Day 1: On Friday
afternoon I left work 45 minutes early, rushed home, had a shower and went to
my massage appointment before I left for Wodonga. I was hoping to leave at about
5 pm but that idea was short lived and I eventually left at 6.20 pm.
Everything
on the bike was packed the night before, so I could just leave when I got home.
It was warm when I left and stayed warm into the night. I went via Yarra Glen
to Yea. It took me an hour to get to Yarck. Most of the traffic on the road was
4 wheel drives. There is certainly an increasing number of 4WD’s. Not one or
two, but dozens of them.
On to
I stopped
and got fuel at
I
surmised that if I got over the ranges before dusk I would be doing alright. I
arrived in Whitfield on dusk. The only animals I encountered were two rabbits;
one before and one after Powers Lookout. About quarter of the way up it cooled
off a little, and then warmed up and stayed warm across the top.
By
the time I got to
My camelback
certainly came in handy. The next stop was Milawa. I had to clean my visor
because it was plastered with insects and I was having trouble seeing through
it. I pulled into the pub car park and cleaned the visor and headlight. It makes
a difference when you can see properly.
I was
going to carry on, but went across the road to the café instead. I sat inside
the air conditioned café, with my jacket off, to cool down. I ordered a
milkshake and biscuit. Yum! The lady in the shop said it was 42 degrees that
day. I said it was mid 30s in
From
Milawa I went to Markwood, across to Everton and on to Beechworth. I saw a fox
run across the road between Everton and Beechworth. Going out of Beechworth the
sign said 38 kms to Wodonga. The road from Beechworth to Wodonga is pretty
good. When I got to Wodonga I got lost (disorientated) because I came in the
back way and missed the turn off. But a couple of gentleman put me on the right
track and I found the place.
Before
I went to Daniel’s place (Wodonga) I went and dropped off Julie’s laptop off to
her. Julie and Barbara were staying in a motel just down the road from Daniel’s.
The pair of them had come up in the car earlier that day (Friday). Off to
Daniel’s to get myself settled in.
The
lounge had an air conditioner in it and was cool, but the bedroom and the rest
of the house was like an oven. I sometimes complain
about our house being warm, but nothing like this. It was an older house that
probably had no insulation. It had a ceiling fan but it wasn’t doing much good.
All I know is, it was bloody hot. It took me 4 hours
to do 351 kms with a couple of stops.
Day 2: After breakfast I went and checked over the bike, lubed the chain, put
my bag on the rack with a tripod strapped to it. I came up on Friday night so I
could get an early start on Saturday and take some photos along the way. I
can’t stop for photos if I am travelling with the rest of the gang.
Between
Bandiana and Bonegilla I was following a truck delivering concrete. I was
minding my own business, when all of a sudden, there is this cloud of dust and
I notice this black thing which looks like a fence post lying across the road. Fortunately,
I wasn’t too close. I just thought, “What the bloody hell is that?” and as I
have got closer, I suddenly realised what it was.
It
was a recap off the front drive axle. I have swerved to miss it. The truckie
has pulled off the road, and, as I have gone past, it had bent the guard
covering the tyres upwards. He would have a good job changing wheels. It was an
inside front on the drive axle on a tandem drive. “Good luck.” I say.
My
next stop was Huon. From the road I spied some old rolling stock that were once used on the Wodonga/Cudgewa line. Bit too far from
the road, but a sign further along said, “Rest Area”, so I was able to go and
investigate further. I took some photos and had a good look around. It would
have been a picturesque line in its day. You can walk the rail trail from
Wodonga to Old Tallangatta.
Morning tea in Tallangatta at the bakery. While there, I met a chap on an 80’s model
GSX1100, metallic blue with 17 inch all alloy spoked wheels. It looked a treat.
I was
trying to chase up a battery for my SLR camera. I was after one that operates
the light meter; but to no avail. I should have bought it before I left or got
one in Wodonga.
I stopped
at the Old Tallangatta Lookout and went for a wander, taking photos. I made a
pig of myself with the plum trees, fully laden with fruit that was dropping on
the ground. If you were in your car you could spend half a day picking fruit
and taking it home to cook and bottle.
It
was very hot in my leathers, even with the jacket open.
A bit
further up the road I pulled into a rest area on the right hand side of the road
under a tree (picnic area), took my jacket off and went down to the river to
cool of. While I was there a nice policeman in a silver VE Commodore station
wagon pulled in and disappeared. I
went for a walk and saw he had parked behind a row of poplar trees parallel to
the road in order to catch speeding motorists. “Sneaky,” I thought.
He
didn’t have to wait long. Someone on a VTR came down the small hill, across the
bridge and gasses it up along the straight. I hear this noise like wheel spin
in the grass and next thing the cop is off in his Commodore, chasing this guy,
with his lights flashing and siren going. The VTR didn’t stand a chance. After
I had cooled down, I headed back out on the road. I hadn’t gone more than a
couple of kilometres down the road, and who should I see? The copper in the Commodore
is talking to another cop in a Pajero on the side of
the road. I give them a wave as I pass by.
I stopped
at Shelley to take some photos. As I was packing up my gear, strapping the tripod
to the bag I noticed it wasn’t sitting properly. Upon closer inspection, I
could see that the pack rack had broken off. I was not happy. I had to re-arrange
everything; the small bag from the seat, and now the large bag off the rack. I put
everything on the back seat; large bag, tripod, and my small bag. Just as well
I had bought my ocky straps just in case.
I
decided not to stop for any more photos and that I would go straight to
Jindabyne. Just out of Shelley I came screaming down a hill around a corner at
a $1.30. and noticed a car parked under a tree in the
distance and in the middle of nowhere. I have shit myself. COP! I let the
throttle go and coast down the hill (just before the Lucyvale
turn off) past the car and watch in the mirror to see if he gives chase. He doesn’t. Thank god for that! It was the
same silver Commodore.
It
was stinking hot still. Through Colac Colac
and on to Corryong where I stopped for food and fuel. There were times I
wished I could just get off the bike and hide in the shade somewhere. Prior to the rack breaking, I was going to go
via Cabramurra, Kiandra, Adaminaby, Berridale and Jindabyne, but, I had to
settle for Khancoban and the Alpine Way. Not that it’s any less exciting, just
shorter.
Meandering
my way across the top, I reached Leatherbarrel Creek,
where a couple of ladies came running to the road waving their arms and
shouting. “Who’s that?” I wondered. It was Barbara and Julie. They had been
there an hour because their car had overheated up the road a bit. Someone had
helped them and they parked there, in the shade, by the stream. Apparently,
they had tried to contact me by phone, but you know how well the coverage is in
the remote areas.
I
took my leather jacket off and checked the car over. It seemed to be okay. Barbara
and Julie had been down to the stream and filled about a dozen plastic bottles
in case. They wanted me to follow them back to Jindabyne just in case, which
was fair enough. The girls set off and I eventually caught them and had a quiet
ride to Jindabyne.
That’s
all folks. You will have to wait until next month for the next instalment.
Ron Johnston