Day1 – Jindabyne, Australia Day Weekend – Getting there alone

9.30am at Yarck on Friday, a date I could not keep due to a wedding of the Indian (Hindu) kind in my extended family. 12 noon for the ceremony and lunch, a chance at some Indian nosh. You may have heard about me and food: don't get between me and tucker. Anyhow, I needed a Plan B to get to Jindabyne by dusk on Friday night. Google Maps suggests a bit over 6 hours from Wallan to Jindabyne using the Hume Freeway and the Murray Valley Highway.

Both routes not really sports bike territory and usually highly policed but the timing suited. I had packed and fuelled up in the morning so rolled out of home at around 3pm and realised that swapping the carb needles and not the matching air jets was a big no no. Too rich down low meant jerkiness around 4000 to 5500 rpm. Much black smoke and heavy fuel use. This was not how the bike should be.

Replacing the Factory Pro needles that were on the lowest groove but still ran me out of fuel while leading the Meredith ride on Jan 6., should have improved fuel economy. Putting the original needles back in on their lowest grove should have delivered leaner running. I had not run the bike since the swap. No time to correct the oversight. so across to Wallan, on to the Hume and head north.

Finding a car that was happy to run above the limit allowed me to tuck in behind and raise the required average slightly and avoid the attention of the TOG. The theory worked as a Falcon van that was sitting on about 125km/h with me behind attracted the attention of a black unmarked around Euroa, lights on, passes me and nails the Falcon. At the limit cruise till a BMW comes past and I tuck in till the fuel light prompts a call in to the first of MANY top ups on this weekend.

Past Glenrowan and a bit of brain fade has me on the road to Oxley when I should have been on the road to Beechworth. Left on the Whitfield to Wangaratta road into Wang and fuel again, then onto the Great Alpine Road and left to Beechworth and Yackandandah.

On to Kiewa, through the left/rights and onto the Murray Valley Highway. Time was getting away and I knew there was a risk of not making Corryong before the fuel closed.

My instrument panel is a US unit that has KMH and MPH choice on speed indication but the odometer is in miles and the temp gauge reads in Farhrenheit. Normal temp is 173F so I matched the KPH to the temp indication and went for it.

More fuel at Tallangatta and on it on the highway towards dark clouds and hopefully fuel. The caravan park on the outskirts of Corryong was open, run by Rhys' mate Ben tells me. Fuel up, let Val know and message Ben that I was coming. I trust the wildlife would stay off my patch of road and tackle the run to Jindabyne.

Running with reflective visor up and into a heavy rain storm that eased off halfway to Khancoban which had closed for the day.

Through the cuttings, south to Tom Groggin, past Thredbo and on to Jindabyne. Arrived a bit before 8pm as the MSR bunch are being asked to vacate the food hall. Grab an apple and some cake, thanks Pina, and off to talk the talk and play some cards in the spacious common room and eventually hit the sack.

A bit quicker than Google suggested but at least I was able to be at the start of Saturday's Snowy roads feast. More about the rest of the weekend away to come.

Geoff Jones (heavy carbon footprint) R1