{"id":19990,"date":"2015-10-11T16:52:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T06:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blokeonbike.com\/bloke1\/?p=19990"},"modified":"2024-12-16T08:28:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T22:58:13","slug":"day-8-taking-the-short-cut-provides-more-hill-climb-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ourdustybackroads.com\/odbProd\/day-8-taking-the-short-cut-provides-more-hill-climb-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 8: Taking the short cut provides more hill climb challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

The morning was warm with an overcast sky that promised rain and I was able to top up my water bottles from a farm rainwater tank. Pressing on over decent roads over undulating terrain, just before Shelley there was one long hill that drained my remaining energy, but on reaching the top, I had a long downhill ride to the Koetong pub for lunch.<\/h4>\n

With 35 kilometres left to Tallangatta, I stopped here for a meal of pork sausages and vegetables, lured in by the slogan on the door advising that \u201cIt is un-Australian to drive past a country pub\u201d.<\/p>\n

From Koetong it is predominantly (trust me) downhill with some long, fast runs through Bullioh to the High Country Rail Trail at Old Tallangatta.<\/p>\n

However, I was so enjoying the ride and the light rain that I rode straight past the turnoff to the old town and so did not pick up the trail until the road crossed a branch of Lake Hume.<\/p>\n\n\t\t