hello all, 

 

I thought worth a thread for bicycle touring holidays... not sure if others do these.. well we just had our first experience of one and it was a BLAST !  we are now thinking of our next already  .. next year ! 🙂 so plenty of time to plan 🙂 

 

We did the great victorian rail trail or GVRT as it's called and takes you across victorian alpine high country . My wife got this bug in the brain about it and when i initially heard of her wanting to do it all i could think of was what ? how ? how can we possibly do that ..

 

well it turned out it was possible and something we really enjoyed and even had our teenage daughter come along ! it by the way is a VERY affordable way to holiday and we found out its great for local towns .. it really is a great way to experience your way to a town.. can stop start .. no traffic... its good for you from exercise perspective... you get ot see a side of country side you wouldn't see otherwise.. there is a LOT of history along the way you soak in. And you can take at your own pace.. with a bit of industry behind to make it possible...

 

 i'll make a few posts below of the journey and a few brief comments on each leg..just incase someone else is considering the same ....

 

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by betty boop

Our journey began in Mansfield...and we took the route through

 

Day 1 Mansfield to Bonnie doon

Day 2 Bonie doon to Yarck

Day 3 Yarck to Cheviot tunnel then to Alexandra

Day 4 transported back from Alexandra to Mansfield to get our car and drive back home.

 

 Alpine Double black cabs helped picked up our luggage at mansfield and transported it each night to where we stayed. We were then picked up at Alexandra by Alpine black cabs with bike and all to be transported back to Mansfield where we picked up our car and returned home...

 

Prior to day 1 we visited Mt Buler which in autumn was just sensational.. we did the summit walk which was very picturesque, highly recommended to get to know Mansfield and surrounds 

 

 

 

 

 

Diner at Delatite hotel..... highly recommended id give the food 8/10 !

We stayed the night in Mansfield at alzburg lodge.. which can recommend for location and it's a good place to leave your car in their car park as head off on your bike tour. Its also close walking distance to town.. just few minutes stroll...

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by betty boop

Day 1 - Mansfield to Bonnie Doon around 25km.

 

with breakfast in town in Mansfield .. a little cafe next to the bike shop and highly recommend ... 

 

We kicked off our day one riding out of mansfield and stopped over at the info centre which is well worth a visit ... 

 

 

here we are bikes lined up ready to take on the great victorian rail trail ! note my daughter got a hire bike through alpine double black who organised the bike through all terrain cycles at Mansfield which we picked up on the day ..it was a brand new trek powerfly 2 .... pretty serious mountain bike  my daughter was a bit surprised .. quite a step up from our own trek e-bikes wife and i have.. we were recommended e-bike for this alpine rail trail.. if you are quite fit you might not need them... we are fit for riding but not that fit  and want this to be leisure and enjoyment more than exercise so e-bikes make sense...

 

 

 

 

its a short 27 km ride to Bonnie  Doon which was an easy strip... it meant with a shortish ride we got some time at mansfield prior...also ease our selves into this trail ride thing... good signs along the way to guide you through too ...

 

 

We stayed at Bonnie doon hotel which is a great stop over.. really nice room and you can take your bikes in if want to top them up.. which we did as not sure when we top up again ... 

 

 

dinner is a lovely spot at bonnie doon hotel.. right on the lake ...

 

 

and there is a lovely sunset that awaits ! 

 

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by betty boop

Day 2 ! 

and oh no we wake up to very wet Bonnie Doon ! Rain was expected at some stage... so we head off with rain jackets and pants on

 

luckily we stop by at the very lovely Bonnie Doon bakery for breakfast ..... this is first class .. highly recommended for coffee and breakfast and by time we leave the rain has eased off and we are on our way ...  

 

good signage along the way ... and we are headed to Yarck an easy 35km ride 🙂

 

 

ps the potato cakes are worth stopping at Merton ampol ..they do the standard ones and the cheese and bacon ones ! which they are known for  indian couple that run it also do a lovely very warming indian chai  

 

back on our way and with some lovely stretches to ride through ...

 

there is a bit of trail art will come along too... this one to wish us luck  

 

just before Yarck we stopped off at Oak studio cottage at Birchwood this is on a farm with a little cottage they let out for the night ... lovely setting ...

 

 

 

the cottage is right next to the stables where we parked our bikes and plugged them in to charge up for our next stretch...

 

with a short walk into town to Yarck via the Rail trail... and we had dinner at the Yarck hotel.. food about 6/10  looks a lovely surrounds and its good pub fare .. 

