In March, 2002, fourteen cyclists set off on a tour of North-East Victoria. This is Trevor Cakebread's story of that trip.
It was mid 2001 that Alan mentioned to me that he was planning an unsupported tour through parts of the Alpine and Winery areas of Victoria. Never having done an unsupported tour before it appealed to me as a challenge, something that I should do. Alan said that the tour was suitable for riders of average fitness so names like Mt. Buffalo and Tawonga Gap did not strike me as being impossible. After all it was still mid 2001, plenty of time for training.
The months passed and my plan was to ride from home to the top of Mt. Lofty and back at least twice a week as part of my training to tackle the hill climbs. Well I did do it once; I made it to the top and back raising quite a sweat in the process. Other competing interests and a little lack of enthusiasm for hill climbing spelt the end of any more attempts on the Lofty Mount.
In addition to training there was all those little extra things that needed to be done before the tour started, buying new knicks, jerseys, SPD pedals, bike servicing and so on. Fortunately I had the basics such as a good touring bike, panniers, sleeping bag, tent, etc. As the day got nearer non-bike riding friends looked at me aghast when I told them what I was planning to do and said that I must be crazy. A week before the tour started I thought that I had better do a trial run with the bike fully loaded. So I packed the panniers and loaded them plus the tent and Thermarest mattress on to the bike. A quick check on the scales revealed that I had added an extra 27.5kg onto my bike. Riding the bike with all this extra weight was an interesting experience. It certainly handled a lot differently and my thoughts flashed to the Tawonga Gap and all those other climbs that lay ahead. With one week to go it was too late to pull out now.
The touring party was composed of 14 adventurous souls including Alan, our leader.
Day 1- Adelaide to Benalla: The start of our big adventure. Alan and Big Tony had already left the previous day transporting our bikes to Benalla where the tour would start. While a further six of the group made there own way to the starting point, the remaining 8 participants met at the Bus Depot at 0815hrs ready to start the big adventure. The bus was not crowded and at no time did the passenger numbers exceed 16. It was an uneventful trip we finally arrived at Benalla at 2035hrs. Alan was there to meet us and helped transport us and our luggage to the local caravan park. It was a bit of a challenge trying to put up our tents in the dark, especially as the ground was rock hard.
Day2 - Benalla to Whitfield - 60km: We were packed and ready to leave by 0900hrs. Provisions were purchased at the local Coles Supermarket on our way out of Benalla as we would not be passing any shops on the way. The first part of the trip was through gently undulating countryside. The day was fine and sunny with a maximum temperature in the high 20’s. We had lunch at the side of the road under a large shady tree. Blackberry bushes were abundant around our lunch stop and Rob and Magda could not resist sampling them. Magda quickly found out that blackberry bushes have plenty of thorns and her legs were covered with quite a few scratches. Approximately 11kms from Whitfield we were faced with our first hil,l a reasonably steep climb 4km up a dirt road. It was on this first climb that I found that if you have a low enough gear and are patient it is possible to wind an extra 27.5kg up a hill. Once we topped the hill we had an exhilarating, 7km swooping down hill on bitumen into Whitfield. Our first port of call in Whitfield was the local pub for a refreshing ale before moving on to the campground and setting up our tents. While most people cooked their dinners three of us went back to the hotel and had pizzas for tea. We fortunately ordered small pizzas as we were struggling to eat them. Being addicted to Guinness I had a can with my pizza. This started an interesting survey on the cost variation of Guinness during our trip. At Whitfield it cost me $5.50 with the highest price being $8.00 at Bright.
Day 3 - Whitfield to Milawa - 53km: It was another fine sunny day. (As a matter of fact every day of the tour was fine and sunny with temperatures ranging from the mid 20’s to the low 30’s.) We started the day with Latte’s from the local Store/Garage before heading off for Oxley, which would be our Lunch stop. The last 10kms into Oxley was on a corrugated gravel road. Regardless of the Beach Boy’s song I do not believe that there is any such thing as "Good Vibrations". By the end of the gravel road my hands were numb. Both Big Tony and Roger had punctures today. After an enjoyable Lunch at the Oxley Store we visited two local wineries to purchase wine for dinner. We rode through Milawa to the Milawa Cheese Factory and purchased lots of different cheeses and bread before heading back to the Milawa camping ground to set up camp. Before dinner, Rob, Judy and I headed over to Brown Brothers Winery and bought some more red wine, as it did not seem right to be in Milawa and not sample some of their famous wines. Dinner was a huge success especially for the flies that arrived in droves. They seemed to be very partial to the local cheeses. During the night Magda was heard talking in her sleep; we believe that she can also talk under water!
