Day 47

Day 47 started in Victoria and finished in N.S.W. I  dragged myself to the Border which was only 14 kms this morning and continued to Eden some 45 km on. Dodging log trucks become the sport of the day as the roads haven't got that much of a shoulder on them to ride in N.S.W . Just another thing to keep you on ya toes.

Wasn't happy about leaving  Vic but the show must keep moving forward.

This load going to the Mill ,most go to be wood chipped.The driver warned me about the tight roads and bridges

After lunch at Eden, i looked at the wind report for the next couple of days as i was pushing now into a N.E. The report said that E and N.E  where on for tomorrow but a S was forecast on Saturday with a 90% chance of rain .So  I've decided to take a rest at a place called Merimbula all Friday even though it killed me to head off the main road to get to it.
Being a two night stop i thought the Back Packers sounds more economical as really i only need the basics.Tracked it down on the other side of the Bay and met the women and she said 32$  for dorm or 55$ for your own room. I''ll take the single and live it up. She then said have i got a towel and i said no. That will be 2$, oh o.k. And theres 10 $ deposit for the key. No worries. I will show you the room .looking around i was the only one booking in. When she showed me the room it was the most basic room i have ever seen on my travels ,sterile and cold, and i thought , 2 days in there. Stay calm Grant.Then i said is it o.k to bring my bike in because i have all my gear and more convenient it to be near me. No way she said, OK,stay calm Grant. Then she shows me the kitchen and i said, have you got coffee making facility's and she looked at me and said no,if you want a coffee I'll make it for you. So i calmly said, can i be really rude. She said what do you mean.I want to book out of here NOW i said.Much tension getting the hell out of there and now i am in the Lakeside Pub for 79$  with a view and includes everything imaginable. Bit of trivia but gee I'm happy and i needed to share that with you.HaHa.  So this is where i will be for the next two nights for a rest of the body:-)

Did the righty and re registered the bike

Talk later,Grant 

Day 44,45 & 46

Day 44 Left Sale about 8 after visiting Coles and stocking up on food for the days trip. Stopped at Stratford chemist and purchased medicine and hankies for my dripping nose. I'm sure i left a snail trail all the way from Yarram and i was frightened of becoming dehydrated. Something about Sale really got under my skin,could of being unwell at the time but i don't think i would go back however i felt.  On  through to Bairnsdale and onto Lakes Entrance and did something different,booked into a Pub and eat like a king. Lakes Entrance has more hotel catering for tourist than i have ever seen in a small place for a while. Looked good.

Day 45 Left Lake Entrance early in the dark and hit rolling hills one after the other and really felt it,not knowing whether it was the relentless hills or the flu,probably both.

Full on vegetation everywhere in both photos.

 Ended up getting to Bellbird Pub and asking Ergud if he had a room and he said after looking at me up and down,50bucks ,includes breakfast ,when i raised my eyebrows which are quite hairy(Grace) at the moment. Ended up being just what i needed after those smallish hills but too many.
 Don't worry Monica nothing has come close to Lavers Hill yet. Ergud the owner has the place on the market at the moment for 700 thou, fantastic premises, bar,sleeping rooms and pool room, kitchens all on 3.5 acres but i think theres one prob ,nobody stops there except  burnt out bicycle riders.
 Ergud sitting in front of his fire with his pet talking bird on his shoulder couldn't really care though except trying to get his 6 yr old bird to talk to him. If he only shut up  and let the bird get a word in instead of  saying continuously Jackie,Jackie,Jackie who's yeh daddy. The poor bird has pulled all its feathers out and i don't blame it ,i nearly pulled my hair out listening to it all night too. Still to his word ,two eggs thrown on a couple of pieces of toast arrived at 7 and then back to the bird,Jackie,Jackie,Jackie who's yey daddy.

