1st Dec - Biked the Barry Way

Up about 6.30. Fortunately it had stopped raining at some point in the night and was dry to pack everything away and sit and have porridge and coffee for breakfast. It took a while to get everything together because off my things were wet and covered in gravel from the road. I ended up literally submerging my bike in the river to wash off all of the grit so that the bike was actually ridable. Set off about 9.

With hindsight I am extremely glad that I did not try to get to Willis last night (20km further on) because it took me most of the morning to get there! With all of the rain the road was terrible but the countryside was extremely beautiful - even when it was raining. The road runs parallel to the Snowy River. The river bed is normally dry but with all of the rain it was flowing heavily. I did not see another person or car till after midday. Very isolated and peaceful with me, my bike, my camera and the hundreds of kangaroos :-)

Had noodles for lunch by the river and pushed on. The rain did stop and the views cleared. I did have to get off for one very short stretch and push as the ground was too soft to ride through.

The climb up from the river to Jinderbyne went on just climbing up with no stops for about 30km. Amazing views. My map indicates that the road turns from unsealed to sealed about 40km from Jinderbyne. It turned out that it was actually only 20km. I was knackered having biked up hill, through mush for 80km by the time I reached the sealed road. It was a lovely sight to see :-)

I had been pushing to do the pass in 2 days to arrive on Wednesday night so that I could stay with Bruce from Warm Showers in Jinderbyne. He was not at home later from Thursday onwards and so if I wanted a shower, to sleep inside, wash and dry my clothes etc then I needed to get there on Wednesday night.

I called Bruce when I got a signal just outside of Jinderbyne on the sealed road and he kindly picked me up in his truck and drove me into town. :-) I looked like a drowned rat covered in grit!

It was 8.30 by the time we got to town. It was great to have a warm shower and then a big meal of steak and salad. Thanks Bruce!

This is probably one of the hardest rides I have done in my life - but extremely rewarding. I think that this pass is one of the most beautiful parts of Australia. I could not have completed the ride in one day went I arrived in Aus a month and a half ago. My fitness has really increased.