2024-03-08 -37 145

Location

A car park in Bulleen

Participants

Expedition One:

Talex

Expedition Two:

John

Expedition Three:

Cam
Laura

Expedition Four:

Expedition Five:

Steve

Expedition Six:

Tom

Expedition Seven:

Lachie

Expedition

Expedition One (tAlex)

Time is tight these days and I usually don't bother getting a hash if other Melburnians are making an attempt, but this was so close to my usual commute, I couldn't resist.

I was out of work on time and off on my bike. Weather was great, warm but not overly hot and I had a nice tail wind. Traffic out of town was quiet and after the usual 2.5km of city roads I was riding the low traffic roads or bike path the make up the bulk of my commute. With the tail wind, I was motivated to push harder and I was flying along. A few km off the hash along side the river, I suddenly realised there was a tiger snake crossing the path. No time to brake or swerve, I narrowly passed on the head end. After passing, I quickly stopped to take a picture, but I think the snake was also alarmed at our close encounter and quickly disappeared into the grass. Progress was a slower after this, and I seemed to identify every stick or bit of bark as a potential snake...

I reached Banksia st, rather than use the underpath on the west side of the river, I crossed the river and the south side of banksia st and tested out the eastern under pass. I dropped me directly into bankisa park - perfect for avoiding the busy roads and roadworks. I popped out onto Templestowe rd, near the hash. I rode along on the grass, rather than the road. I began to worry as I approached the hash, the edge of the golf course carpark covered in temporary fencing. Fortunately, there was still an entrance. I rolled down and grabbed a screenshot and some photos will out stopping, as the carpark gave me a "you shouldn't be here vibe". Once outside, I updated the Melbourne geohashing crew and headed home.

Expedition Two (John)

In our geohashing chat this hash had been noted as a good one, just next to Heide up along the Yarra River. I may not have bothered except that I had to go in to uni anyway to retrieve my bicycle from out the front of the Clyde Hotel, where I had left it the night before. And once I was at uni, the hash was much closer and I really had no excuse not to go. Around 12 I set off, I used a range of PTV's services to get to uni (tram, train, bus) stopping in Footscray for a banh mi on my way. At uni, I went to my office and had a relatively productive afternoon of thesis writing (perhaps I should write hungover more often).

A bit after 5, I was on my way. I walked across to the Clyde and was pleased to discover my bike where I had left it. I climbed aboard and was able to set off in earnest. Although going via the paths along the Yarra would have been pleasant, I judged that the fastest way was going to be to stick to roads. And I wanted to be swift so I would be home for dinner not too late. I got across to Westgarth Station via the Edinburgh gardens, and from there just followed the train line up to Eaglemont, (except for diverting at the Darebin Parklands where following the train line closely isn't possible).

After Eaglemont I headed down into the valley. I crossed one of the most oddly-named streets I've seen, The Righi, and got down to the Boulevard. This took me up to Banksia St, which I crossed and then used the path thereof to cross the Yarra. I cut across Heide's carpark and some gardens where there were sprinklers running, under which a few ducks looked like they were having the time of their lives. I got out to the street that the hash carpark was accessed from, and found the gap in the temporary fencing that was yet to be closed (as later expeditions found it). With no-one about, it was easy to get down to the point and grab a pic.

Thinking of a speedy return, I decided to head up to Heidelberg station for a train back to Westgarth. I got onto the platform and everything, admired the old semaphore signals on display, but in the 10 minutes I had until the train arrived, I had second thoughts. Google maps told me it was only 7.8km down to Westgarth. That should only take me 20 mins or so. I might as well just ride. So I left the station and got riding again. Google maps had also told me the train that I could have caught was due in at Westgarth at 6:53, and as it happened I got to Westgarth myself at 6:57. I definitely would have beaten it if I hadn't faffed around at Heidelberg.

