River Road 2024

The last time I rode the River Road, Deloraine was before COVID – so a while back.

In those days there was a group of between 3 to 5 of us who met up on Fridays, rode River Road and then had a coffee at the Empire Hotel. The rides were advertised – Come and Ride with People on Wheels. It was once Women on Wheels but the numbers fell away so men were allowed along.

Today it will be just me as I have lost contact with the others and Colin is away on family duties. I loaded the trike into the trailer, loaded the boot with the rest of the riding gear and set off.

Traffic was light, the day cloudy and cooler than recent days as I enjoyed a quiet drive across to Deloraine. I had wondered where to park as the town gets quite busy and the trailer adds a level of difficulty. When I spotted a parking area on the way into town I had a look. Yes, plenty of room for everything. I was soon unpacked, all bits and pieces installed and the trike was ready for action.

While getting prepped I remembered more history. It must have been in 2008 that I first rode River Road – on a Dahon folder. We had just moved to Deloraine and I found River Road to be an ideal quiet rural road on which to keep fit. I rode it often as an “out and back” giving 20 kilometres. Today I am going to extend the ride continuing on Porters Bridge Road to Exton, then cut across on Exton Road to get to Osmaston. From there it would be Osmaston Road back to Deloraine. A short loop of maybe 30k but with plenty of climbing practise.

A bit more history !

The last time I did this Exton / Osmaston loop was way back in 2010 when I bought an old 26″ wheeled bike fitted with a Sach motor-wheel. A wheel with a two stroke engine built in. The idea was to use it for touring but in the end the vibrations from the motor were very annoying so it never happened! A pity – the wheel worked well even if it was a bit smoky (2 stroke engine), it’s just that I couldn’t handle the continual shaking.

Back to today :

I started pedalling into Deloraine proper while fiddling with the camera. There was an odd flapping noise coming from the back of the trike. A quick stop didn’t find the problem and it seemed to have “gone away” but once a bit of speed built up – it came back. I crossed the Meander River bridge, negotiated the roundabout and turned towards the park to stop by the amenity block. Having another look I found a length of duct tape stuck on the tyre. Grey tape, so not mine from the camper trailer build. Once removed the ride was nice and quiet.

Time to start out on River Road. The first 4-5 kilometres were much as they have always been – flat and running through farmland. There are a few changes, mostly trees removed to allow either more farming or new houses. I even passed the “walking man”. This guy was always walking along River Road whenever People on Wheels cycled on a Friday. Walking Man’s eyes were on the ground, he never responded to ‘hello” or a wave and he was just the same today except his hair is wilder.

The biggest change came after crossing the creek and starting the climb to the poultry farm – much of the roadside bush has been removed due to logging. There are also a number of new properties built on large acreages. These newcomers tend to drive quicker than the oldsters but there weren’t too many of them out and about today – it was just obvious that they haven’t become “countryfied” and are still living and driving on mainland time.

Another 4-5 ks in and the road presented pretty much as it always has. That is, bush up to the road bringing with it all the bush smells and bird life complete with bird song. There were a few items of roadkill but not as many as in previous years.

I knew the route today would involve quite a bit of hill climbing but wasn’t sure as to the full extent. So I tackled those on River Road by leaving the power level at 2, changing down and cruising up the hills at a slow speed and high cadence. Something trikes excel at. When I got to the junction with Kelly’s and Porters Bridge Roads, the indication was that the battery level remained high – in the 40v area having started at 41.7v. The plan was working.

The next set of hills would be a bit steeper and so it would be necessary to use level 3. Ah – a problem came to light. The power controller had lost the button used to reduce levels. The outer part had bent back and had been hanging shakily for probably 4 years (!). I have been holding it in place with a rubber band or a “stall” made from the thumb of a rubber glove. Well, it’s finally broken off and is somewhere on the roadside verge. How to reduce the power level then? A narrow stick poked into the hole managed to depress the internal pressure plate – problem solved for now.

Along the next leg the clouds lifted a bit and the sun started to dapple through the trees. Unfortunately the 360 camera here has a hissy fit and decided to stuff up the exposure.

Logging has been minimal along this stretch and I had plenty of time to enjoy the bush while pedalling up the numerous hills. Porter’s Bridge Road is a series of hills separated by similar sized downhills. Nett result – most of the time is spent climbing as the descents whiz by quickly and are just as quickly forgotten.

The time spent climbing on a very quiet road allows the mind to wander. It’s very easy to think about petrol driven leaf blowers, very huge Utes (eg RAMS) and all sorts of other wasteful things. It’s an effort but one must think about good things instead! So I pushed the bad aside and enjoyed the view.

After 6, 7 or 8 hill climbs the welcome descent to the Meander River valley takes you across the Meander at Porter’s Bridge.

Along from the bridge the road climbs onto another bridge, this time over the Bass Highway and the rail line, then runs into Exton.

At Exton I crossed onto Exton Road and began almost immediately to climb some more. This leg has a couple of climbs and some good descents to the crossroads at Osmaston.

I did manage to get the above picture grab from the 360. As you can see the sky isn’t quite right as the camera over-exposed this section. Not sure what the problem is as the settings all looked OK.

The white “streak” is comprised of rows of poly tunnels in which berries are grown. Every time I go past this farm (usually passing the far side en-route to Heartbreak Hill) there has been another outbreak of poly tunnels. Business must be booming and (unlike many products) berries have certainly become a bit cheaper in the supermarkets.

At Osmaston I turned right heading towards “Heartbreak Hill”. Today I set the power level to 4, engaged bottom gear on the Rohloff and wound my way up the 11% hill with easy pedalling. Apart from the increasing number of poly-houses, the countryside doesn’t change much here. There certainly are fewer fields full of poppies but, like closer to Longford, the farmers are planting other crops. One of those crops is the humble potato. There is a lot planted all over the Plains and recent reports say they are fetching a good price.

A descent, a minor climb past the golf club, another descent saw me turning right – next stop Deloraine.

A careful descent past the hospital and school, a quick switch to the right hand footpath, round the corner and pull up by the cafe for a coffee saw Bluey and me at the end of the ride. A very enjoyable few hours in the Meander Valley.