The 2005 VicRoads Great Victorian Bike Ride Route

Cruise the downhills, use your granny gear on the ups, enjoy the undulations, meet amazing people, hear fantastic stories, see some of the best scenery in Victoria and get enjoy a cycling journey like never before.

Get pleasure from knowing that whilst you are having a blast, you are getting fit and meeting new interesting people – what more could you want!

Below you will find a brief description of the route.

Thursday 24 November – Friday 25 November, Swan Hill – Pre-Ride

Arrive early. Watch the ’Hill fill with bikes. Kiss a cod. Play pioneer. Paddle. Sample stone fruit. Go interstate: cross the river. Be an early settler: go to bed.

Arriving early means there is time to explore the town and its surrounds. Participate in the activities and start the Ride on Saturday morning feeling fresh and full of energy. See the Camp Out, Sleep in page for more details.

Day 1: Saturday 26 November: 60km, Swan Hill to Murrabit

Up early. Nervous. Swan Hill – wow – pioneering with panache! Hello Murray. Find the bike. Hit the road. The ride is a leg loosener: flat warm up ride. At Murrabit, locate luggage, set up a riverside camp, and learn the ropes. Welcome to the Ride, welcome home.

Flat route today. Watch out for the three pointed jacks (local weed) along the edges - they can cause punctures! At 20kms, dismount for wooden bridge. At 35kms, gravel road for 8kms. Lunch at Lake Boga.

Day 2: Sunday 27 November: 50km, Murrabit to Cohuna

‘0Q’? Who are the Volunteers with purple shirts, big letters ‘0Q‘? They’re helpful, give directions, suggestions, speed things up, smooth the path to showers, toilets, food service … Zero Queue.

On the route: Short day so go exploring. Lunch at Koondrook’s great: riverside, quirky. Or be adventurous and eat your lunch in NSW. Then flat fast roads past irrigated pasture, sturdy stone-fruit and docile dairy cows. Tonight? Clem’s campsite Café special: Pink Cohuna's.

Flat route today, but watch for the three pointed jacks!

Day 3: Monday 28 November: 82km, Cohuna to Echuca

Let's pedal with the flow. Goggle at the Gunbower. Rest awhile then test the training with this long day in the saddle. Swoop between shady eucalypt groves to the last riverside camp. Rest day tomorrow - time to party!

Flat route today - beware the three pointed jacks. If your legs have an extra 16 kms in them, make a detour to Torrumbarry Weir - lovely spot with birdlife and lots of shade. Free guided tours available on a first in best dressed basis.

Day 4: Tuesday 29 November: Rest Day, Echuca

Sleep in. Take an easy paddle in the Murray... or on it. Kick the footy. Café latté, explore town: aquarium, penny arcade, museum, historic port. I thought the Beechworth Bakery was in Beechworth? Then talent quest on camp: doh ray me, la la.

Day 5: Wednesday 30 November: 100km, Echuca to Heathcote

The first gentle climb into the wild blue yonder: what a view! The highest km score on the speedo for the week. Officially, this is ‘Blue’ day – we’re not just Volunteers and cyclists; we’re bold, we’re beautiful and we’re blue in any way that takes our fancy: blue shirts, blue streamers, blue face-paint, eye-shadow, socks. Remember to pack something blue. And the band in the Café tonight? Well it ain’t Country and Western.

This is the big one. Flat for the first 40km, then undulating. Final 10kms are a windy climb into Heathcote.

Day 6: Thursday 1 December: 85km, Heathcote to Newstead

Challenge day. Screaming downhill, leg searing up. Admire the granite bluffs. Sip a drop of the grape. Why did riders cross the road (at Faraday)? Because four Volunteer marshals, two police and a VicRoads guy said OK. Give ’em a wave. Then Castlemaine; heart of gold. Newstead: bakery, two pubs and a school. Headline: ’Ride Eats Newstead’.

Entire route today is undulating - lots of climbing, but lots of downhills. A couple of narrow bridges & tricky intersections - make sure you listen to the traffic management crew. Finish the day with a small section of gravel road.

Day 7: Friday 2 December: 71km, Newstead to Woodend

Best bit of the road so far? Pick a favourite stretch. Hilly but scenic? Historic Hepburn? Flat and fast. Grind from Glenlyon. Forest near Mt Franklin. They certainly go Strangeways. Alliteration? Bad puns? Must be tired. Time for bed.

Today is the most challenging of the ride. The climbing starts after 20kms, and continues up, up, up through Hepburn and into Daylesford. The final 15kms are undulating, but easy compared to the climb.

Day 8: Saturday 3 December: 74km, Woodend to Whittlesea

Climb every mountain … or circumnavigate? Explore a side route. Hang out at the Rock, stretch it out, savour the scene. Pass wineries then open rolling fields – yeeha! Yee haa!

Undulating ride today - no big climbs! Trees along the road will give you plenty of shade.

Day 9: Sunday 4 December: 50km, Whittlesea to Heidelberg

Pack and load for the last time, it’s a little sad. City fringe; the land of cranks. A final surprise; unexpected back roads, the last few hills. Can a downhill to the river be uplifting? Grasp hands, hug friends, slap backs. The Ride is over; it’s a kaleidoscope of memories … now it’s your history.

Nice easy day to finish - be careful going through the roundabouts.