MGG #20 - A pinch and a punch

UPDATE: Get the updated route details! We had to rejig the course a little, sorry.

Date : Sunday 27th March 2022
Start time : 9:30am
Start/finish location : Hurstbridge Train Station
Distance : ~60km
Climbing : ~1140 vertical metres

RWGPS : MGG #20 - A pinch and a punch (UPDATED 20/03/22)
GPX : MGG20_UPDATED.gpx
Cue sheet : MGG20cuesheet_UPDATED.csv

UPDATE: Get the updated route details! We had to rejig the course a little, sorry.

The last couple of years have sucked so let's rewind about a decade and do another MGG ride!

This one starts in Hurstbridge (at the train station) and is basically a big loop out to Yarra Glen and back. Simple.

There's awesome gravel, views for days, some sneaky cut-throughs (all legal!) and some challenging climbs, but none of them too long (and you can always walk the toughest bits if you want).

It's mostly beautiful dirt roads, a tiny bit of bitumen and a few small sections of singletrack and fire road. Bring a gravel bike or greater. Don't bring a road bike.

But most importantly, bring your sense of adventure and fun! Bring a friend, make a new friend on the day, if it stops being fun just make a bee-line for the train station, you make the rules. This is not a race, it's just an excuse to get out and ride with old mates and new and see some cool stuff.

This ride is totally unsupported. You're on your own. Be self-sufficient. Plan your day. Water and food at Yarra Glen which is about half-way.

The route crosses a couple of main roads (Eltham-Yarra Glen Road being the grossest) so please exercise caution. Watch out for distracted tourist drivers on the main roads and unsuspecting locals on the dirt roads. There's a lot of roadside singletrack in the area so if there's too many cars, maybe duck off to the side and see if there's a more bike-friendly option.

Anyway, peruse the GPX, study the cue sheet if you wanna do it old school (the cue sheet is generated by RWGPS so it might really suck!), soak up the flavours and start messaging your crew.

See ya there!

MGG #19, Life's a Beach, April 18 2021, Frankston

Well, we're back! For one ride at least.

Come ride some gravel with old and new friends Sunday April 18.

Everyone is welcome.

Meeting at Leawarra Station which is on the Stoney Point line but a short ride from Frankston Station.

9:45am for a 10am roll out. (NB: no cue sheets provided, GPX file and Cue sheets for printing below)

Route is a fairly flat with one snack stop at Balnarring Shops. 80kms with 600m of climbing.

The route is *almost* an out an back so it is easy to short cut and make the ride easier if you want to.

Some bike path, some gravel and even a rail trail.

A bike with 35mm+ tyres would be best but a road bike with 28mm tyres will work fine if that is all you have.

Bring your swimmers and a towel if it's a warm day, we get very very close to Balnarring Beach

GPX file for GPS and Phones

Old School Cue sheets (can't guarantee accuracy sorry, they are generated from the map)

Classic Hits

More details here

Western One Hundred

Where the pavement ends.

More details here

We're Back! MGG #16 . A (Hurst) Bridge too Far. Sunday May 29

 check the details

Summer of Gravel?

Apparently its the Summer of Gravel or something.

So to help you get out there we have collected all the routes in one spot, check it.

Have fun out there

Hard Yacka

Had a good time on Sunday? Keen for some more gravel?

Yackandandah Primary school is running a gravel grinder as a fundraiser, not bad.

11 October, 2015. 40km or 80km loops, $60-$75 depending if you get in early or not.

All the rest of the important details here
http://www.hardyacka.com.au/

P.S. you could make an excellent weekend of it by riding the rail trail from Wangaratta (only 65kms)

MGG #15 Macedon Mixer . Sunday 23 August, 9.30am. Apex Park, Sunbury

more details here

MGG #14 . Keep it Simple . Sunday April 26 10:30am . Pakenham Station

More details here

More details here

Melbourne Gravel Grinders #12 28/6/14

Be there or be square.