From Westgarth I continued home, along the Inner Circle Path, then across Royal Park, and then after the less good Flemington segment, I got onto the stock route, down to the Maribyrnong, and then I was home. Bridget had made a delicious red curry for dinner, which I enjoyed immensely.

Success
Signals

Expedition Three (Cam and Laura)

Without making any specific plans, the geohash sat at the back of my mind all day while I was at work. Late in the day, I decided that it was too good not to do, given the convenient location, perfect weather (before a heatwave set in) and a free Friday evening. Laura, normally quite sceptical of the appeal of the pointlessness and randomness of geohashing, enthusiastically joined me, lured by me describing this as a bike riding and dinner date, with only a small amount of loitering in a random car park and potentially running into other geohashers.

We set off on a high, our spirits buoyed by the great weather and the beginning of a long weekend. We rode almost in a straight line to the hash, successfully joining together a series of quiet back streets. Arriving towards the hash, google maps suggested a short cut through the Heidi Museum of Modern Art, where we mostly successfully dodged sprinklers and said hello to the friendly gardener. Getting very close to the hash, i realised that the shortcut involved a locked (but easy to climb over) fence, which we decided was fine, on the basis that we appeared to be breaking out of Heidi, rather than breaking in to anywhere else. From here it was a short bike ride from the back into the car park, where we took a quick selfie, before heading back the we came (including the gate, for the fun of it).

Riding through Heidelberg-ish on our way home, we crossed paths with Tom, who was on his was home (conveniently close to the hash), but he assured us that he would do the hash later on. We continued on our way home, including a pit-stop for delicious ramen in Preston.

John's note

Having stalked Cam's strava account, I have ascertained that Cam and Laura only deviated by 393m over a straight line of 10.69km, well within the 5% threshold to qualify for the juggernaut achievement

Expedition Four (BarbaraTables)

Was nearly excited to post a Tale of Two Hashes for Heidelberg, but it turns out that the Hash is in Bulleen. Oh, and the "Heide Museum of Modern Art" near it? It's also in Bulleen!! Well, that's some Bull.

Took a series of buses to get there, grabbing not one but two cool beverages along the way. Got to see Doncaster Shopping Centre, had no idea it was so big. I really enjoy shopping centres because of their walkable interiors; I love places - both interior and exterior - where you can just walk around, discover things, and see other people walking around. My heart yearns for the growth of sustainable, walkable communities in Melbourne, but I suppose I'll make do with lorge capitalist buildings.

Autism-adjacent yearnings aside, the interesting part was when I got there. As I walked from my bus stop to the Hash, I started seeing large temporary fencing on the side of the road the Hash was on. "Surely the Hash isn't blocked off" I thought. "The fencing must be blocking off entrance to the museums nearby. There's no way the parking lot can be blocked off too. But maybe everything is being blocked off here - there's massive construction and improvement around here".

The parking lot was indeed blocked off. But... I spotted an entrance! So, I walked in and two workers in high-vis noticed me. They informed me that this parking lot is actually not open to the public, but I told them what Geohashing was and they were satisfied with my explanation. They explained that their real concern was trespassers burgling the premises - they've had tools stolen before by people doing the exact thing I was doing. Walking into areas designated for private use, that is. Not Geohashing. Us Geohashers would never burgle a premesis, because we're good people.

My Dad arrived during this conversation, so we both took a photo at the Hash together.

Hash selfie!
GPS proof

Expedition Five (Steve)

Boldly forth

It was hot, and I suddenly got too busy with work to meet tAlex at the hash. So I waited for the temperature to drop and the traffic to calm and then...

I shot like a rocket! I couldn't have timed it better. The air temp was pleasant, the streets were quiet (the Labour Day long weekend having just begun) and I had an incredible run of good luck with traffic lights and level crossings.

Down the Merri Creek, along Westgarth St, up the Hurstbridge Shimmy, down the Darebin Creek Trail, to the Boulevard as I have done so many times before. Then down to Wilson Reserve, which I haven't done in years. Predictions of a closed section did not come true, and I blasted through the bumpy dirt section, skirting the Ivanhoe public golf course.