Day 46 Left Bellbirds and straight into riding ,walking and coasting the hills.At one stage i thought i was in the Movie ,Deliverance with Bert Reynolds  Duelling Banjo music was ringing in my ears and do you remember when the two misfit guys made the fellow in the movie bend over  a log and squeal like a pig. Well i thought if that happens to me and they bend me over my bike i would probably just turn,laugh and say "is that all your got" after these hills. Arrived in Cann River for lunch and proceeded to Genoa where I'm currently layed up 14 kms from the border soaking up the Victorian air before entering into the State of N.S.W. sometime in the morning if all goes well.

Why wouldn't you stop here.$40

Your everywhere,Bluce

Big Sylv

Interesting track.

WTF

HooRoo, Grant

Day 42 & 43

Day 42 I woke in Loch and packed my gear ready to leave when Toddy insisted (the partner of Sybil ,the owner of the Royal Pub in Loch) to make me a nice coffee and then gave me the paper to read by the fire. Finally I then said my goodbyes and i was away. The start  of the day was terrible but an hour into it the rain cleared.Went through Foster which i think is the most Southern part of Australia that i am going. Sort of an uneventful day as i was just trying to dodge the rain and get to Yarram before i got wet. Had about 20 kms to go and bluish sky ahead with a touch of grey in front but when i turned around the meanest blackest cloud was running me down.

This is what i was heading into

This is the 80  strong Pelaton which caught me.

 The rain i could see was coming with it. Immediately i went to into a frenzy as though an 80 strong Pelaton were chasing me down. It was the only way to get the most out of myself. But it didn't take long for nature to catch me and i was still 12 kms out of Yarram but lucky enough to have a house to pull into, and this is where i met Barbara. An American lady who's husband owns a Diary Farm. We chattered for about 45 minutes and she made me a nice cup of coffee with a biscuit,a true blue.It was getting dark quick and the rain had cleared so we said goodbye and i made a dash for Yarram and arrived at the Glass House Pub to book in a room. I must say it would have to be one of the best price ,service and meals i have stayed at. Nigel the owner let me use the dryer and he impressed me how he worked alongside his staff and didn't sweat the small things. A far cry from some Publicans who are just drunks in hiding.
Day 43 wasn't going to very enjoyable after i looked at myself in the mirror,i had that old man flu look,when you've aged ten years in one day. Still ,i went through the motions and took off toward Sale. My nose ran like a tap the whole way and i didn't feel the best so  i decided enough is enough when i arrived around 12noon.

Just across the road from my old pub

Booked into the Gippsland Hotel and had a couple of hours sleep and the barmaid ,Denise, gave me some lemons to make myself some lemon and honey drinks which i did. Hopefully i will feel better tomorrow to bite away a bit more of this cold,wet and 5.30 pm pitch black place. Still as President Nixon said "you don't appreciate the highest mountain unless you've been in the lowest valley"and i think this is the lowest .lol

Bloody good shop in Korumburra.

I wonder if Lance is home

Blow this photo up Linds.

Now i wonder if there watching.

Catch ya later ,might even be a rest day for me tomorrow.

Day 40 & 41

Day 40 Started early before sunrise  from Lorne as my target was Melbourne which was some 140kms away and i needed my best chance for all the planets to line up together if i was going to try and navigate my way through the traffic in the heart of the C.B.D at a descent hour. After taking a wrong turn in Geelong and turning back to a more direct route for a  bike I eventually  could see the tall buildings of Melbourne getting closer  with every pedal.
Then i was stopped by some guy who worked for the Vic Roads and told me ,you cant ride on this road,its a freeway. And i said ,yes i can, the sign back there said i could. Even though it must of been 30 kms back. He apologised and told me he was new at the job and said, fair enough you no what your doing. Well i think i did ,I was looking for a particular bike track route in Footscray to take me over to Flinders St Station area which i located without too much trouble. Thank god because i heard theres a lot of brothels in Footscray and i was only interested really in finding a bike route.

