2023-11-06 -37 144

Mon 6 Nov 2023 in -37,144: -37.8785834, 144.7026422 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

Tucked behind a Ford dealership in Hoppers Crossing

Participants

John

Plans

I had my eye on this one as I hate to see a gettable metro-area Melbourne West graticule hash go begging. But I wasn't sure. I had been for a long training run yesterday and woke up still feeling pretty fatigued. And the plan for the day was a big spring clean. Luckily after a few cups of tea and a mid-morning recovery banana protein smoothie I was feeling more alive. By lunch time, we had got most of the cleaning we wanted to get done, so when Lachie messaged the group asking if anyone had plans to go to Hoppers Crossing, as he unfortunately couldn't make it, I was able to respond that I would try and make it.

It was still around a 50km return ride, and I had evening plans (as ought not to be forgotten), so I was thinking of making it a ride out and train home expedition. But I also still had to work out how to squeeze a short run to maintain my run streak which is now up to 11 weeks of running every day. I decided that I would make it even easier on myself, and get the train both ways, and then a short jog to the hash and back from the train station would suffice as my run for the day.

Expedition

I set off on my bike on the 3ks to Footscray station at about 2:40, and locked up my bike, and caught the 2:56 train. It conveniently was express to Newport and then Laverton, so I arrived at Hoppers Crossing swiftly. After extracting myself from the station, I jogged off towards the hash. It lay just off a private lane that ran along behind several car dealerships. This I think proved to my advantage, because as I entered the lane in behind the Ford dealership, where there were people working on a car out the back, it was plausible that I was heading through to do something at one of the other places that they weren't connected to. So even though they gave me a bit of a strange look as I jogged past, I passed through unaccosted. But before I got to the next dealership, the hash was there to my left. The sought after location was just past a couple of shipping containers, behind a couple of skips and under the pleasant shade of a pleasant tree, with other rubbish scattered about. I ducked in there, and got my app to light up green. Success! No-one seemed to have spotted me ducking in there; no-one came over to see what I was doing loitering there. I snapped a pic, and set off towards the exit to the south, not needing to go back past the people again. I got a quick external pic of the hash site, and made my way back to the station, only having been gone about 12 minutes.

The journey home was equally swift and included someone on the train with drink in hand opining that it's good to be the boss because then instead of getting the sack, you can be the one "doing the sack". Back at Footscray I found my bike where I left it and rolled off home. I arrived with so much time to spare before my evening plans that I have even completed this write up before heading off to them.

Photos

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  Success

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  The hash (view from outwith)

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  GPS