April 19, 2025
Travails up the RailTrail
Black Springs to Beechworth
I was the last to bed just after 9pm looking forward to a quiet and peaceful night gazing up at the star show above before gently slipping off into a deep slumber.
I thought I could hear the faint strains of music as I brushed my teeth. By the time I was in my sleeping bag it had intensified to the point of me reaching for my earplugs. We were in the middle of nowhere but it felt like there was a drumming concert just over the hill. This went on until almost 2am. As it turns out there was a folk festival at the Wangaratta Showgrounds which, as the crow flies, was about 5 kilometres away.
I was up early and got the fire going. We had only enough water for 3/4 of a cup of tea and a short black so I waited for the other guys to stir before carefully rationing out the beverage allocation.
We on the road by 9am, climbed out of the valley and then had a downhill spin for 15 kilometres into Wangaratta and second breakfast. After a quick shop it was onto the Murray to the Mountains rail trail for the gradual uphill to Beechworth.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I’ve ridden this trail many times but this is certainly the driest I have ever seen it. We had our first tail wind of the trip which helped push us the 40 odd kilometres to Beechworth although another 30 degree day didn’t help.
The campground at Lake Sambal was packed. We got the last tent site available, which the attendant warned us had tree roots everywhere, but it still sounded more appealing than the other option 5 kilometres away. It turned out that our small tents fitted neatly between the roots and the healthy cover of pine needles made for extra padding.
We rode back into Beechworth for a few ales and dinner at the Beechworth Brewery before retiring gracefully by 9pm.
Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 580 km (360 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |