Cycle complete!
As you will have seen from the pictures you will notice that I enjoy throwing on my Cork colours from time to time in the hope of promoting the Rebel County. Well on this one particular day as I was travelling along a popular truckers route, I got beeped at 6 times (all trucks) in one afternoon. And it wasn't because I was hogging all the road either because I was using an excellent hard shoulder, but 6 times!!! Im used to getting the odd beep but I guess there must be quite a few Cork people driving trucks out in Southern Australia. Either that or its a few Kerrymen who like to show their inter-county rivalry! I guess if I did nothing else at least I made the day for 6 truckers, and sure they made my day too!
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I leave Melbourne on the Monday morning Ireland are playing Italy in the World Cup. (Rugby matches always help me to remember certain events!) Its 4:15am and my wonderful hosts John and Jen haveleft the breakfast all set out for me before I head. I down 3 weetabix and a glass of orange juice before I hop on the bike and grab a train to my start point on the west side of the city. I shiver as I step out into the darkness in my shorts and figure that you actually may need to wear trousers in Australia! It isn't many hours before this notion becomes easily forgotten. So far in the 16 days I've been here I'm still yet to wear any trousers and have stuck to shorts the whole time.
It isn't long before the sun creeps up over the dusty horizon and the temperature begins to markedly increase. It will eventually hit 33C this day but as I pedalled my first few miles towards Perth the unusually early morning cool pleasantly filled me with a fresh energy I hadn't remembered feeling in ages. I see the signs for the Great Ocean Road and soon enough I'm cycling right beside the sea, with the sea air filling my lungs. I take a break at a stunning lighthouse and wolf down some fruit I'd bought along the way. After a short break I hop back on the bike as the midday heat suddenly begins to kick in.. An hour later and Im worn out so I pull over into the bush to make some dinner. Tuna, Rice and Carrots... "Wahey!" I remark to myself sarcastically. Another bland dinner to enjoy on the road. Its actually not too bad but when you've had your mothers cooking for 21 years I tell ya its hard to compare Tuna and Rice with Bacon and Cabbage or Chinese Chicken Curry or.... sorry don't get me started! After lunch I nap away for 2 hours under the shade of a gum tree and then continue on my way for a few more hours of pleasant riding until I decide that I better find a camping spot before the sun goes down completely. I check the price at a camping site and when quoted $31 for the rent of a patch of grass, I decline and continue cycling till I find a nice quiet field. Unfortunately due to where I was on the coast, fields, and especially flat ones, were non-esistant along the rugged coastline. So in the end I slept on an upward angle, which to my surprise was actually rather comfortable as I enjoyed a brilliant 10 hours sleep. Who needs to spend $31 to enjoy a good nights rest! :) Couldn't finish my time in NZ without going to see a rugby match so went along to a Canterbury game with my mate Ryan (also my very kind host!) As you can see I had my Munster colours proudly on display!
At the time of writing this I would like to say that I've safely landed in Australia and am having a great time here relaxing a bit before I start cycling again on Monday. Thinking about all that has happened and here's a flashback to one day I had on South Island.
"This is so warm, so cosy!" I remark to myself. "Got the blowheater on full blast, got an actual pillow instead of a stuffed bag, and when I get up for breakfast I actually have a kitchen! Oh the luxury!" I had decided to treat myself and so was waking up in a little cabin on a campsite near Murchison. I didn't set an alarm for this particular morning like I usually did. I was in no mood the previous evening for getting up at the scrake of dawn as the day before had been my longest since I began with 130kms cycled. The sun had set by the time I had pulled in and after eating a gigantic meal of salami, macaroni, all smothered in half a tub of philapeldhia cheese, I was well ready for bed. It had also transpired that an hour before I reached Murchison, that I had my first fall. After winding through gorges all day I had pulled in at a picnic site. Due to my tiredness I had stupidly forgotten the fact that I was clipped into my pedals. It was only as I came to a stop that I realised my mistake. "No no no!" I shouted out. But it was too late. I had come to a complete stop and had neither feet on the ground so the only way for the bike to balance itself was for it to fall on its side. I tried in vain to unclip my pedals but trying to do this while falling was impossible and before I knew it I was in a heap on the ground. On first looking it appeared that my hands had taken the brunt of the tumble, as I had them out to cushion the fall. There was a few grazes there, and after checking my trousers for the inevitable hole or rip I was surprised to see them perfectly intact. Funnily enough the collision had somehow unclipped me from both my pedals so at least I was able to get up easy enough. I dusted myself down and looked around to see had anyone witnessed my embarrassing fall. Thankfully there was no-one in sight so I breathed a sigh of relief on that front. Then reaching to my pocket I pulled out my Sony Xperia smartphone to record the event. "No way! No No this can't be happening!" I exclaimed to myself. "I must be dreaming!" But I wasn't. A crack ran all the way from the top to the bottom of my phone with a concentrated area of smashed glass to the upper right of the screen. I frantically attempted to unlock the screen but there was no hope of it working. It was broke and I realised that I wouldn't have my primary and (much better) camera or my maps until it got fixed. Being quite removed from civilization and my constant movement meant being foxed immediately would be near impossible. I was so mad at myself for having forgotten to unclip and for having fallen on THAT side of the bike. The side with my phone in it. Had it been the other side things would have been grand. But that's the way things happen sometimes and so I remarked to myself that at least I hadn't broken any bones. A phones a phone and it wasn't the end of the world, just a rather inconvenient fall. With that in mind I hopped back on the bike and continued on with the promise of a warm bed and good food. The luxury of the cabin was shortlived however as the next night, and on my fourth attempt at finding a spot to put up my tent, it turned out I was to sleep next to a graveyard! Thankfully that night was rather uneventful and I enjoyed a reasonable nights sleep, as one can in a tent! |
The AuthorName: Daniel Ross Top Tips:
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October 2016
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