A crisp Wellsford morning made for a perfect mid week ride. Twelve members set out from Rifle Butts Platform and eased into the forest. Rob shared the history of the rail platform and its link to the nearby Rifle Range—once used during wartime for the transport of troops heading to firearms training.

The first 9 km stretch was a highlight: quiet bush, soft light through the trees, and plenty of birdlife. We heard pardalotes, currawongs, spiny cheeked honeyeaters and blue faced honeyeaters calling as we rode. It’s peak wattle season, with Whirrakee Wattle in full colour, plus Greenhood orchids and Grevillea alpina adding texture along the track edges.

Some of the bushland trails were still waterlogged from the previous day’s rain, but the group handled it smoothly—no mechanicals, no dramas, just a relaxed loop through one of Bendigo’s best mid week riding spots.

We checked out the newer neighbourhood shared paths along Back Creek (Epsom) and the “Sullivan Street National Park” (a place where locals have developed their own “park like environment” to meet and share time together). Frog calls and waterfowl dominated our coffee at Omari afterwards, and a wander through the Botanical Gardens for a few riders, rounded out the morning as others peeled off at the final stop.

A classic Wednesday ride.