243km, 2,978m of vertical ascent,10 hours 19 mins and finished in clouds (and the dark) at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains about 120km from Bondi! A pretty special day!
The day started dry and cold with some wind! The ride to Cowra was nice, the scenery was beautiful Australian eucalyptus surrounded by lush agricultural land, watched guys on off road motor bikes herding cattle and horses playing in their paddock! As we headed towards Bathurst the weather became more variable and roads busier as the petrol head pilgrimage to Bathurst began - the big race is tmr!
The day was dominated by climbing - was very happy with the 303s they performed well on the climbs and were solid on the wet descents, which were bumpy and in places big cracks!! The tune by the guys at morgan street cycles in wagga was good as the Scott ran beautifully quiet!
After Bathurst the road to Lithgow was more of the same but became very busy with people leaving the racing for the day!
The weather gave a real range today - bright sun, heavy rain, rainbows ... Only thing missing was snow! It was like Sydney was throwing challenges at me to see if I was worthy of riding coast to coast across Australia! This feeling continued as the sun set and i started riding thru low cloud/fog!
By the end of the ride I am just over 110km from Bondi beach! So no need for an early start tmr. Will head off after Warwick arrives and I have had a large strong Latte!
High - riding the climb to Mount Victoria in the dark at the end of a long day but feeling good! And the well deserved beer at the finish!
Low - when I realised my fingers and toes were colder than when it rained on the Nullabor!
Magpies - 5 attacks by lunch but none in the afternoon! Thanks everyone for the tips on what to do - fave so far is barbed wire on helmet and for its simplicity ... A gun! Ha ha!
Pix - none today bcoz no internet access only thru h/p!
Music
Ok given the hills today here is my top 5 for getting a good rhythm for a long standing climb
1. I like the way u move
2. Castles in the Sky
3. Turn it up
4. Stand Alone
5. Welcome to Africa
Stats
243km (total 3880km, 141h 47min)
S 33' 38.066
E 150' 17.078
Tomorrow I ride to Sydney! :D
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fyi, paul van dyk is coming to singa next sunday.. promise next time he comes i'll go with you...
ReplyDelete:S haha
love xx
Hi Gary
ReplyDeleteNot sure you got my first message - it was my first blog so may have got lost in the ether! You sound so fresh and energetic in your blogs, which is amazing given the distance you have travelled. What you're doing is really inspirational! Wish I could see you ride into Melbourne, but I'm off to Bangalore tomorrow for a week. The weekend of Round the Bay I'll be flying down to Singapore. What dreadful timing! Chances are you'll be coming back to Singapore just as I'm flying back to Melbourne. Sigh .... Will get in touch to see if our itineraries coincide.
Keep safe
Love to you and Alison, and to Immy and Iris too
Helen xxx