2022-02-25 -37 145

Location

Down a spur near Mt Everard.

Participants

Lachie

Planning

I had just spent 2 weeks in New South Wales while my so-called friends went on a 17 day geohashing spree without me. In the morning everyone agreed it was too hard, so in a last ditch attempt at feeling like a member of the team I said "I'll do it if Felix does". Felix agreed, so I waited around for an hour for Felix to be ready, then Felix pulled out. I said I would do it anyway and Felix said he would come, so we made plans to meet up, then Felix pulled out. I said I would do it anyway.

Expedition

I jumped on my road bike, headed east along some roads until I found the Main Yarra Trail. It served me well until Eltham where I turned onto the Diamond Creek trail. It did not serve me well because all the bridges had been torn down preparing for a wonderful upgrade.

When I arrived in Diamond Creek I was surprised to see a beautiful new bike path in front of me which hadn't even made it onto the maps yet. The new bike path is smoother, wider, flatter, more scenic but less direct than the parallel road. Highly recommended. In Wattle Glen I was further delighted to find an even shinier bike path. I rode it halfway to Hurstbridge where I discovered a bridge that hadn't been built yet, so I rode back with my tail between my legs. From Wattle Glen I took the normal road to St Andrews and then up the delightful Buttermans Track.

I turned off onto Mt Everard Track which is not fit for road bikes. I got to within 500 metres of the geohash but the terrain was rough so I kept riding up the hill. I reached the top of a spur that should take me to the hash so I stashed my bike behind a tree and continued on foot. The walk was mostly easy but it got pretty steep, prickly and sweaty near the end.

Geohash Success!

I retraced my steps then back on the bike I opted for the short way home via Kangaroo ground, but acquired a flat. By this point I was many hours behind schedule. I made it back to Eltham and decided a beer and a train were in order. I stopped at the pub next to the station. I did not try to drink the beer quickly, but the whole pint was gone within 1 minute (check the timestamps on the photos if you don't believe me). I took the train back to Westgarth, rode home for a shower, then back to Northcote for the third time that day. I was later than planned but didn't miss any music. Broken Creek were launching their debut single, I highly recommend checking them out https://www.brokencreekband.com/.

EDIT: Most of the photos were lost when my phone died. There is no proof of my accidental 1 minute pint.