35k ride from Horsham to Murtoa.
We camped in little Caravan Park next to a lake.We had a tailwind today. A very easy ride. Great to catch up with all of our friends from the Adelaide touring cycling club. 16 of us on the ride with Liz and Roy to possibly join us in a couple of days.
79k ride from Murtoa to St Arnaud. Great ride into light head wind. Nice scenery and a little hill to finish with. Nice tea couple of beers and a wine. Sure beats working. Now to win xlotto so I can do it more often!
St Arnaud to Inglewood 60 ks ups and downs on the backroads. Bit warmer than yesterday.
Inglewood to Dunolly 40ks. nice ride along quiet back roads bit warmer again today.
3 flatties between Raelene and I!
40ks from Dunolly to Maldon. Great ride along the flat till lunch then climbing up till the town of Maldon. Beautiful very old gold mining town. Very hilly though. Rode up to the summit of mt Tarrengowan. Luckily on a bare bike after setting up camp. Superb 360 view of the surrounding countryside. Seen lots of evidence of the recent flood damage to the riverine infrastructure. Had lunch on the Loddon river where whole sheets of the bitumen road were lift and washed into the paddocks by the roadside.
During the night laying in the tent listening to the rain come down !
38ks from Maldon to Maryborough. Was fun in the rain especially after having to catch up to the others after having to fix another flatty for Raelene. Was a nice downhill after the climb into the town yesterday.
Rest day in Maryborough. We seen to our washing as well as looking around Maryborough. Great old train station where we all went for lunch. Off to Avoca tommorow. Rained all night and on and off all day.
Big thunderstorm had us racing back from town to everything put away before it hit. Lots of lightening and thunder. Some rain then a steamy afternoon. Have done the rounds of the shops again. Raelene has bought more food to cart tommorow.We should get to Avoca in time to see the town market.
43ks Maryborough to Avoca. Very humid day. Arrived too late for the market. Nice Caravan Park . Thunderclouds overhead! Great coffee shop in town.
45ks from Avoca to Clunes. Via Talbot. Rainy to start with then once at Talbot in came the strong wind. Made for a cold and wet last 17ks. Eating out tonight too cold and wet with no shelter to cook in to keep warm and dry.
Once again laying in the tent listening to the rain come down. Nanna nap time!
Clunes to Beaufort via the biggest windfarm in oz. 55 ks . Surprise it was windy. Wet to start with. Freezing cold only got to 12 c. Temp has been dropping since so it will be a cold night.
Beaufort to Arrarat 55ks great ride lot nicer day. Highlight?? Was running over a very large brown snake. I was riding about fifth in the peleton when there was a sudden slowdown and touch of wheels. I was watching this when I looked down just as th snake bumped under my wheels. He was not happy. He was ran over by about four or five of us. Raelene was not impressed!!!
55k ride Arrarat to Halls gap. Nice climb out of Arrarat. A few hills till morning tea then flat till nearlt at Halls gap. Ate in.Very nice CP right in the very centre of the town. About 15 resident kanaroos browsing around the tents! Stiff neck for the second day in a row is pissing me off. Rest day tommorow hopefully it will settle
Pouring @ Halls Gap stuck in the tent. Going out for tea so at least i will get out for a while. Lets hope it clears by the morning!
40 k ride into Wartook from Halls Gap . 20+ ks of rough sandy and gravelly corrugations. Then a good climb over Roses Gap. Older rundown caravan park. New owners are trying to improve it.
Last day of the ride Sunday. 44k ride Wartook to Horsham. Fast ride with a screaming tail wind. Made it into Horsham by 12.15am quick shower and change and pack up then head back to Adelaide.
Another very interesting And fun bike tour over. I got to see another very interesting part of the country. Its a shame that so many of the small country towns we passed through look to be really struggling to survive! Now to save up some more leave so I can go on another trip.
