Day Six - Lilydale to Melbourne

My last day of the trip, and I spent the morning reflecting on what a great ride I’d had. It’s been quite the journey! The last section back to Melbourne City wasn’t filling me with much excitement. I expected busy roads, cars over-taking too close and having to stop every 2 minutes to check which way the sat nav was trying to take me. However, it turns out that you can get all the way into Melbourne on proper bike lanes and creek trails that run through parks adjacent to the road. So much so that I enjoyed the maze of routes and arrived home for lunch, well ahead of schedule!

So here we are, three surprises cycling back into the city: 

1. Cycle paths and trails. It’s funny to think that Oxford is apparently known for it’s cycling. Anyone who’s spent any time in Oxford knows full well it’s a death wish cycling around town. So it was refreshing to cycle on purpose built cycle paths with full size lanes and no squeezing you into the traffic. The beauty of Australia is the space and they’ve certainly planned well by allowing full lanes of traffic with an additional bike lane. It made cycling on the sections of road very comfortable. Not even a glimpse of being guided into the gutter, I was able to get quite some speed on. But the real surprise was the Creek trails that winded through parks into the city. I was expecting to spend some time on the Dandenong Creek trail but I had the pleasure of riding on the Scotchman Creek trail, the Gardiners Creek trail, the Currum – Warburton trail and the East Link trail. All of these were intertwined and seamlessly connected. With clear signposting keeping me on track I was having a blast riding through the forests, along the rivers and through parks. On each trial I encountered other cyclists, people running and children playing in the nearby parks. It made for a very enjoyable and interesting ride. 
   

2. Manicured lawns and lovely suburbs. As I cycled through suburbia and crept ever so closer to the city centre, I noticed the beautifully manicured lawns belonging to these picturesque suburbs. There seems to be a emphasis on front gardens, and well kept ones at that! I saw preened bushes, vibrant flowers and tall mature trees towering over the single level houses. It was lovely to see people taking so much care over their gardens and the whole area looked very well loved. 
   

3. Speedy 3hrs. With all these smooth connections and paths, I got up quite a speed. I was heading towards the sea and of course that meant downhill! I felt like some kind of superwoman – the speed at which I was going didn’t quite match the energy my legs were using. I even managed to keep up with some electric bikes! The sun was shining and I stopped to admire the view and pop on some more sunscreen. But all too soon I started to recognise the streets and shops. I rolled up to a cafe at lunchtime and glancing at my Garmin saw I’d only taken 3hrs to complete my final day! 

I celebrated with a very tasty mushroom burger which included pickled onions, charred sprouts and a vegan crème fraîche. It was a perfect end to a fabulous ride.

52.8km | 358m | 2h 56m