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The Annual Pilgrimage to Bright
By Peter Stanfield
from April 2002

It didn't get off to a good start when I found out that the place had been booked out by over 800 Rotarians. But there are a lot of other great spots in the area, and Annie's (Duplex) Alpine Accommodation came to the rescue and we were booked into a beaut motel in Tawonga, with the promise of a pool, spa and sauna, plus a pub over the road and a good Italian restaurant down the road. What else could we need?

The day was sunny for the Friday group as we (Peter and Sue, Tom, Ross and Fred) assembled at Williamsdale for the 8.30 start. With no sight of Jimbo by 8.45 we said the usual sympathetic club phrase when leaving without a fellow rider: "F... him, he knows where we're going" and headed off on that fascinating bit of road to Cooma. Jim lobbed at Cooma as we were ordering our bacon burgers at M&Ms and we were complete again, Greg and Claire having opted for the Hume, Tumut, Tumbarumba, Jingellic route. We headed off to Kiandra, planning on going via the Elliott Way, but bridge works at Tumut River buggered that idea and, having done the Alpine Way recently, we decided to swing down past Cabramurra, Tumut pond and Tintaldra. There really are nice alternative routes through the Snowies - a refreshing change after the Cooma stretch, although Jim apparently got caught looking at the view and nearly went tree hugging (which some poor bugger did, as the Saturday group witnessed - see below).

A short stop at Kiandra, where Jim redirected a Ulysses AGM participant to the Tumut road (there were hundreds on the road) after which we headed off to Tumut Pond for a short stop and then agreed on Walwa for a lunch break. The road next to the Murray after Walwa has to be one of the best bike roads around with continuous well-marked corners, a good surface and a very pleasant view of the ever-changing Valley.

Then over Granya Gap and down to Tintaldra for some pulp. An old R80 and older rider was waiting to fill up on his way to Mt Gambier for the Ulysses AGM. When he inquired about how many ks I had on my bike (18,000 at that stage) he took great pride in telling us he had over 480,000 on his beemer - and still on the original rings.

He also advised his departure was delayed due to the funeral of local Ulysses member #13 the day before.

We then headed off down the eastern side of the Kiewa valley with Jim in the lead. The eastern side of the valley is a pleasant if somewhat narrower road covered with lots of cow manure at regular intervals. I was a little worried when I saw the last Dederang turn but we were making good time and the two roads had to converge at some time. I guess we were distracted by the jogger when we hit the rough gravel road at something over 100km/h and shits were trumps until the ABS pulled us up to a more steady pace. After about 8km we swung right over the Kiewa river, and hit the highway with 10km to travel to Tawonga and the motel.

It was good to have had some recent gravel experience as the motel car park was all gravel and I thought what a bugger it would be if, having negotiated 2000 corners on the way down, you were to drop your bike in the car park. There were a few nervous moments for most as they parked or manoeuvred their bikes but no incidents. Off the bikes, drop the gear and into a lovely cool pool followed by the spa and a few cold VBs provided by Annie - the only way to finish a ride. A few more beers and a good steak at the pub to follow. The motel (Mountain Creek Motel, Tawonga) was great, on the side of the valley with uninterrupted views of the range including Mt Bogong, and quite a few drinks were downed on the veranda admiring the view or the stars at night.

The next day was spent doing the tourist trek over to Bright (the Tawonga Gap at the back of the motel is a great ride in itself) with lots of nice little shops and then up Mt Buffalo - another great road - but don't admire the view while negotiating some of the 600 (or something) corners. Most rode up to the base of the short walk to the summit (about 1-2 km of gravel) but I chickened out. So we went back to the tea rooms at the Chalet for lunch. The Chalet was in the process of setting up dinner in the gardens for the 800 Rotarians who would bus up that evening from Bright.

Back to the motel for a dip and to welcome a subdued group of Saturday travellers who were a bit late after witnessing/providing first aid to a sportsbiker who crashed in front of them and died of internal injuries on the Cabramurra link road.

Tom and Ross were a little late getting back from their tourist activities, the lucky buggers. They secured rides in a powered glider out of Mt Beauty and up over Mt Bogong. That night, after a few more drinks on the veranda of the pub, some 27 of us booked in for the evening meal at Roi's, a highly acclaimed restaurant two doors up the road. The food was great but unfortunately the restaurant was non-BYO.

On the Sunday we all went in different directions (like a club ride), most nevertheless finding the bakery in Mt Beauty for a caffeine hit (except Jimbo and Fred who headed back to Canberra). We then did the 16km to beautiful Bogong and then the further 16km to Falls Creek, which was the typical summer ski resort - all car park and windy grassy slopes. Nigel decided to visit the Duck Inn and try out the bit of dirt on the way with a Omeo/Mt Hotham return.

After a few more beers on the verandas at the motel and the pub, we shared our cash between the restaurant and the pub on our last night. The trek back on the Monday started with Bruce up the Hume at about 8.20 with the rest either doing the reverse of the Cabramurra run or, like us, up the Alpine Way to stop at the Jindabyne bakery. All arrived back safe which was a bit of a worry after the fatality on the Saturday. My bike was showing just under 1300km for the three days and my bum was telling me that we had done a fair trip on the Sunday and my ears were a little sick of the few tapes I had taken - but when is the next ride?

© ACTBMWMCC 2001 - not to be reproduced in whole or part without permission.

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