23/10/2011
After yesterdays problems, I was looking forward to a nice quiet day
of rest and relaxation. Today was the
day of the Albury / Wodonga Border Bike Fest, the reason I’d come all this way.
After last nights catch up with a few of the Albury /
Wodonga Ulysses Branch members, I was looking forward to see how the event
panned out.
The Bike Fest was held on the Lincoln Causeway (the Mad
Mile) between Albury and Wodonga. When I arrived, I was blown away by the number
of bikes already there…hundreds of them.
There was every type of bike you could imagine…drag bikes, customized
cruisers, dirt bikes, early Enfields, BSAs, Raleighs, Bradburys, Matchless and
Indians. The oldest bike I could find
was a 1914 Indian, however I’m sure there were older bikes there.
After I’d spent a few hours at the Bike Fest, I decided
to go for a short loop around the Hume Weir and call in to a few of the old
haunts.
Leaving the Bike Fest, I headed north, crossing the
Murray River and back into NSW. A few
minutes later, it was past the new Albury Base Hospital and Airport then on
towards the Hume Weir. I haven’t been here since the late 70’s and didn’t know what to
expect. Suprisingly, apart from a few
more houses, the area has hardly changed.
I intended to ride over the Weir wall and head towards Tallangatta. Unfortunately, the Weir road has been closed
to all traffic, so rather than take the low road at the bottom of the weir, I
decided to head to Tallangatta via Bethanga.
Crossing Bethanga Bridge is great on a bike..steel frames to the side
and overhead, straight, flat concrete below and water views to the side. It was
very tempting to open the throttle and see what my bike could do. I resisted temptation and kept to the speed limit,
turning right at the end of the bridge. Ahh,
back in Victoria again. Now the real fun
began. Passing through Bellbird, I made
myself comfortable and headed towards Bethanga, taking a few detours on the way
to check out the water skiers and hang gliders.
One thing I had to be conscious of was the amount of
dirt and gravel on the roads, especially on corners and intersections. Several times I had to quickly slow down due
to large gravel patches on the roads, or sealed roads suddenly turning into dirt. Calling into Bethanga, I stopped at the pub
and grabbed a quick drink to make up for yesterday. I could quite happily have stayed for a few
hours, but, I had places to go, and didn’t really want to be stuck here because
I’d had one drink too many.
Off again following the signs to Tallangatta. Unfortunately,
the road turned to dirt a few kilometres from Bethanga. I didn’t like the idea of riding on the dirt
road, mainly because the surface was like riding on ice, the bike sliding all
over the place. No matter what I did, I
didn’t feel in control, so after about 2 km, I turned back the way I’d come, heading back towards Bethanga Bridge and into NSW.
A few minutes later I was back where I started two hours
before. Taking the “low” road, I soon
passed what remains of the Trout Farm, then across the bridge and back in
Victoria.
Following the road a short way, I turned onto an unnamed
dirt track that led to the base of the weir wall. Once again I was having
flashbacks to my childhood. I spent so much time on or in the Murray and it’s
tributaries, so I did something I always used to do. Shoes, socks and bike
pants off and into the water for a quick dip. The water was as cold and clear
as I remembered it. I received a few weird looks from the few people around,
but they probably thought I was some crazy drugged out biker, so they left me
alone.
After the quick cool off and several cups of Murray
River water I dried off, got dressed and jumped back on the bike, past the
newly upgraded resettlement village at Bonegilla. Warning signs at the
Tallangatta turn off advising of delays of up to 45 minutes took Tallangatta
off my destination list for today. Turning right I opened up the throttle, past
an old primary school friends farm (hi Fiona) and headed into Killara, slowing
down as I hit the 60 zone. From here it was a short ride to my old Primary
School at Bandiana, then on to the Black Stump Hotel (Perry’s Pub) for a cold
ale and a bite to eat.
No comments:
Post a Comment