I arrived at the Station to take a few photos to prove to myself that i was really there. People everywhere dressed in black busily walking quickly as theres no tomorrow and me standing there like a homeless man stinking like a rotten piece of meat. So off again down St Kilda Road which turned into the Princess High Way on my way heading toward Cranbourne area. Stopped for a burger so i could get some energy happening to continue riding as i felt pretty good. Came out of M'cafs and it was quickly getting dark and cold,freaking out that i am going to come a cropper if i don't find a place soon and i looked over the road and saw a motel.Bingo ,that will do. These wintry days are too short.

Happily booked in at 105$ and the women was Chinese who owned it so i was clicking my heals down the corridor shouting out knee how,knee how, like a bucking donkey.I think she thought i had gone mad  and was laughing at me. Did some washing there and organised my bike for another early start after boring her husband with my recent Shanghai trip photos.

Lucky i had my helmet on.

Flinders Station

Day 41also started early in the dark  and rain. I was going o.k. with a slight tail wind and knocking the kms off but slowly getting wetter and wetter till i was saturated but not that cold.My trick in the morning was to put my socks on and then plastic bags on them before my shoes,great if you want to turn your feet into aquariums and then  your shoes start to swell and get heavy.Also my so called wet weather gloves sucked the water in and the fingers of them started to extend out. At one time i thought that i was being tortured by the C.I.A with the water dripping off my helmet to my nose every five seconds The only good thing where the trucks at the stop lights as you get the heat from there exhaust pipe  and it feels nice.
Loch ,was i thought a good time to have a break and a coffee.big mistake. After visiting a nice coffee shop in town and meeting Chantel and her fiancee Mat, i went outside to carry on riding, then disaster struck,the body went into an uncontrollable state of shock,eyes wide open,teeth clanging together and body shaking as though i was getting electrocuted.
Plan of attack was to try and  go straight to the pub down the road owned by Sybil to book in for the night.Not as easy as you think when your body has turned rigid and blue. .On meeting her she said she would show me the room and i kept saying ,fire,fire till she new i was in trouble and needed warmth quick. I stood by the fire for a good half an hour, then the big hot shower and then put some warm clothes on. It was only then i said to Sybil an hour later, what did you say..
I don't know how i am going to deal with this constant rain and cold if it hangs around too long. I was thinking perhaps a full wet suit complete with hoody and boots plus of course the helmet. But i thought that might bring the attention of Mr Plod, bit like the gimp out of the Pulp Fiction movie, and when he See's me bonging on a truck exhaust at the lights straight from Snowtown i'm sure the bike trip would be over.Any suggestions are welcome to overcome this dilemma
Now its been a couple of hours now since i have booked in to The Royal at ground zero in Loch and Sybil and her partner Toddy have been wonderful hosts. Making cups of tea and dipping my camera in rice to get the moisture out of it .Meal time starts at six and i have heard good reports about the menu. Could end up one of those stories about how i was just passing through and ended up staying for ten years.

Had a drink here 37 yrs ago with Jim.

Would you believe it, and i was just in the zone

Taken from outside the pub in Loch.

This is a bit basic but the technical people just couldnt get it together back in Perth so i am following the 5,6 and 7 graders from Colleens School to show you where i have been

Sorry about the photos ,seem to have a bit of moisture in it and i will try and dry it out.Except for the last one looks better than it really is.
HooRoo till later

Day 36 to 39

Day 36 i left Mt Gambier after staying at the Jens Pub which certainly had the best staircase access to my room

Amazing how i was complaining about the tightness of the staircases and then i come across  this one.

Huge Pub with huge balconies and restaraunts but the room was a bit out with the scale of everything else. Bit like a big pigeon coup with little nesting boxes,still at $70  who's complaining in the centre of town.

The Pigeon Box.

JENS

Before leaving Mt Gambier,Herse (because he is carrying Jim) ,my iron horse wanted one more sniff of the pink lady bikes in the window at Daves bike shop around the corner. Took a quick photo and was off.

eeeehhhhhnnnnggghhhh      pppsssssshhhhshh. Herse talk

Ten kms out of Mt Gambier and the first flat tyre. Sorted that out and off to the Victorian Border and away from these South Australians.