Day 4 - Milawa to Beechworth - 40km: We left Milawa at 0900hrs and had elevenses at the village of Everton. Then we joined the rail trail which had a very good rideable surface and a constant uphill gradient to Beechworth. We arrived at Beechworth at 1300hrs and had lunch at the Beechworth Bakery, which advertises the "Best Pies in Australia". They were very nice. After lunch we rode out to the campground, which is 3km out of town. After setting up our tents we had a dip in the swimming pool. We all walked into town that evening for dinner at the Commercial Hotel. The hotel did not seem completely prepared for us as my fish meal was a long time coming and the cappuccino machine had not been turned on. Jo surprised every one by not eating his sweets.
Day 5 - Beechworth to Bright - 62km: Sue started off the day well by trying to ride off with her bike still locked to a post. She did not get very far. Our riding was off to a quick start with a very enjoyable downhill to the Great Alpine Road where we joined the rail trail to Bright. The first section to Myrtleford was also mainly down hill. We stopped for lunch at the Myrtleford Bakery where to our surprise Sue announced that she had something that Roger did not have!! We joined the rail trail again after lunch and stopped at Eurobin Station and Porepunkah before arriving at Bright at 1530hrs. Only one of the shower blocks had hot water and Jo went to the wrong one. He didn't enjoy his cold shower. Magda also distinguished herself by discovering after her shower that she had forgotten her knickers. Most of us had fish and chips for dinner. After dinner we went to a local coffee shop for coffees where Roger advised he had a rubber diaphragm. We wondered if this had something to do with Sue’s announcement at lunch!
Day 6 - Bright - 68km: Today was a rest day and what would you do on a rest day? You would ride up Mt. Buffalo of course. We left Bright at 0830hrs for our "restful" ride. It was not long after we passed through Porepunkah that the ever-upward climb of 27kms to the Mt Buffalo Chalet started. Fortunately we did this ride without our panniers, tents, etc. I found that Granny Gear was my friend as I slowly wound my way up the hill at 6kms per hour. Stopping for a breather was not much of an option because as soon as you stopped a zillion March flies arrived hoping to have a feed off you. So it was onward and ever upward and just over 4 hours later the Chalet was reached accompanied by cheers from the fitter riders who got there before you. After a quick lunch at the Chalet some sightseeing was in order. The Chalet itself is a very interesting old timber building, well worth a look if you are ever in the area. There were also many breathtaking views looking out from the lookouts adjacent to the Chalet. There is even a ramp where you can launch yourself off the mountain into space while hanging on to a hang glider. People who do this really are crazy. The ride back down the mountain was all down hill and very fast taking less than 1 hour. Some of us stopped and had a look at the Eurobin Falls on the way back down; they were well worth the stop.
Day 7 - Bright: Another rest day in Bright. This time I was determined to make it a real rest day. Jo and I went for an early morning walk through Bright town centre. It is a very pretty town with lots of old deciduous trees and I can imagine the tourists flocking in to see the autumn leaves. Late morning Alan ran a bike fit session where he explained to us some of the finer details of how a bike should be set up to fit you. It seems there is more to it than your feet reaching the pedals. After lunch Sue had the misfortune of having her credit card gobbled up by the local automatic teller machine, it took a lot of quick talking at the local bank to convince them to give it back. Graeme was caught trying to bribe a local elderly couple to carry him and his bike in their utility truck over Tawonga Gap the next day. That evening we had a very enjoyable dinner at the Bright Chalet. At dinner Magda was awarded with the "Knickerless Award" for her showering effort the previous day.
Day 8 - Bright to Mount Beauty - 30km: Between Bright and Mt Beauty we were faced with the dreaded Tawonga Gap. We left the campground at 0900hrs and on our way out we had to ride up an embankment to get onto a bike track. Magda almost made it to the top of the embankment but then started going backward and fell off coming to rest with the bike on top of her. Alan was so concerned for her well being that he asked her to keep lying there until he could get his camera out and take a photo. We bought buns at the Bright Bakery before heading off down a gravel road toward Mt Beauty. We had to ford a shallow creek before joining the Tawonga Gap Road. As we headed toward Tawonga Gap painted on the road surface was "This is it" and soon after we started heading upward for 8kms to the top. Initially I thought that this is not too bad. It was a constant gradient and once you got your rhythm it was OK. That was until the 5km mark when you turn a corner and to your horror see the road take a much steeper gradient. The next couple of kilometres were just sheer hard work. I almost did not make it, sheer perseverance won out though. My cause was not helped by a young slip of a girl on a road bike pulling along side of me and saying, "I am glad I have not got that load on my bike". Hopefully she did not hear me mumbling obscenities under my breath. The top of Tawonga Gap was a welcome sight with a picnic area and viewing platform at the top. We stopped there for elevenses. The view from here of the Mount Bogong, the highest mountain in Victoria, and the Feathertops with the town of Mt Beauty down in the valley is absolutely breathtaking. It was all down hill to Mt Beauty. On the way down we stopped at a mineral spring on the side of the road to fill our water bottles. After setting up camp a few of us went to the local pub to sample a few Toohey Olds. There is a bike shop adjacent to the camping ground and some of us went in to look at what was on sale. Sue bought herself some bike shorts, X LARGE I am told. After dinner we organised a campfire and sat around it toasting marshmallows.
