Moonee Ponds Creek Trail – Sunday 31 March 2019

Our end of month ride for March is a longer one, but it will be broken up with a lunch stop half way and there is an option to catch a train back from near the lunch stop if you don’t feel up to riding the whole distance.

Planned route for March end of month ride

Meeting at Velo Cycles at 10am, we’ll follow Capital City Trail to Flemington Bridge Station then change over to Moonee Ponds Creek Trail. From there we ride upstream all the way to Westmeadows, where we’ll stop for lunch at Westmeadows Tavern (a pub).

Yee-har! This photo was taken around the back of the joint. We’ll go in to the bar at the front.

After lunch, we back-track slightly to the Western Ring Road Path (which runs alongside the Western Ring Road – no surprises there, surely?). It’s a short but steep climb from Moonee Creek up to Jacana Train Station. If you aren’t planning to ride the whole circuit, there are a couple of options to catch a train back to Flemington (where Moonee Ponds Creek Trail joins Capital City Trail), and Jacana is the first. Refer to the images below for other options.

Options for a return train

Stations near Flemington Bridge

I have checked and as at the time of posting, there are no planned works (at all!) on either the Craigieburn or Upfield lines…

Here are the important details if you can make it along:

Official Start/Finish point: Velo Cycles, 815 Nicholson Street, Carlton North. You can find parking along Park Street, or it’s a short ride from Rushall Station, or it’s a 3km ride from Parliament Station. Meet at 9:50am to ride by 10am

Secondary meeting point: Flemington Bridge, where Moonee Ponds Creek Trail meets Capital City Trail. MPCT does a bit of a loop to come up to street level and there’s plenty of room to gather off to the side of the path. Meet about 10:10am to ride by 10:15am

If you’re running late to either meeting point, please message me to let me know!
If we aren’t already connected on FB Messenger or similar, let me know prior to the day of the ride that you intend to come and we can exchange details (e.g. by emailing me at melbournebromptonclub@gmail.com)

Ride length/duration: Moonee Ponds Creek Trail leg (from Velo Cycles to lunch stop at Westmeadows Tavern) is about 24km, and should take about 1.5-2hrs. Return leg along Western Ring Road Trail and Merri Creek Trail is approx 27km and should take about the same time.

What to bring: Water bottle, spare tube, suncream, MYKI, lunch money (if you intend to buy lunch, appropriate clothes, smiles 😀

If you have any queries or comments about this ride, please feel free to comment below. If you have a suggestion or request for a ride, please feel free to comment below.
If you’re travelling from overseas and want to catch up, please get in touch.
If you would like to share your Brompton story with us, I’d love to know! Please email me at melbournebromptonclub@gmail.com.

And finally…

A reminder that the next Brompton Maintenance Session being run at Brompton Junction Melbourne will be Sunday 14 April (the weekend before Easter). Follow this link to find out more, or to book your place.

Until next time, happy Bromptoneering! 😀

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April Club ride – Gardiner Creek Trail

With thanks to everyone who voted for a ride option this month, the option that received the most votes was to ride back to the city from Glen Waverley Station along Gardiner Creek Trail.

If you wish to catch public transport to the start, there is a train departing Richmond Station’s Platform 9 at 12:12pm. I would therefore suggest aiming to arrive at Richmond Station by noon; Stephen and I will also be looking to catch this train (second carriage from the front) to the start.

The train is due to arrive at Glen Waverley Station by 12:44pm. If you’re intending to meet us at this point, please be advised that we will depart GWS by 12:50pm sharp.

The route back is reasonably obvious on Google Maps, as Gardiner Creek Trail extends nearly all the way to Glen Waverley Station.

Aside from one or two small rises (at the start and toward the end), the gradient is a gentle downhill all the way back to the city. At around 23km we shouldn’t take any more than about 2hrs to complete the ride, meaning we should arrive at Federation Square by 3pm.

Recommended items to bring:

• MYKI
• water bottle
• suncream
• spare tube & toolkit
• snack (if you think you’ll need one)
• lots of smiles

See you soon – Happy Bromptoneering!  : D

April club ride options – have your say!

In the spirit of the upcoming Federal Election (well, not really… they’re copying us) we’re asking people to vote on what they’d like to do for our end of month social ride.

The following are the options I’ve come up with for ANZAC Day afternoon, but don’t feel limited to these if you’d like to chime in with another suggestion (or two):

1. Gardiner Creek Trail
   Meet at Flinders Station around noon, catch a train to Glen Waverley, ride back to the city along Gardiner Creek Trail. Some hills mainly at the start, but mostly down hill to city.
2. Eastlink Trail
   Meet at Flinders Station around noon, catch a train to Heatherdale Station (one stop before Ringwood Stn) and ride back to the city following Eastlink Trail. Reasonably hilly to begin with, but generally a downhill ride back to town.
3. Bay Trail (West)
   Meet at Southern Cross Station around noon, catch a train to Williams Landing, ride back to the city the Bay Trail (Altona, Williamstown). Mostly flat with an option to catch the Westgate Punt across the Yarra River. There may be some disruptions around Footscray due to road works.

I’ve picked ANZAC Day afternoon instead of our more usual last Sunday of the month as I’ll be in Singapore for the Brompton World Travellers Championship! If anyone else would like to put their hand up to organise a ride on that Sunday (28 April) you are more than welcome to do so; just let me know.

Happy Bromptoneering!  : )