On Friday 8th of January over 40 CR riders (and some ring-in’s) made the trek to Corryong for our annual pilgrimage that is know as the Swim Ride.
The first group to set off from our home-away-from-home, Caffe eCibo at 10:30 for a very leisurely cruise down. Once the boring bit from here to Cooma was covered we took the back road to Dalgehty for lunch, then through Berridale to Adaminaby and on to Kiandra. From there we made our way to Cabrumurra for a drink (and a puncture repair) then took the Tumut Ponds route through to Corryong. It was a good ride right until we hit the ‘wall of heat’ as we popped out from the trees at eh Khancoban end of the power lines. Yuck.
By the time we got to Corryong the car convoy had made it and a few of the other riders and so it was straight to the bar for a few cold drinks! Dinner was had at the bistro and then we proceeded to blatantly ignore out pre-set rule of not drinking too much on the Friday night – oh well.
Just after midnight Jess and Alys made it to town in their car, having to spend the last 100k’s doing 30k/h trying to dodge all the suicidal wildlife. But they made it like troopers and we all settled in for the night.
Saturday morning started with a few groggy heads. The bike formed up and headed out, while the cars got ready and left to meet us at the first swim hole.
The run up Granya was terrific. The only downfall was MickC’s Surfer which didn’t quite make it after loosing the front sprocket nut. They were rescued by the intrepid Karl and would meet us at the first swim hole with the cars. Everyone else managed to navigate Granya gap without incident and then headed down to just before Walwa for a breather, a swim, and a cold drink and food. The water was awesome and the current no where near as bad as last year.
After a while though it was time to head off to the next swim hole at Jingelic. Only a few got lost at the turn off and eventually all made it safe and sound (via Tumbarumba for some). This place was great. The local council had done some great work to the rivers edge with steps and a ramp (although out beloved swing rope was missing). It made a for a *very* relaxing afternoon. So much so that we all decided to skip the 3rd swim hole and just relax there for the afternoon. An awesome lunch was cook by Whickle, MStevo and Co and we settled in for an afternoon of doing as little as humanly possible.
Eventually though, it was time to head back to Corryong. For those that were staying at the Motel down the road we were greeted with a nice cool pool to help while away the rest of the day. It did come to the point tho where is was time to head up for dinner at the Pub. A good feed was had on either Chicken or Veal (unless you cracked a tooth like I did) and then the rest of the night was spent drinking, chatting, and just generally socialising. Many a game of pool was had the the Juke box got a good work out.
As the night rolled on a few of us found our way back down at the Motel to finish of the evening lazing around in the pool, finishing off our last few drinks (its a tough life!). But eventually the day caught up with us and knowing we still had to get back to Canberra, we all eventually called it quits.
By the time The last few were waking up in the morning, the vast majority had already headed off to try and beat the heat on the way home. The half a dozen that were left enjoyed a nice breakfast at a local Cafe. From there most headed back via Khancoban and Jindybine, while Ike, Jess, Alys and myself headed for Gundegai via Tumut due to the painkiller I had now found myself on from the tooth.
By the time we got back to Canberra through a blistering 40-odd degree day we were wrecked – but pleased we had spent a great weekend away with good friends.
A big cheers to Leen for organising it.
