The Highlander - Day 6 - Back to Devonport

It was luxury sleeping inside last night. The food and accommodation here were very good, a bit of a treat. Although there is no breakfast at the hotel, there was a little shop nearby that did toasted sandwiches so I could get something basic. Outside it was proper cold...just above zero and with a biting southerly wind. I was not in a massive hurry to leave and had a hair brained theory that any ice on the road might melt once the sun had been on it. (Lots of things wrong with this theory, but in particular: there not much sun and so it was a total crap).

Anyway, I got going about 9am, riding along the Highland Highway next to Great Lake. No cars passed me for ages and I had a slight tailwind that became more than slight later on. I was wearing a good outer windbreak layer but I had no thermals, so just committed to keeping moving and using mainly pedal power to stay warm. A mechanical would have really sucked...but no such issues with Casper The Magnificent (my bike). At the head of the lake there was a short sharp climb with a few steep switchbacks but I was actually kinda grateful as the climbing effort kept me warm! 

Once on the top it was all alpine scenery with the wild Pine Lake reminding me much of tarns in the South Island of NZ. Soon I passed the highpoint of the highway at 1250m, and a finger wrenching, ice blast descent began. What goes up, must come down.. and oh my down did we go!  A long screaming descent hugging the left hand side of the valley, I lost count of the switchbacks, most at 25km/h... and my fingers burning from holding the break levers in the cold. No question of an ear to ear grain on my face however...that descent was INSANE 😀. This descent was the culmination of all of that effort on day 3 climbing from Strahan.

At the bottom there was a very small steep uphill and my legs just totally failed to work...it was very weird...I had to stop and rub them. Perhaps it was cold...I am not sure.  

The cute town of Deloraine eventually emerges at the bottom here, 67km in one hit from Miena, but I was still cold to the core when I stopped, sitting in a patch of sunshine nursing a hot coffee. The town was much warmer than up on the plateau, probably 18 degrees or so, heaven! The town has a very pretty river meandering through the town, with an immaculate garden on each bank...total contender for 'Village of the year' methinks. (Hot Fuzz reference)

In fact somewhere on the way down I recall tearing past a sign referring to the area as 'The meandering valley' which is probably apt if one is not descending on a bike at silly speeds.

After a nice break in said town, I opted for 6km on the highway 1, followed by Railton Road. The highway saved a lot of faff with a very indirect route otherwise. Highways are never great but it was over fast and most of the time the shoulder was just wide enough to feel OK.

Railton Road passed through quite agricultural areas, very few cars but the odd big truck annoyingly. There is still a bit of up and down here. At Railton, after making turbo speed progress, I lay on the lawn and soaked up more sun, thinking about the trip.

Devonport is close from here, just 24 km. There is a Tassie trail option on the edge of the town and it was probably the best option. I had scant info on it with my GPX file being a bit of a guess at this route. I opted to stay on Railton Rd...bad choice, it was very busy, lots of trucks...why do they use this B road?? But the shoulder was OK for most of it.

At Latrobe I had heard there was a good cheese shop so I called in there...one thing really lacking from this fast paced itinerary was some samples of Tassies finest produce. This was a pimped up IGA and was off the charts good, I could have purchased the whole shop. I left with a few treats to enjoy with my wife when I get home.

Leaving town there is a good bike path along the river for the final few kms into Devonport...what a day...what a trip!! As has been the case on every multi day ride I have done, the first few days are physically uncomfortable, then after day 3 or so, the body adjusts to the regular punishment and in fact even starts to thrive. Because us humans are designed to keep moving. Thank you Tassie for being such a stunning, wild, and friendly place to cycle.

I have a summary post to follow with some technical details for others planning a similar route.

Day 6 Summary:

• Distance: 122.29km
• Meters Gained: 782m