Bread, Cheese & Wine .. shopping by bike

After a complimentary breakfast in the motel's converted chapel it was off to Milawa Gourmet Region. The day started out quite foggy for the 20km ride along Oxley Flats Road (which as the name suggests is rather flat) to Milawa. By then it was time for a coffee at the Milawa Cheese Co. which has a rather nice bakery. Having caffinated and stocked up on some lovely bread and blue cheese it was back on the bike and off down Snow Road. The bike path is semi sealed and so it's a pleasant ride to Oxley where I took a little detour to John Gehrig Wines for a tasting and a bottle of red before the final leg of the 50km loop back to Wangaratta. Then it was in the car for the just over 2 hours to Tumbarumba. The first 100km or so was straight down the Hume before turning off down a meandering series of roads which gradually started climbing. It was all very pretty but to be honest I was starting to worry that Google maps was having a bit of an episode and just taking me off to the back of beyond but then I spotted some signs for Tumbarumba and I was much reassured. Apparently, Tumbarumba is a small town in New South Wales, about 480 km southwest of Sydney, in addition, according to tourism NSW, it is a divine mix of landscapes, with surrounding mountain peaks standing sentinel over bushland, vineyards, lush pastures and gurgling streams. It's best know for chardonnay (eww!) and pinot noir (not eww) on the wine front. The town seems quite nice, small, although processing at least 3 pubs... hmmm. I was there just after 1.30 checked into the motel (a bit sparce given the rates... no microwave or crockery.. thank goodness I have my trangia!!!) and then went for a wander... I found the local Gin distillery and had a lovely chat and tasting with the distiller - I can highly recommend their signature dry, a bottle of which also seems to have found it's way into my bag. By the time I got back to the motel the Ghost Riders had started to arrive... time for a chat then off to the room to do some work, make dinner and then have a lovely slothful evening in front of the TVRead more