Oct-Nov 2015 – Page 2 – Ramble Out Yonder

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 2 – Day 1

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Corowa to Wangaratta – Express Route

Sunday November 8, 2015, 38 miles (61 km) – Total so far: 728 miles (1,172 km)

I have grand plans. I am going to ride the two ‘gaps’ in the Warby Range on Sunday and then return home via the Woolshed Valley on Monday. There will be some new roads among all of that and some nice scenery. I also have grand plans to get on the road at 6am, so that I’m relaxing in a bush campsite by mid-afternoon when it hits the mid-80sF.

But when my alarm goes off at 5.30am, all the grand plans get axed. I haven’t slept well for days. My hayfever is so bad this morning, I feel completely rotten. Pounding headache, a very sore throat and a completely stuffy nose. Read more →

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 2 – Day 2

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Wangaratta to Corowa via frontage roads to Chiltern

Monday November 9, 2015, 47 miles (76 km) – Total so far: 775 miles (1,248 km)

I don’t feel quite as bad this morning, but I still don’t have much motivation. I guess we all have our off days. So I decide to just head home via the freeway frontage roads and Chiltern.

The headwind is pretty ferocious between the Carra…mungee Road and Springhurst. I am pushing it pretty hard to do 9 mph. But, luckily, there is very little traffic on the frontage roads (a couple cars per hour), so I pop in my headphones, turn up the music, and this makes things better. At least in my head. The wind lessens a bit after Springhurst. Read more →

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 3 – Day 1

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Corowa to Chiltern via Woolshed Valley and a bunch more of Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP

Sunday November 15, 2015, 59 miles (95 km) – Total so far: 834 miles (1,343 km)

I’m feeling fruity. Some of my friends might suggest I’ve always been a bit fruity. Or maybe a bit of a nutcase. Riding a bike over hill and dale just for the fun of it probably confirms suspicions in their minds.

However, this is a different sort of fruity. I have a bunch of fruit in my fridge that needs to be eaten, and the thought of having fresh cut fruit on the road sounds like a treat. Since cut fruit doesn’t travel well, I normally only eat it on rest days on tour.

So I cut up a couple pounds of fruit and double-bag it. I learned my lessons early in life when backpacking about not double-bagging liquid-y things! Read more →

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 3 – Day 2

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Chiltern to Corowa via bush tracks outside of Chiltern

Monday November 16, 2015, 33 miles (53 km) – Total so far: 867 miles (1,396 km)

My gamble last night has paid off. I pitched the tent under the overhanging branches of a tree. My hope was for morning shade and less dew on the tent. The gamble was the possibility of needing to clean bird shit off the tent this morning. But alas, there is no morning excrement-cleaning duties, and even though there is plenty of dew on the grass, there is none on the tent. Read more →

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 4 – Day 1

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Jindera to Kurrajong Campsite via Wymah Ferry

Saturday November 21, 2015, 51 miles (82 km) – Total so far: 918 miles (1,478 km)

Familiarity breeds contempt, they say. Some people may counter that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know. I generally prefer novelty and get bored quickly with the same-old, same-old. This is why I find it hard to ride the same roads over and over again.

But today our ride is all on familiar roads, and I don’t mind. I love these roads and have ridden them many times. The scenery is pleasant, the road gently undulates, and there is little traffic outside of school holiday periods and weekends. Read more →

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 4 – Day 2

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Kurrajong Campsite to Woomargama National Park via Guys Forest, Walwa and Talmalmo

Sunday November 22, 2015, 61 miles (98 km) – Total so far: 979 miles (1,576 km)

Today will end up being a very tough day. But I’m oblivious to this unpleasant fact as I pack up early and carry the bike back to the road. We’re sunscreened up and pedalling off at 6.30 am through thick forest and cleared private inholdings in the state park to our right. The craggy cliffs of the ridges poke through into view here and there, but mostly we are just down in the forest next to the river course for the first 5-7 kilometres. Read more →

2015 Rides – Nov Ride 4 – Day 3

January 28, 2018March 10, 2018E Sharp

Woomargama National Park to Jindera via Mountain Creek and Gerogery

Monday November 23, 2015, 50 miles (80 km) – Total so far: 1,029 miles (1,657 km)

The obnoxiously loud screeching of the sulphur-crested cockatoos is late. By the time they find me and come to protest in the trees above me, I’m already awake and packing. The sun has not yet found me either. I’ve slept well and feel refreshed. I drink the rest of the liquids I have on-board and then we head off down the rest of our well-earned hill. Read more →