(Story supplied by the ride convenor - Peter Warren)
On Easter Sunday morning seven riders drove over the Black Spur through the fire ravaged bushland to Buxton. It gave us some idea of the enormity of the fires and amazed us at the power of Mother Nature as regrowth had already begun.
At Buxton the group of Tom, Joe, Bill, Bernie and Karen were already waiting for Steve, myself and the all important sag wagon driven by Joan.
Yes the ride organiser did actually turn up, mainly because, unlike the Noojee ride, I knew that I was supposed to be ride organiser.
In perfect weather we began the ride through burnt out bushland as far as Taggerty. From Taggerty to Alexandra there was evidence of the fire only in the distance. This section however supplied us with the only decent hills of the ride. Most riders complained, but all managed to climb them quite easily. The view over the Goulburn river from the top of the Acheron Cutting made it all worthwhile.
At Alexandra the coffee was most welcome and enjoyable.
The section from Alexandra to Eildon is mostly flat and was enjoyed by all.
At Eildon Joan had reserved a table for us in the sunshine, where we enjoyed lunch and reflected on the ride so far.
The section on the back road from Eildon to Thornton (Flat as a tack) gave Steve and myself a chance to stretch our legs for 12 km. The rest of the group rode at a more leisurely (ie sensible) pace.
On the way back to Buxton most of the group stopped at Taggerty and chatted to a local gent. He was quite willing to talk about the fires and of his experiences.
On the final leg to Buxton Karen was complaining about many sore parts of her anatomy. While all the men were on road bikes she was riding an unfamiliar mountain bike with and uncomfortable seat. She probably only had to work twice as hard as the rest of us. I don't know why she was complaining.
At Buxton Joan was waiting with coffee and biscuits for all. All agreed it had been a very scenic, comfortable (except for Karen) ride in perfect weather.