 

 

one the way back we visited the Yarck cemetery which is quite historic going back to 1800s....

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by betty boop

Day 3 !  Yarck to Alexandra via Cheviot Tunnel. 50km 

 

Breakfast in Yarck at the local bakery and its called the boy and the buck.. run by a couple .. lady sounds very UK..guy apparently was doing marketing in new york  so lot of merchandise ! lot of goodies in the bakery .. they make the best hot dog pastry things and great coffee !  suggest grab some lunch here to take with you as its our longest ride in the day with 50km ... 

 

 

countryside is absolutely gorgeous riding out of Yarck

 

 

and the trial artworks continue 

 

 

and we get to Cheviot tunnel.... which is very historic 

 

 

and quite a blast riding through ! 

 

 

We then head to Alexandra - note there is a bit of a climb out of cheviot upto alexandra ... (no issue with e-bikes ! ) and its a very scenic ride into Alexandra with some amazing views along the way ... 

 

 

this is the highest vantage point of the trail...

 

Alexandra is a wonderfull and very picturesque town and with a lot of history.. this is the end of the line for the Rail trail here for this leg... and the end of the line for our rail trail adventure ... 

 

 

 

unlike the other old stations along the rail trail that have long gone.. Alexandra still has a preserved rail station going back to the 1800s and still with a steam and rail museum as well

 

 

we stayed at the minimally restored very historic Alexandra corner hotel. - not to be confused with the alexandra hotel across the road. the corner hotel had an amazing feel of a 1800s hotel with its rooms ! greatly unrestored ! amazing to stay in somewhere like that .. and not expensive ! 

 

we stayed in the king suite  daughter in the queen... nice to be treated as royalty ! 

 

the whole hotel has this lovely feel from a bygone era.. it will be magnificent when fully restored but its a honour to stay in it as is 

 

 

the surprise for us was dinner at the corner hotels restraurant ... it is VERY good ! id give it 9/10 ! our best and last evening meal on our little holiday ! 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by betty boop

Day 4 - transported back from Alexandra to Mansfield, then home back to Melbourne via Yea ...  

 

Day 4 we grabbed some complementary breakfast at Alexandra corner hotel... just some toast and tea coffee...

 

and we were then picked up by Alpine double black cabs... they came with a lovely merc van and trailer that could easily accomodate our bikes and luggage..

 

was a lovely ride back to Mansfield.. very informative with Eddie and Sarah who had been so far every day picking up our luggage at checkout where we re staying and getting it to checking in time at next destination ... and good ot meet and chat to them along the way. Eddie grew up with his dad working in mt buller and was a deep resource about the area and surrounds 🙂 

 

its about an hour or so and we are back to Mansfield ... we load our bikes back on our car.. alpine double black  take daughters bike back to All terrain cycles in mansfield to return it.

 

We are on our way and stop off at Yea for lunch at the very historic marmalade cafe.... lovely spot 🙂 

 

and then its home ... ! 

and thats all folks.. i encourage others to use this thread to share.. as little or as much as you want too...about their own bicycle touring holidays ...whether thinking of them, planning or to share how it went.. Its a great way to holiday and would love to hear from others considering or doing the same ...

 

we thoroughly enjoyed our rail trail adventure on bike and suspect this is only the start of bicycle touring holidays  wife is off already planning the next for next year ! 🙂

 

 

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by betty boop

Great post Al. It's addictive. I remember doing a ride from Ballarat to Skipton along the rail trail around 2008. We camped in Skipton and the next day was to Colac to catch the train back to Melbourne. Absolutely hated that second day with rain and head winds on a sometimes busy road but riding to work on the Monday I was already thinking and planning my next trip. I've been into it ever since and even cycled from Bangkok to Singapore.

 

I can recommend a website called Crazy guy on a bike. It's travel journals of cycle tourists riding anywhere and everywhere in the world. Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club MBTC on Meetup is worth a look too. They have a huge selection of Ride with GPS routes from all the rides they put on and a friendly lot too.

 

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

 

https://www.meetup.com/melbourne-bicycle-touring-club/

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by legselevens

5 minutes ago, legselevens said:

Great post Al. It's addictive. I remember doing a ride from Ballarat to Skipton along the rail trail around 2008. We camped in Skipton and the next day was to Colac to catch the train back to Melbourne. Absolutely hated that second day with rain and head winds on a sometimes busy road but riding to work on the Monday I was already thinking and planning my next trip. I've been into it ever since and even cycled from Bangkok to Singapore

 

thank you legseleven. no kidding in it being addictive ! we have only started with this thing and so its great to hear from someone who has done a lot of this. I can see us doing a lot of this ...both locally which we will likely cover first and then over seas we noticed in NZ the mountains to the sea bike ride was quite popular with folk and i think thats what got us thinking ...

