The Blackberry Ride

A distance of 36 kms, this ride was almost entirely on tracks and dirt roads. Nine of us headed out of town via Tenant St. and Grantala Rd. to the Old West Road access track. We crossed the main road a couple of times to keep to the tracks and through what used to be ‘The Pines’ to Pines Road. Left along Hyde Road for a short distance took us to private property and onto a fire access track. The track meandered over gentle hills, through clumps of gums, past cropping paddocks and through a few gates. We crossed into an adjoining property and followed the pipeline, taking in the uninterrupted views. Soon Dene warned us that there was a creek ahead which was steep and required caution in and out of it. ‘Yeeehaa’! See the photo attached. It was a ripper! Some had to ‘hoof it’ a bit for not selecting a low enough gear in time, but all survived and it became the talking point of the ride until we stopped for a snack break. The last gate took us onto the main road near Greenpatch Farm where we turned on onto Clark’s Lane. Along the roadside there were huge clumps of blackberry briars, much to the delight of some of us. Yes, dust and all, we got stuck into them, vowing to return later in the car. A few more kms of great views, chatter and perfect riding conditions, then we began the sometimes “hairy” downhill into Nth Shields. Was that burning brakes I could smell? Dorwards Rd. never looked so good. We called into the roadhouse at Shields for a cuppa and half of the cake counter, then onto the track back into Lincoln.