Day 9 - Mt Beauty: The campground is in a very pretty location with the Kiewa River running through it. There is nothing like the sound of running water on a warm sunny day. The campground proprietors provided free pancakes and hot drinks for breakfast, which we all enjoyed. We went for a short ride into Mt Beauty to buy supplies from the local Supermarket and spent the rest of the afternoon just lazing around. Suffering a lapse in concentration Jo wandered into the ladies toilet fortunately he did not surprise any one. For dinner we had pizzas at the local Pizza Shop. Graeme felt a little miffed as he paid $5.00 for a bottle of Cascade Light beer, the same price the rest of us paid for our upmarket Crown Lagers.
Day 10 - Mt Beauty to Mitta Mitta - 54km: Alan had promised us that this was going to be one of the hardest days of the trip. Our journey to Mitta Mitta would be on a forest track past the base of Mt Bogong in the Alpine National Park. We left Mt Beauty at 0800hrs and the first 15kms was on good bitumen road however on entering the Alpine National Park this all changed. The road became very rough, strewn with gravel and tennis ball size rocks. This road went up constantly for 15km before it levelled out and we stopped for a breather. It was at this point that Sue thought a stick was a snake and let out a scream that could have been heard back in Bright. Not long after we had lunch at a spot where the power lines traverse the National Park. Because the trees have been cleared below the power lines, you get a fantastic view out toward Mt Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mountain. After lunch the 10km downhill was difficult to enjoy, as you could not go fast due to the rough nature of the road. It was not long before we were back on the bitumen again for a reasonably downhill ride into Mitta Mitta. It was just out of Mitta that we caught up with Eddie. He had forged on ahead of us and we had not seen him since 0930hrs. As soon as we reached Mitta we went to the pub for a refreshing ale while we solved the next problem. The distance between the pub and the camping ground was around 500m. However the old bridge over the Mitta Mitta River had been demolished to allow construction of a new one. This would mean a 5km detour to another bridge to reach the campground. After discussion with the publican, it was decided that we could easily ford the rivers to the camping ground. This turned out to be the case as the water was only knee deep if you chose the right path for the crossing. So across we went with our bikes and all our gear. We enjoyed the experience so much that we all decided to go back to the pub for dinner that evening.
Day 11 - Mitta Mitta to Talangatta - 74km: Not long after leaving Mitta Mitta we were riding along at around 25km per hour in a peleton on a good bitumen road when Roger decided he wanted to shift up to the front of the group. His abrupt manoeuvre caused Jo to brake hard and consequently Graeme behind him. Unfortunately Magda who was next in line could not brake quickly enough and to avoid Graeme she veered to the right calling "stopping" in a loud voice. On the right hand side of the road was a vertical cliff face, which she ran into. Her bike tried to climb the cliff and then fell back where Magda sat on her bottom and was heard to mutter "stopped"! Fortunately she was not hurt and Alan quickly fixed the buckle in her front wheel. At Eskdale we bought food for our morning tea. Alan paid for his food and then went off and left it on the counter. We stopped a little further on in Eskdale to have our elevenses where Gwen was heard to say "Isn’t it quiet, where is Alan?" She started singing Silence is Broken when she saw Alan returning. The first 35kms of our ride to Talangatta was mainly down hill, but once we left the Omeo Highway and started following the other side of the Mitta Mitta River Valley the road became very undulating with some tough climbs. Before reaching Talangatta we went to look at the site of Old Talangatta which is now located within Lake Hume. As the Lake is almost empty we were able to see the outline of the old town. It was a hard days riding and I was glad to reach Talangatta. The campground was on the banks of Lake Hume. As the lake was virtually empty it looked more like farmland than a lake. Six of us became ill which we think was due to drinking the water provided at the camping ground.
