Last year, when we fist ventured out West to explore the mysteries of the Marbyrnong River bike trail, it was accompanied by a lot of fear and trembling. After all, none of knew anything about the Western suburbs, and even less about the bike trail. The only information we were equipped with was Peter's old map (that he had been trying unsuccessfully to sell in his shop for the past 27 years).

As could be expected, we spent most of that afternoon hopelessly lost in the Bermuda Triangle of twisted bike trails. It was only due to extreme courage and perseverence that we all eventually found our way through the land of milk and honey (aka The Brimbank Park Coffee Shop). After that ride, we all agreed that it had been a close call, but at least the trail had a great surface to ride on.

In 2006, the situation was completely different. Not only did we have the vast advantage of having already explored the trail but we were also to have the services of an expert. Gavan Wright, not only lives in the western suburbs, but is intimately familar the the entire Melbourne Bike Trails Network. With his presence at the head of our peloton I was confident that we would have no trouble finding the way.

One thing we learnt from last year's ride was that there was alomost no parking available at our chosen starting spot - The Memorial park under the Westgate Bridge). With the beneit of hindsight I changed this year's start to be near the Newport Power Station in Williamstown. This turned out to offer a much larger car park, and would also serve to add a few more km to the length of the ride.

One thing that I had very little control over was the weather. It was a great relief to all concerned that the day turned out to be the best day we had experienced in Melbourne for some time. Warm and sunny with no wind, it turned out to be ideal cycling conditions. I guess this had a lot to do with the fact that our starting peloton was a very healthy 15 riders. (It was the size that was healthy, not necessarily the riders themselves).

For some of our riders it would be the first chance on the bikes since our recent China Ride. Marysia and Chris even decided to bring along their HASA mountain bikes that they had bought in China. I had chosen this ride to be the official debut of my my new Avanti Blade touring bike.

Young Ben Cuthberston had also indicated that he would taking part in the ride, however by 11.10am he had still notshown up. In the meantime we were able to meet another new rider called "Russell". He was apparently a good friend of Mal Doswell's and an avid mountain biker. We waited another 10 minutes for Ben to appear but eventually had to conclude that he was a "no show", and headed off up the trail.

Near the start of the trail there is a short detour through some fairly quiet roads, before you rejoin the trail again. It was in this section that Peter pulled up alongside Ben in his car. He waved and then drove on, but for some strange reason we never saw him again for the rest of the day. In the meantime the rest of us rode on in brilliant sunshine. The only downside to the perfect conditions was that just about every other cyclist, walker, jogger and weekend wobbler in Melbourne had also turned out on the same trail. It took all our concentration to navigate safely around all those who meandered all over the trail, without a thought that anyone else might also be needing to pass them.

Fortunately as we progressed further along the trail, the crowds were left behind and we were able to cycle at our normal pace. Russell and Mal exhibited their typical behaviour by bolting off the front of the peloton and disappearing into the distance. The rest of the group followed stretched out behind, with Cheryl and Donald making up the rear (or is it "making up" in the rear ?)

Since we knew exactly which way to go, we were all able to make good time and arrive at the Brimbank Kiosk in great shape. The poor staff at the kiosk were not so pleased to see us. I almost got the impression that they were almost ready to knock off for the day, when we all arrived and started ordering foccacias and coffees. We were left to sit and wait outside while they battled away in the kitchen to fill all our orders. This was not a difficult thing to do however, as the sunshine was very enjoyable and it gave us all a chance to have a long chat. The China Ride was one of the main topics of the conversation.

After lunch, Russell headed off to ride home, while the rest of us headed back down the trail. Since the return ride is slightly downhill, we made excellent time and when we found ourselves with only a few km left to go, a small group broke off the front for a sprint to the finish. This gave a good opportunity to let off some steam and try out our new China legs.

Apart from a couple of punctures, the day was completed without any more serious mishaps. Even Hooters and the Spanner completed the 60 km ride with ease, although Hooters did keep reminding everyone that he was "weally only a weckweational wider and not a wacer". All in all a fantastic social ride and a perfect way to spend our Anzac Day Holiday.