More info here

MGG #11 Report

It was a fresh but clear morning out at Belgrave, with a bit of a cold wind but it was better than the rain over the week. In any-case the 1st few pinchy climbs out of Belgrave got everyone warmed up, apart from a few navigation issues early on people seemed to find their way pretty well. The tough climb up Jacksons Hill rd was rewarded with great views North and South of Ridge road (see the pics below) and a great bit of suburban single track along that everyone enjoyed even if they walked it (least that's what they said).

MGG #11 is approaching

Lock in the date - it's the Sunday of the Anzac Day long weekend.

More details here.

See ya there!

Night Grinder is next week!

Well, Night Grinder 2 is only a week away. Next week, on Friday 13th, you should be charging your lights, filling your bidons and maybe having a quick nap after dinner before making your way out to Hurstbridge for an all night dirt road ride. Crazy? No! It's the most sensible thing in the world and I personally can't think of a better use of time than going for a spin at night and trying to see wombats.

Check out the event details here, and also have a read of the report from the first Night Grinder here.

See ya there!

Night Grinder 2 is approaching!

Stay tuned for more details...

MGG #9 Report

 Well that turned out pretty good I thought.

49 riders took off from Hurstbridge Station on a cloudy but mostly rain-free day - great riding weather, not too hot, not too cold. The send-off speech heavily emphasised the 50km option and I was glad to hear that many riders chose the 50km and enjoyed the hell out of it. At rego time, 28 riders said they'd try the 100km, 18 said they'd try the 50km and a couple were undecided. There were a few DNFs and a few shortcuts taken by those who knew the area but, as long as everyone had fun, no rules were broken.

Let's talk options

Ok, recon ride is complete and cue sheets are being finalised. There's only one week to go so let's talk options.

We're offering this ride in two flavours :

100km - for people with a whole day to spend
50km  - for people with less time up their sleeves

For reference, we took about 7 hours to do the full 100km on our recon ride. That includes a bit of faffing around and a sit-down lunch at Toolangi Tavern. 6-7 hours would be a fair estimate of how long it might take you to do the full 100km.

If you plan on riding hard and aren't scared of a bit of climbing, revise that estimate down. If you're planning to take it a bit easier or if you've got commitments straight after the ride, I'd seriously consider the 50km option.

The 50km is still a great route, it's got some solid climbs and screaming descents, it's got some incredible views of the Yarra Valley and visits some awesome roads but it will have you back in Hurstbridge a good few hours before the 100km option. Both options are solid rides in and of themselves but the longer option may have you in the middle of the bush by yourself after dark if you discover, too late, that you're over-committed.

No need to decide right now - you can leave it 'til about kilometre 30 on the route before you have to decide which way to go - so see how you're feeling on the day, be honest with yourself and make sure you ride within your limits. That way we'll all have fun!



Remember to watch out for friendly goats, curious alpacas and, my favourite, goofy lyrebirds. We saw two lyrebirds on our recon ride - that's some good juju right there!


Oh, and remember, it's on the Saturday this time. Saturday 26th, 9:00am, Hurstbridge Station.

See ya there!

MGG #9 details up

Details are up for the next MGG ride. Check out the page here :

#9 Scooter's Century - Sat 26 Oct

It's going to be a ripper. Don't miss out!

MGG #9 is approaching

 

Stay tuned for more details...

MGG is alive

Mark these two dates in your calendar :

Saturday 26th October - MGG #9  Scooter's Century

Friday 13th December - MGG #10  Night Grinder 2

We're back.

More details to follow but, for now, the hint is in the names!

Scooter's Century is about 100km of hills and views around Kinglake/Dixons Creek/Toolangi. Some solid climbs, some screaming descents and some ripper views of the Yarra Valley. There'll be a shortcut option for the time-poor and one checkpoint is at a pub. There is nothing not to like about this ride.

Night Grinder 2 is exactly what it sounds like - another night-riding mission around the hills of Kinglake/Hurstbridge/Christmas Hills. We'll use a modified version of the first course with a few special treats thrown in. Start around midnight, finish in time for breakfast. Oh, and we'll definitely be going up Bowden Spur again - best and most surreal climb at night - you won't forget it in a hurry.

Stay tuned...