Euroa via Broadford Ride 10 July 2022

I enjoyed the camaraderie and ride today.  Edit Done 12 July 
I had a very foggy start to the day in Montrose.   Despite a very misty start and challenging ride to the start point it was a beautiful winter day and it was great to see so many “new” faces turn out for the ride to Euroa in addition to the regulars.  They included Barend and Garrett on Moto Guzzi Californias, Kal (a recently arrived Ulyssean from NZ) on a Versys plus Khiat for the second week in a row on his BMW.     Reece rode all the way from Drouin just to join the ride!    
 
Group photo at Kalkallo supplied by Steve Bailes 
Stewart volunteered to do TEC duties, Greg volunteered to take some photos and once briefings and welcomes were completed, we set off south towards Donnybrook Road and Kal only just caught us due to a couple of last minutes plan changed and communication failures -I failed to check my phone.
It was then east past a long series of road works before turning north at Woodstock and getting into enjoying some open roads a highway speed in sunny conditions with some clouds and mist to our right.  At the start there had been some banter about Roger doing TEC duty.  Despite giving done a reconnaissance for this ride I decided to “add a few kilometres” on the run up to Broadford by diverting through Eden Park which went well apart from me taking the wrong exit out of a roundabout, so I hope that Roger doesn’t seek revenge on me over that blunder.
The run into Broadford went well after that hiccup and we enjoyed a leisurely coffee break there and also met up with Andrew, Colin, Jack, Jeff and Samuel who had ridden there directly from the eastern suburbs.  

We then rode north via Sugarloaf Creek and Hildene, through Seymour, Avenel and Longwood at a good speed on empty roads.  Reece commented that he enjoyed seeing the old railway towns and alignments.  We then lunched in Euroa and checked the weir at Seven Creeks.  

 We rode home via Strathbogie ( I do enjoy the granite laced scenery up that way) and Polly McQuinns, where Jeff arrived worrying about low tyre pressure.  

The tyre problem was resolved with Jack’s electric pump and we rode on to Merton over some bends which I consider to be delightful.  From there it was a highway run to Yea where we basically all went our separate ways home.   
On my way to Break O Day I enjoyed climbing Junction Hill but was a bit more circumspect than usual due to the damp shaded roads which had me thinking twice about the consistency of grip while cornering.  I even spotted the moon between Break O Day and Glenburn. 
Put simply I enjoyed the camaraderie ride again.  Thanks to all who came along           

Photos are here and can be added to  https://ulyssesmelb.com/ride-album/kalkallo-euroa-ride-10-july-2022

Greg has also added some videos in the picture gallery