Warragul to Lilydale Bike Tour

Back in late March, my sister Rosie was planning an overseas trip to go bike touring through China and who knows where else. For that reason she'd just bought a new touring bike and wanted to test it before touring overseas. So Rosie suggested a bike tour over the weekend of April 5 and 6 with another friend Ben. Various ideas were thrown around, including Werribee Gorge (to include a high-lining trip), Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay/Forrest/Lorne, Sorrento/Queenscliff. I suggested a route from Warragul back across to Lilydale, through either Powelltown or a detour to Mt Baw Baw for a challenge, or straight up through Noojee and around the Upper Yarra Dam catchment and back to Warburton then Lilydale. Rosie and Ben having no strong preferences on where they wanted to go were happy to go with my suggestion.

Day 1
Even though we only had a two day weekend to do the tour, Rosie wanted to leave in the early afternoon because she wanted to catch up on sleep and go to CERES in the morning to learn some bike maintenance before her overseas trip. We decided to catch the 1:41 pm train from Flinders Street to Warragul. Rosie told me she'd meet me at my house then we'd ride to the station together. The agreed meeting time came and went. I waited another fifteen minutes with no word, then a message: "meet me at the corner of High St and Separation". This then changed to "Blyth St and St Georges". I rode there and waited another couple of minutes before Rosie showed up in her typical (read: late) fashion. We only had around 20 minutes to get to Flinders Street before the train was scheduled to leave! And Ben was already there waiting for us. This was going to be close.

It was flatstick all the way to the station...or at least for Rosie, being the slower between us. We got to the station with several minutes still to spare. Then I discovered I couldn't get through the gates because my Myki card had insufficient credit. I went to recharge at the machine but there was a queue of people, not going anywhere. I ran around to the other side, and there was a family buying tickets, seemingly for the first time and they couldn't figure out how it worked. Oh no, I'd surely miss the train! The mother appeared to notice the rush I was in and offered for me to go ahead since they couldn't figure it out. Gratefully I jumped in and topped up my card, ran back to Rosie waiting with the bike, then we ran to the platform entry, down the elevator and...there was no train...but still plenty of people on the platform. That meant we hadn't missed it!

Ben and Rosie on the platform at Flinders Street, waiting for the train to Warragul.

My touring bike loaded up for the weekend (carrying some of Ben's gear too, since he didn't have a rack or panniers)

Ben at the platform, with a peculiar bloke in the background who started talking to us.

Waiting for the train at Flinders Street Station.

Ben on the train to Warragul.

Ben on the train to Warragul.

We found Ben, then it was announced that the train was delayed. We needn't have rushed after-all! In fact it was another 25 minutes we had to wait before the train pulled up at the platform. Plenty of time!

We didn't get to Warragul until about 3:30 pm. We then did our shopping for the trip, and stopped in at the fish and chip shop for lunch, just as it started to rain. The RADAR showed it was the only place in the state with any rain, how lucky! So we finally rode out in the wet at around 4:30 pm, towards Neerim.

Fish and Chips for lunch in Warragul at 4 pm.

Rosie and Ben riding out of Warragul towards Neerim through a shower.

Rosie and Ben riding out of Warragul towards Neerim through a shower.

Rosie and Ben riding out of Warragul towards Neerim through a shower.

The rain didn't last too long, and the sun came out again as it gradually set, presenting a pleasing sunset. Ben and Rosie were both going alright, although Ben's street bike was clearly not the most appropriate bike for bicycle touring. His gear ratio's were way too low, as was the seat and I doubt the geometry was comfortable for long distances.

On Bloomfield Road riding towards Neerim.

Riding along Bloomfield Road.

Sun setting over Tarrago Reservoir from the Main Neerim Road.

Ben and Rosie riding up the Main Neerim Road.

By the time we rode through Neerim Junction, it was pretty well dark. The descent there was fantastic, as usual. At the bottom we turned east and rode to Noojee, then turned north and rode up the Loch Valley Road, which I hadn't been on before.

Rosie seemed to have had enough for the day and kept suggesting every kilometre or two that we pull over and set up camp. "What about there, that spot will do?" she would suggest. "Come on, we can't camp there, that's like an embankment. Let's keep going". As her calls became more persistent, and Ben was on her side (though he isn't one to complain), we serendipitously stumbled upon a beautiful camping ground called Poplars Reserve. Perfect! Imagine if we'd camped on an uncomfortable patch of rough ground beside the road 500 metres away from a purpose-made camping ground!