Funny how as i was taking this photo i imagined Liz from Snowtown to come out and stab me with a big kitchen knife and say, got you ya baaasstttaaarrrd grinning.

Then on to Nelson for a sandwich and a cuppa before heading to Portland with Jim(dec) to visit where his Father had died at a dance.Plus after many phone calls to Pat from my Auntie Betty,where is he,where is he,i was to meet her there with an ex priest from Horsham.The plot thickens. Got there and cruised the main street but no Aunt only Mr plod telling me to put my helmet on as usual.Then off to Port Fairy(I'm sure that's where my friend Keith comes from) Arrived in the dark and stayed at the Youth Hostel,showered ,fed myself and relaxed while Linds  was having kittens about me being under some bush frozen because the tracker said so.lol
Day 37 I left Port Fairy and rode toWarrnambool then to Petersborough along the the Great Ocean Road with a tail wind. Took photos along the way and kept meeting the same people at each stop because i wasn't dawdling.

12 Apostles

G.O.R

G.O.R

London Bridge

Just past the 12 Apostles,finally after many phone calls,Monica hunted me down with her girlfriend Linda and her boy. Monica wanted to do some kms with me over a couple of days.(Who is Monica?)Monica is the wife of a mate of mine and a very good mate of Jim(dec) who is a plumber who lived with me many years ago in Perth and are now living in a place called Magpie just outside Ballarat.She has 7 children,all hers and Tim's.She reckons I'm living her dream and says she wants to experience  and taste what its like to ride all day to you drop. Well she certainly picked the wrong day to join me because it was only 30 kms to the top of Lavers Hill but what a hill. More like a mountain.

Getting ready. (symster see the sign)

Lovers Hill here i come.

After getting organised she took off like a rabbit and i told her i would catch up after saying goodbye to Linda.
Well it took me a while but finally i came around a bend and there she was,sore bottom and all ,sweating and shaking and saying "i need food NOW"Had a bit of a rest and food and we where away again.
Ended up arriving at Lavers Hill in the dark and i told Monica the only room left was the Honeymoon Suite. Whatever she said . She was in no mood to worry so we renamed Lavers Hill to "Lovers Hill".Had a meal,showered in cold water with no pressure then to bed to get ready for the ride the next day which apparently the shop keeper said was 95% down hill, well i can tell you now, he is 95% bullshit because it was horrific

Lovers Hill honeymoon suite

Organised Kaos.

Day 38 Started off with a fog you couldn't see further than your nose,literally in the clouds.

Notice the cloud at the back on Lavers Hill.

These a specially bred  horses called Bullamas,cross between an English Bull Terrier and  a white horse

I think his on the same stuff as that shop keeper.

This one wanted a cuddle before i left and was asking if Herse was single.

 Again Linds another flat tyre within minutes,sent Monica off ahead again and i fixed it but it ended up having a bump in it . Got to Apollo Bay after the supposedly down hill ride (whats that shop keeper on, get me some) with Monica was already there before me but she needing to get a spoke repaired and both needed some food before we left for Lorne some 49kms down the road. Once organised off we went into the rain,wild wind and winding roads up against the mountains to our left and the beautiful rolling ocean creating some big surf on our right.

Had to be there.

On arriving in Lorne i booked another room in Mount Joy Pd and waited for Monica  to pull up wet and exhausted not long after,but eh, after 30kms up to Lovers Hill the first day then 95 kms in rain ,climbs and wind all in good time the following day and still be standing is certainly a great achievement for a spur of the moment decision.We have a Mr Fantastic( Yern) and a Mr Fantastico (Joe) Ithink we now have a Mrs Fantastic (Mony) We showered and ended up having a nice pub meal and retiring back to the room for me to check the wind reports and for Mony to watch Master Chef and then faded into a deep sleep.

