Cycling camp!

This week I have been on cycling camp! We cycled from Wangaratta to Eldorado to Beechworth to Myrtleford to Bright and back to Wangaratta through Myrtleford and Everton. It was very enjoyable although we travelled at about 8-15km an hour! So frustratingly slow but I guess I got used to it.

Day 1 - Monday 20th November
We caught the train to Wangaratta from Southern Cross station at 8.13am. Tessa, Anna and I caught the train from Camberwell to Southern Cross. It was PACKED and I had a large bag, a sleeping bag plus two backpacks with me! We arrived in 'Wang' at 11am and had to wait ages to be picked up. We met our leaders from Bindaree, Jimmy and Sheepy, and dumped some of our stuff. After shopping for some food for the week we waited... and waited... at a nearby park for the guys to pick us up and give us our bikes. I worried that the leaders weren't going to be very reliable. We had to wait another hour or so after receiving our bikes before we finally set off.

The ride itself was approximately 25km from Wangaratta to Eldorado. Guess how long it took us... THREE HOURS!!! It was hot - about 35 degrees. We rode soooooo slowly and had to keep together as a group. Plus we had stops every 5 minutes. There were also a few injuries which caused longer stops. I was fuming! However, I didn't want to annoy others moaning about my frustrations so I kept it to myself. We didn't arrive in Eldorado till 6.30pm. Anna and I decorated our bikes with streamers and I had fluffy dice. Dinner was good - chicken wraps. I shared a tent with Tessa.

If I had a dollar for everytime someone on camp told me "you look like a pro" then I'd be very rich.

Day 2 - Tuesday 21st November
This was our long day - it was supposed to be 60km. We rode from Eldorado to Myrtleford via Beechworth. Eldorado to Beechworth was 26km. It took us four and a half hours! To give the others credit, it was uphill and on a gravel road most of the way. There was also a hill about 2.5-3km long and quite steep. I mastered it fairly easily and made it to the top first. I then had to wait 45 minutes to an hour for everyone else to complete it (walking most of the way). I thought it was a great challenge but others just give up too easily.

We didn't get to Beechworth till 2pm and didn't leave till 3.30pm. That really worried me as we were told we had another 35km to Myrtleford. However, the first 14km (almost to Everton) was downhill and we were allowed to go at our own speed which was fantastic. I still kept my hands on the brakes so I didn't get too far ahead of the group. We struggled on another 10km or so after that. I was very grateful when the slower member of the group who I believe was single-handedly holding the whole group back got too tired and rode the rest of the way in the van. We didn't make it to Myrtleford till about 7pm! We had a barbecue for dinner; I cooked and ate the vegieburgers. I shared a tent with Anna which was nice.

Sheepy revealed to us later that we actually rode 75km for the day, someone must have misjudged the distance when it was measured. And we found out the temperature was 37 degrees.

Day 3 Wednesday 22nd November
A rest day - Myrtleford to Bright, only 30km. Most people had really got the hang of riding by this stage. We left Myrtleford at 8.30 and so made it to Bright by about 11.30am. We had a great tailwind. The staff were really praising us for how quickly we got there - they said "at some stages we were going at 15km/h!". That certainly made me laugh, if I did 15km/h on a normal bike ride I'd be worried I was injured.

We had the rest of the day to do whatever in Bright. I went shopping with Anna and then some of us swam in the river near the caravan park which was good to cool down (another 30-35 degree day). Then we were supposed to do a scavenger hunt in the town. I was partnered with Jia Xi. However, as it was our turn to cook dinner we met up with the rest of our group about 45 minutes later and only answered about 5 questions. We shopped for the food (only spent $65!) and then decided to start cooking it. Lucky we did start as it took us about 2 and a half hours! Our meal was
entree - biscuits and 4 choices of dips
main course - stir fry with 9 vegetables with chicken (optional) and 2 choices of sauce
desert - neapolitan ice cream in cones with sprinkles and cream wafers (both optional)
Our meal was definitely the best! We did have full kitchen facilities though. It is very hard to cook a stir fry for 21 people!! We didn't finish cleaning up dinner till after dark which was hectic. I shared a tent with Sarah which was a good pairing as we both like early nights.

Day 4 Thursday 23rd November
This day was another long day - 60km from Bright to Everton via Myrtleford. It was downhill or flat most of the way but we had a headwind. It was very easy riding (well... for me) so I acted as the windbreaker for the slower group. It was quite a challenge to ride slightly ahead of a very slow rider without breaking too far ahead of her. Later on, I chose to be the windbreaker for the main pack instead which was much more pleasant going at my own pace.

I was lucky Jimmy and Sheepy were cricket fans, as well as two others. Jimmy was driving the van and listening to the first day of the Ashes on the radio and relaying scores to Sheepy who was riding with us. Sheepy would then update me with scores which was fantastic.

We stayed the night in Everton which is like a tiny remote desert town. The caravan park was hmmm... interesting. It had a swimming pool so we could cool off (another 35 degree day). Dinner was so simple and yet so good - a bucket lunch consisting of Doritos, salsa, corn and avocado wrapped up in mountain bread. I had four! We also had fresh fruit for desert. While I was helping with dinner, I listened to the cricket a bit. Australia was dominating! I drew the short straw and had to spend another night with Tessa.

Day 5 Friday 24th November
Our last day - only 30km back to Wangaratta. We started off early yet again to beat the heat and made it to Wang by 11am. By the time we debriefed, packed up our bikes and said a sad goodbye to Sheepy (Warren) and Jimmy (James) it was time to catch the 1.15 train back to Melbourne. The trip was boring and we were all tired. The train got back late and I just wanted to get home. It was definitely a challenge getting off the train with all our luggage at Camberwell. I was so relieved to get back home and switch on the cricket to catch the last hour of play.

I had a great time at camp and eventually got used to the frustratingly slow riding. Even certain annoying people couldn't stop us from having a good time. The teachers and leaders were fantastic and it was great to meet new people. I want to go back and ride the trail with mum over a weekend. Camp really supercharged my enthusiasm for cycling!