

9 of us showed up at BP Epping, in fairly mild conditions and a dodgy weather forecast – Mike, Gary C, Colin, Jack, Sam (thanks for being tail-end Charlie), Cevat, Nick, Pat, Peter (on his 2024 ‘new’ 1250 RS, the old RT is up for sale).

We turned left on Cooper St, to the relief of Colin who was sick of riding straight 15kms the other way through industrial zones. He got plenty of variety after we turned onto High St to be met by a road closure and detour. After waiting 5 mins we u-turned back to Cooper St, and the ride leader cunningly took the group through back streets in an attempt to get around the detour. This resulted in a tour of several residential streets before calling it quits and heading east to Plenty Rd, with local navigation help by Gary. We copped a quite heavy shower near Wallan which stopped after 5-10mins, while another u-turn took us onto the Broadford Rd. And then in Broadford there were two detours up and over the railway line, with switching roads back and forwards, before descending the Murchison Gap (first time in several years). Mike needed a break so we pulled into the ‘new’ (it has been there two years !) General Store on the Strath Creek corner for morning tea. And what a find it was – a big spacious building, great atmosphere, good food and drink selection, a couple of long tables for a group.

We left in partly cloudy conditions and enjoyed a good quick ride through Kerrisdale to the Goulburn Highway, and into Yea and to Whanregarwen road. This was taken at an unusually restrained pace due to the copious amounts of water over the road (big dark clouds suggest we missed a downpour by 10 mins !). We pulled into Marysville Bakery in light rain, for the lunch stop. During this time the local King Parrots had Jack well trained to give them food on demand ! As we were getting ready to leave, it poured down for 10 mins, which lead to various pieces of rain gear appearing.

The ride over the Black Spur was done in fairly solid rain, requiring plenty of concentration but it had stopped by the time we pulled up in Yarra Glen. The group split up, with some going home through Lilydale, while Mike/Gary/ Peter took the route through Christmas Hills and Eltham. Mike was nearly dry by the time he got within 5 minutes of home, and then got dumped on ! The wet gear is still spread out in the garage.

Actually, it was an enjoyable day out ‘battling the elements’, with something for everyone - rain shower, roadworks, detours, u-turns, rain. And Strath Creek General Store was a good find.