Cycle Oz day 33 – The boneshaker
Start: Mount Gambier
End: Beachport
Day distance: 83.66km
Total distance: 1850.46km
Average speed: 15.3km/hr
Pedalling time: 05:25
Total time: 06:10
I woke up super early this morning to do an interview with Jeremy Lee on ABC Australia radio. It was really fun and the radio people were super friendly and nice to talk to. My second 5 minutes of fame in Australia! This is the piece from the local paper in Leongatha…
I went back to bed for half an hour. The room we had was surprisingly big for a converted cell. My only knowledge of prison cells is Alcatraz in California and Robben Island in South Africa where the cells are tiny. Other than the bars on the window I wouldn't have really known I was in a cell.
I had some crumpets for breakfast and I was pleased to see the German boys indulging in baked beans, eggs and crumpets. An odd combination but oh so British and so comforting. I couldn't imagine eating crumpets without a disgusting amount of butter, but they seemed to be enjoying them dry.
A short ride through town got us back to the highway. The boys went off ahead as I delayered, I was feeling really uncomfortable and sluggish today. My legs pulsed very time I tried to get going again after stopping. My wrists and hands and shoulder ached and I was feeling some discomfort in the fanjita area and not necessarily because of the saddle, but the saddle certainly wasn't helping! Also, tip for everyone, when you have a cut on you finger (from a tin opener for example), do not let effervescent vitamin tablet dust get in it. It really really really stings.
My kickstand in unusable and it is such a pain. It made me realise how great having a kick stand is. Hopefully the boys can help me fix it, they might have a spare bolt.
Back on the highway I was disappointed to find the road much the same as yesterday. No shoulder and big logging trucks. And with pine forests as far as the eye could see I resigned myself to it being that way for the whole day. Another thing about the road today was that it was so rough. I felt like it was shaking up all my bones. A boneshaker describes the first type of bicycle with pedals. It refers to ‘the extremely uncomfortable ride, which was caused by the stiff wrought-iron frame and wooden wheels surrounded by tyres made of iron’. So maybe my ride wasn't that bad, but it was definitely lumpy. It continued that way for 50km until I reached the town of Millicent. The road goes around the edge of town and I found a picnic table by a lake to stop and have some lunch, with a shorter day today I could afford to have a bit of a break.
The first sign to Adelaide! And a massive truck.
I ate my pb&j sandwiches (I have learnt that the best bread for these sandwiches is a cheap white sandwich loaf, you can't go using fancy bread, it just doesn't work) and my madeira cake. There were a few seagulls hanging around and there were also some very strange blue birds with red heads, and they were strange because their feet were so big, and they were using their claws to rip up grass and then eating it from their feet.
After Millicent the road became a bit flatter and the logging trucks disappeared, which was great because there was no shoulder at all. The road was still a boneshaker and it was quite windy so I wasn't managing to go much more than 15km/hr. Plus I was just feeling weary. I did manage to see a living animal when a fox crossed the road in front of me and quickly dashed into the bushes.
I eventually made it to Beachport. The weather is looking pretty bad tomorrow so the boys and I have a cabin at the caravan park for 2 nights. It was cheaper for us all to stay in a cabin than camp and cheaper than any of the hostels I have stayed in. That's one good thing about travelling though Australia in winter, everything is off peak. So we are going to hide out here tomorrow and wait for the rain to pass through. It’s a good opportunity to give the fanjita a break.
It was still quite early so after a shower (this holiday park is wonderfully clean and fresh) I went for a stroll into ‘town’. I saw the coffee shop, the supermarket and the information centre and that was all there was to see. So I walked along the very long pier before it got cold and I retreated back to the cabin for noodles, eggs and VEGETABLES!
It's currently pouring with rain and I'm sat in the toilet block, ok I'm sat on the toilet, trying to upload this post because it's the only place with a strong enough signal!