217 Miles / 349 KM
BACK ON THE BIKE!!
After a good amount of Melatonin last night I pass out and slept a solid 8 hours! My body is feeling less exhausted this morning. As for my head its still a little sore but I’m getting back on my bike. I’m up at 6.00 and I know if I’m gonna get on the bike I just have to get up and go. So I pack my stuff up, grab a quick coffee and breakfast and head out to my bike. I hit the road at 6.30 just after the sun has risen! I was hoping the city streets would be quiet at this time… they weren’t and I had a tough time trying to ride. The cars were making me super nervous – my little heart was getting a work out this morning! I made it about 1km before I got off and walked for the next 2-3km out of town. There was no point stresses my head out with all the cars.. and worst of all I still had stiffness in my neck so I was able to look around quickly and know what traffic was behind me! So the first 10km was slow. between 3-6km there was a big up hill out of town – safe to say I walked that. I was feeling pretty good though, and as there were less and less cars on the road I was becoming calmer and able to mentally prepare myself for the day!
“Magic happens when you don’t give up, even if you want to. The universe always falls in love with a stubborn heart”
On the bike, and the roads become windy, quiet and surrounded by countryside. My mind is calm, and my heart is happy. I allowed double the time for the ride today giving myself 12 hours for the 6 google told me the 100+km was going to take. I did break alot in the morning to rest my head and give my head a break from the helmet. But the ride was great, some hills but mostly flat and favourable winds…. yes…. there is such thing here! The wind was mostly behind or to the side. It was wonderful! Even biking the Bass Hwy was nice – the hard shoulder was wide and the mountains surrounding me were huge and beautiful!
Having planned to stop at 12pm for lunch and a break I hit 70km just as It hit 12 and I was on a roll. Mentally I was feeling good and my mind was finally empty after some processing of my morning and my last few days! So I skipped lunch and kept cycling through to Sheffield – which was going to be my last town of the town! I hit 90km when I cycled into town. I was feeling good and seeing the town welcome sign… ‘Welcoming to Sheffield – home of the Murals’ My artsy self was happy! Murals were everywhere! In people’s gardens, side of the road, on buildings, in windows and a fantastic outside Art Gallery! Yep this is my favourite town by far that I’ve been to! I sit in this little garden (full of murals) and have a late lunch and break.
Feeling pretty happy that the ride is almost done for the day with just 14km left till Gowrie park and it being only 1.45pm! I stayed in town and wondered around murals for a couple of hours. Stocked up on snacks for the next few days as I was headed into the Mountains, and then headed out to Gowrie park just before 4! 45 minutes later and a nice mostly downhill and flat ride I arrive at Gowrie Park – middle of nowhere little rustic resort! The woman at reception was a lovely lady… who not only gave me free shower tokens (Maybe I was pretty stinky – or she felt sorry for me…) she also went and hunted out some needle and thread for me as my bike bags were in a little need of repair since the accident!
My ‘dorm’ was actually just a single room with a bunkbed – Ive stayed at another place like this and its awesome to have your own space. The amenities are in another block and so are the bathrooms so it does mean going outside for these but I actually prefer that! Nice to have my own space anyway and not be cramped in a 8-12 bed dorm!
I unpack all my shit, shower, eat, and then fix up my bags! I met a wonderful group of people also staying here from Canberra, they were an ‘older’ bushwalking group here for a month to explore the trails. Man, this is what I want to do at retirement age!!!
Gowrie park is beautiful surrounded by Mount Roland which is really quite the good looking mountain! I would have loved to climb up it, and probably would have tried. But the summit trail has been closed for a week for maintenance. They are improving the trail as the mountain becomes a more and more popular walk. Being so close to Cradle Mountain and people being fed up of the overcrowded Cradle Mountain, everyone is starting to come here! Apparently the views up Roland are phenomenal! It’s definitely a peak I’m adding to my list. Because I’ll be back here for the mountains for sure!
My night is a chilled one, relaxing and mentally preparing for the huge huge huge HUGE hill I have to tackle tomorrow. It might only be 45Km to Cradle mountain but the elevation is 4000+ feet. Although I have been told about 3000 of that is in the first 25km up to Moina. So once I get to that town I’ll be good! I plan on getting some good sleep and having a bit of a lazy morning. Aim to leave by 10! ahhh! Lets see how long this ‘4 hour’ ride tomorrow takes me.
Today was a good day.
