Tooborac loop

nev

Super Térrarist
Still got a bit left in the rear tyre I put on before we went up to Eskdale in Jan so need to put on a few km to wear that out and do a bit of exploring. Decided this morning to head up to Mt Disappointment. No mistake about the name, it's never disappointing. Took the direct route from home north past Doreen, then around Yan Yean Reservoir where I was flagged down by a cop car who had been called out for a cow loose on the road. Just one cow. Pfft... Barely worth slowing for.

though.. I did slow down when I saw a bear in a tree....

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Then around Wildwood Road to Plenty. Usually head around the bitument to Sth Mountain road, which hits the main road just south of Heathcote Junction and a western entry into the forest, but today decided to try for a southern route. I took Mahadys Rd, which Led to Lords Rd. It was going in the right direction, and no No Through Road signs. A km or so climbing past driveway entrances and I was in the timber plantation and a few km later hit the Main Mountain Rd intersection. Headed up to the main camp, then onto Murchison spur. I nipped down into Strath Creek to see if the new brewery was open for trade yet, but the answer was no, so back up the hill from whence I had come, and I continued on Horans Track.

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When I got to the end of the road, I turned left onto Fairview road, which becomes Ennis Rd after it leaves the Tallarook state forest, then becomes bitumen, down the hill to the Hume Hwy. Across the Hume and onto Dockerys Rd. it was lunchtime by now, so I looked at the GPS to see where I was, and plugged Tooborac into the destination. I took some advice from the GPS but I was still following my nose in the general direction.
On the Broadford-Glenaruoa Rd I passed a wallaby who was feeding on the side of the road. He didn't even flinch. I did a uturn and switched off the bike and rolled back down the hill to where he was. I must have sat there for 2 minutes watching him eat and although he kept an eye on me he didn't flinch until I started the bike back up again, and even then when I did another uturn back onto his side of the road, he only hopped a metre or two off the road and then sat there watching me.

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A right turn onto Chapman Rd, which then became Duells Rd and looked like this.
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I hit the Seymour Tooborac Rd, but swung back to a previous intersection and took the Pyalong-Panyule Rd instead. Then onto Basin Hill road. This is the view from the top of the hill, looking down over the valley through which the Northern Hwy runs. The camera hides the steepness of the hill, and where I was parked my usual trick of killing the engine in gear to hold the bike still while I take a photo wasn't going to work. Even the compression of the thumper wasn't enough to hold the bike still and I had to keep a foot on the brake.

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A parma and a cold beer at the pub. I tried one of their inhouse brews which was pretty good.

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I disappeared through the back of Tooborac and followed Middle Spring Rd which then led onto Hayes Gully Rd. After a while this hit a closed gate. It wasn't the first gate I had hit today, but it was one i recognised. Jo and I followed this road a few years ago and after a few gates it ends up in a farm. I retreated and tried another road and another gate.

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Back onto the Northern Hwy for a few km and then onto Moores Lane. This road passes a gravel/sand pit and then hits another gate. I'm pretty sure this one will link up to Hawks Hill Lane, but I wasn't opening gates today so back I went again.

Off the Lancefield Tooborac Rd I tried my luck on Wells Rd, marked as a no through rd. It ended at a gate too, but was a nice little ride with a reason to stop for a photo.

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Walsh's Road was my last excursion for the day. This road with cattle grids, and cattle ran around the perimeter of a couple of large paddocks, and eventually at more gates.

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By now the time was moving on, so I started to head for home, via some nice backroads through Springfield, Chinten, Darraweit Guim, and hitting the Hume Fwy at Cragieburn for the ride home.

Map of the loop
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JADlm19uJFqVfUeXL_4bED88LaI&usp=sharing
 

Hytram

<-- now went that way
A photosphere from Horans Track. This will work better in Chrome or Firefox.

https://plus.google.com/photos/photo/104648580394866335637/6277843856493330850


thats a ripper...

I gave up on photospheres after I uploaded about 7 of Greece to google maps about 9 months back and never go a response back (all my test shots is Melb I always got a published email from google)

anywho I got this the other day

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lets just say I am interested again
 
J

James Brown

Guest
Nice photo's.I like similar riding,just seeing where the road goes.

Did a 4 day, 4WD course with the CFA around Strath Creek,its a nice area especially on a bike.
 
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