Day 6- Wangaratta Hub & Spoke Ride- Silo Art Ride
To begin with it is worth recounting the pizza dinner last night….. it was again at Rinaldo’s restaurant which is very good!
The dinner was included in our “package” so we could in a sense “lash out”. But sanity prevailed and after an entree feed of calamari and arantcini balls we were into the pizzas. Once again the banter was good with plenty of talk about the day of riding, politics and many other things.
We all went to bed with full stomachs and feeling quite tired!
This morning it was another early morning at 6.00 am with both Chris and I being ready after breakfast at about 7,00 am. The issue for us this morning was the steady rain which was falling. After consulting the radar we agreed to go ahead with the ride which was to take in some lovely country near Benalla following the silo art trail.
This meant we had to transport all of us plus bikes to Benalla which was the coffee stop. We left the motel at about 8.30 am after saying goodbye to Ric who was heading back to Melbourne.
Arriving at Benalla the rain was still falling but a few of us donned our wet weather gear and rode to look at the local buildings which are adorned with paintings…. Quite interesting really!
Those who did not ride due to the wet weather found a coffee shop which was the meeting place for us all.
The coffee and coffee scroll were perfect as a starter for the day ahead.
Returning back to the cars we then headed off by car ( with bikes on board) to Tungamah which was the starting point for the main ride. We left Ellio’s car back in Benalla to be used as the link up car for those with bike racks which were left at Tungamah… sounds complicated and it was!
We left the cars and made our way along quiet country roads to the lunch stop at Devenish. Along the way each of the towns adjoining the railway line had painted grain silos which reflect part of the history of the area. They are really quite impressive! The pictures really tell the story.
Lunch at the Devonish pub was quite good. I had a small fish and chips
After lunch we continued in to Benalla but the wind was blowing in our faces so we did drafting to make the ride easier. This worked for the most part but really requires constant practice to make it work well and for all riders to have confidence in riding close together.
We had a small section of the ride of about 2 kms was on a gravel road. In all of our riding this was the only unpaved surface which is quite remarkable.
After this it was in for the 10 km push to Benalla on the Murray-Valley Highway except Phil experienced a puncture which was a result of hitting a piece of plastic on the side of the road… sorry Phil.
Steve, Ellio, Mike, Chris and I pushed on to Ellio’s car in Benalla so we could make our way back to Tungamah to collect the cars with bike racks.
The trip to Tungamah and back was fairly uneventful and it was good to see the boys back in Benalla. After mounting the bikes on the cars we made our way back to the Motel in Wangaratta. Arriving back at about 6.00 pm it was the end of a long day of riding and shuffling but we enjoyed the artwork on the silos! This is certainly worth a visit when visiting Victoria.
From a weather perspective, after the early showers the day cleared to warm but overcast conditions with temperatures in the early 20’s.
After a well earned shower it was off the the local Indian restaurant for dinner. Ellio was a bit late after watching his team Carlton will against the Dokkers.
Dinner was very pleasant with good food and chatter and we said our thanks to Steve Seymour for his excellent organisation of this trip.
Today’s photos are as follows:
The silo art route from Tungamah to Benalla
The route we took on ride around Benalla
Last nights dinner
A celebration of Ric’s birthday
A photo of us all at Tungamah ahead of the ride
The lunch venue at Devinish
Several photos of the art silos
