Climb the Highest Mountain

Day 40 (12/14): Mansfield to Wangaratta; 114 km; 21 kph; cabin



Day 41 (12/15): Wangaratta to Tallangatta; 102 km; 19 kph; cabin




Day 42 (12/16): Tallangatta to Khancoban; 111 km; 19 kph; cabin




Day 43 (12/17): Khancoban to Thredbo; 62 km (bike); 13 kph; 18 km (pickup truck); YHA Hostel


Ok, lets go in order even though things did not get really interesting until the 17th. Covered some pretty good distances these first three days, each day with a pretty good climb or two (up to 500 m vertical) to help me get ready for the big day up to Thredbo. Pleasantly, I also had favorable winds pretty much the whole time though the climbing kept my average speeds somewhat lower than I would have otherwise expected.


As I moved north the countryside changed, first getting more hilly, then steadily drier. Then got the variation of Hume Lake, which is considerably smaller than 1992 and then the New South Wales state border. Still the same old wacko noisy birds and uniquely Australian trees and "feel." Almost started to settle into a bit of a rythym I'd even say. The caravan parks kept throwing me curves too. Generally I prefer to camp if nothing else just to economize. Well, cabins in Wangarrata were only $14 more than tent sites; the cabin in Tallangatta was only $30 (AU). Tempted like that I obviously jump for the roof/bed/etc every time even though tent camping can be quite pleasant.


So, from Khancoban (can-co'-ban) to Thredbo is about 75 km, with a net vertical rise of about 1100 meters (turns out total climb for day would be closer to 1800 meters I'd guess). This was the "big" day riding I'd known was coming for some time and was both anticipating (I really like riding in mountains) and dreading (hauling a 40+ kg bike up hills is hard). An uncertain weather forecast did not help anything.


So day started out fine at about 7:30 am. Cloudy but pleasantly cool weather, beautiful ride, quiet road, etc. Stopped and checked out some of the Snowy River Scheme hydroelectric power system stuff, took my time on climbs, was having a superb day. Then at about 10:30 the rain started. In and of itself, rain while riding isn't really a problem. When I do big climbs in rain, my rain gear works great in keeping me warm, but I still get soaking wet--outside from the rain and inside from sweat. The trick is that even if the outside is cool or cold, the inside stays warm.

Here's the dilemna: as you climb the temperature also drops, sometimes considerably as I expected going up to Thredbo. On longer climbs, I also get tired and really can't eat enough to replace the energy I'm expending pedalling AND generating heat to keep warm. So on day 43 about the time I got to the 50 km point at about 1:30 PM, it was about 50 Deg F, I was soaking wet inside and out, and also looking at about 25 km more riding, most of it steeply uphill.


I won't debate whether I've wisened in my years or gotten too conservative, but though still warm at the time, I felt myself a good candidate for hypothermia "up the road" a ways. (I actually had a full layer of dry cloths in my pannier, but they would have been soaked in 5 minutes had I put them on and continued riding.) So, as I started riding up the (really steep at times) hill, I also started hitch hiking as the rare vehicle would pass by. After about 40 minutes of this a pickup truck with an older couple stopped to check on me. Although he was reluctant, I convinced them to toss me and my bike in the bed of the truck (there was no room in the cab for me), where I rode the last 18 km up the hill to Thredbo next to their cute black dog Mack.


The truck ride went very well except for how fast the guy drove; how his dog stayed in there normally I couldn't figure. Sure enough, when we got to Thredbo, it was pouring rain and about 40 Deg F, but it only took me 5 minutes to find the YHA Hostel and get under cover to start the drying/warming up process. An hour and a half later I was warm and dry in freshly washed clothes making my dinner in the kitchen. Made it until about 9:30 pm before completely conking out. Didn't even set an alarm.


Quite an interesting day that I think I handled pretty responsibly if I must say so myself. Well, gotta go down and see if y panniers and bike shoes are finally dry as well. If not, that's ok as I am staying here two nights anyway. Bye for now.