Day 21 - Sept 30 - Murrumbateman to Jerrabomberra (Home!) - 60k

It was a lovely evening with Peter and Lauren and their lovely kids. We played pool until late. The fire was cosy, and it finally dried my shoes which were still wet from my ride in to Albury. As the final day dawned, I could hear the wind, but at least it wasn’t raining although it was threatening to do so. I was packed and ready to roll by 8:15am, but first had to take the obligatory photos. This is Richard, Charles and Victoria. William had already gone to work, as had Lauren.

The weather was cool, and the first kilometer was over ‘Scrubby Lane’, a dirt country road leading in to Peter’s property. The bike negotiated it well. I then turned on to the Barton Highway – the strong wind was mostly in my favour. The bike and legs were in fine form today. The traffic was busy – a lot of people must live at Murrumbateman and Yass who work in Canberra. I couldn’t resist this photo of the sheep grazing in the paddock as I got closer to the small village of Hall.

Finally the special moment came. I knew the road well, but was nevertheless overjoyed when the sign for the ACT border came into view just at the entry to Hall village. The bike was flying, but I had to pull up to record the photo for posterity sake.

The road now was beautiful. The speed of the bike picked up, and for the next many kilometers I was in the large chain ring cruising on speeds between 30-50kph on the run into Canberra on the Barton Highway between Ginninderra and Gungahlin. I must say the traffic was far from gracious – there was lots of road work and single lanes for peak traffic, but the cars insisted on trying to push me away when there was not room for both bike and car. I felt like yelling “Don’t you know I’ve just been to the Coorong and back…show more respect”! I cruised nevertheless to the Gungahlin Drive turnoff, and turned in the direction of Black Mountain tower, passing Bruce stadium and Calvary Hospital. I knew I was in the zone for home when the magnificent iconic Telecom tower finally came in to clear view, despite the low, wet cloud cover.



I pressed on, now with Lake Burley Griffin coming in to view. The road was wet, and the traffic fast, and I was becoming preoccupied with the thought of slipping over in these final few kilometres. It is funny how the closer to home I get, the more aware I am of coming to grief. The bike went as if it knew the way – along Parkes Way with the Lake on my right, until swinging up and on to Commonwealth Avenue, with the beautiful Parliament House on Capitol Hill now in full view. In the three weeks since I had left home, the beautiful flowers of floriade had bloomed – these were resplendent down the centre of Commonwealth avenue as I approached the bridge. I couldn’t resist the photo of the Carillion, and when I stopped on the bridge for more photos, a lovely young lady offered yet again to get me in the photo.

I pressed on now, aware that I was ‘late’ for morning tea at the office. I was keen to do a circuit of Parliament House, but time was short so I satisfied myself with a photo from a distance, before passing by and heading for Brisbane Avenue.

Finally I made the turn in to Brisbane avenue, and rolled all the way to the bottom, turning in to The Salvation Army National Secretariat where I was actually looking forward to seeing all the staff who had followed the journey with great interest, and their prayers. My friend David met me at the door, but asked me to wait a few minutes, and then insisted I bring the bike into the office! As I wheeled into the inner office area, I was met with a wonderful reception of all the staff, who had erected an official “Finish” tape through which I insisted on riding the bike, making me the only National Secretary in the history of The Salvation Army to ride his bike through the office!. This is the official ‘finish’ photo, eventough I insisted on riding home.

It was great to share morning tea, debrief just a little and swap stories of the events of the past three weeks. Eventually though I had to get going for the final 15k home. The bike really did know the way now, and cruised out on the Monaro highway, still assisted by the nice breeze, and flying. Just for the heck of it, I stayed in the large chain ring all the way, including the longish climb up Lanyon Drive to the Jerrabomberra turn-in. Finally, Jerrabomberra!

I thought it was only fitting that I find one more gracious gum, which was just nearby. Every gum tree is its own work of art.

Finally, home. It was good to be home. It was so lovely that Sarah and her daughter Indi came out to welcome their neighbor back home. Not only, but without telling me, they prepared and home delivered dinner for me. Above every other magnificent experience of these past three week, the utter graciousness and goodness of people has been enriching and overwhelming.

