May 28, 2023
Day 18: Rutherglen to Wangaratta
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It was difficult to concede that a ride up to Beechworth would have to wait for another time after cycling all this way but the weather was bad and getting worse. We took the easiest possible route to Wangaratta. I wanted to use the bike trail but had a problem finding how to get on it. The trail from Rutherglen uses roads anyway. We had a break at an old railway station called Bowser, this is where we met the trail into Wangaratta. The trail followed the old railway line which followed a creek. As we neared Wangaratta we started coming upon homeless camps. Tents of dubious quality set up by the creek looking very damp and miserable. This is not a good time to be homeless in a place as cold as this. It's something I spent time thinking about for the rest of the trip.
We made it into the centre of Wangaratta and found a park with toilets and a picnic shelter. We took it turns to dry some of our clothes out with the hand dryer in the toilets. We had to clean up the rubbish left by some local teenagers before we could have lunch. As the rain got steadily worse we started to revise the plans. Plan A, carry on to Glenrowan (17km) and get a cabin, I called the caravan park but couldn't get anyone to answer. Plan B, get a cabin in Wangaratta, I called the caravan park but couldn't get anyone to answer. Plan C, get a motel room in Wangaratta. I called the only one near the centre anywhere near our price range but it just sounded dodgy. Plan D, ride to the caravan park in Wangaratta and see what happens. The park wasn't far away so off we went. By now the rain was really coming down. The lady there apoligised for missing the called and, in all fairness, she had called me back but I didn't hear it. There were no cabins available as there had been some car racing event on nearby that had taken all of the accommodation in both caravan parks and motels. She made an effort to find us accommodation by making phone calls but to no avail. Nothing else for it, we put up the tent. There was a good camp kitchen to get ourselves sorted whilst the tent sat out in the rain. We managed to get cleaned up and dry clothes.
We spent the afternoon and evening in the camp kitchen, I even got a decent fire going with the supplied wood. A few people came in and had a chat during the evening. When we thought that everyone was done for the evening I took down the tent and set up the sleeping bags on the floor of the kitchen. Wouldn't you know it, no sooner had we got our heads down than someone came in to benefit from our fire.
Actually quite a comfortable night, just as good as a cabin.
Today's ride: 43 km (27 miles)
Total: 1,027 km (638 miles)
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