lilydale-warburton trail

inspired by our bay ride, we got back in the saddle for an 80km return trip to warburton along a retired railway line. they're pretty good for setting up things like that in these parts so we're trying to make the most of them.


we caught the train to lilydale (yes, with our bikes. it's totally normal to take your bike on the train here - how great is that?) and set off from there. with nature-spotting stops factored in, and the onset of a rainstorm about a third of the way from warburton, it took us almost 2-and-a-half hours to get to warburton.

after a brief wander around to drip-dry, we decided we would head up into the forested hills - but first, a cup of tea. as an aside, melbourne has developed this massive coffee-culture that seems to reflect much of the rest of australia, and it's far too easy to seem british by asking for a cup of tea instead of a cup of coffee because literally everyone else is glugging down the devil's brew...

so we never made it up the hills. as we were enjoying a rich soya chai, the rain started up in earnest - and continued for 3 hours! at the first break in the clouds we set off for lilydale, hoping to outrace any remaining downpours. as it happened, the break continued and we cycled back in dazzling late-arvo sunshine. it was magical!


justin saw his first kookaburra and i saw my first galah - bush-cycling is the way forward!