On the morning of any planned ride it is always with a degree of trepidation that I take my first look out the bedroom window. You can only imagine my joy when I opened the blinds at 6.30 am to be welcomed by a rush of warm sunshine. With a very scenic ride planned to Upper Yarra Dam, I began to eagerly look forward to the day ahead.
Although we had suffered a few last minute withdrawals I was still hopeful for a good sized peloton to take on the rolling hills past Warburton. Was it really only a couple of years ago that we first tackled this ride? I seem to remember that first assault being associated with copious amounts of huffing & puffing and numerous rest breaks.
With the benefit of several thousand more cycling km under our belts I was confident that we would now be able to acquit ourselves much more capably today. After all, only two weeks ago we had gloriously completed the Round the Bay ride in splendid style. In comparison, today's ride of approx 130km should be a mere trifle to men of our calibre.
I had graciously allowed each rider to select their own starting point, but when the chips were down it was only Ross and I who had decided to complete the ride in its entirety - all the way from Lilydale to Upper Yarra Dam and back.
Soon after pulling up at Lilydale I noticed a young (shapely) female cyclist get out of her car and walk confidently up to my window. It looked as if the day was about to get off to an even better start than I had hoped. I presumed that she had read about the ride on the web site and wanted to join in.
She bent in my window and asked "Are you Stephen"? Although I was tempted to claim ownership of a name that, strictly speaking, was not technically mine, I reluctantly had to admit that I wasn't the person she was looking for. She was obviously disappointed and walked back to her car looking rather crestfallen. But what else could I do?
Some minutes later Ross arrived and we mounted out bikes and headed off together at 9.30am. Ross soon started to comment on the loose state of the surface. I had to admit that, although they are called "Lilydale toppings" I do wish they had chosen somewhere else to have dropped all those contrary loose stones.
Neither of us wished to peak too early and so we set a moderate pace up the hill to Mt Evelyn where we joined up with Lex and Richard. With the larger group and the downhill gradient the pace started to quicken from Mt Evelyn to Woori Yallock. Although I tried to encourage the group to maintain discipline it was hard to hold back Lex from bolting in the distance. Soon he was out of sight. Another prime example of peloton disintegration.
At Woori Yallock we waited for Cheryl and Donald, but it was obvious that they had chosen to start elsewhere. "Let's wait for them at Launching Place", I suggested, before heading off again. By the time we reached the Launching Place Pub we took the opportunity for a welcome rest stop. It was beginning to look as if Cheryl and Donald were going to put in a DNS (Did Not Show) for the ride.
After waiting for about 15 mins we decided to push on to Warburton. I suggested that this would be a good chance to practise our tight formation riding, but decided to put Richard out in front to keep a tight reign on unauthorised breakaways. This must have been a wise move because we somehow managed to retain our discipline all the way to Millgrove. Maybe there is some hope for us after all.
At Warburton we met up with Maggie, Estelle and Cecilia and enjoyed a pleasant coffee in the shade. We finally managed to get a message from Cheryl and found out that she was still enjoying a right royal sleep in.
From Warburton to Upper Yarra Dam is approximately 26 km, the majority of which is uphill. There are, however, several factors which make the ride extremely enjoyable. The road surface is good. There is not a lot of traffic. The scenery is spectacular. The hills are steep but mostly short, giving regular chances for a respite on the downhill sections.
Although the four of us headed off together, Lex soon did a bolter and disappeared into the distance, leaving Ross, Richard and me to enjoy the ride. In such glorious weather it was hard not to feel good as we pushed up the inclines. Each summit reached is a victory in its own right, and although the ride is strenuous, it can be very enjoyable as well. After a short break midway for a chat and drink we finally rolled into the Upper Yarra Dam Reserve 75 minutes after leaving Warburton.
I was somewhat amazed to see Hooters already there having ridden his bike all the way from the nearby car park to the picnic table. We tried to tell him that at least we had earned our lunch - he had done absolutely nothing. Our words of castigation seemed lost on him as he looked at his bike with a puzzled expression and said "I think I'll get Peter to have a look at my bike. I seem to be missing a couple of balls". Although that provided the ideal opportunity for me to say something I bit my tongue and started work on my sandwich instead.
After lunch we had a leisurely ride up to the top of the Dam wall and were pleased to see that the water level was significantly higher than when were here last. At this point we could take comfort that we were at the high point of the day's ride and that from here on, it would be predominantly downhill.
John and Warren set off to get a head start, allowing the rest of us to follow about 15 mins later. We were just about to start on the return ride when we noticed Peter riding in on his Avanti accompanied by some young athletic looking rider. Peter had apparently ridden from Emerald and had obviously taken the opportunity to draft in his younger companion's slipstream most of the way.
About 10 mins after leaving the Dam, we were again passed by Peter (again pulled along by the draft of his younger mentor). Lex lost concentration and decided to give chase. The rest of us decided to enjoy what was left of the perfect afternoon.
When we came to the first small hill we were appalled to see John and Warren walking their bikes the 50 metres or so to the top. The torrent of abuse we heaped on them seemed wasted as they casually watched us pass by.
We all regrouped again back at Warburton where it was interesting to note that the return ride had taken only 50 mins (25 mins less than the outward ride). Some time later John and Warren managed to finally make their appearance (although some of us suspected that they may have done part of the ride in their cars).
Knowing that we still had 38 km to ride we reluctantly put our tender backsides back on our bikes and headed off towards the setting sun. I have always thought the late afternoons spent on the Warburton Trail are magic, and today was no exception. In spite of the fact that we were all starting to feel a little tired I think we were content just to savour the remainder of the day.
Even Peter had decided to forsake the road and putter along the trail on his precious racing bike. A final stop at the water trough gave us a chance to refill our bottles and empty our bladders, before the climbs to Wandin and Mt Evelyn. At least Ross and I knew that the last 6 km would be all downhill.
When we finally arrived back at our cars it was close to 6 pm, and we had covered over 127 km for the day. I guess we can all take encouragement from the fact that none of us could have accomplished this ride a couple of years ago. Not bad for a group of old farts I suppose.