 

we met up with an older couple along the way on this rail trail ride and it was really interesting to hear the rides they had been on.. with their age ... it also encouraged us that especially with e-bikes we an be doing this for many years yet ! 

 

8 minutes ago, legselevens said:

can recommend a website called Crazy guy on a bike. It's travel journals of cycle tourists riding anywhere and everywhere in the world. Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club MBTC on Meetup is worth a look too. They have a huge selection of Ride with GPS routes from all the rides they put on and a friendly lot too.

great to hear about this ... it really seems a whole another world we have entered  amazing all this stuff and info to make these things possible these days 🙂 

A fun photo journey of your bike exploring the Mansfield area, thanks for sharing.

And for the love of god, raise your daughter's seat post (maybe even just one inch) 🙃 - her knees look very cramped on the up-stroke.

It's great that there's pure trail rides that give peace of mind re: road traffic.

For day trips I can recommend the ride from Lilydale to Warburton along the trail there. Lots of rewarding coffee and treat places in Warburton.

The ride from Wangaratta to Bright is also easy and very pretty around this time of year once you get to Myrtleford area. And then you're in @Godot's neck of the woods. (Going up to Mt Buffalo is a bit of work, coming down a bit frightening tbh.)

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by Steff

Nice one Al. It's a fun, interesting and cheap way to travel.

 

When my eldest was three we spent three nights/four days on the Wangaratta-Bright-Beechworth rail trail. We took a fully racked and loaded touring tandem, towing a chariot; an outrageously long and heavy load. We camped in town campgrounds and ate in pubs/breweries/wineries. It was a really good trip, this time of year with autumn in full colour.

 

In my late teens and early-20s I did some more traditional cycle touring, longer haul on a mixture of highways, back roads and forestry trails. The longest was from Canberra, down the coast to Lakes Entrance and back across the Monaro. It's an amazing feeling riding away past your letter box and returning days or weeks later all under your own steam. But you do end up on some scary roads jostling with traffic. I'm not sure if I'd be up for that anymore.

Looks like a great way to see the country.

10 hours ago, Steff said:

A fun photo journey of your bike exploring the Mansfield area, thanks for sharing.

And for the love of god, raise your daughter's seat post (maybe even just one inch) 🙃 - her knees look very cramped on the up-stroke.

thank you Steff ! and it was fun in deed and voted fun too by teenage daughter whcih is saying a lot ps  re her seat it was setup by bike shop on hiring out the bike, they made sure she was positioned well etc. i took a little allen key set just in case and asked her few times whether needed to adjust and she was adamant it was perfect for her so left it there.. i think she sort of liked the kicked back stance of it or something anyway she loved the bike and very happy overall with the journey.. we covered some 110km so plenty of time on it 🙂

 

10 hours ago, Steff said:

It's great that there's pure trail rides that give peace of mind re: road traffic.

i definitely agree... its one thing we absolutely loved about the trail rides .. it is SO peaceful.. away from hustle and bustle .. no traffic to contend with just the lovely natural surrounds to take in ...

 

10 hours ago, Steff said:

For day trips I can recommend the ride from Lilydale to Warburton along the trail there. Lots of rewarding coffee and treat places in Warburton.

you wouldn't believe this... we did this just the month earlier as "practice" to see how we would go I'll post some notes on this below, it was a very enjoyable ride and Warburton is one of our favourite places to visit too going way back so great excuse to do this one 🙂 

 

10 hours ago, Steff said:

The ride from Wangaratta to Bright is also easy and very pretty around this time of year once you get to Myrtleford area. And then you're in @Godot's neck of the woods. (Going up to Mt Buffalo is a bit of work, coming down a bit frightening tbh.)

 

we'll have to do this one some time ...infact we are thinking to do this next year... and yeah this time of the year would be perfect. they call it "mountain to the river" or something like that ...we had our honey moon in Bright - mt buffalo so that in itself is excuse for us to return there for significant anniversary next year 🙂 

 

not sure we'd be game enough to get upto mt buffalo by bike or down again.. that might have to be via car as we did mt buller  

12 minutes ago, betty boop said:

and she was adamant it was perfect for her so left it there.

Fair enough!