Day 12 - Talangatta to Yackandandah - 50km: Alan warned us that we would come across a very steep climb, too steep in fact to ride up. When asked how long the steep bit was his reply was "about 100m". We had coffees and bought buns at the Talangatta Bakery before heading off. The road to Kergunyah where we stopped for elevenses was bitumen and easy riding. Not long after our morning tea, we turned onto a dirt road, a fire access track and headed off toward the incredible incline. Alan was right, it was unrideable, and it was not only very steep but also a rough gravel road. What he was not correct about was its length. It was more like 2km, not 100m. Pushing a heavily loaded bike up that hill was no easy task. What made matters worse was that when you reached the top you realised that the downhill was so rough, that you would have to walk most of that as well. I told Alan that we should name ourselves "Capell’s Commandos" as what we had just been through was more like a commando course than a bike ride. Thankfully we hit the bitumen again and headed into Yackandandah where once again we made the pub our first port of call. After setting up camp we headed back to the Yackandandah Pub for dinner where we had a cook you own BBQ. It was an enormous meal which some of us could not enjoy it as much as others due to not feeling very well. During the day Magda found out that pink sports drink and methylated spirits fuel for her stove can look very similar.
Day 13 - Yackandandah to Rutherglen - 56km: After stocking up with buns at the Yackandandah Bakery, we started out on the 7km climb out of town. It was all up hill, not too steep and all on bitumen. After a great downhill, the next 18km to our elevenses morning tea stop was mainly flat with a tail wind so we made good time. We passed under the Hume Highway on our way into Chiltern where we had lunch at the local bakery. After Chiltern, Gwen and I took it easy as we were not feeling the best. On arrival at Rutherglen Big Tony decided that we should all clean and sterilize our water bottles, as water seemed to be the source of our problems. So he purchased Milton tablets and a bottlebrush and we all set about sterilizing our water bottles. We filled our bottles with bottled water from now on. A bit late in the tour but something I would definitely do from the start next time. Sue tried her luck with her credit card again only to have the teller machine gobble it up once more.
Day 14 - Rutherglen to Wangaratta - 51km: Once again we stocked up with buns at the bakery before moving on. Today was our first day when there were no significant upgrades. It was virtually flat all the way. Just out of Rutherglen, Alan lead us into a maze of dirt roads, sometimes only tyre tracks; fortunately there was no corrugations or loose gravel. We had our elevenses next to an old survey marker tree in the middle of nowhere! Our lunch stop was at the Boorhaman Pub. Boorhaman comprises the pub and a derelict church. The publican is famous for brewing his own ales and beers and calls his business the Buffalo Brewery. One of his specialities is alcoholic ginger ale. We all tried this and found it to be very enjoyable; as a matter of fact Rob liked it so much that he consumed 4 glasses. It did seem to have an effect on him though as when he was walking back into the pub to get his fourth glass he was seen to walk into the leading edge of the open door. There is a very nice beer garden to the side of the pub where we spent a couple of hours drinking our ales and enjoying potato wedges for lunch. If you are ever in this part of the world I would recommend that you stop for a visit. The road from Boorhaman to Wang (as Wangaratta is known to the locals) was flat bitumen. We had dinner at the hotel adjacent to the campground that evening. As we were nearing the end of our tour, awards were handed out at the conclusion of dinner. As Magda was the awards presenter the evening was dubbed "The Inaugural Knickerless Award Night". Awards were presented as follows:
Day 15 - Wangaratta to Benalla - 47km: After our customary bakery stop we headed to Glenrowan arriving in time for morning tea. Most of us enjoyed a delicious Devonshire Tea. We visited the adjacent theatre to view the Ned Kelly Story. It was a most unusual and interesting presentation. Before leaving town we had our group photograph taken next to the larger than life statue of Ned Kelly. We then rode on to Benalla arriving mid-afternoon. Our tour was finished; I had ridden 654km on my first self-supported tour. Some of us decided to hire a caravan for the night rather than put our tents up, as we did not want to have to take our tents down in the dark in the morning. The bus to Adelaide was to leave Benalla at 0550hrs. We did have an ulterior motive; we hired a caravan with a TV as the football final was on that evening. As Tony SA would say, "Go the Power!!!"
It was sad to think that our tour was over. Alan did a great job planning and leading the trip. The route was very scenic, very little traffic was encountered and even though there were some tough climbs they were complimented by some exceptional downhills. If Alan leads another tour like this one and you like bicycle touring be sure that you do not miss out, I certainly won’t.