Day 8 Moss Vale to Yass

Wow!! It was a tough day on the road today for the Headin South riders! We had 165 kms to cover mostly on the Hume highway - not fun to ride on at the best of times, let alone today. We rode in 45 degree heat, 60 km/hr gusts and a mad headwind all day. It was certainly a test of toughness!!
In the end we had to resort to riding in behind one of our support vans to try to get some respite from the constant headwind.

There was a catastrophic fire danger rating today in the area we were riding into, so we were very mindful about what was going on around us.  We arrived safely in Yass, not yet affected by any of the bushfires. Although since we arrived one has started about 30 mins out of town  and we can smell the smoke. There are fires going all around. There is a bad one near Wagga-Wagga which is tomorrow's destination. At this stage it looks like we are going to be unable to ride to Wagga - it will be too dangerous and many of the roads are closed. It's terrible to hear that already some homes have been lost in NSW. We are thinking of all those people being affected by the fires and those Firies working hard to bring the fires under control.

On a positive note, we have had an amazing day of fundraising in two country towns - Goulburn and Yass, the members of the community have donted generously. Especially Yass - in one pub, The Australian, we filled up a whole tin!! The publican and owner, Ben, gave us the pub's swear tin - all of it, plus $150 plus a free nights accomodation for us all - so we can have a comfy bed instead of sleeping on matresses on fire station floors. Thanks Ben at The Australian- you're awesome!!

Big thanks to Yass Fire Brigade for letting us leave all our gear in their engine bay and for supporting us, especially whilst they have been so busy fighting the fire only 10 km away from town. The guys from Yass Brigade are a great bunch!! Cheers!!

Not sure what is happening tomorrow, it depends on the fire situation.

Take care all our family, friends and colleagues in Tassie - thinking of you all the time!!

Em