Sydney to Melbourne BNT by MTB - Day 011 - Lost Plain to Woods Point

Day:  011
Date:  Thursday, 18 November 2004
Start:  Lost PLain
Finish:  30km west of Woods Point
Daily Kilometres:  130
Total Kilometres:  1274
Accommodation:  Tent
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli
  Lunch:  Pie and pastie
  Dinner:  Bread and peanut butter
Animals Seen:  Kangaroos, dingo pup

Journal:
I woke up at 6:00am and was on the road by 7:20am on a very windy and relatively warm day.  I hoped that a mainly downhill ride would get me to Licola, 45km away, quite quickly.  However, the road was quite steep and poor in quality meaning I couldn't go too fast and I got very tired hands from using the brakes the whole way.  When I reached the floor of the Wellington River Valley it still took a long time to get to Licola and I was very tired (probably from yesterday) by the time I got there.

I found the small store and had an early lunch of pie, pastie, ice-cream, juice and milk.  After about an hour I set off towards Woods Point on a road that climbed steadily back into the mountains.  I felt quite tired and decided to walk when I felt like it.  This meant that progress was relatively slow but it was steady.  Nearer the top the road changed to gravel, and after a break, I felt some strength returning nand walked less, making faster progress.

I turned off the Jamieson Road towards Woods Point and made good progress until I turned on to the Selma Road which climbed over Mount Selma.  The surface was rough and there were plenty of ups.  Even coming down the other side I couldn't make good speed because the surface was too poor.  I hoped it would be better when I turned on to the Walhalla-Woods Point Road but it wasn't.  I had been planning to stop in at Woods Point and perhaps spend the night there.  However, as I got closer, the prospect of descending into Woods Point and then starting with the climb out tomorrow morning seemed less enticing.  I had enough food to camp out and in the end decided to keep going to a picnic area marked on the map.  I seemed to be making good progress and the road was sticking mainly to the ridge.  It was much more rainforest-like with tree ferns, etc.

I reached the picnic area at 7:00pm but it was a wreck.  I continued on another 5km and found a place on a side trail shere I camped.  Yet again my chafing was quite bad and my clothes definitely needed a wash.  I went to bed at 9:30pm after calling Barb.