Long Ride - Day 19 - Cooma to Cann River

With the Long Ride fast coming to an end we were expecting the last few days to take in some of the best roads.  Last night we had been given a warning that the roads had been experiencing some pretty bad black ice recently and while the morning dawned bright and sunny we decided not to risk the danger and take a more cautious route although, it could add an extra day to the ride.

 

We found a great little Vietnamese bakery in Cooma and ordered a hot coffee and breakfast before taking on one of the highest roads in Australia, the Monaro Highway.

 

While this road gets to altitudes of 1300 metres it traverses mostly open plain so is generally free of ice after the sun has been up for a while, most of the time is it pretty safe, if not cold.  We left Cooma with the temperature at around 6 degrees and by the time we were on the open plain and with a bike speed, and therefore wind speed, of around 100 kilometres per hour I reckon the wind chill was down below zero.  It was actually becoming painful.

 

We continued on until we reached Nimmitabel where we had to stop to get warm and get some blood flowing again.  My hands had cramped pretty badly, my nose wouldn't stop running and my eyes were watering severely, which in turn was causing my lashes to rub the tears on my goggles and make vision pretty bad.  Oh no, my beloved Ugly Fish were letting me down again.

For Sale.  One pub, needs coat of paint.


As we prepared to get on the road again I noticed a garishly painted building across the road and realised it was the pub and it was for sale.  I'm not 100% sure but I think the same building was for sale last time I passed through here, and that was on the Long Ride of 2011.  It seems no one wants a pub at the top of Australia, who blames them, it's too bloody cold to enjoy a beer.

 

We pushed on down the Monaro until it turns into the Snowy Mountain Highway, here we turned left and continued on the Monaro, the next destination would be Bombala, the last town before we hit Victoria.

 

Bombala, bike friendly.

The roads around here are famous with bike riders and the town of Bombala makes a point of letting everyone know that bikers are welcome, in fact the remote town has a bike show every year in November.  Here we stopped and had a rest from the cold.  Despite the warm sun the air was still icy cold so a hot chocolate and a piece of jelly slice was just what the doctor order.

 

Bombala is a pretty unique place, it seems to be well and truly set in the early 1900's.  If it were for the current cars you would swear you were back a hundred years ago.

 

We set off again and followed the Monaro Highway which was now starting to meander its way through thick bushland as it headed towards the border with Victoria.  The road was still very damp in places but was dry enough for a decent squirt.  It was great to be back on roads with a bit of personality, and I for one was going to take advantage of it.

On the home stretch now.

Not long after the road started to get twisty we were upon the border.  It was here that I discovered that this road hadn't been sealed on the Victorian side of the border until 1985.  I made me think how bloody backwards we were in Victoria at times.  Especially when considering some of the roads we had seen in northern New South Wales and Queensland.  It's like the road authorities acknowledge there could be dangers like animals and make the roads wide enough to allow the driver or rider enough space to manoeuvre.  They also clear the edges of the road so that you can see the animals.

 

I think this could be employed here in Victoria instead of always just blaming the motorists for driving poorly. 

You can't be serious.  This road was only paved about 30
years ago.

 

We rode on before stopping just outside of Cann River.  The warm sunshine on the green fields was an idyllic scene.  It almost seemed ironic that we had ridden over 7,000 kilometres and the most beautiful landscape was right here on our doorstep.  We enjoyed the view and the friendly nature of the local cows before riding into Cann River.

 

We checked into the Cann River Motel before heading to the Cann River Hotel for something to eat.  It's a simple pub with simple meals, but that was just fine, and rally hit the spot.  The many locals were keen to hear about what we had been doing, so again we were able to raise some awareness of prostate cancer. 

 

Ah, at last some twisties.

While having dinner we were asked to buy a few tickets in the regular Friday night draw.  With the top prize being $200 we couldn't resist as we would donate this to the cause should we win.  Unfortunately we didn't take the first prize but we did win a bottle of Stone's Green Ginger Wine; a four pack of Vodka Cruisers; and a glue gun.  We are certainly on a winning streak.

 

The temperature is already starting to drop very close to zero so it will probably be an early night, although if the roads are icy there'll be no point leaving early tomorrow.

 

We rode almost 250 kilometres today taking the total ridden to 7,165.  The great news is that with another significant donation we have been able to crack the $13k mark.  With only a few days to go I am still hopeful we will get this even closer to the target of $15,000.