 

12 minutes ago, betty boop said:

you wouldn't believe this... we did this just the month earlier as "practice" to see how we would go

hah, nice 🙂 - I'm due the ride in a week or two

 

13 minutes ago, betty boop said:

"mountain to the river"

 

Haha, the marketing sometimes is a little hilarious, Wangaratta used to be billed the "gateway to the snow" (aka a portal you go through without ever stopping) - I mean, it's not from "sea to shining sea" but still a fun little ride and as @Monty pointed out, Beechworth is an option, too.

8 hours ago, Monty said:

Nice one Al. It's a fun, interesting and cheap way to travel.

 

i was surprised how affordable it was and good to put back into these country communities 🙂 

 

8 hours ago, Monty said:

When my eldest was three we spent three nights/four days on the Wangaratta-Bright-Beechworth rail trail. We took a fully racked and loaded touring tandem, towing a chariot; an outrageously long and heavy load. We camped in town campgrounds and ate in pubs/breweries/wineries. It was a really good trip, this time of year with autumn in full colour.

 

wow that sounds full of some lovely memories what a family trip !  some said its quite the gourmet trail for the food lovers as we are 🙂 looks like easily covered in a 4 days too.. good to know could do it with 3 nights away... looks like something we could easily fit in a school holidays 🙂 particularly over autumn with the lovely colours of the region...  

@Steff mentioned the Lilydale to Warburton rail trail... we actualy did that one a couple of months earlier before tackling the great victorian rail trail...

 

Lilydale to Warburton rail trail is a 40km stretch and doable in a day...we found the e-bikes usefull for this stretch as there is some elevation on the way, then some down hill sections followed by some gradual elevation to get there. 

 

 

We parked our car in Lilydale and headed off ..wasnt long before we picked up the trail....

 

 

theres a little tunnel to ride through ... 

 

 

and before know it at Mt Evelyn... e-bikes are handy here as there is a bit of elevation to get here,

 

its a beautiful trail very picturesque in its natural surrounds ... 

 

Plenty of really good signage as head through Wandin

 

and onto Seville...where at the side of the trail a treat awaits in the Rail Carriage Cafe.... this is a highly recommended stop for either a lovely breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea....

 

 

some gorgeous country side.... and even some horses to give some apples too ! 

 

 

some interesting bench-picnic table things to stop by for a quick snack or a rest...

 

next stop woori-Yallock 

 

then through launching place and Wesburn(with its anzac avenue and rail museum) ... to the finish line at Warburton ! which is near the "cog cafe" and also the main street of Warburton

 

 

Warburton has a myriad of things to do .. with walk along the river, visit to boingo bobs house ...a longer ride to the redwood forest if you want to do that...

 

 

or just dinner or snack at any number of cafe,  the alpine hotel (pub)

 

or the very gorgeous Babaji indian restaurant which is also quite a treat where we had dinner...

 

 

to get back to Lilydale is really easy ! you can ride back if fit enough.. or like us catch the bus back to lilydale... the buses have a bike carrier out the front can pop your bike into and will drop you back to heart of lilydale.. and all up ride of around 39 km...and very doable as a day trip....

 

 

Edited April 15, 20241 yr by betty boop

amazing

I was zoning out watching the Tour de France.  went looking for a SNA thread on the subject for this year. Ended up here!

 

we have a similar rail train based ride up here, west beyond Brisbane getting up towards the range. Never done it but a few friends do it every so often. looks somewhat similar in ways. 

 

we did a big trip and part of it was cycle-touring in france for several weeks. we even made it to a stage finish at the tour even. 

I'll see if I can find any pics. it was a while back...

 

55 minutes ago, wasabijim said:

amazing

I was zoning out watching the Tour de France.  went looking for a SNA thread on the subject for this year. Ended up here!

 

well am glad stumbled across 🙂

 

55 minutes ago, wasabijim said:

we have a similar rail train based ride up here, west beyond Brisbane getting up towards the range. Never done it but a few friends do it every so often. looks somewhat similar in ways. 

thats great to hear ! we will have to check out some time 🙂 

 

if someone has done this .. do post 🙂

 

56 minutes ago, wasabijim said:

we did a big trip and part of it was cycle-touring in france for several weeks. we even made it to a stage finish at the tour even. 

I'll see if I can find any pics. it was a while back...

 

definitely do post ! do post !

 

this only serves as encouragement and often thats all we need to get us thinking   

 

encourage others also to share their bicycle holidays whether thinking off, something done in the past ... or have plans already and locked in to do..