I was taken by the amount of change that had occurred in just three weeks. The garden was beautiful. The flowers were out, making our small front garden resemble something like a quaint English garden. I couldn’t resist the photos.

I unpacked the bike, and delayed the bike bath until another day, hanging the ‘Masi’ in pride of place again on the bike rack. The great adventure was finally over. There were no more miles to cover, no more hours in the cold rain, no more wrestling with angry traffic on wet highways, no more battling and wrestling into winds that were often overpowering. No more looking for cheap places to sleep at night, or having to answer the unanswerable “why are you doing this”? The great ride touching three States plus the ACT was over.

What about the mountain? The original plan was to come home through the Snowy Mountains. I always knew it was risky, but I felt it was just too big a test, and as it turned out, when I arrived at Albury, it was snowing heavily on the mountains. My rendezvous with Dead Horse Gap will have to wait for yet another day. As it is, I think the ride was perfect. I missed getting to Goolwa, but I feel overall I had maximised the time available to me, and had actually taken on experiences that I had not anticipated before setting out.

I thought it was worth saving the official ‘finish’ photo until last.

Just finally, when you spend hours on the road like I have, your mind covers a lot more ground than the bike. Physically we are limited, but by grace the good Lord has given us capacities that are virtually unable to be restrained. I often think of the old crusader Moses, who was responsible for leading the children of Israel out of captivity, and for 40 years led them via a long and circuitous route eventually to the promised land. Moses gets mixed reviews from contemporary commentators, but I think he was a great leader, who always seemed to be well intentioned. Like us all, he was prone to mistakes. Despite being a great leader of his people, he was told that he himself would not be the one to take the people of Israel into the promised land. He died within eyesight of the great land toward which he had led his people for more than forty years. However, I think the Bible pays him the ultimate compliment on his death at a ripe old age. It says of Moses when he died, that although physically very old, "his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone".

We all get old, it is the way of life. But we do not have to lose our sense of 'vision' nor that inner spirit or 'strength' that can keep us active, focussed and striving for new goals despite our failing physical conditions. I wondered almost everyday whether I would do this again, such was the challenge everyday. But like Moses, I don't want to lose my sense of fresh 'vision' or spirit of passion and adventure, just because the world tells me "you are too old for this".

So it is worth a thought - we may age on the outer, but there is no excuse for losing our sight and our strength on the 'inner'.

Thank you for following the blog. In a few days I plan to write an epilogue. I hope you enjoyed following as much as I enjoyed the personal therapy of writing it. By all means drop me a note - kelvin.alley54@gmail.com

From the Good Book:
"Keep me safe O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to he Lord, 'You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalm 16:1-2

KRA

Day 20 (Sept 29) - Rest Day - Train from Albury to Yass

I must say it was a very cosy night at the Clifton Motel. I was only after a ‘cheap’ room within close proximity to the railway station. I scored really well. The Motel was full, and I was given the family two bedroom unit all to myself, which included my own King sized bed. I felt extra blessed because the television actually worked on all digital channels, especially ABC and ABC News 24. I have been starved of some of my favourite ABC current affairs shows. The wonderful lady running the motel was a bit shocked at my state when I turned up in the rain yesterday, especially when I asked if the bike was okay in the room with me. I could tell she didn’t like the idea, but she supplied towels and sheets for me to cover the entire floor, and for wiping down all my bags and the bike before they went into the room. They really were truly wonderful.

It was a slow start to the day. I planned to be at the station by 9:30am to break down the bike and get it all packed away in the two bike boxes I had paid for and booked. I woke to heavy rain, and didn’t cherish even the 100 metre walk to the station in this weather.

I took time to repack all my bags, and have my very last breakfast with ALDI 3 minute oats. Actually, I didn’t need this, but I wanted to use the last of the sultanas! I also had the light breakfast provided by the Motel, a good deal for $75. (This photo is of the magnificent Albury Railway Station...)

