Exploring Mt Herbert

It had been a wet week in Bendigo and on top of that the temperature was still below zero at 8am and there was a heavy frost on the ground. Maybe that's why only Tony and David ventured onto the trails for a ride. Steve said he wasn't afraid of the cold but he had a sore back. It looks like Naughty Jill will have to give her most experienced rider another lesson in stretching to avoid any further injuries.

The decision was made to take on Mt Herbert and then look for a new way down the other side hopefully finding a few new tracks we hadn't ridden before. With that in mind we took the most direct route out to Sandhurst Res sticking to the Great Dividing Trail most of the way. This also allowed us to avoid some of the more muddy parts of Murrays. We passed a few solo riders heading the other way as we enjoyed the crisp morning air. When we got to the Water Race crossing there was more water than we have ever seen so there was no thought of riding through so we made good use of the nearby bridge.

We took on Mt Herbert by Summit Rd which climbs steadily until you reach the fence line at Big Hill before the final steep section to the top. We both felt like stopping on the way up but the thought that walking would be harder than riding compelled us to keep going.

After a quick breather and a chance to take in the postcard like scenery we took off in search of uncharted waters. We followed the fence line towards Mt Alexander for a short distance ignoring the first track to the left before agreeing that the next one was the one for us. We rolled to the top of the steep descent at which point our survival skills kicked in and we dismounted to walk down the extremely steep and rocky first 100 metres. As we remounted we could see that our chosen track appeared to remain steep and rocky for some distance and it looked like there was a more welcoming single track down along a ridge line to our left so we headed in that direction.

This turned out to be a wise decision as this track was good to ride and heading us in the general direction we wanted to go. It was still a challenge but fun at the same time which is all you can ask for. The single track went on for a fair way and at one point we had a wallaby for a trail guide as he criss crossed the track in front of us. We intersected with a fire road which we continued along wondering where it would take us. As it turned out it delivered us back to familiar territory at the rear of Sandhurst Res.

As we had already ridden the Great Dividing Trail on the way out we headed onto old Murray's for the run home. As we expected the trail was muddy and slippery which made it important to keep your wits about you. All the random bush dams we passed along the way were impressively full which confirmed the fact that Bendigo had recieved a good drenching which should stop the Kangaroos getting thirsty for a long time.

We emerged from the bush near Spring Gully Reservoir and took a nice roll along the creek back to Spencers to discover that some renos had been made since we last visited. The old bike rack has gone and has been replaced by the fancy chrome arches and the bin has been relocated closer to the shop. I guess the bike rack has gone because it didnt suit the fancy road bike wheels and the bin must have been moved for safety reasons after Tony nearly took it out when he miscalculated his kerb hop a few months back.

Ride time 2 hrs 15 mins
Distance 34 kms

Hope to see you at Castlemaine next week for Round 3 of the InterWinter series.