April 20, 2025
Heading into the hills
Beechworth to Tallangatta
After the surprise concert at last nights camp I had low expectations of a quiet sleep in the Lake Sambal caravan park. There were kiddies running amok, families huddled around fire pits, guitarists playing the campfire classics and generally a cacophony of people out having fun. It was all great to see but did note bode well for a good nights sleep. Then suddenly around 10pm it all went quiet and I didn’t hear a noise until a cackle of cockatoos flew over.
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After breakfast in Beechworth we headed out on a new rail trail to Yackendandah that was mainly downhill (apart from the uphill bits). We’re into the hills now and it’s definitely greener and much more interesting riding. Yack was packed with Easter tourists. We battled the crowds in the bakery for an average coffee, bought some sandwiches to eat for lunch and headed towards the mighty Murray.
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We’re again on quiet roads but yesterday’s tailwind has turned around and we’re battling into it once again. Rain is predicted for later in the day so for the first time we have our rain jackets at the ready.
We ate our sandwiches at the closed Kiewa cafe whilst admiring the towns pristine cricket oval that I failed to photograph. I did entertain the other chaps by quoting interesting ‘Australiana’ facts printed on my sandwich wrapper. For instance the traditional Queenslander home is typically found in Queensland. Also the Sydney Harbour Bridge is nicknamed ‘The Coathanger’ because its arch based design looks like a coathanger.
After lunch we headed out along Allan’s Flat road, Gap Flat road and Osbourne’s Flat road. None of them were flat. It was all up and down like the Assyrian Empire. After riding through the Kiewa valley we reached The High Country Rail Trail that took us along the upper reaches of Lake Hume.
By the last ten kilometres the skies had noticeably darkened and whilst rain beckoned it held off long enough for us to reach the Tallangatta Showgrounds. It was here that we were meeting our mate Ross. He has recently retired and has joined us for the last week of our tour. Whilst we have done many cycling trips together this is Ross’ first self supported trip and he’s clearly very excited about it judging by the number of phone calls and texts in the last few days. I have the Mogadon ready to sprinkle into his tea if it all gets too much.
Penny dropped him in Tumbarumba on her way to Pilates and from there he’s ridden for two days to get to Tallangatta to meet us, including over 100 kilometres today. “Big effort that” as Ritchie would say. Unfortunately Ross accidentally deleted his ride from Strava so it never really happened.
We managed to pitch our tents just before the heavens opened and sheltered in an adjoining covered stage. Once the rain eased we wandered into town for dinner in the soon to close Tallangatta pub. It’s going the way of so many country pubs which typically are the lifeblood of the community. It’s sad to see.
Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 655 km (407 miles)
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