Stage 86: Victoria

Yarram to  Bairnsdale
Date: 12-10-2014 Time: 05:39 h Σ Time: 478:29 h
Distance: 142 km Σ km: 10161 km Temp: 11/21°C
Up: 361 m Σ Up: 84308 m Down: 376 m
Calories: 2495 kcal Σ kcal: 216191 kcal  
Conditions: A too busy road. No rain, but sky always covered with a few sun rays peaking through the clouds.

After yesterday’s fantastic ride on the rail trail, we stayed all day on the busy Princess Highway. Too many trucks, and fast going cars, very noisy. It was not very enjoyable, but obviously no alternatives to get us to Bairnsdale, or next rest day location. The first 100km I did a solo ride, with Lydia slipstreaming me for the last 60km. Then I made a joke and said ‘I am on strike’ and let me fall back a bit.  Lydia obviously took this very serious and went ahead, leaving me back on my own.  However, I soon closed up with her again, when she stopped to help an injured bird. I stayed behind her for a while. Not soon later she asked me ‘are you still on strike’? I confirmed that the German Cycling Union had called off the strike and took over the lead again. Along the highway there we signs, telling the motorists ‘to not tailgate and to keep a 3 seconds distance to the previous car’. Lydia asked me if this also applies to cyclist, to what I replied ‘in principle Yes, but if a someone tailgates you for 100+ kilometers, this combination is called a tandem for which the rule does not apply’. We arrived at the new campsite at 12:30pm. I did laundry, shopping and bike and equipment maintenance, and prepared for a real rest day. There is not much to do in Bairnsdale, especially being trapped in the tent on another rainy rest day.

Getting ready for the grand final – 7 cycling days left.

It may look, as if the final cycling week into Canberra and Sydney could bring us back a bit of the sun and dry weather we liked in the outback. Enough of the cold and wet weather that we have since we arrived in Southern Australia, about 3 weeks ago!

stage-86