Stage 87: Victoria

Bairnsdale to  Orbost
Date: 12-12-2014 Time: 04:22 h Σ Time: 482:52 h
Distance: 90 km Σ km: 10251 km Temp: 8/26°C
Up: 749 m Σ Up: 85057 m Down: 766 m
Calories: 1738 kcal Σ kcal: 217929 kcal  
Conditions: A nice rail trail, if you are willing to ride it – otherwise the main road, less busy as the day before. The weather turned fine today.

What a treat today. We stayed dry all day. Sunny and warmer than the past weeks. It was a short riding day, if you decided to take the main road. Optional, but unofficial, the rail trail could be taken. Because it was loose gravel, sand and rocks, and a bit washed out, after the rain of the past days, the rail trail was not recommended for the road bikes. After the Great Ocean Road, I wanted to ride at least a few kilometers on the Great Alpine Road. Therefore I stayed the first 20 km on the main road, before I switched to the rail tail. Not a bad idea, as the start was quite scenic and the low clouds covered the hills and green fields into a nice picture. It  was a beautiful ride on the trail. Only myself and dozens of kangaroos/wallabies, a wombat and a giant water dragon were on the trail this morning. Henry, Ursula and Rae were far behind, as they also cycled the first 20km. The kangaroos were almost on every corner, starring at me before they hopped into the forest. At the Stony Creek Trestle Bride, a giant water dragon appeared out of the deeper grass and slowly founds its way around me to walk deeper into the woods. It was definitely harder to ride on the trail than on the road, but worth every inch. Mostly far away from the road, there was only the sound of the birds and wind in the trees. Although I was one of the latest in camp, it was still early in the day to enjoy the warming sun and stroll through the small town.

stage-87

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