Main Yarra Trail: Warning for newbies
Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:37 pm
I did this today from Eltham - Southbank and back again, a beautiful day for an 80k ride through some fine locations. Melbourne should be proud to have such a corridor but, it could be a lot more user-friendly.
I would like to note that should anyone read this who is involved with maintaining or promoting the trail, PLEASE MAKE SOME MORE SIGNS!!!
I had the Bicycle Victoria map and a GPS, but I still got lost several times. Indeed, there were many lost people around including a number of international tourists, some of whom were wearliy walking back and forth, their optimism sinking into a hot and folorn funk. There are areas around Banyule and Westerfolds where many other bike paths weave in and out of this well-publicised trail. Often they are larger and more obvious-looking than the Main Yarra trail and you just have to guess which one will be right. If you guess wrong, then you may be in for a hilly diversion. Sometimes there will be a wooden sign or a faded blue circle on the ground to confirm that you are en route, but other times you just have to guess or if you are lucky, ask another cyclist (but many do not know as they 'Have never done the whole thing'). At three points there are building works and the builders themselves have no idea where the path goes. At Dights Falls, I was lucky to find cyclists in both directions who guided me around streets and through a little car park or I'd have been lost again there (thank you guys!). In some areas it is not even called the Main Yarra Trail and you need to look for other names, such as the Diamond Creek Trail, which you would never guess is right, as you never actually go to Diamond Creek and you would think that you are following the Yarra rather than another river.
I don't mind navigating but I have seen better signage and it makes for a much more enjoyable trip. For example, when I lived on the small Greek island of Thassos in the Agean, local shepherds would leave a dot of red paint at each junction to help the 20 or 30 people a year who might walk up Mt Ipsario. I am pretty sure that we can do better on this route. I'd do it myself but I'd no doubt get sued by some council or other!
Overall, this is a fine ride for any tourist to tackle but either consider going with a local, start at Collingwood, or set out with GPS-Google Maps on your iPhone and hope that your battery lasts.
I would like to note that should anyone read this who is involved with maintaining or promoting the trail, PLEASE MAKE SOME MORE SIGNS!!!
I had the Bicycle Victoria map and a GPS, but I still got lost several times. Indeed, there were many lost people around including a number of international tourists, some of whom were wearliy walking back and forth, their optimism sinking into a hot and folorn funk. There are areas around Banyule and Westerfolds where many other bike paths weave in and out of this well-publicised trail. Often they are larger and more obvious-looking than the Main Yarra trail and you just have to guess which one will be right. If you guess wrong, then you may be in for a hilly diversion. Sometimes there will be a wooden sign or a faded blue circle on the ground to confirm that you are en route, but other times you just have to guess or if you are lucky, ask another cyclist (but many do not know as they 'Have never done the whole thing'). At three points there are building works and the builders themselves have no idea where the path goes. At Dights Falls, I was lucky to find cyclists in both directions who guided me around streets and through a little car park or I'd have been lost again there (thank you guys!). In some areas it is not even called the Main Yarra Trail and you need to look for other names, such as the Diamond Creek Trail, which you would never guess is right, as you never actually go to Diamond Creek and you would think that you are following the Yarra rather than another river.
I don't mind navigating but I have seen better signage and it makes for a much more enjoyable trip. For example, when I lived on the small Greek island of Thassos in the Agean, local shepherds would leave a dot of red paint at each junction to help the 20 or 30 people a year who might walk up Mt Ipsario. I am pretty sure that we can do better on this route. I'd do it myself but I'd no doubt get sued by some council or other!
Overall, this is a fine ride for any tourist to tackle but either consider going with a local, start at Collingwood, or set out with GPS-Google Maps on your iPhone and hope that your battery lasts.