November 2nd 2010 'Riders In The Sky'

Well we had a big day Jonesy we rode 450k's today (Melbourne Cup day)...backtracking, Bevin & I left Wangaratta yesterday then rode to a wee place with nothing but a pub beside a river that looked fit to bust and like many in the region had just recently done that half covering their 'Riverside Bar' Was sorta like going to Wangamomona... windy bike roads and the pub was hard case and the Aussie blokes on their blokey/fishing/boozing trips well ya don't get more down to earth(is that diplomatic enough ya reckon) blokes Anyhow last part of ride was cold and wettish lucky but they had an open fire goin tell ya darl (that's Aussie short for darling and said with a real drawl daaarrll) it's been real cold we can't wait for the heat(Global Warming is nothing more than a media generated myth you know) .. Yeah I know we will no doubt hafta eat those words later(top half of Oz) but wouldn't u know it they reckon it's been the coldest season in years now how bloody typical do you think that is aye? Anyhow pub we stayed at was called the Kevington Hotel..you can google it, its there :-) Was real cute... wonky rooms, floors all running down hill(yes made a tad worse with 4 ciders on board)but they did have heaters in the room mmmm. Left there this morning backtracked almost back to Wangaratta and headed to Bright a ski town on the Great Alpine Highway..with the risk of another freezing night in the tent decided not to stay in Bright but to cut a track to the coast so back on the great Alpine Highway we headed & it just kept going up and up and up very windy(not wind thank goodness as was yer know precarious enough in places) got to the very high spot of Mt Hotham ..we was truly up in the gods and there was still snow up there and my goodness the huge hotel and apartment blocks very flash I can tell you...but reminded me of the 'The Shining' (A Stephen King movie starring Jack Nicholson..need I say more )with hardly a soul about. The temp was -2c but a -3.3 with wind chill gettin bit worried needed to get down before we froze but the views were totally spectacular a sea of skeletal white dead trees apparently from fires 5 years back We beat a hasty track down to the coast wonderful ride for bikes through twists and turns for many k's and feeling much more comfy on my bike now(Bevin too haha ..yeah right) but we stay ever vigilant for moving wildlife as there are many signs and even though they are said to come out at dawn or dusk they the animals don't always know that..only saw a dead kanga and a wombat today they reckon the wombats are real bad news they wreck cars cos they are solid little barrels won't tell you what they could do to a motorcyclist won't go there so yip eyes peeled So here I am in the dark in me wee tent hammering my iPhone at a place called Eagles Point Caravan park in Bairnsdale right near 90 mile beach.. Bet they stole that too the buggers.