Woke at 7.45 am and no cows to milk (Thanks Marge.) Haven't slept this late in years. Must have been yesterday’s ride which needed lots of concentration especially in the rain on Black Mountain. Perhaps it also was the Walwa Pub which is a great place to stay.

Trevor decided that his rear tyre needed replacing and was off to Albury, Peter was in Canberra trying to find a rear tyre to replace the one that had done 1800 kms including a ride day; apparently they have great grip but not great wear. Ken was last seen touring the Victorian countryside by helicopter. This left Ben, Rhys, Bruce and self to come to grips with the Snowy roads.

After filling with petrol we headed for Tintaldra and Toowong taking the Khancoban road to the turnoff for Cabramurra. Here Ben came upon one of the many BMW riders that we were to see today. There was a group of about 50 bikes staying at Khancoban. The road to Kiandra via Cabramurra has various stages with steep grades, sweepers and occasional reducing radius turns one of which I happen to meet a Holden van where extra lean angle was employed to avoid becoming the bumper mascot. The parts I seem to enjoy the most in the Snowy have Orange poles on the side of the road. These are to mark the road in Snow conditions but seem to consist of fast sweepers that get the blood moving.

At Kiandra Bruce and I changed bikes to try and counter the relative boredom of the Snowy Mountains Hwy. The VFR seemed a comfortable bike but the braking system was different to the BMW's and would need further trials to work out the method for best results. We had lunch at Tumut where the highlight was the appearance of one of the local lads wearing a T-shirt with "RUNT" on the front. I think it was an R. Bruce thought that he had been outdone for bad taste.

We then headed for Wondalga and one of Rhys’s favourite rides, a logging road that goes to Rosewood with very light traffic - only the occasional three trailered log truck to keep you on your toes. (We had structured the whole four days around this road, and it rained! A five minute downpour at the start left the road wet, enthusiam drowned. Ed.)

At Rosewood Rhys repaired his radiator with chewing gum, having picked up a leak somehow following Ben. Then on to Tumbarumba for fuel and a bottle of Whyns Radiator stop-leak. We met up with Peter and R1100RT mounted John Curry. Peter had ridden down from Canberra, after securing a new rear tyre, to meet John at Cooma. John had riden down from Sydney having covered many thousands of kms travelling from Melbourne to Newcastle. He was to stay at Walwa with us on his way home. He had done over a thousand kms on each of the three days so far.

Given every time we climbed up into mountains it rained, and Peter noted that it was raining on Elliot’s Way, our intended route, it was decided to change the route and return to Walwa. where Peter and John could unload their luggage, and head out again. Maybe Trevor was back from Albury and ready to play.

Trevor was back but feeling unwell, my BM was running ragged due to a worn throttle spindle and Bruce was feeling weary so the others went off on the Granya Gap, Tintaldra loop which included a trip down the Mita Mita road. Because of missing this 300 ride and not doing the Elliot Way or the Charlottes Pass this trip I had better start building up Brownie points ready for the next Snowy Weekend.

Being Cup Eve it was standing room only in the bar, and, as there were many trying to have a meal there was plenty of time to catch up on gossip. Amongst other stories we heard what Peter feeds his dogs and what John flashes to get the best room in the house. And a classic story from Rhys which included references to Chinese food for Friday lunch, time and MOTION studies and 68 hrs / year of work time with no return for the Fast Fit Muffler King. While this was going on the Cup Calcutta was in full swing, and, having drawn a runner I tried to find how they operate and not miss any of the table talk. My horse was auctioned for $50 so my return was $25, it failed to start so I was glad not bidding on it. The publican bought the winning horse as well as two others.

As there were possibly 40 counter teas and only two in the kitchen meals were a long time coming. Upon asking if help was needed we were informed that help was on the way. Later, Rhys was seen to get a faraway look in his eyes which bounced up and down. He would then sigh and return to normal. This cause of this problem was diagnosed to be that help which had arrived in the form of the famed Walwa Waitress, last seen on the `99 trip. In my opinion she deserved her 10.

Geoff Barton R1100GS