We set up the tents and cooked a delicious pasta meal up on the Trangia before slipping into bed.

Our route for the day, Warragul to Poplars Reserve. See our ride on Strava.

Day 2

I woke up just before 6 am, before the sun had even come up. I packed up the tent and went for a wander while waiting for Ben and Rosie to wake up. 

Our campsite for the night in Poplars Reserve in the Loch Valley.

The only problem with our camp site was that we were right next to what seemed to be a bunch of Russian soldiers. They were talking all night in a foreign language, and early in the morning half a dozen of their mates in 4WD's rocked up!

Poplars Reserve in the Loch Valley where we camped for the night.

I thought it'd be nice to wait for them before eating breakfast. I read some readings on my Kindle for one of the courses I was doing on Coursera in Practical Ethics. After three hours of waiting, I drew the line - it was time to wake up Ben and Rosie. We had all agreed before we went to bed that we needed to make an early start, otherwise we wouldn't make it back to Lilydale in time to catch the train. Yet I was reluctant to wake them up because I don't like being woke myself.

So I woke them up, we packed up, ate breakfast and set off after 10 am. We continued up the Loch Valley Road but after a few kilometres, looking at the Open Cycle Maps map on my MotionX-GPS app, I wasn't sure if we were on the right track.

After breakfast in Poplars Reserve.

Packing the panniers.

Riding up the Loch Valley Road.

It was frustrating that my Google Maps map lost it's cache and wouldn't reload because there was no mobile phone reception. Google Maps had the tracks I intended to take through the Upper Yarra Dam catchment but Open Cycle Maps didn't. This meant we followed Tooronga Road up to the ridge-line instead, and followed that all the way around the outskirts of the Upper Yarra Dam Catchment instead of going straight through, which would have been less distance, hillier and more interesting. But without the Google Maps map, we would have been navigating blind, to some extent.

Riding up the Tooronga Road climb from the Loch Valley.

Riding up the Tooronga Road climb from the Loch Valley.

Riding up the Tooronga Road climb from the Loch Valley.

Riding up the Tooronga Road climb from the Loch Valley. You can see Rosie and Ben in the distance.

Ben and Ned on Tooronga Road.

Ben and Ned on Tooronga Road.

Ned on Tooronga Road.

Ben and Ned on Tooronga Road.

Rosie and Ben taking a break up the Tooronga Road climb from the Loch Valley.

Tooronga Road, stopping for some scroggin. 

Nine Mile Road, on the outskirts of the Upper Yarra Dam catchment.

The road we were on led onto Nine Mile Road and eventually the Warburton-Woods Point Road. It was a pleasant enough route but nothing too exciting. We stopped near this junction for lunch at around 4 pm. It was disheartening to see the distance sign telling us we were still 78 kilometres from Warburton. That meant we were still about 100 km from Lilydale! How would we make it there in time for the last train?

The tomatoes and lettuce for lunch got a bit shaken up along the way.

Lunch stop near the junction of Nine Mile Road and Warburton-Woods Point Road.

Ben at our lunch stop near the junction of Nine Mile Road and Warburton-Woods Point Road.

Ned at our lunch stop near the junction of Nine Mile Road and Warburton-Woods Point Road.

Rosie at our lunch stop near the junction of Nine Mile Road and Warburton-Woods Point Road.

Lunch was good but I think Ben, and maybe Rosie too, were dreading how far we still had to go. There was the option to take a short-cut later on, which would be shorter in distance but of course there was no guarantee that the short-cut would actually be quicker (with the higher probability of getting lost, hillier terrain, lesser used tracks - the usual issues with short-cuts).

25 km along the road from our lunch stop, we came to the point where we had to decide if we would attempt the short-cut straight through the Upper Yarra Dam catchment, or take the long way around to the north. It was about 5 pm so there wasn't a whole lot of daylight left. The short-cut route was about 22 km, while the longer route was about 35 km. After some deliberation, we decided to take our chances with the short-cut. I think it was a good choice, the tracks were surprisingly well-maintained (or was it that they were not well used and thus hadn't deteriorated from excessive use?), and they were smooth and flowing, with some massive hills which were exhilarating to ride down but a tough slog to ride up.

Theodore Road, in the Upper Yarra Dam Catchment.

Theodore Road, in the Upper Yarra Dam Catchment.