By 9:15am the rain had eased, and I was all packed and ready to go. I managed to fit my tent into one of the panniers, and distribute its contents into the other three. This made one less thing to carry. I wheeled the loaded bike to the station. All should have been fine, but when I asked for the bike boxes to pack the bike, it was then they realized that they didn’t have any! The guys were wonderful, but they could have realized this last night when I booked it all. So what did they do – they rang the local bike shop to request 2 bike boxes – they get them for nothing, but they had already charged me $24! Anyway, they assured me if they couldn’t get the boxes, the bike would simply go on the train. This was best option because then I wouldn’t have to break it down.

Sadly, two boxes turned up, but one box was the maxi size which actually took the bike with pannier racks attached with only having to remove the front wheel. The seat, pedals and handle bars come off, and all fitted snugly in the one box. They offered me my $12 back for the unused box, and overall I was left feeling very happy about everything.

While waiting for the train, I explored this most magnificent railway station building. The mansion outside is now used as the Albury Information Centre, but is the original Station Master’s ‘cottage’. It is in stunning condition, and stands resplendent on the lawns adjacent to the station. Both were built in 1880.

The train was late by about 50 minutes. The heavens opened again with torrential rain, the fog descended in covering all but the immediate vicinity, and it went quite cold. It was one day I didn’t mind having ‘off’ the bike. I didn't venture far from the railway station all morning, although the train did not arrive until almost 1pm. I sampled the railway cafe which only serves instant coffee, and while taking it easy in the cafe reading the paper, a lovely mum from Sudan with her two children came and asked to sit at my table. I felt quite honoured to pass the time with them and learn a little about their story.

I suspect that Albury has a lot to offer the tourist and history buff. When I came in yesterday afternoon, it was 'bucketing' with rain and it was impossible to stop and take photos once I entered Wodonga. Somewhere between Wodonga and Albury (I rode the Causeway) I crossed the Murray for the final time. However, the conditions were so poor that I never saw any sign and was therefore unaware that I was actually crossing the Murray. Today was also simply too wet to go back, so the best I got was a photo of the town profile from the cross birdge of the railway station!

I must say I enjoyed the train ride. The windows are large, the seats are well spaced, and the train just cruises so smoothly through the lush Australian countryside, making me wonder why we don’t use train travel more often. I experimented with a photo through the window of some lovely canola fields, but disappointed in the result. The window was too 'murky' and the rain was very heavy making visibility very poor.

It has been good to reflect on my travels. I haven’t always been keen on cycling. From an early age I started into athletics, and discovered I could run. I developed into a reasonable middle distance athlete, and graduated to marathons into my late twenties. In those days it was nothing to run home from family BBQ’s, even if it was 25k away. It was all good training. However, when I was appointed to my first ministry ‘post’ at Port Macquarie, the town runners met for a pack run each week from The Salvation Army car park, but some of these were cyclists. I was eventually influenced onto a bike and the rest is history as they say. As I got older, the running faded and was taken over by a dedicated interest in cycling. It has been a great dimension to my life.

I remember watching the movie “The Great Escape” when it first came out. The movie finishes with a scene of one of the escapees quietly riding a bike away to freedom down a country road. I remember thinking then “that’s what I would love to do”. At age 57, I have now accomplished quite a number of these long distance cycle tours, four of them in excess of 2000k. However, I would have to rate this one as the hardest I have done, but also probably the most satisfying in terms of depth and breadth of experiences.

The bike is a ‘Masi Speciale’, an Italian manufacturer with a long history in the manufacture of bikes. It is a standard steel frame, so a little heavier than a racing bike but the steel is strong and it is flexible, ideal for cycle touring. I have attached pannier racks to front and rear, but otherwise it looks every bit like a normal road racing bike. It has a classic leather look seat. It is almost too good for cycle touring, but I must say it has stood up to everything on this trip (its first) in fine style.

I carry Ortlieb panniers. They are excellent, made of tough material and completely waterproof, almost bullet proof! Despite passing through some very heavy rain episodes, nothing inside the panniers got the slightest bit wet.

I carried a back pack with some valuables and essentials, such as my two small computers, snacks, wallet and spare tubes for the bike. This sits nicely between the rear panniers, across which I sit the tent, all tied down with two ‘ocky’ straps. It all sat very nicely on the bike.

