7 November - Day 3 of Snowy Ride

Over the past couple of days, thousands of motorcycles have been arriving in preparation for the actual 'Ride' day which is today. The ride all occurs within the Snowy Mountains national park area, and the idea is that riders can choose their own route(s) individually and in groups. To have officially participated, and to enter the draw for various prizes, participating riders must collect a minimum of three stamps in the ride 'passport' from one of a number of official checkpoints.
One of the checkpoints is here in Jindabyne, and so our group was able to get their first stamp straight away after breakfast. By 10 o'clock we were off on our way to Dalgety, on the Snowy River, to collect stamp number 2. Once again we were in the company of hundreds of riders who were all there  for a coffee and a chat and to get their stamp too.

From there we rode to Berridale, sharing the road with hundreds of other riders. Our next checkpoint and planned lunch stop was Cooma. This little township really turned on quite a show for the ride event. The centre of the town was totally closed to traffic, and the now pedestrian precinct became an entertainment centre for dozens of buskers.

It was a fantastic atmosphere, and the town park had been set up as an art and craft market. Families everywhere were now enjoying the increasingly sunny weather.

Food stalls and cafes were all doing a roaring trade and face painting was also very popular.

We spent a couple of hours in Cooma where we got our third and final stamp and handed our passports in - job done. During these events strange sights should be expected. My strange sight of the day was a man walking two ferrets on leashes. Caused quite a sensation and particularly when bystanders were invited to stroke the little rodents.

I resisted the temptation no matter how cute it looked.

Just after 1 pm it was time to make the return trip back to Jindabyne. A brilliant day, and finally the weather has started to improve. Hoping for a fine day for the ride home tomorrow.

Distance 200km