Hiking or biking Australia's Bicentennial National Trail (BNT), which follows the Great Dividing Range along the east coast, has always been of interest to me as a possible adventure. In late 2004, I put my toe in the water by riding my new mountain bike from my home on the NSW Central Coast to Melbourne following the BNT as much as realistically possible on a bike.

Sydney to Melbourne BNT by MTB - Day 009 - Omeo to Dargo

Day:  009
Date:  Tuesday, 16 November 2004
Start:  Omeo
Finish:  Dargo
Daily Kilometres:  90
Total Kilometres:  1064
Accommodation:  Motel room
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Toasted sandwich
  Lunch:  Pie and pastie
  Dinner:  Counter tea
Animals Seen:  Emus

Journal:
I got up at 6:30am after a good night's sleep and packed up and left by 7:10am.  I rode the short distance to the bakery and had a toasted sandwich for breakfast.  Then I headed out of town on a beautiful sunny and cool morning.  As expected, most of the morning was spent climbing, first on bitumen and then on gravel as I crossed the Birregun Range.  There were logging operations going on along the first part of the road and I made sure I got off the road when the trucks roared past.  Once past the logging, I had the road to myself apart from a grader midway along.  It was a long climb and I had to walk a number of times.  After yesterday's fatigue I was quicker to walk today when I got tired.  I felt better and really enjoyed the isolation and views on the beautiful day.

At one point the road passed through a vast section of burnt-out forest which was eerily quiet but with a stark beauty.  Further along, back in the green forest, I startled a pair of emus who ran along the track in front of me for a way.  My initial plan was to get to Dargo for a late lunch, but as the day wore on my likely arrival time got later, mainly because of the hills, but also because of the poor road quality.  On the descents I had to concentrate hard on dodging the rocks and my hands grew very tired from holding the brakes on.  I hoped that the brake pads would last the trip.

Later on I noticed some new rattles from the back and stopped to find the carrier was loose and had lost a screw.  Fortunately, I found an unused one elsewhere on the bike and managed to fix it.  I need to check more regularly.  I eventually arrived in the sleepy and pretty town of Dargo just before 4:00pm.  I got a pie and pastie for a late lunch and decided to stay in the town motel for the night.  This means I'll get to Melbourne on Friday.  I got some advice from the motel owner on the best track to Licola tomorrow.  I have a big hill to climb.
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