I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about taking part in this ride. A few years ago I had ridden from Yarra Junction to the top of the Bump and my fading memories were of a seriously chellenging climb. In fact only a couple of people in the Ghostriders had actually completed the full ride and had any first hand knowledge of what conditions were like on the second part of the route. In spite of my misgivings, when I awoke to find that the cycling conditions were going to be excellent, I decided to give it a go after all.
Arriving at Yarra Junction at about 30 minutes before the planned start of the ride I looked around to see that no one else had turned up yet and wondered if it was just going to be Peter and myself who would be silly enough to attempt it. It was somewhat of a relief when Bill Vandendool and John Bird arrived, followed soon after by one of our newer riders "Smokin Joe" Kenwright.
Joe proceeded to unload one of the fanciest and most expensive road bikes most of us will ever see. Apparently it was the very latest Giant road bike and one of the first of this model brought into Australia. Joe had been supplied the bike by his friends at Ivanhoe Cycles who invited him to do a road test and assessment. A number of us took the chance to give the bike our own test ride in the Yarra Junction car park. I had to admit that it certainly was a thoroughbred and felt like it was just itching to be let loose in the mountains.
Over the next few minutes we were joined by Bernie Peeler, Wendy and her partner Chris, Danielle and Crasher Lewis. But there was still no sign of our ride convenor - Peter Warren. It appeared that the only person who knew the route had decided to do a "no show" for the ride. I considered our options and asked Bill (the only person who had previously done this ride) if he would stand in as ride convenor. Bill agreed and proceeded to do a great job in setting a moderate pace along the first section to Powelltown, about 18 km from Yarra Junction.
Powelltown is an historic old logging town that looks like it has seen much better (and more prosporous) times. It does boast a combination General Store/Pub which offers the last chance to top up food and drinks before Noojee. Although the section from Yarra Junction to Powelltown is gently undulating, once you leave Powelltown the gradient immediately kicks up to about 5.5% and leaves most riders clicking down towards their lowest gears. For those of us (like me) who are gravitationally challenged there is no easy way to work up such a climb - you just have to find your own rhythm and ensure that you don't spend all your pennies too early. Crasher and Chris made their own sort of sport by taunting and testing each other's cl;imbing ability like two feuding wilderbeasts.
Although this climb to the so called "Bump" is quite steep it is only about 3.5 km long, reaching a maximum altitude of 440m. Once over the crest you have a lovely fast descent followed by an easy 18 km all the way to Noojee.
Nestled deep in the mountains, Noojee is a town that has been almost hidden from the modern world. The houses have a neglected look that suggests that home renovation shows are not the most popular TV viewing in this area. Fortunately the town does boast a reasonable eatery, rather quaintly named The Red Parrot. The proprietor proceeded to enthusiastically explain why his food was the best we could get anywhere before he disappeared into the kitchen before we could place our orders!
When the food was finally produced I have to admit the so called "Mountain Burger" was probably the biggest burger I have ever seen. It was packed with just about everything you could conceivably cram into a hamburger and was even adorned by an Australian flag proudly mounted on it towering summit. Before I attempted to devour the imposing pile of food there was a pleasant duty to perform. This ride marked Bernie Peeler's fourth ride with us and therefore meant that he had officially earned the right to be called a Ghostrider. We conducted a rural induction ceremony to welcome him as Ghostrider number 82. After a brief discussion we also christened a new nickname for him - "Vegie".
After considerable effort we managed to make a minor dent on the hamburgers and noted that it was time for us to turn our handlebars to the West and head back to Yarra Junction. I had to admit that I was not looking forward to the reverse climb over the Bump, especially not with the extra 2 kg of weight I had gained during the lunch break.
It was at this point of time that the ride took an unexpected turn. We had ridden about 4 km or so when we were stopped at a Police roadblock. The country copper informed us that there had been a serious accident up ahead and that the road would be blocked for many hours. He did not seem concerned that we had no other way to get back to our cars and made no attempt to suggest any possible solution to our dilemma. For a time we sat at the side of the road to wait for him to assist us but, when it became evident that initiative was not part of Constable Plod's vocabulary, we decided that we would have to take matters into our own hands.
We spent the next few minutes studying his Melways and discovered an obscure fire access track that looked like it might offer an alternative route. We asked the aforesaid Constable Plod if it was a viable alternative for us. "I have no idea", was his helpful reply. It was starting to look like we would be stuck at the roadblock until nightfall and therefore we decided that it would be better to be at least attempting something, rather than doing nothing at all.
I explained what we wanted to do and he seemed to be relieved to be rid of us, although we had some visions that we could end up lost in the forest and feature on the evening news services. Once we found the start of the track it was obvious that cycling was out of the question - the track was rough with deep ruts and a very loose surface. There was no alternative other than to push/carry the bikes the entire distance.
As the gradient quickly grew steeper and steeper we were soon puffing and panting, stopping every few minutes to regain our breath. Crasher started lamenting the destruction of his plastic cleats as he clip clopped his way up the mountain. The precious Giant bike that Joe was "testing" certainly got put through its paces. In most countries of the world this type of bicycle abuse is definitely illegal.
The Garmin GPS indicated that we were rapidly gaining altitude and were soon much higher than the crest of The Bump. To our horror the gradient increased even further to somewhere between 15 to 20%. When we left Yarra Junction none of us had any idea that we would be facing this sort of unexpected challenge just a few short hours later. The track eventually peaked at an altitude of about 580m and then followed a ridge line which afforded us breathtaking views out across the valley to Mt Baw Baw. I suspected that only a very small number of 4WD drivers and lunatic trail bike riders had ever seen this panorama.
What a relief it was when the track eventually emerged back onto the main road. The total detour had cost us about 5 km and almost 2 hours but at least we could look foward to having a closed road to ride on all the way back to Powelltown. The bad news was that we still had to climb over the Bump, although from the Eastern side it is not as long as it is from the other side. We knew that once we were over the crest it would be easy going all the way back to Yarra Junction.
It was late in the afternoon when we finally safely arrived back at Powelltown and we were all feeling dry and hot. Icypoles and cold drinks were attacked with vigour as we sought to replace what the climb had taken from us. After a much needed break we were back on the bikes for a relatively flat and fast final sprint back to the car park. Although the day had not turned out exactly the way we had planned I was so impressed with the way that everyone had pulled together to overcome the unexpected challenges that we were faced with. As we relaxed in the car park back at Yarra Junction, everyone agreed that it had been a hard day but one that we would look back on with fond memories for a long time to come.
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| Bernie "Vegie" Peeler is inducted as rider number 82 | Disaster strikes as we are left marooned by the side of the road outside Noojee |
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| Delicate negotiations with the local constable | Manhandling the bikes up a 20% gradient |
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| Too much for Crasher ! | We finally reach the summit at 570 m (but where the heck are we ????) |