Werribee Ride-Reports By Ludo & Wendy
BSpon HPV - Werribee tour 4/4/2004 - by Ludo
Although, this was a 'dry' run: Jolly faces in front of the ShadowFax winery
A somewhat overcast autumn Saturday morning saw a big handful of bike riders converge at President Park, Werribee for a tour that should have led us past most of the major draw cards of the city. As it turned out there are just too many things to see and do in our fair city for one day and we had to cut down the original plan - superbly drafted up by Wendy - to a more casual 50 Km. therefore giving the Point Cook Coastal Park and Air Force Museum a miss because of the expected heavy truck traffic on Pt Cook road etc. due to the unabating nest building activities there. But ... we'll be back. So off we went downstream along the River, whose name means backbone in the local aboriginal language. Just as well because Yours Truly nearly lost his, descending the bank. A pity that most of the main street buildings still face their back to the river and one of the shining exceptions has grossly been defaced with graffiti by local artists. Times will change though and further we went, under the bridge, past the CBD and now enjoying a very different, nearly "Warburton on The Yarra" scenery. A lot of work has been done by a few handful of dedicated people, sponsored by the local council. One day, apparently not in the too distant future the trail will run all the way to .... the Federation Trail. But this is another story and only your local state MP can enlighten you about what it is, where it will go to and when it will be completed. In the mean time supporting Bicycle Victoria may be the only way forward.
Avoiding all political confrontation, we left the river trail well before reaching the Fed'trail and we crossed the Princess Freeway, which incidentally has beautifully been rebuild as part of the Federation trail, at Duncans road and turning right into K-road. Why this road was only given such a short name is a mystery to me because it passes the Werribee Mansion, the Zoo - where wild animals voluntary refrain from crossing the river -, a not so free-range chicken farm, a winery by the name of some old fashioned office equipment and ... The K-road cliffs : Stark reminder that this river once was an old wide stream, rejuvenated in more recent geological times.
John and Neil joy riding the tandem, while Robert is not watching.
One day a trail will lead from here all the way to the mouth of the river, but we joined Diggers road, which led us towards the Bay and a much needed lunch break. Although we had our lunch, one could hardly speak of a break in the real sense of the word as there was a lot of bike swapping going on and at times the smell of burning rubber was overpowering the sea air. Here Wendy had to leave us and we decided to head back north, saving Point Cook for later, much to the dismay of our resident Test Pilot John. The sun came out in autumnal force and off it went along rural O'Connors and fresh bitumen in parts of Hoppers Lane, Sneydes road, following the D1 drain trail, the Glen Orden wetlands and back onto busy Heath road to President Park.
If facial expression is anything to go by, recumbent riding is clearly less stressful
To finish off a beautiful day, because the local Indian Restaurant was already fully booked, Wendy invited us all at her place for a nice Indian feast, where, not distracted by the bikes, various facets of the day were rehashed in an at times most spirited way! As usual this trip would not have happened without the irresistible energy of BSpon father Robert, very well prepared and documented by Wendy. Yours truly only takes the credit for returning these brave souls back to President Park, otherwise they may still be counting seagulls at Werribee Sth.
How low Daniel?
Report and photos by Ludo Schoenborn.
A Message For The Uninitiated... by Wendy K
I had an opportunity recently to ride with the crew from VicHPV (Victorian Human Powered Vehicles for the uninitiated). When Robert W asked me to suggest some potential 30+ km bike routes near my home, I must say I was a little concerned. As a fair weather bike rider, my journeys had previously consisted of a quick trip down to the local milk bar for necessities on my Kmart special.
We gathered on a Saturday morning at President’s Park Lake in Werribee and as the local VicHPV members rolled in on their recumbent bicycles (see description below). The recumbents appeared to be a mix of ‘step toe and son’ style bicycle bits, but in their entirety had the appearance of contemporary, almost sculptural works of art. On closer inspection of Renild's and Ludo’s latest adaptation of two pre-loved bikes, the engineering expertise and creativity of VicHPV’s crazy inventors/owner-builders became clear.
Scott getting initiated and converting
We took to the road in a convoy style and made good time to the Werribee River. The bike trail behind the main shopping precinct and into the suburbs is a delight, running within metres of the river for almost 6 kms. After a somewhat challenging section at the entrance to K Road, we made our way past Werribee Mansion and into Shadowfax winery for a quick inspection and a promise to return sometime soon for their wood-fired pizzas, wine tasting and jazz on Sunday afternoons. The 8km ride through the market gardens provided some perspective on the importance of the area as the largest supplier of vegetables to Victoria and a chance to meet some of the local farm workers as we exchanged greetings on the way past.
Scott initiated and totally converted
The Bay Trail in Werribee South was our next stop and lunch break. The sunshine provided a perfect opportunity for some play along the beachfront and for the greenhorns of the group (myself and family Neil and Scott) to experience their first ride on recumbent bicycles. The position of the pedals was a little disconcerting at first but once in motion, steering and pedaling is easy. And comfortable! The reclined position of the seat (hence the term recumbent) is like pedaling in an armchair. No wonder a 30+ km trip does not phase these people! What a great way to travel. You get the pleasure of a leisurely cruise through some scenery you would normally only blink at in a car and the added benefit of fitness and fine company at the same time.
Neil getting initiated by John ...
It was a fun day with some lovely, friendly people. Neil, Scott and I are particularly appreciative of the generosity of Robert, Jana, Ludo, Renild, and Daniel for allowing us to test ride their recumbent bicycles. A special mention also to John for sharing his inspiring designs of swish, deluxe model recumbent bicycles - I’ll take two please.
...and converting
I must also add here that you don’t have to be a recumbent owner to ride with the VicHPV group. There were other conventional bikes on our ride as well. Interestingly, these are called wedgies in the recumbent bicycle world and after 16km on a conventional bike seat I now understand why. For more on recumbent bicycles visit http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/vichpv/web/
Neil initiated and 'just' converted
Report and photos by Wendy K