Albury to Lockhart

Day 9 - The Tiny Towns - 26th April 2017

"Those of you that are going to ride with me to Lockhart should meet me at JC King Park at 8:00am" says Tom in his email - It is 8:00am and the overnight rain has intensified - the forecast rain and cold winds has materialised - all the fair-weather riders, save Howard, George and Sue, have pulled their doonas over their noses and raised the intensity of their nasal reverberations in order to drown out the inner voice within them that kept screaming "go on - get out of bed - you said you would be there - what will Tom think!" Little do they know that the four hearty souls at JC King agree to delay the start to 11am - It is anticipated that as fair-weather riders discover this to be the case that inner voice will again chastise them!

The Miscreant van is hooked to tow vehicle with remarkably little resistance but I soon realise that her lack of resistance was only the because she could not wait to see my face when I realised that I had mounted her reversing camera upside-down - it may have been just the creaking noises as her body shell expanded in the increasing temperatures of the morning but it was impossible to convince my inner-self that she was not laughing at me. 

Off to await Tom in Jindera - the miscreant van looking like butter would not melt in her mouth! - "she looks great" - says Bernie. 

This ride will consist of tough, tough days for Tom but slow and easy days for the escort.

Arrive in Jindera 

Do what everyone has told me to do - "have a good look around the little towns" - they say 

I been to Jindera a 100 times - why haven't I really had a good look at St Paul's

Why haven't I dismounted from my bike and had a look at the Blacksmith's shop!

Or crossed the road to the museum

The weather has cleared - Howard and George meet Tom in Jindera at 11:45am. Tom arrives and they head off towards Walbundrie.

The escort leaves them to battle the strong, "coldish", cross winds and heads on ahead to meet them in Walbundrie. 

Arrive in Burrumbuttock - just like Jindera! - proudly announcing that it is a "tidy town" - I checked the spelling in case the sign meant to say it was a "Tiny Town" - to say the town was not tidy would be unfair since it is so tiny that the effect of even one untidy member of the community could severely degrade the visitors perception of  the whole.

Pause a while to contemplate the sense of going into the tourist information centre housed in the general store - the sign is tired! - tired! - tired! - I suspect that Burrumbuttock has long since relinquished any aspirations it may have had to cater for a tourist crowd

The weather is still cold and the wind is still buffeting the riders - onward to Walbundrie to await them.

What is in Walbundrie you ask! - well the answer probably likes in its catch-phrase "Crossroads of the Riverina" - other than a road crossing there is little else - a pub - a primary school - a co-op store cum fastfood shop cum grocery - two or three residences and lovely church - like Burrumbuttock what is hidden away is the agricultural enterprise that surround the hamlet - these are not towns - they are locations. 

I have trouble believing the sign announcing the availability of fast-food at the Co-op! - must have a look at this - a grocery outlet, some fuel and a true fast-food kitchen - it is approaching lunchtime in the bush - people trickle every five minutes or so - some in the family cars, some in the farm ute - some in enormous sheep transporters - it seems like orders must have been phoned in - the kitchen hand is feverishly busy for the small number of people crossing the threshold - she generates hamburger after hamburger - not just hamburgers as I know them but truly enormous hamburgers with copious quantities of every imaginable ingredient - why there is not a sign out the front that proudly announces "the world's largest hamburgers available here" is am yet to fathom.

The riders arrive - half the day's work out of the way - "ok guys - you can either have "the world largest hamburger" or a cinnamon roll that I brought with me from Jindera" - the cinnamon roll is selected - the ride reported as good except for the buffeting from the cross-wind - the traffic light and respectful.

Off towards Lockhart - the forecast change in wind direction arrives - tailwinds manifest themselves - the weather is fine but on the cold side.

Pass the giant emu - could be kitch - but it is somehow both attractive and appropriate sitting here at the farm gate.

What was that - I am sure that sigh said "Community Hotel - Pleasant Hills - Counter lunches" - for a start I was not familiar with Pleasant Hills and secondly I had never heard of a community hotel! - off on the side road towards Pleasant Hills.

Pleasant Hills is also a tidy town in the same way that Burrumbuttock is a tidy town but in reality they are both just nice little rural community centres accommodating some  spiritual, educational and general store services - not particularly tidy and not particularly untidy.

Some spiritual services - now obviously part time.

Some hotel services - again part time - takeaways on Fridays - counter lunches on Saturday - nothing any other day of the week - all power to them - better part time than not at all

Turn off to Osborne - "what is at Osborne" you ask - the answer is clearly - "it depends on weather you are an Australian Rules Supporter or Not" - "How so " -  "the only thing at Osborne is a football ground - otherwise there is nothing! - home of the Osborne Tigers.

Lockhart - here we come

You guessed it - Lockhart is a tidy town as well - but this time it is really a tidy town - a really tidy, verandah filled town. 


Remember with sadness that the old and very famous Veneris Family Cafe, the Blue Bird is finally closed

Look back through the verandah covered street to shops that are relaxed - shops that appeared to be genuinely open for business but with neither customer or salesperson apparent - other shops that are clearly only open part time and others that have clearly ceased trading - the town is very quiet for 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon -  it has a feeling of a nice dormitory town rather than major regional centre - perhaps the modern cars have made Wagga much closer than it was 20 years ago.


The footpath plaques remember the families of the district - this one particularly caught my eye - Leon a son of Lockhart - now a highly successful metropolitan business consultant.

Tom is thinking about acquiring a backup bike

The dog is anxious about the supply of beer!

The riders arrive - the day over for them - the van almost ready for Tom.

Tom showers - the van setup proceeds strangely well - perhaps the breaking in of the steed is finally starting to pay dividends - well here it is Tom - there is your end - here is mine - Gee Tom that wind seems to be picking up again! - BANG! - hysterical laughter from the miscreant - she had thrown a shoe - the back roof stay collapses - the shoe that was thrown was its supporting bracket! - Tom's presence saves the miscreant from copious quantities of physical abuse and verbal profanities - a quick search of the toolbox - no special bits and pieces - some rusty screws so long that they could not possibly secure the bracket without penetrating the miscreant's outer skin - what the hell - an emergency is an emergency - no matter how painful it might be for the van she is going to have these screws! - in they go - through the bracket - through the wooden bracket - through the aluminium skin - into the outside air - the bracket is effectively secured - the miscreant is again contained - "you can hardly see the screws" says I - "you might need to put a nut and bolt right through" - says Tom. 

The day is over!