Cycle touring is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the beauty of the Australian bush and Victoria has a number of spectacular rail trails that are easily accessible. We have been working our way through the magnificent trails savouring the varied environments flora and fauna feeling grateful for the experience. Everyday, cycling the trail is an adventure. The 3 day ANZAC day long weekend provided the perfect opportunity to explore the Old Beechy Rail Trail.

Our party of 3 had booked tickets on the 7am train from Southern Cross Station in Melbourne to Colac and the start of the trail. At Southern Cross Station we met a few other cyclists with the same plans. Pretty soon, the luggage car at the rear of the train was full and a rather officious Vline official was denying entry to a couple who had tickets, saying their was “No more room!” Despite the fact that you are able to travel with your bicycle, they are unable to guarantee a place on the train. It seems to be first come first served, even though a centre carriage on the train had plenty of room for additional bicycles. People were told that for “security reason” they were unable to allow their bicycles on.

The inexplicable reasoning of railways staff resulted in more cyclists at subsequent stations being left on the platform, except for one brave soul who literally forced his way on.

just after 9.30 am we sent off from Colac under clear sky’s , the trail was initially well signposted as we left Colac and passed through Barangarook , the surface changed to gravel along Forest road as we climbed towards the Otway ranges .
The trail often passed through private land , and through many gates which were cumbersome , the gradient wasn’t always steady as the path left what would have the original rail line with many sharp rises testing fully laden touring bikes as the surface was powdery and with 35mil tyres it was difficult to maintain traction , I would recommend a mountain bike and minimal gear for this trail .
The countryside was magnificent , we saw many beautiful Birds , Currawongs, Kookaburras and parrots of all description , we scanned the Manna Gums , Beech trees , Messmates , and peppermint eucalyptus for Koloa’s however they remained well camouflaged and elusive .
We stopped briefly at the beautiful friendly hamlet of Gellibrand River for good coffee before pushing on into the afternoon to Beech Forest .
Passing through a bourgeois landscape of black box , bracken and massive tree ferns , we stopped occasionally to enjoy the silence of the bush and catch our breath as the sharp rises on shifting ground were proving challenging , at times it was necessary to get of and push / drag the bikes up hill , at one point about 5 kms from Beech Forest itself the trail , which was no longer following the Old Beechy Trail became a muddy quagmire , it was arduous sweaty work getting ourselves and the bikes up and over the rises , leaches were plentiful , one of our party managed to extricate one from her shoe , while another cyclist we meant had to dig one out of his hand !
There’s no shop or campground in Beech forest , however the cozy Beech forest hotel puts on a good assortment of pub meals .
As the misty rain was closing in we decided to set up camp on the concrete floored information centre come toilet block on the edge of town , very rudimentary but free ! Later that evening we were joined by another couple of cyclist who had got lost on a poorly signposted section of the track and had struggled to find their way in the darkness.
Rather than take the same back back the following day , we chose the open road , with very little traffic and some exhilarating down hill runs we enjoyed the crisp early morning run down into Gellibrand River and a hot Breakfast at the cafe .
Cycling back into Colac was wonderful however on arriving at the station we found the train back to Melbourne didn’t leave until 6.48 pm again with no guarantee we would be accommodated .
A coach left Colac station at 2pm and e friendly bus driver allowed us to strip down our panniers and pack our bikes in the luggage compartment ! What an unexpected bonus ! , who would have thought. 3 touring bikes would be allowed on the bus , albeit hidden away in the luggage compartment . From Geelong we were able to get on board a sprinter train back to Melbourne .
Some observations and possible improvements

Don’t attempt this trail on your own especially if your inexperienced , The Old Beechy is best suited to Mountain Bikes , not fully laden touring bikes . Don’t cycle this trail in wet conditions Be mindful that if you are traveling by train your journey with your bike cannot be assured , even if you have paid previously.
Overall the Old Beechy was a great experience , despite the uncertainly inherent in cycle touring , the experience could be enhanced by improving and maintaining the trail surface and having a guaranteed rail service .