29 March 2011 - Myrtleford Alpine Area, north east Victoria

Day 1.- Myrtleford area.

Up at 7.30am, breakfast outside, a little cool but OK.  First ride today & although they SAY it's not hard, it may well be for me.  Suggestions have been made that Stu & I drive halfway, then cycle to Lake Buffalo to meet them all for lunch, then cycle back to the halfway mark & take the car again.  However, you know Stu.  He at least was positive 'we' could do the we could do the whole thing.  So off we went, mostly flat to start, on the road which is quietish except for the odd logging truck which luckily was going the other way.  It is the usual thing for the group to wait for the stragglers now & then, so we didn't feel bad from that aspect, & in fact were not always last.  Then came the hills.  Stuart of course had no trouble, & though I can't say it was easy, I made it up them all.  Am learning to use my gears better all the time which is a great help.  Finally made Lake Buffalo for lunch - what a relief!  Then of course I worried about how I was going to do it all again to get back.  Anyway, I got some nice shots of the lake & the wonderful reflections.  Stu cycled round it a little further to get a good shot of the surrounding hills as well.  Then inevitably we had to set off on the return journey again.  Stu reckons I got my second wind, as I seemed to be better going back - probably feeling a bit more confident.  It was a little easier I must admit, till we got to the very last hill & it beat me.  However I am very proud of myself - 47 kms is a fair old stint for a GREAT grandmother who has had little cycling experience.  Expecting some sore muscles tomorrow.  Dinner in the great outdoors back at the camp, then a nice brazier camp fire in the dark.  The stars are amazing here, seem so much closer somehow.  It is very dark which helps.  Instructions for the next days ride are always given at this point before we all drop into bed.  Tomorrow is another 43kms but most of us at  are being taken by van & trailer to the top of the rail trail at Beechworth & will ride down, while a small group of hardy types will ride UP the trail & then down the road (really scary as it is so fast & no room on the sides in places).  Stay tuned in for Day 2.

Day 2.- Myrtleford area

Very surprised to wake with NO sore muscles - except for the slightly sore rear end.  This is considered an easy day, so when we arrive at Beechworth it's coffee time.  LOVELY coffee at footpath tables - delightful little shop (very tiny) with gorgeous old chairs of all descriptions.  There is a big bakery opposite which many patronise regularly on their rides here but we were very strong.  Anyway off we set off,  lovely downhill runs, so exhilarating.  Their railtrail is all sealed, so it's a breeze really.  The scenery doesn't change a great deal, but it is very green after all their rain, most unusual at this time of the year.  Again the worst hills seem to come at the end when you are tired, & we had been warned by the others that this was the case.  We stopped a couple of times to take photos so got a bit behind the group, & I was feeling a bit tired towards the end & commented to Stuart that I was finding it very hard pedalling considering we were on the flat & how was I going to manage this big climb called Taylor's Gap when I came to it.  Was almost delighted at his reply, 'Actually you are already climbing it'.  I was almost ready to give up as we got higher & higher, then  saw all the orange shirts ahead round one last bend so of course had to keep going as if it was no problem at all.  The really great thing was that in another km or two, we were to stop at a little local winery for lunch!  Lovely platters of cheeses, pickles, olives, cold cuts, etc, & a glass or two of very nice wine as it was only 8 kms back to camp.  Beautiful setting with the blue hills in the background, & great company too. 

Day 3 - Myrtleford area

We have chosen to take an easier ride this morning, as the experienced folk are doing a really strenuous one.  So we are doing another section of the rail trail.  It proves to be really flat & pretty boring though we did find a lot of apple trees along the way, so Stu filled his backpack.  This area used to be a big tobacco growing region, till the government pulled the plug on their subsidies some years back.  It all looks pretty sad now & all the  old drying sheds neglected.  There is still big hop growing  though, which looked quite interesting.  We were puzzled at what the vines were growing up big poles a bit like kiwifruit, till we came to the sign giving us some information.  We cycled to an old railway station where we had our morning munchies (for energy), & luckily while we were there a very big group of high school students on cycles arrived from the way we were to return, which meant we had a clear run again.  Stopped at a little collectables/book shop where Stu bought a book to read ???  Arrived back for a late lunch after 30kms, & the others arrived back about an hour afterwards.  My rear end is even sorer now but I guess it will be getting 'hardened' (is that the term?)  Stu  of course wasn't content with a 30km ride, so was keen to do a walk close by up to a lookout.  It wasn't a short, easy stroll as it turned out, & even he started to flag.  It was a nice walk/climb nevertheless & a nice view at the top, although we discovered a carpark at the top, so we could have driven to the top & got the same view.  Most of the group went out for dinner at a local place, but we chose to do our own thing, so no campfire tonight.  Tomorrow we shift camp to a nearby region for more rides.

Day 4.- Myrtleford - Towanga

Everyone packed up, most of us heading to supermarket to stock up for the next 5 days, some to get vehicles checked due to small problems, others back to the winery for lunch.  We were in the first lot, plus I needed BADLY to get a haircut & was lucky enough to find a hairdresser who could do it there & then.  As there were 5 of them in this little town it was a fair bet.  I now feel presentable again, though cycling helmets do nothing for your hair when you wear them day in & day out.  Anyway, nice drive (45 mins) through lovely hills & valleys to our new camp.  What a debacle it turned out to be.  Our organiser had booked the group in but the guy manning the office reckoned she had only booked 2 sites.  He couldn't work the computer & was in a real tizz because he said he would have to go & mow some unpowered sites for us.  His wife normally did the office thing, so he became rather irritable & the whole thing became quite chaotic with no-one knowing where exactly where we were supposed to camp.  It's a huge camp with lots of empty space plus powered sites, cabins etc, & certainly not busy, so it should not have been a problem.  However we all plonked ourselves down in the area we THOUGHT he wanted us to go to, & had lunch & time to calm ourselves down.  The group have been here before but these are new owners or managers, so they were a bit disappointed to find it so different.  Anyway, it is a nice camp right beside a river & we probably could have had a powered site beside that, but we opted to stay with the group on unpowered sites - quite a lot cheaper anyway.  It also looks out on the highest mountain in Victoria (Mt  Bogong) which is a ski area in winter, so obviously gets very  cold.  Luckily for us the days have been lovely.  Have just had a lovely roast chicken dinner, camping style.  Rotisseried chicken from supermarket, vegetables done in the frypan, packet gravy & frozen peas, followed by homemade apple crumble which I made last night & shared with four others.  All good tucker.  So no cycling today, so hope tomorrow when we go out again my rear end will have recovered a bit.  We really are having a lovely time & hope to do some nice walks in the next couple of days while the others do some really long cycles.  We are here for 5 days so it should work in OK.

Day 2 Towanga