Every Wednesday a group rides from Wangaratta to Beechworth and back.It's been quite a while since I've joined in so today it was time to incorporate the Beechy ride and add a little extra.

It's about 35 km into Wangaratta and I made the Bunch start time of 7.30 am quite easily.All my overhead photos of the bunch riding were blurry so the next decent pic is the coffee stop in Beechworth. 

I'd done 80 km by our stop in Beechworth and from here I would part company with the group as they headed back to Wangaratta.The plan for me was to head home via Rutherglen.

Heading into Rutherglen I was ready for lunch.Parkers Pies had wonderful pies so it seemed only reasonable to indulge in two.No 1 a Tiger Prawn in  Thai curry sauce and the second one a Bobbie Burns which is beef in a lovely rich sauce made with Campbell's Bobbie Burns Shiraz. 

The last 15 km home went pretty quickly with a nice tailwind which was a nice change.All my rides lately seem to have had their share of strong head winds.

Fresh of the press is a Winter series of races that offer a little of everything.See below for all the details. 

The highlights are;

·       Myrrhee Road race as a lead in to Sam Miranda ( 2 Weeks out ). It is a Sunday morning race.

·       TT up Mt Stanley. This will incorporate a social day at Beechworth Brewery. Race is sponsored by Beechworth  
         Brewery and will include a social ride to the bottom through Myrtleford.
 
·       Ladies come and try day a few weeks prior to the start of Spring series

·       All welcome try day and Cycling Swap meet 2 weeks prior to the start of the Spring Series

·       Minimum of 2 ITT on state course in the lead up to Victorian Junior State Champs and Wangaratta ITT that is part of 
       the Cycling Victoria ITT Series.



All races are subject to weather conditions and rider numbers. Any cancellations due to weather will be posted on Wangaratta CC Facebook & Twitter  @WangarattaCC by 11.00am on the day.

We had something different occur during yesterday's Beechworth Bunch Ride. Alan Thrum's seat post broke clean off forcing him to ride the rest of the way into Wangaratta with no seat(around 40km).I wonder how his legs are feeling today?Many thanks to Ash for this video clip showing Thrummy's new position.

Every year the Wednesday bunch ride to Beechworth has a xmas ride.Which involves the same ride as usual but with a detour to the Miawa Cheese Factory for lunch and a quiet drink.Below are a few pics of the day's activities. 

Often the only thing we hear about in the media is animosity between motorists and cyclists.It's nice to be able to report the other side of the coin.On last Wednesday's Beechworth Bunch ride, a peloton of 16 cyclists came upon a lady with a flat tyre. 
Whilst I wasn't present on the ride, John Myles sent me this photo of the group in action helping change the flat tyre.The very relieved and grateful motorist was very thankful for the assistance.I did hear it was the older members of the bunch that did all the work, but can't confirm or deny this particular detail of the story.  

Todays bunch ride was well attended and the weather was pretty good.It was so foggy when I left my house I wasn't sure I'd be able to find Wangaratta,let alone be there by 7.30am for the Beechworth Ride.In an unusual event the fog completely lifted by the time I got to Boorhaman.Usually the Ovens River flats are thick with fog and I was expecting today to be no exception.
But luckily for us we had completely clear roads and skies for the whole ride.The only thing we seem to have to contend with was worms.Yes Worms,my bike looks like I've ridden through a worm farm.It appears the worms have gone on the rampage after the late storms yesterday and decided the road was the place to be.A few pics of the boys below and even a couple from Cafe Derailleur  where we have our fantastic lunch on our return. 

We pretty spoilt in the country when it comes to riding on quiet roads with no traffic lights.So it was a novelty for the bunch to have to wait at traffic lights on the way home from Beechworth yesterday.We actually had to wait at least 5 minutes for a roadwork crew who were busy repairing a causeway on the Markwood-Everton Road where it crosses the Ovens River.Long enough for me to wrestle my iphone out and get some pictures. Looks like the bunch captain is throwing his hands in the air.