Unbelievable

Day 39 Woke up to a day of rest and did my radio interview with Paul. Had a late breakfast and am now charging all the batteries and my human battery too.Big Tim came down and picked Mony up and he shook Jim's hand before he left.

Tim holding back tears shaking Jim's hand before saying goodbye.

Before i go,three cheers for Tim, a great guy for letting his lovely wife spend a couple of nights away from the hectic world of seven kids and giving her a break and probably letting her realise how bloody lucky she really is with him.lol

Tim's probably saying to Monica,now come on little one you've had your fun now get back in the kitchen and start cooking for nine everyday.lol

Talk again soon,keep the support happening and GOD BLESS.

Day 33 to Day 35

After staying at an old hotel in Strathalbyn (45$) i headed to Wellington Ferry to catch the Punt across the Murray river. I know when i said to Joe Peci before i left on the trip ,that i might take the ferry from the Eyre Peninsula to Adelaide, he lost it and told me that i would be cheating,so i didn't do that.But let me tell you that this is  the correct way to Meningie and besides the distance is only about 200 metres if that ,Joe.

Good bye Wellington

Something for nothing ,unbelievable.

 Arrived and only had to wait 5 min to get on board and cruise at no cost, and off i went  peddling to Meningie. Before the Punt crossing i spoke to the guy who runs the roadhouse and he told me about these 3 spiked thorns that are all over the malee,yeah whatever mate i said and told him that i will be o.k. First time i stopped and pulled off the road to a wire fence to hold the bike up.Holy Crap Robin, million of these 3 pronged  thorns where attached to each tyre which in turn gave me hell with punctures later even though i pulled each one out carefully. It was the first time this had happened and i was warned . Arrived in Meningie around mid afternoon and again booked into another old hotel. Every time i book into one of these old hotels it makes me laugh when i have to cart the bike up an old tight flight of stairs and carry it down again real quite in the morning like i am carrying a dead body out. Nearly lost it the other morning and started laughing to myself thinking what a way to finish the trip by breaking a leg in a fall. Had a meal at the pub with an old guy i befriended who is down from Adelaide painting a holiday shack,72yr old Rodney.I retired early for an early start.
Day 34 did start early and i felt good cruising down toward Kingston S.E. Slight breeze helping and small rolling hills and beautiful sea views. Later the wind turned a bit and made it hard to get there, but i arrived around three pm after going through a drug and alcohol check.

No where to run

Theres a black dog sniffing in there, i told them about Jim in the bike so the dog wouldn't go crazy if he got a bit of a snort.

Bloody big lobster, don't know how many feet it is i mean metres , eh

 Rang the bike shop up in Mt Gambier and spoke to Robyn and she told me that she closed at 1 on a Saturday the next day. Because i needed to get a spare tyre and still 157 kms from there i thought i better do 50 kms more and leave 100kms  to get into Mt Gambier by 1pm. Ended up camping in the bush washed out and dreading the next day thinking about trying to get there in time. My worst nightmare began when it started raining,even though it was not cold it kept me awake tapping on my flimsy plastic tent.

Dropped in to just realise how lucky i am,Millicent Cemetery

No electric cheating motors on those bikes, good on them. Coming into Millicent with the wind.

This is where i traded the boys in Symster but as you can see theres a restriction on the size.

Good stuff

Lush  pasture just outside Mt Gambier

Dave from D&G Cycles who sorted me out after hours which i really appreciated. Thanks mate.

Day 35 was not a very enjoyable day because i don't like having deadlines on a bike holiday when you don't have any energy but i struggled into Millicent  and rang Dave at the bike shop and he said don't worry i will open up when you get here.  Boy that made me happy that i had all day to get there. As it turned out i was only 20 minutes past 1pm and Dave came down and sold me what i wanted without a fuss later in the day. True gentleman to do that and his bike shop  D & G Cycles Mt Gambier is first class. So  that's about it for now, i better pack up and get some sleep for something different tomorrow,more peddling
HooRoo.