Continuing the bikepacking experiment, we decided to learn our lesson from the Grampians and take things a bit easier on the next trip through Lerderderg State Park, just north of Melbourne.
My mate Peter was staying and working on a stud farm/camping facility a little north of Melton, so I decided to meet him there. I took the Metro train out to Diggers Rest and then cycled about 17km in windy conditions early in the morning on a public holiday here in Melbourne because of the AFL (Aussie Rules Football) grand final weekend. Yes, they really do have a day-off here in Victoria for a footy match, even though the public holiday, which is on a Friday, is not even on the day of the match.
After having a short coffee break at Pete's we had about 15km to get off the main roads and into the park itself, then t was all dirt tracks through the park, exactly what we were looking for.
I only had to do about 60Km in total for that first day, giving us just a short trip to Ballan station and the train home in the morning. 60Km is absolutely nothing on sealed roads with a good touring bike, but as we discovered from the Grampians trip, we don't have good bikes and traveling off the tarmac is definitely more challenging and you really have to scale-down what you previously thought possible in a day. I was exhausted from the week previous also having done a lot of physical exercise, so that 60Km on the first day was enough for me.
Despite it being a public holiday, there wasn't very many people around and the park itself was much more vast than I had imagined. The tracks followed the ridgeline most of the way, giving splendid views of the surrounding ranges. It was just what I was looking for in a two day bikepacking trip.
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| Pete's wacky-looking helmet is designed to ward-off the swooping magpies at this time of year. |
After following the ridgeline for most of the day, we finally dipped down to the river into a very nice picnic area, which would have been perfect for an overnight camp, and clearly used to be a camping area. However, as is common in Australia, this area was filled with no camping signs so we decided to move on. It took a bit of searching, but we found an excellent camping spot down one of the smaller trails, well away from the roadside.
So far I have found the ease and quality of free camping areas one of the best things about bikepacking. There is absolutely no worries about being discovered and you can pick and choose some really nice spots. Incredibly also, due to the wonders of modern technology, I have typically had a 4G signal everywhere so far. Not that it really has ever mattered as the second I have settled into my sleeping bag, I tend to fall asleep. I was already super-tired before the 60Km, so I slept like a baby, getting in over ten hours without any trouble at all.
The weather had been a bit strange on that first day, pleasantly warm up until about 1pm and then bitterly cold as a front moved in, but we were lucky there was not much rain. The next morning was pretty cold, but the sun was out and we only had 5Km to get out of the park and onto sealed roads to make our way to Ballan train station. This was a surprisingly attractive cycle as we went through the rolling hills of the surrounding countryside.
I had forgotten about the AFL Grand Final, and noticed a few supporters waiting to get on the train and worried we might not be able to get on with our bikes, but everything turned-out well. Again, the bikes got through another test - although Pete's rack snapped after getting some shopping on the way home.
A few more trips planned, but now it will likely be on my own as Pete will be going back home to the UK very soon. I've enjoyed the company and the new way of doing things and the first couple of trips will certainly have prepared me well for future solo adventures.
