Day 5

Friday 28th November 2008, Day 5



I have only been on the road for 4 days, but have already had enough muesli, bananas, nuts, dried fruits and Gatorade/Powerade to last me a lifetime, so was delighted to start day 5 with a Full English breakfast and a proper cup of tea - mmm, beautiful (thanks to Alf's wife for that!)

It is sad to say goodbye to the Tintaldra Hotel, but time is pressing - I am concerned about the next couple of days as I have the 'Corryong to Thredbo' section to contend with and the dreaded ride up to "Dead Horse Gap" (the highest sealed road in Australia?) - this will involve a total ascent of 2,700metres - gulp!

I cycle the 25kms into Corryong (into the wind again) where I am due to meet up with Ad's brother-in-law, Mark, and his pal, Phil. They are coming up for a couple of days to escape from the city. Corryong is famous for Jack Riley, aka 'The Man from Snowy River' and the town has a pleasant laid back community feel, like most of the other towns I have passed through in Victoria:-



Whilst I wait for Mark and Phil, I decide to pay a visit to the "world famous" Snowy River Museum, where there is apparently a "fascinating collection of memorabilia" (according to the guy in the tourist information office). I wander round but am inclined to disagree on both accounts - however, the chap collecting the $5 entrance fees on the door has a small portable TV and he is flicking between the Australian Masters golf and the Australia/New Zealand cricket Test match... so it is not a wasted trip!

With no sign of Mark and Phil by 2.30pm I head off towards Kanchoban (25kms) and the entrance to the Kosciuscko National Park. The wind is with me now and I fly along at double the speed I have managed over the last 3 days. I cross the Murray River and enter New South Wales - the weather turns and it starts raining. As I cycle along, Mark and Phil pull up alongside in their car.

I think it would be fair to say that they are a little under-prepared (sorry fellas!). Yes, they do have 2 bikes, but 1 is a road bike with gearing that even Lance Armstrong would struggle to get up any sort of mild incline with. Between them, they have only 1 helmet (it is law to wear a helmet here in Australia), 1 waterbottle, no rucksacks/bags, 1 rear bikelight, 1 showerproof top, no tent, no sleeping bags and 1 meat pie. I have warned them that the route is proably the hilliest in Australia, rises to a height of over 1600m, is prone to swings in the weather, and is completely devoid of anywhere to buy food or drinks... and as for a hotel, you can forget it!!

Undeterred, the 3 of us set off from Kanchoban and head the 30kms to our stop for the night - Geehi campsite, where there is a rumour that there may be a hut there we can sleep in??

The Melbourne lads set off at a fair pace:-



...but after approximately 0.5km, the road steepens visciously. Phil cycles off into the distance on his mountain bike (with no helmet, no water, no food, no waterproofs and no lights) - he will not be seen again for 3hrs. Mark and I spend 2.5hours cycling along:-



...ok, so we walk a lot of it. This is one tough climb!

As we 'cycle' past the entrance to the park, my bike computer shows a total distance so far of 600km - I feel a slight wave of emotion and I raise a faint smile as I realise this is the half-way point in my journey!



After 12kms, with light fading and the steepness of the road showing no sign of letting up, Mark takes the executive decsion to turn round and cycle back to pick up his car. He will meet us at Geehi campsite.

Another 2kms later, the road levels off and there follows an exhilerating fast 10km descent through beautiful woodland forest of eucalyptus and gum trees. To the right, we are above the cloud level:-



...and to the left the mountains light up with the flat, fading evening light:-



I arrive at Geehi campsite as night falls. Phil has been there for 20 minutes. Since I last saw him, I have drunk over 2 litres of water, eaten half a pack of super-sour-snakes and my legs are killing me. Phil has drunk nothing, eaten nothing, and feels fine??? Prior to today, I had never met Phil before. It's his 1st time on a bike for over 3 years. I decide there is either something not right about him or he is superhuman!

Mark arrives 40 minutes later, with 3 steak sandwiches, 3 portions of wedges and a slab of beers - good work fella!

Alas, there is no camping hut at Geehi. It is a wonderful spot, right next to the river and is peaceful, calm and tranquil. The guys contemplate sleeping in the car, but decide to drive back to Kanchoban to the hotel... city-boy lightweights! I set up camp next to the river and am in my sleeping bag by 10pm. I can't settle though - my mind is fast-forwarding to what lies ahead and I am concerned about the next day's ride over Dead Horse Gap and onto Thredbo. The map suggests it will be only about 38kms but it's a long, long climb and with the weather being particularly unsettled at the moment, it could be an interesting day...

START:- Tintaldra, 9.30am
FINISH:- Geehi campsite, 8.15pm
DISTANCE:- 81.59 km
AVERAGE SPEED:- 14.0 km/h
MAXIMUM SPEED:- 75.8 km/h
TIME:- 5hrs 49mins 39s

TOTAL DISTANCE:- 631.48 kms
TOTAL TIME:- 37hrs 40mins 51s