It was just after six thirty when I came to and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. I was in the spare room of Rons two bedroom home on the outskirts of Moe. Id fallen asleep the previous night as soon as my head had hit the pillow. I closed my eyes to focus on the dull ache in my legs from the metric ton and a half Id clocked up yesterday. I could hear the birds chirping outside my window and Ron outside moving around the house. The next thing I knew it was ten am, I went to the bathroom and the house was silent and empty. I packed my bags left a thank you note for my now absent host and set off towards my intended target of Bairnsdale. I got out on the princes highway, or A1 to give it its official name. Its the same road Ive been on since Norseman and will continue along until I reach my final destination in Sydney. The head wind and the slightly fatigued legs combined to give me what felt like a slow enough pace although I was comfortably leaving the virtual partner on my Garmin for dust. The virtual partner is a fictional rider which travels at a constant pace and the Garmin Edge 800 I have on my dashboard can tell me whether Im ahead or behind the pace. Today I was ahead of the pace and stretching it further all the time however something didnt seem quite right, Im guessing the wind and rain mostly, I made the decision to split the 170km ride to Bairnsdale into two equal days as decided Sale would be my intermediate port of call. I browsed through the local newspaper as are this morning. Former Irish football player Damien Duff was front and centre as the new star signing for Melbourne City for the new A-League season. The more recent capture of David Villa to the same club had taken a little of the sheen off his arrival but he seemed to be a firm favourite already. As I approached the small town of Rosedale, I remembered spotting the town of Longford on the map earlier in the week. I did a double check and it would mean a small detour of about five or ten kilometres to take in the town. I say town but in reality the Australian Longford is a small settlement a tiny fraction of its Irish namesake. Not even as much as a small general store, service station or road house stood in the village. I continued the short distance back to Sale. I hadnt heard any word back from the warm showers contacts in Sale so I pulled in and started looking at options according to my online apps. The prices were sky high. I found a bike shop along the Main Street and decided Id get some local knowledge there but it was closed already. It was just a few minutes shy of seven. I was standing outside the bike shop trying to get my bearings when a pair of guys pulled up to enquire whether I was okay. I suppose having the bike perched outside the close bike shop looked like I might have an issue. Darrin and Maurice as I would later discover their names were stayed to chat for a few minutes and seemed generally in awe of my ride. I didnt quite catch the Aussie slang phrase they repeated every so often but given the context it seemed to be interchangeable with Wow! or Good Job! The two lads recommended a few places for accommodation in the town and more importantly where not to go. They did suggest checking out dating app Tinder to find a place to stay and maybe get some bonus activities in the process. I pointed out the two apps I did use Warm Showers and Couch Surfing were probably more appropriate and reliable. Although more than likely less fun! As I finished check in into the Gippsland Hotel in the town my phone rang and it was John, one of the people Id contacted earlier that day via Warm Showers. He had emailed me that afternoon to offer a bed and warm meal but Id already just settled the bill and been shown around the room. I did take up his invite for dinner and some good cycling conversation though. Himself and his wife Trish had cycled the length of the Rhine River in Germany last summer and were fantastic company for the evening over a huge serving of spaghetti bolognese and I really enjoyed hearing all about their adventures as well as about the various people they have hosted over the last three years. Their son Nick also came in from his after school job and we all chatted for a while. Myself and john swapped info on navigation tools. He was suitably impressed with Google Maps, highlighting the changes in the information for cyclists in recent months, while his local knowledge proved invaluable in deciding a route for the coming week to Sydney. Road surfaces and which towns along the road had which facilities. Information which the computer couldnt give me instantly. I left them shortly before 10pm and returned to my room in the hotel. I have a warm showers host in Bairnsdale tomorrow evening all sorted as well. Its looking like Ill be arriving in Sydney on Friday of next week. Looking forward to finishing off the journey across Oz with some amazing views of the Pacific Ocean which Ill get my first view of in two days time as I approach Eden. But first tomorrow is going to be all about culture: drama and tragedy, comedy and romance, poetry and plays!
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:47:18 +0000
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