Today was a day where the push to Valentines was to make today extraordinarily easy. For the first time on the trip to date the descending metres outstripped the ascending!! It promised to be a lot of fun and delivered. A little undulating until the junction of Schlink Track and the reintroduction to leveled, cambered and perfectly benched dirt road, not just two wheel ruts or worse impressions on grass! With the ease of riding came many audible whoops and yahoos as I hurtled down towards Geehi Powerstation at Munyang near Guthega. I completed the Dissapointment Spur Track, as it is known, which it must be said was anything but. So fast I had been traveling that my arms were covered in dead bugs, windscreen style, I'd collected on the way down. I'd spoken to my brother at Schlink Pass (the top of the hill) and had organised for him to leave a bit earlier than expected, as I had made better time than I'd hoped. The theory being that this would earn me a rest day in Jindabyne and give me the ability to fix my gears (the brand new cables had stretched dramatically) and my rear disc brake pad which was now down to a disconcerting metal on metal, both of which were beyond my level of bike mechanicary. Yet another of those off handed comments I'm famous for, was uttered to my brother: "cool, well I'll just ride into Jindy and meet you there". This was to be 13kms of mostly climbing,some steeply, on the hard black stuff. Thankfully as I turned onto Kosciusko Rd and pedaled the last of the up Rennix Pass greeted me with a solid 10kms of bug in teeth downhill to relax and steer. I got to Thredbo River and received the news that Sime was just on the outskirts of Sydney and would be at least 6 hrs. There was, as a result, no rush. I settled in for some Cheds and kip! I eventually got back on the rig and trundled into the first caravan, servo, Paddy Pallin and Thai restaurant I could find. Good thing about Jindy is they are all in the same place and on the main range side of town! As I booked a cabin for the night and picked the local brain for bike store knowledge (not as quick but more personal than google!) the conversation turned to the caravan company's head office situated in Adelaide. As it turns out, and just to prove the six degrees of seperationalists correct, Sime and I had shared a very funny beer with the CEO of the company on our recent trip back from Tassie on the Spirit! Small world ay?!

Two other delights of the day were speaking to the boys in Melbourne, one in particular whose birthday it is (30 and looking good for it!), as well as the conversation struck up with a very friendly Thai chef at the aforementioned restaurant. A lovely young fella originally from Chiangmai, he'd been on our shores for a good few years and had eventually found his way to Jindy. He kindly offered to take my order and hold off until Sime arrived till he cooked it. I pulled up a barstool and sank a couple of extraordinarily refreshing brews from a local brewery, snowy river beers. Our conversation ranged from my trip, to shared frustrations with working hospitality, to his not having had a full day off in six months! Bloody good tucker too once we got to it. And so began my rest day...