Briefly back to hard surface, then dirt again as the trail leaves the freeway and wanders north. Up the tricky steep section under Banksia St, which for once I perfectly nailed.

All this I had committed to memory and could navigate easily. But then I hadn't actually really planned the next bit. I was now heading west along the side of Banksia St, but the geohash was directly east of me. What to do?

I hunched over the screen mounted to my handlebars in the fading light. Prodding, poking, probing for a solution. Suddenly it struck me!

Bang! A bollard! Right in the middle of the path! I lurched to a sudden stop and stared in dismay as a piece of plastic flew off from the vicinity of my recently-patched left shifter.

On closer inspection, the plastic was from a reflector on the bollard which I smashed. Increasing the likelihood of the next person not seeing it. Sometimes life is cruel like that.

Other than a slight graze to my hand, everything was fine, so with a rueful smile I carried on. Onto the footpath in the direction of the hash, past some workers setting up for nightworkers on the monstrous northeast link freeway project.

I wasn't sure about finding a creative way through the park to the point so just stuck with actual streets. They were surprisingly quiet. Just a lot of construction vehicles and a feeling of anticipation but nothing much actually happening yet.

And then, to the promised golf course car park, surrounded by the promised temporary fencing. Fortunately there was a big gap in it, and I could easily ride in and circle around until I found the point.

Boldly fifth

Turning back, I immediately encountered a problem. The air of anticipation and lack of activity had, in my few minutes' absence, transformed into road closures and flashing lights. This time, I peeled down into Banksia Park, and tried to find a way through te Banksia St.

The way turned out to be a very steep scramble, which seems to be pretty much par for the course when I go geohashing. (Wait, that would have made such a good pun two paragraphs ago).

The rest of the ride home was really much the same as on the way out, but darker, and with one fewer bollard collision, and a few more traffic lights. But wait till you hear what happened next.

Success!

Expedition Seven (Lachlan)

In what seems to be a disturbing new trend Lachlan has developed a penchant for ignoring all plans to go geohashing witth his friends at reasonable hours and instead go for the hash just before midnight, even though many other have already succeeded.

Lachlan was at a 42nd birthday party which turned out to be a suprise 30th. The host of the 30th wasn't suprised there was a party, but some of the guests thought they were going to a low key birthday drinks at a pub, rather than a private function for someone they didn't know well enough to actually be invited. Lachlan assumed he wouldn't go to the geohash but kept it in the back of his mind throughout the party as the has was only a suburb or two away.

At around 11pm the perfect storm started brewinig in Lachlan's mind. FOMO was rising, YOLO was rising and the crowd was thinning out. He asked Google "How long?" and google said "44 minutes". At 11:15pm Lachlan began his farewells and pfaffs. At 11:31pm Lachlan Lachlan began riding towards the hash. Having 29 minutes to achieve a 40 minute bike ride scare him, he was confident that he was a much smarter navigiator than google and a much faster bike rider.

Lachlan was vaguely aware of others having approached from the park land, but that seemed like nonses. The geohash was in a car park so to get to the hash Lachlan had to think like a car. He got very close to the hash at around 11:45pm and then encountered roadworks so he hung out in a traffic jam for a while and breathed in some toxic fumes.

UH OH. A fence!

We can't go under it, we can't go aorund it, we can't go through it, we'll have to go over it.

Stealth mode engaged. Lachlan d'offed his bike lights, helmet and high vis, leant his bike against a pole and climbed over the temporary fence. A short run through the car park and the hash was located at 11:53pm.

Lachlan climbed back over the fence and decided to take advantage of the quiet night conditions and ride a decidedly unscenic and indirect route home along a route that's usually far to digusting for a cyclist to contemplate. In a nod to XKCD 1155 he rode west until he couldn't go west any more then south 'til he was home.