The bike has a computer which keeps the speed, distance, accumulated time, accumulated distance, maximum speed, average speed and other functions. On the iPad in the backpack, I have a GPS application which tracks all of the above plus plots the course taken on a map and also produces an elevation of the day's ride. This way I can see the altitude I have climbed and over what distance.

I arrived at Yass in driving rain, and grateful that my brother Peter was there to quickly transfer all my gear and bike box into his car, and drove me to his country estate at Murrumbateman, where I enjoyed a lovely family dinner with his wife Lauren, Lauren's father Colin, and four of his six children.

It has been a great 'rest day'. The bike is now back together, and all is ready for the final leg, albeit a relatively short one, home to Canberra tomorrow.

Julie just sms'd to say she had arrived in Scotland at the lovely Loch Lomond where she is scattering the ashes of her Dad, Douglas Charles Stewart, on the bonny banks of the country of his heritage which was so close to his heart. Julie has been on a pilgrimage as well!

Just finally, I have taken particular note of the vast numbers of sheep that I could see through my train window today. Their fields are lush with grass, and they seem to have no lack of water. Sadly these days, we do not have the richness of seeing the traditional figure of the shepherd, as in days of old.

It was the shepherd boy David who later became King of Israel who really knew what it was to be a shepherd. He would have known each and every one of the sheep for whom he had care; he would have known when they were hungry, when they needed water, and even when they had need of protection or physical healing of injury or ailment. As a shepherd, he would have been a devoted, caring, loving shepherd to the sheep under his care.

It is little wonder then, when many years later when he became King, he could write with intimate knowledge and conviction "The Lord is MY shepherd, I have everything.....". The writer of Psalm 23 knew what it meant to be a shepherd, and to be the object of the love and provision of the divine shepherd. It is good to know that although we may feel alone, we always live under the watchful eye of the divine shepherd who knows us by name.

Until tomorrow, the final day....

KRA

Day 19 (Sept 28) - Yarrawonga to Albury - 96k

Any hope I had of having a lovely sunny, wind free run into Albury today were dashed as I looked out my window of the Burke’s Hotel where I had spent an exceptionally delightful night. The wind was blasting rather than merely blowing, and the sky threatened to open up with rain at any time. It was slightly disappointing, but I went about my normal early morning routines. I was showered and mostly packed by 7am, and went downstairs to enjoy the free breakfast. All talk at breakfast was about the fouling weather conditions.

I hit the road at 8:30am, again sad to leave ‘Burkes’ (pictured above). It continues to impress me how wonderfully gracious so many people can be to a perfect stranger like myself. If nothing else, this pilgrimage has helped me to see the goodness in people, and the obvious evidence in every person of aspects of the very image of God.

I wanted to go down to see the Lake (Lake Mulwala) that was too dark the night before when I got into town. The Lake is fed by the Murray River. I must say on a good day it might have been more enjoyable, but the wind was really tearing up the water surface, and making it rather unpleasant just to be a spectator. I took a few quick photos, and decided it was better to get on my way. The Lake is very extensive, spanned by a magnificent bridge, which can be seen in the background of the photo, which features an old ‘paddle’ from, I presume, a former Murray River paddlesteamer.

I headed due east on the Murray Valley Highway, into the blustering wind, of course. Little did I know that today over most of Victoria, a massive storm would descend and wreak massive destruction, especially hail in many places where I had come from in recent days.

I pushed on out of town, accustomed now to not fighting the wind, but certainly not enjoying the conditions. However, it still doesn’t stop me from taking in the beautiful sights that were passing by. I came across this wonderful historic graveyard. It was disbursed over a wide area, but I liked the single grave shot with the beautiful gum as background.

As well as the wind, the road was wet from early morning rain. I don’t like these conditions, and my senses were on full alert. In addition, this country highway had no ‘apron’ on which to safely ride – I was sharing the same lane as the speeding traffic, of which there was a constant stream, especially heavy trucks. I was very much on edge. It is most unpleasant with the constant screaming of trucks and cars as they pass at high speed. It was keeping my otherwise calm senses on full alert. I simply had to trust that every vehicle could see me. Some pass all too close for comfort.

