Day 4/4: Around The Hume

I've learned much about my tolerance for cold on this trip. With my current full warm gear (non-electric) set-up, and riding at 100 km/h, anything over ten degrees is pleasant. Between five and ten is no problem at all for long distance riding. Between two and five is okay, but not hugely comfortable, with tingling hands and feet that necessitates hugging the engine every so often. Two or below and I'm staying in bed.

And perhaps tackling sixty kilometers of dirt solo, in the middle of nowhere, may be a bit too adventurous for a dirt novice. But as always, the experience has been great. I set off back to Melbourne from Yass (appropriately enough) straight down the Hume, stopping off to see a dog on a tinderbox (don't ask me) and the submarine display at Holbrook, one of only three towns not currently bypassed. And that will be the last overnight journey for my rear tyre; I gave it a good send-off.

Riding Distance: 610 kms
Total Distance: 345 + 285 + 290 + 610 = 1530 kms

Day 3/4: Around The Hume

I crashed today. It was the first time my poor bike has been on its side for about 10 months. But it wasn't all bad. Firstly, I caught it on video. Secondly, it was on fairly wet dirt, and if you are going to crash that is the best place to do it.

Another cold morning and I was off to Corryong for a morning pick-me-up and some fuel, with the intention of taking the back-roads to Tumut via Towong, Greg Greg, Tooma and the wonderfully named Tumbarumba. Condensation from the mist was building on my visor and turning into frost. The petrol station attendant said that she'd driven up that way the day before, and gave me dire warnings about mist, kangaroos and ice in the shadows cast by the trees. It turned out not to be quite so dangerous today though, and it was a superb route to ride. The scenic lookouts, looking down onto cloud cover over the valley, were simply breathtaking.

At Tumut I stopped in at the modern tourist information center in the old butter factory and took the road to Wee Jasper, which contains two stretches of dirt, both of which are about 30kms long. Literally seconds away from the end of the first stretch the bike and I went down (see video below). I'm not sure why, and I didn't have the awareness to examine what I had just ridden through. Most of the road was dry, but this section at the bottom of a valley was damp. The video shows a patch of ground darker than the rest, but perhaps I am just looking for excuses.



No real damage to me or the bike, other than both of us being very muddy. I picked the bike up and got it going again by fully opening the throttle before cranking the engine. I tackled the second section of dirt and then rode from Wee Jasper to Yass underneath a brilliant red sunset. By the time I connected with the Hume again at Yass it was pitch black, but fortunately I finished the twisties before total darkness fell. I didn't travel many kilometers today, but those kilometers were perhaps the hardest I have ever ridden on a bike. It was an awesome day.

Riding Distance: 290 kms

Day 2/4: Around The Hume

It was an incredibly cold morning in Wangaratta; my new digital temperature gauge was reading zero degrees, and its ice warning was flashing away at me. So I left it until 10am by which time it had risen to a whole three degrees. Then bike problems, similar to those observed in another cold morning in Mt Gambier, meant I was having coffee instead of riding the bike. It cheered me up though, as I decided the problem was with the choke and therefore minor, and by the time I had my coffee the temperature had risen another few degrees.

All this meant that I didn't get my bike started until 11am, and I had decided to spend a more relaxing day drinking coffee and exploring. I felt that the bike needed a long straight ride to get itself going, so I took the C374 to Yarrawonga on the state border. I'm glad I did, because Yarrawonga-Malwala is a lovely town, and I picked a great spot overlooking Lake Mulwala near the tourist information building for my second coffee of the day. By now the sun was out; I could have stayed there all day, but it was time to reluctantly move on.

I headed East on the Murray Valley Highway (B400), through Rutherglen, connecting with the Hume again at Wodonga, where I followed the signs to the army museum. The army museum at Wodonga appears to have had a lot more money spent on it than the one at Puckapunyal. All the exhibits are well presented and have been restored to their former glory. It even had a few motorbikes, including a Suzuki GS450 (pictured). It was disappointing that on a Saturday afternoon I appeared to be the only person there.

Further East I got off the Murray Valley Highway at Bonegilla, heading North on the C541, crossing the bridge and taking a superb detour to Bethanga (22 kms return). Although it was getting late I had heard that this was a great road, and I had heard correctly. Looking up at the guard rail on the road running up the hill you are about to climb is awe inspiring. After chatting with some locals at a scenic lookout (pictured) about how I was crazy to ride when it was so cold (my gloved hands were clutching the warmth of the engine), I returned down the hill and continued East.

The C542/6 is a great motorbiking road running along the Murray River; it was difficult not to get distracted by the eerie sight of the river and the numerous leaf-less trees within it, all shrouded in mist. It looked like a scene from a horror movie. I planned to get to Tintaldra or even Corryong but darkness fell so I stayed the night as the only resident in the welcoming one-pub town of Walwa.

Riding Distance: 285 kms

Day 1/4: Around The Hume

The Hume highway, linking Melbourne and Sydney, is one of the most boring roads on the planet. But there are some interesting things around it and I'm going to explore them on this trip.

I've been to three military bases before: one in Bangkok to do some target shooting and one each side of the Korean demilitarized zone. As I turned off the Hume at Seymour I was about to visit my forth. Puckapunyal is a huge military base containing an army museum which is known for its collection of tanks. If it was in Melbourne it would get a good number of civilian visitors. Unfortunately it doesn't because, well, its in the middle of a huge military base.

Getting in the base was no problem; after being given a visitor pass at the security check I was free to ride the bike inside the base to the museum, which even had a 'motorcycles only' parking area. The collection of tanks was impressive in size, much larger than even the army museum in London. It could do with more investment though for restoration of both the tanks and the faded signage. They also had a memorial for soldiers who had died in training. Fresh flowers were placed for the latest casualty, Private David Smith who died at Puckapunyal this time last year.

In the afternoon I tackled three rides listed in my motorcycling atlas. The first was the old Hume Highway which runs parallel to the railway line between Seymour and Longwood. Many years ago it used to accommodate all the traffic, but now it is essentially empty, and apart from Avenel there seems little life left in the towns along the route: an interesting trip to the past. The second ride was from Euroa to Merton, and from there I went on to do the well-known Mansfield to Whitfield run. Mansfield was busy today as it is the gateway to the snowfields at Mt Buller. Mansfield to Whitfield is twisty and generally downhill (with lots of debris today), which is a combination I definitely need more practice at since I typically use engine braking on the flat. From Whitfield I ploughed on up the faster section of the C521, back to the Hume at Wangaratta.

Riding Distance: 345 kms