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.

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 “It is un-Australian to drive past a country pub”.

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

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.

Taking the trail will provide relief from the highway traffic and slight gradients over a reasonable surface until the turn off into Tallangatta and my planned caravan park accommodation.

After chatting with a local, I found out that the River Road, although a longer route, may have been faster and was certainly easier than taking the main highway that I took as a “short cut”.

In hindsight, if I was to ride this section again, I would probably take this local advice and follow the river, cutting down through Granya to pick up the trail at Old Tallangatta and then an easy ride into Tallangatta and the local caravan park for a well earned rest and wash.