Actually, this blog has been a wonderful source of advice on cycling conditions, and answering the enquiries of people. Some people are asking ‘Kelvin, what is it like to cycle in the same lane as speeding traffic, where you can’t see them and just have to trust that they see you”? Well, these kinds of questions are very good. What I suggest you do is get a simple plastic folding chair, and find a busy single lane road. Put the chair just inside the left hand lane marking, and sit in it with your back to the traffic of course, so that you are occupying the first 18” or so of the lane, with constant speeding passing traffic. Sit there all day, even if it rains, and this will give you some idea of the feeling of what its like to sit on a slow moving bike in the same lane as speeding highway vehicles! Actually, I suggest you don’t do this…..it is only recommended for paid professionals!

I cannot resist a river. They are all magnificent, especially if lined by beautiful gums. I had to keep stopping eventhough it slows the trip, but the record is worth it.

I was heading for the historic town of Rutherglen, some 48k from Yarrawonga. Along the way, I passed through some wonderful examples of pristine Australian bush, and crossed a number of rivers. There were many lovely examples of old growth gum trees, but see what you think of these fascinating beauties. How old would they be? They look like they are about to fight each other!



As Rutherglen got closer, not only was the rain threatening (it had been spitting all morning) but the wine industry became more apparent, again. A lot of wine is grown in Australia these days, actually too much. I understand the market is flooded with cheap Aussie wine. I heard on TV today that it is possible to buy wine cheaper than bottled water. Rutherglen is a wine region. I must say, vineyards are very attractive. There is something mystical and divine about the vineyard.

Several kilometres later, the lovely township of Rutherglen came in to view. The wind was blowing, the rain was ‘spitting’ and of all places to put a welcome sign but on the first real hill I have ridden up for more than two weeks! I stopped anyway, but had to do a hill start to get going again.



I stayed for coffee at Rutherglen, and shared it with two other road cyclists about my age. They were extremely friendly, offering me advice about ‘shortcuts’ to Wodonga to avoid the Murray Valley Highway. The ‘shortcuts’ didn’t look too short to me on the iPad, so after I set off, I decided to take my chances on the narrow highway, but I must confess the closer I got to home, the more concerned I became about the speeding traffic in ‘my’ lane. As I left Rutherglen, the heavens opened, and it basically bucketed down for the entire journey to Albury.

Leaving Rutherglen, the horizon to my right was a ‘sea’ of vineyards. Its no wonder we have a glut of cheap wine on the market. I have been looking at vineyards for at least the last 1,000 kilometres.

The rain was beating down. I was soaked. There was nothing I could do. However, it is very unnerving not having any control over slippery road surfaces. I hugged the edge while cars and trucks sprayed their way close by my side. I was amazed how the bike stayed true on the road. I never had a moment where I felt the bike was out of control. As bad as the conditions were, as drenched as I was, I did not want to miss keeping a record of significant sights along the way. I enjoy taking nice photos of gums, streams and also capturing the wonderful spectacle of lovely canola fields which were now plentiful. What do you think of these?



The highway conditions and lack of an ‘apron’ were really testing my nerves. I was hanging out for Old Barnawartha Road, which according to my iPad map was an old, sealed country road that actually runs into Wodonga in parallel with the highway and also the main Hume Motorway from Melbourne. What a relief it was when I saw the sign, and I had the Old ‘Barny’ as the locals call it, basically to myself. It was about 25k to Albury, but at least I was finally off the highway. The rain was still beating down. There was nothing I could do. I was drenched, my shoes sloshed with water and the rain jacket was keeping me warm but certainly not dry.

The closer I got the more the rain beat down. I made one last stop on ‘Old Barny’ to take a final photo for the day, knowing that once I got rolling again, I would soon be in Wodonga and finding my way in traffic and blinding rain with no plans to take further photos. So these are the final, studio photos of the bike, the wet road, and a very wet, if not slightly distressed looking 57 yr old cyclist just about to register 2000k in just under three weeks of riding.

