Canberra to Melbourne Ride: A short summary of the ride plan.

There are quite a few routes to Melbourne from Canberra. The most direct, flattest, least interesting way is via the Barton and Hume Highways. This is also one of the busiest trucking routes in Australia, so I won't be using it.

Nor will I exit Canberra by the very scenic Tharwa to Adaminaby road. Although the views are spectacular on this road, I recently cycled it unloaded. It has very serious hills which I'd prefer to avoid on Day 1 of the Lake-to-Lake tour with full panniers.

Though longer, and also somewhat hilly there is another way to exit Canberra and eventually reach Melbourne. This is via Queanbeyan, Captains Flat and then onto Cooma and beyond. I estimate this way through to Melbourne will be about 1000 km.

This route is a good combination of roads I've neither cycled nor driven, and makes best use of the available rail trails in Victoria. A section of the route also follows almost the entire length of the famous Snowy River. It is a waterway which I have long been curious to see through to its meeting with the sea.

The Lake-to-Lake ride will be a similar distance to rides from London to Zurich; from Portland to Sacramento; from Bangkok to Saigon; from Manhattan to Quebec City or from Edinburgh to Plymouth.

The current plan is to cycle the Lake-to-Lake Ride via the following towns.

CANBERRA 640m
Queanbeyan
Captains Flat 900m
Jerangle 1120m
Numeralla 890m
COOMA 780m
Maffra Rd 1040m
DALGETY 760m (onto the Barry Way called Snowy River Rd from the NSW-Vic border)
Ingebyra 1100m
Buchan 120m
ORBOST 80m (onto the East Gippsland Rail Trail)
BAIRNSDALE 50m
Longford
TOORA .
FOSTER (onto the Great Southern Rail Trail)
LEONGATHA
OUTTRIM
INVERLOCH
CAPE PATTERSON
WONTHAGGI (onto the Bass Coast Rail Trail)
ANDERSON
SAN REMO
NEWHAVEN
COWES
Ferry
CRIB POINT
HASTINGS
SOMERVILLE
LANGWARRIN STH
LANGWARRIN
SEAFORD (onto the Bay Trail)
MELBOURNE CITY 20m

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The detail of first few days of the ride will be a something like:
Captains Flat 1st Night after 60 km. (Pub)
Numeralla 2nd Night after 78 km (Camp)
Cooma
Maffra
Dalgety 3rd Night after 73 km (Pub)

...and then onto the Barry Way for 2 to 3 nights of camping before reaching Orbost and the first rail trail. Thereafter, it'll be 6 to 8 days or so of cycling to Melbourne.