Recommended programme;
1. PRE-MEET POINT
(for Melbourne boys)
BP Little River
Geelong Road, Little River
TIME - MEET: 9.15AM APPROX
TIME - DEPART: 9.45AM SHARP
BP is halfway between the Ring Road/Geelong Road merge at Brooklyn and the Geelong city limit. There's a BP on each side of the highway, and both of them advertise $6.99 Bacon and Eggs with a banner about fifty times bigger than you. Understandably, there is a heap of truck parking here, so hopefully room for a few battery-powered toyo-boxes. Good place to get 98 octane fuel for the day, and fuel yourself too if you've had no breakfast and you think $6.99 for microwave bacon and eggs is a good deal. Understandably, meet at the outbound-side BP, lol.
2. MAIN MEET POINT
BP Winchelsea Roadhouse
Princess Highway, Winchelsea
TIME - MEET: 10.30AM APPROX
TIME - DEPART: 11.00AM SHARP
There should be 95 octane fuel here, but no promises. If you didn't come from Melbourne, or you were too slow to the premeet point to have time for your bacon and eggs, more greasy roadhouse food is available here. We collect here and work out a basic pecking order for the procession into Lorne.
SPECIAL STAGE ONE
FROM: Winchelsea Roadhouse
TO: Lorne Pub
There's some long open straight sections across the flats to begin with, nice to settle in and work out who's going to want to cruise faster than another etc. By the time we get to the twisty section at the coastal mountains for the climb and then decent into Lorne, we should have established enough space and enough of a processional order that nobody comes afoul of anyone else.
3. LUNCH MEET POINT
Lorne Pub
Lorne (duh!)
TIME - MEET: (depends on your pace!)
LUNCH: Seated at 12.30 SHARP.
TIME - DEPART: 3PM SHARP.
Meet at Lorne Pub to remedy all troupe members poisoned as a result of their inability to get organised early enough to make breakfast and their consequential consumption of roadhouse plasti-bacon and instant eggs. Seated by 12.30PM, out of the Pub by 2.30 PM, cars rolling at 3PM sharp. Not too many beers yet, the best part is yet to come.
4. SPECIAL STAGE TWO
FROM: Lorne
TO: Apollo Bay
Depart Lorne, hopefully with a better idea of who wants to lead and who wants to follow. The GOR ahead has relatively new sealing in most sections but is double lined (no overtaking) and in most cases only patch-resealed, ie. new shoulders and broken sections filled, not new shoulder-to-shoulder tarmac) and is consequently a little changable. Consider yourself warned. Turnouts are available for slower traffic to yeild approximately every kilometer, but sometimes are missing for a few kilometres, be patient, not crazy about this fact!
Enjoy the Monaco Effect out around Wye River.
Arrive Apollo Bay and collect at a convenient gazeebo in the park near the skate park. Coffee and Bakery is available for human refueling. If you skate, bring your skateboart maybe. Peruse the beach. Collect and depart when desired.
TIME - MEET: 4.30PM APPROX
TIME - DEPART: BY 6.00PM APPROX
5. SPECIAL STAGE THREE
FROM: Apollo Bay
VIA: Skenes Creek
TO: Birregurra
Depart Apollo Bay, returning eastbound along GOR to Skenes Creek (5km east of Apollo Bay). Turn where appropriate and climb the mountain. Best part of the trip, over the mountain and decent back onto the plains to Birregurra via Beech Forest area. Tight corners, short straightaways, meaning good fun at safe speed and also beautiful forest scenery to boot.
6 FINAL MEET POINT
Play Equipment
Main St, Birregurra
Gather about at the playground on the left as just entering Birregurra. Swings and slides abound for weary travellers. There's a trendy eatery there now, dunno if it's any good or even if it'll be open. Never mind. By this stage it'll be about 7.30, tending towards 8+PM, probably darkening before everyone breaks up and filters off. Break up from here to return to your respective points of origin. Princess Highway is a stone throw away, easy cruise back for those who are heading back to Melbourne. A full tank of 98 octane should get most from the BP in Little River to the BP in Little River, remember it's on both sides of the Geelong Road. If you're hungry, there's always the plasti-bacon and microwaved eggs on offer while you refuel the car.
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