A fork in the road, and we were uncertain of which to take. We took Road 2 on the right, but looking at the map now, it appears Theodore Road on the left would have been much shorter.

I was riding my touring bike down one of these hills as though I was on a mountain bike (read: faster than might be deemed sensible), when I hit a bit of a ditch, momentarily lost control, veered to the left to regain control and then hit a massive stray rock which I couldn't avoid. It was quite a bump, but I stayed on the bike, and escaped any damage to the bike, or so I thought. At the bottom there was a creek where Ben and I refilled our drink bottles. Fresh mountain creek water, it was like getting milk straight from the cow. We waited for Rosie for about five or ten minutes who was riding down the hill like a Grandma.

Waiting for Rosie at Walsh's Creek and refilling our drink bottles.

Waiting for Rosie at Walsh's Creek and refilling our drink bottles.

The creek was at an elevation of 480 metres, and the next section of the track involved a massive climb up to 840 metres where we would reconnect with the Warburton-Woods Point road to complete our short-cut.

Rosie and Ben at the bottom of the 360 vertical-metre climb back to Warburton-Woods Point Road.

I rode up, which was admittedly challenging, while Ben and Rosie resorted to walking and pushing their bikes up. I got to the top of the main part of the climb just as it was getting dark, and waited for Ben and Rosie to catch up. It was about this point that Ben cracked. He'd been holding in any complaints he might have had all day, but now he'd had enough and let the complaints rip. Which I think is a good thing, people should be honest and open about how they're going and feeling.

We finally got back to the main road, which was sealed, and off we went. Back on the smooth surface though, I realised my bike was having issues, with a rubbing sound every revolution of the wheels. We pulled off the road so I could inspect the problem, and discovered that the rock I'd hit had left a big dint in the rim, and buckled the wheel quite badly, so that the break pads were rubbing as the wheel revolved. How did I not notice that before?! I spent half an hour working on it with the spoke wrench but still couldn't entirely get the buckle out of the rim where the rock had impacted, nor the hop. I just had to loosen off the brakes a little and keep going.

Thankfully it was down-hill for the next 35 odd kilomtres into Warburton, and it was an enjoyable descent. But as we got to the flatter parts approaching Warburton, it became apparent how much Ben was struggling. His knee injury had flared up and was causing him a great deal of pain. Rosie and I were having to wait every kilometre or two for Ben to catch up. He appeared delerious, signalling with his thumb to cars passing in the opposite direction calling "help me!" and pleading for a lift! Uh oh, how were we going to make it back to Lilydale, and Melbourne? We all had to get to work the next morning! It was already 9 pm, and we still had 45 km to go, unsure if there would be any more trains back to the city on a Sunday night. Rosie and I started making plans to camp out, and get up super early the next morning to catch the train back into Melbourne.

We were waiting for Ben who was several hundred metres behind. A ute drove past, traveling towards Warburton, and peculiarly slowed, did a u-turn, drove back past us in the opposite direction, then slowed, u-turned and pulled up beside us just as Ben did. The driver was a friendly young woman, who asked how we were going. We said that Ben was struggling and would love a lift to Warburton or Lilydale if she was heading that way. Luckily she was, and was happy to give Ben a lift! A stroke of luck.

Rosie and I continued on ourselves, stopped briefly at Warburton for water, then continued on the main road all the way to Lilydale, aiming to get there in time to catch the 11:23 pm train back to Flinders Street (the last train). I didn't realise there were so many hills between Warburton and Lilydale! It contrasted with the rail-trail which I rode last time and which is comparatively flat. We got there with a good 20 minutes to spare and found Ben waiting for us, as agreed.

Our bikes on the train back to Flinders Street.

Rosie and Ben on the last train from Lilydale back to Flinders Street.

Our route for Day 2, Poplars Reserve to Warburton (where the Garmin went flat). See our rides stats on Strava.

The second part of our route for Day 2: Warburton to Lilydale. See the ride on Strava. 209 km in total for the weekend.

So it all turned out okay in the end, though I guess I didn't get home until about 1 am, pretty late for a school night! The legacy of the tour continued into the next week. I had came down with a tummy ache and a bout of diarrhea on Tuesday, but Ben was much worse than I was. He had similar but magnified symptoms to me, and had to take a few days off work, even had some blood tests taken from the doctor who was concerned he'd picked up some kind of harmful virus! Rosie was fine, and she hadn't drunk the creek water, whereas Ben and I had, so it seemed we had our culprit. Better be more careful about that next time!