 

we are still working our selves up for our trip next year we are keen to do 🙂 

 

we just got from holidays in uluru and somehow got bikes involved with that too

 

https://www.stereonet.com/forums/topic/599040-uluru-ayers-rock-experience/?do=findComment&comment=6384851

 

 

 

a very enjoyable few hours riding around "the rock"

OK, as I said going back a few years... 

I found my old external HDs  with pics but I'm at the work PC and it might not like plug in drives

but I found a few phone-based  pics onlines and.... my early attempts at travel blogging - please be kind, things where different back then compared to today's approach to. plus I only made a handful of posts...

 

on this blog page you'll find an overview of the trip - https://jimseessays.blogspot.com/2013/09/french-revolutions-pt-1-scope-and.html 

 

here's some pics

 

 

chilling at the camp site in Chinon, right on the river Vienne about 5km before it joins the Loire river. This epidermises cycle-touring in regional France. Campsites aren't tucked out of the way but often close to the heart of things. A few days later was Bastille day - the river bank was packed, the castle walls flooded in colourful lights while fireworks light up the sky. Being close to town also negated the need to  be self-sufficient - there's shops, deli's, cafes, etc. all within a walk or easy ride.   

 

eating like the locals - simple done fancy and wedged in by the road (can see the gutter to the right)

 

 

a day trip out to Mont Saint-Michel - 9km on the canel path each way from the campsite.

 

another day trip - Mezidon, Normandy to ride the Route de Cidre. Vs wine - cider is more refreshing and you get to try/drink more without compromising the legs and handling. 

 

 

 

The beasts of burden 

 

   

 

2 hours ago, wasabijim said:

OK, as I said going back a few years... 

I found my old external HDs  with pics but I'm at the work PC and it might not like plug in drives

but I found a few phone-based  pics onlines and.... my early attempts at travel blogging - please be kind, things where different back then compared to today's approach to. plus I only made a handful of posts...

 

looks like what would have been a wonderful trip. such beautiful country side and so much to take in. hopefully kind of thing we can do some day  🙂 

definitely

we came across such a variety of people doing the same thing. most impressive a couple from Adelaide in their 70's who go overseas most years for several weeks - their bikes fold up into a hard suitcase that you then tow when you reach your destination. 

 

I was surprised with how easy it was and the infrastructure and culture to support it all. there's hundreds of km along the river ways. riders and walkers generally have space reserved for them at the camp spots so you can roll in and expect a good site while the place is sold out for vehicles. Our approach was to set up camp for several days and do day trips on or off the bikes, then take the trains to another region for a new "hub and spoke" campaign. 

Love touring by bicycle, and there are so many ways to do it to suit all preferences of distance, pace and accommodation. Mrs Godot and I rode down the Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff for a warm up, followed by a longer trip from Vancouver to San Francisco. It took us a moment to realise that we both had different ideas about how we expected the days to unfold. Mrs Godot thought we were going to have a pleasant half day on the bike followed by an afternoon of leisure. Conversely my idea was to get up, ride most of the day and sleep the honest sleep of the exhausted. 
So glad we tried a tandem and agreed that was a bad idea before we started! We have gone on to do so many cycling based trips, but I’m not really sure about living on the road bike touring for months anymore. 
We are spoiled for choice where we live, for a great local rail trail with a lot of interesting features we really enjoy the High Country Rail Trail. 

 

https://www.ridehighcountry.com.au/rail-trails/high-country-rail-trail/

 

1 hour ago, Godot said:

So glad we tried a tandem and agreed that was a bad idea before we started! We have gone on to do so many cycling based trips, but I’m not really sure about living on the road bike touring for months anymore. 
We are spoiled for choice where we live, for a great local rail trail with a lot of interesting features we really enjoy the High Country Rail Trail. 

cant wait to try out more northern high country rail trails godot. we were hoping autumn next year, but it could be some of life's challenges getting in the way ..anyways we will get to it..

 

ps we are probably past the living on the road type trips too.. thank goodness so many lovely places to stay and eat at along the way these days 🙂

 

anywyas few ways to do these things and wonderful memories for it ... just reading through some of the trips some folks have posted ...what a blast they must have been 🙂 

 

We have two local trips planned. We are doing two Curve cycling trips: the first part of the Dirty Valda gravel ride from Melbourne to Adelaide, although we'll only do Melbourne to Daylesford (time commitments). Then, we are going to do the Border Run XL; Melbourne to Albury, gravel, although we'll delay our effort until after the magpie season in November. We'll atone for our delayed start by riding home from Albury.