Daylesford and Goldfields Bicycle Tour 2011

Day 1: Come up the night before to extend your get away or join us in the morning. We will meet today at 9:30am and head off on our first ride at 10:00am which takes you through spectacular scenery with exhilarating descents and open pastures to Clunes, one of Victoria's most authentic towns where we stop for a beautiful lunch at the local cafe. Clunes has a classic 'early Australia' look about it and has been used in many films to capture the era. This day's loop returns through dairy country back to Daylesford, were we will be for the next three nights. The town still holds the charm of the great gold mining town that it became in the eighteen hundreds, with grand buildings like the Post Office and Town Hall. The mine is today a beautiful lake and the surrounding mineral springs are comfortable baths to soothe tired legs.

Enjoy an evening meal with the group and some new friends (included).

Day 2: Today is Sunday and we cycle past old hotels and alpaca farms along quiet bitumen roads to Newstead, a quaint little town beside the Loddon River. If you like, visit the Cricket Museum where willow cricket bats are manufactured. Then we ride on to the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa where we invite you to spoil yourself in the warm therapeutic waters - all included in your weekend package. Then it's back to the open fire at our accommodation and you are free to enjoy the local cuisine of your choice for your evening meal.

Day 3: On Monday we head in the opposite direction, with a few climbs through forest and grazing land, visiting Trentham and the lovely railway station. We have lunch in the historic town of Kyneton, that begun as a town in 1836 and quickly grew as it became a stopover for teamsters who drove their horse or oxen drawn wagons up to Bendigo. It became a town of note when gold was found nearby and the grand buildings of that time still stand today.

After lunch we return through small villages to Daylesford. For those that need to get back home for 'The Race that Stops The Nation', the Rideaway Weekend has come to an end. For the rest, the ones happy to watch it on TV, we have a group dinner (included) tonight and another great day of cycling ahead of us tomorrow.

Day 4: Today we head south into the Hepburn Regional Park and towards the Great Dividing Range. Cycling through magnificent scenery as we pass through the verdant wonderlands of this part of central Victoria.

We get back with plenty of time to have lunch and depart for home. You can also join us in the Australian tradition of a sweep stake as we watch the Melbourne Cup before ending this brilliant weekend, full of fun, new memories and of course new friends.

Congratulations - what a ride!

Thank you again for a great long weekend. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to be back with you soon. Susan & Greg L (NSW) Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011

A thoroughly enjoyable break from work and nothing better than exploring the lovely country side around Daylesford , perfectly briefed by Phil, well fed by Sue , great mechanical tips from Ben and good company. Thanks to everyone. Colin W (Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011)

Loved the whole thing, also Ben did a bike fit for me, and that has been a success, and as usual Susan and Phil are great hosts.  Made new friends, some of whom I will see again on Pheels Phantastic.  Helen G (VIC), Daylesford & Goldfields Rideaway Weekend 2011

To Phil, Sue and Ben,  We all had a great time.  The organisation, routes, post-cycling activities and the support team was fantastic. My friends are so pleased that I suggested that they come on the tour.  Nicky and I had our expectations met - except for the weather which we think was outside of your control! Don't tell me I'm wrong. We endorse your organisation as very professional, easy to deal with, reliable and a pleasure to be with - good people. What we also enjoyed was the company of the other riders. Phil is right when he says that cyclists are usually of a certain type and they can be relied on to be good company.   John W (NSW) Daylesford & Goldfields Rideaway Weekend 2011

Phil and Susan, what a great ride, lots of challenges and fun. You thoroughly spoilt us and the lunch breaks each day were something to look forward to. Hope to do this again next year! Carol H (Daylesford Rideaway Weekend 2011)

Feel free to contact us at any time through our website ‘Contact Us’ page, phone or email. We love what we do and want to get you on the best bike ride for you. Speak to us about what's on your mind and we'll help you make your decision.

We do everything possible to get great accommodation that is up to our AllTrails standard. Our motel is a 3.5 star heritage listed motel in a great location with character and charm.

On the online entry form you can nominate any travelling companions that you would like to share a room with and/or be accommodated close to. This can be in a double bed or in twin beds. If you are travelling alone like many of our riders, you can choose to 'twin share' where single riders are paired with other riders of the same gender. Single Supplement is also available for those that would like their own room for the whole trip.

Yes, why not make a weekend of it? Partners can come to play golf or spend some time looking around the shops and local area from our motel which is located in the heart of it all - accommodation, breakfast, 2 dinners, afternoon tea and entry to the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa is all included in the non-riding partner price.

Yes, you can rent a bike. We often have overseas riders coming to Australia, or interstate riders that would rather not take their bike around Australia on a plane, or road riders that want to come on a mountain bike ride with us (or vice versa).

We will be able to help you out with organising bike hire through our local contacts near our office in Melbourne, or closer to a ride departure location. When you make your booking just let us know that you would also like to hire a bike and we will get the ball rolling for you and put you in touch with the right people.

You can also bring your own seat and/or pedals to give you that little bit of 'home comfort'.

Yes, you can. Our good friend Peter Howell will be joining us on this ride and if you want a tandem, he is your man. Pegasus Tandems stock a wide range of great imported tandem bicycles for you and your partner to spend the weekend on. Call Peter on 0427 200 533 or check out his website www.tandembicycles.com.au.

We provide quality breakfasts, morning teas, lunches & afternoon tea and two dinners. A balanced diet with plenty of carbs, proteins, fruit and vegies.

A comfortable racing bike, road bike or touring bike with a good seat and road tires with slick or near slick tread. A hybrid or mountain bike is also possible if you are used to riding these distances and speeds on it.

We suggest you carry a spare tube, full water bottle and your own personal goods such as camera, wallet, perhaps rain gear if it’s threatening. We carry your day packs, food & extra water.

You need to be a reasonably keen cyclist, however not necessarily fast, but consistent. Plenty of time to build your kilometre total distance in training, to gradually attain about 80 km a day for 2 days straight.

People from all parts of Australia and overseas. Ages generally range from 25 - 70 with the average age about 50 years old. Adventurous cyclists usually about 40% women & 60% men with a mix of singles, friends and couples.

Yes. Either Bicycle Network Victoria membership insurance, Cycle Queensland membership insurance or similar, travel insurance, or another personal accident insurance is compulsory on our AllTrails rides. We also strongly suggest travel insurance to cover cancellation fees and lost/damaged luggage.

Welcome! Traditionally most of the clientele on our rides have been from Australia or New Zealand, but we also have had many riders from USA and UK/Europe. You just need to make sure that your passport and visas are in order and check the cost of transferring your bike to Australia, or rent one here.

We have a great safety record but accidents can happen. We will have 1st aiders as tour guides and drivers, mobile and satellite phone for emergency and locality of hospitals in the area. We also have vehicles that can take injured or sick for treatment.

We have support vehicles on the road showing 'Caution Cyclists' signs to warn traffic about our cycling group. You will also be briefed before each day's ride pointing out parts of the road that may get narrow or have any known hazzards.