A day of of cake and cycle

As the distance between me and the next long pause diminishes I am noticing a worrying shift of attitude that I need to be watchful for if I do not want to loose the form I have achieved in the first week of rest.

In saying that the chips down here in Australia are really good and they don’t feel so fat sodden as in other places. On top of that the wine, even the budget one, is rather good. I was pretty sure it would be, down under they have the weather and the expertise has been imported creating a cocktail that can only produce great outcomes.

The ride for the day promised to be more interesting that it has been of late and it did not disappoint from the beginning. The first 10 miles were by the sea, really by the sea this time, with a bike path that run all the way from Narooma to Dalmeny.

After that it was back on the A1 for a rather long stint but this time the road went through a green and interesting landscape which made cycling pleasurable. the temperature is also almost perfect for cycling, a bit cold first thing in the morning but getting in the mid teens by 10 and therefore offering enough heat without being oppressive.

As I was cycling this morning I was considering hoe quickly we forget the bad weather when a stint of good weather is upon us, it feels likes it’s months since I got completely drenched in Gippsland.

come 18 miles I saw a caffe by the road and I stopped for second breakfast, yet another thing that will have to go when I’m in pause. this place was actually a cheese factory and the number of different cheeses on offer was sensational. I suffered having to leave them but I guess the nature of my traveling media is that I cannot load up with things, however enticing they might be.

After second breakfast it was back to riding until I got to Moruya where I had to do a pit stop and rested for a few minutes admiring life as it unfold in a small town in the middle of Australia. I am still not complacent about what I’m doing and I find myself being quite taken aback by the fact that I am riding a bicycle on the other side of the world thousand of miles by anybody I know.

After Moruya I left the A1 and got onto the costal path, a mix of desire for less busy roads and the silly desire to get to 6000 miles by the evening made me lengthen the ride by some 10 miles but in the progress I saw much better landscapes and got to climb a few more hills.

I am now getting a lot more impressed by Australia, my overall judgement of a country better seen with an engine remains, but I am satisfied that the month I’m spending cycling here is not a waste of time.

Tomorrow I’m being picked up and will spend 3 days in the company of friends in Canberra, will do a bit of tourism and probably go and see the federal parliament. After that there is more time in Batemans Bay and five days ride up to Sydney where I’ll get ready to fly back out to Europe.