As I was packing up my very wet tent in the morning, a guy staying opposite came over with a hot cup of coffee for me. Such a nice gesture and very well received! After a bit of faff trying to update this blog on a flaky internet connection I got on my way.
The plan today was to try and ride "recovery" style and recharge a bit. I kept the pace down and planned to stop a bit more along the way. Unfortunately yesterdays headwind was still around so there wasn't any way of making it genuinely easy but there wasn't much I could do about that. The ride down to Robe was very nice and traffic was quite light so wind aside it was happy cruising. Robe is a pretty harbor town about 40km away...so I called in there to have a look...and for 2nd breakfast (after my rather light first breakfast).
I was treated to a superb Eggs Florentine. I was also able to update the blog again there, and left fueled and refreshed. Moving on along the southern ports highway there were plenty more friendly waves the whole way from passing cars.
Common reactions from passing cars:
1. The Hero Pose: Honks horn and frantically waves. Gestures may include fist pumps or clasping hands together out the window in "champion" pose. Passengers either include kids, or, one of them has cycled before and has some idea of the effort involved
2. The Hornblower: Same as above but no waving. "Double Tap" of the horn = friendly.
3. The lazy sod: Lifts fingers off steering wheel. Driver is not quite sure why any sane person would get of a car, but acknowledges something different to break the monotony of driving. Driver may have drool in the corner of their mouth, but its hard to see.
4. The Bogan: Approaches at high speed and passes within only inches of right panniers. May also shout something out the window, throw something at your, or make howling noises.
5. The Truckee These guys you need to watch out for. They drive well but sometimes the road just isn't wide enough for everyone. If two are coming from opposite directions at once, you just need to get the hell off the road.
Today I had all of these, thankfully only one dog howler.
Anyway, the next town was another pretty coast town : Beachport
Where I had a nice chat with some travelers who had gone past me a couple of times while they toured. The highlight for the day was heading through this forested area...
...there was a super cute Wombat standing there at the road side. The good thing about being on the bike is you are often less likely to freak out the wildlife. Gliding to a halt, we had a good look at one another. Sadly the moment was ruined when a heavy truck came utterly roaring up the road - the wombat panicked and started to run into the middle of the road, right in front of the truck, which half swerved freaking out everyone but sending the wombat thankfully scampering off back into the bushes.
Entering the town of Rendelsham, they had a visitor info panel set up to try and lure passers by into stopping an learning something. It was actually quite well done and more informative than most...but I just think they need to work on the visitor attractions
No .1 attraction: Drive past a shed?!
By now it was late afternoon and I gratefully arrived at Millicent, resupplied, and found a camp ground. Sadly there was less than an hours light left but did my best to dry out my gear and clean up. Not much of a recovery day in the end with 136 km done, but am slightly ahead of target.
Stuffing myself with pasta now, then its time to look at route options for tomorrow.
Distance: 136. 79
Average Speed: 22.9
Number of "I passed you all the way back at blah de blah" chats : 3
Beautiful scenery! And great that people you encounter are friendly (apart from the boguns) Enjoy your pasta carb load
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