The road took me to the Hume expressway (ie the main motorway from Melbourne). I took a hunch and crossed right over it, and joined a minor road that took me right into Wodonga. I had to remove my glasses so I could see in all the rain. I was now 10k from Albury. It was confusing, but I took the main highway out of Wodonga, which took me right down on to the Motorway where I kept to the apron but doing my best to avoid massive sheets of water, puddles and spray from the raging traffic passing by at motorway speed. I took the first exit that said ‘Albury’ and did my best to stay on the road which now was semi flooding until I came into the obvious centre of Albury. Recognising ‘Smollett St’, I turned right and made my way straight to the railway station. The guys were wonderful. One seat for me, two boxes for my bike, and a free ‘child’ seat beside me to satisfy the ‘rules’ for having two boxes. This is grace indeed.

All done, it was a further 100 meters to the Motel I had pre-booked. I was dripping water everywhere. The poor lady who owned the motel must have wondered what she had done. She gave me a two bedroom unit, and quickly gathered towels, sheets and all manner of material so I could wipe all my bags and the bike and also so I didn’t make any mess in her lovely motel room.

Again, I am so grateful to beautifully gracious people like this who go out of their way to be wonderfully gracious to dripping wet, drenched, frozen but smiling strangers.

I covered 96k today, at an average of 20kph. I was on the road for just under five hours of cycling time.

Tomorrow I take the train to Yass. It will be my third ‘sabbath’ day of rest. I will ride from Yass into Canberra on Friday. As of today, I have amassed 1976k on my journey, and will pass the 2000k mark on Friday.

Finally….endurance is an amazing quality. I recall the great marathon runner Robert De Castella in probably his greatest ever marathon, the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in 1982. He says in his book which was written after the marathon, that at the 21 mile mark all he wanted to do was to sit in the gutter and let the race go by. However, he chose not to 'sit in the gutter' and went on to win the marathon in spectacular circumstances. He had a store of endurance that probably even amazed himself. There have been many moments over the last 2000k that I simply wanted to 'pack it in', in a sense to sit on the side of the road and wait for someone to pick me up. But somehow the legs kept turning, and a strength and particularly an endurance came from stores of which I was unaware of myself.

St Paul in the scripture speaks of 'endurance' as one of the great qualities of the christian life. The christian life is not unlike a marathon (or a long distance bike ride). There are times when life itself can be so overwhelming that it is tempting to 'sit it out' and let life go by. St Paul writes "we pray...that you may have great endurance and patience...". These qualities are not physical qualities, but come from a divine source on request. It is there but for the asking.

Until tomorrow.....(imagine having a rest day on a train!).

KRA

Day 18 (Sept 27) - Echuca to Yarrawonga - 140k

I slept very well in my nice Motel room, and was still in the shower at 7am when Terry was knocking at the door with my $5 cooked breakfast. He was marvelous really, and also seemed to delight in serving me with that little bit of extra care. Echuca is not a great place for Optus reception (like a lot of country Victoria during my travels) and I tried in vain after breakfast to get my daily ‘blog’ on the web, sadly, unsuccessfully. Nevertheless it held me up. I was also delaying a little because at 7am I looked outside and the heavens had opened, everything was drenched and it was also very cool.

By the time I got away at close to 9am, or a little after, everything was wet and cold but at least the rain had stopped, and it never returned all day. However, the wind was strong, and blowing from the east, virtually straight into my face.

I was uncertain of the distance today, thinking it would be about 125k. However, it turned out to be a very long day, just getting in after dark at 140k. More about that later.

I cleared Echuca, and faced the wind on a flat, almost uninteresting countryside.

The road was average, and for a lot of the morning I had no apron on which to ride. I shared the single car lane, which was not comfortable most of the time. It is interesting from most of my journeys like this, it seems the closer I get to ‘home’ the more dangerous it becomes. Yesterday in fact I had my most dangerous moment – a farm tractor was coming in my direction half on the lane, half off the road. Two large semi-trailers came up fast behind the tractor, and decided to pass the tractor (ie in ‘my’ lane) just as the tractor and I passed each other. It meant that the three of us shared two lanes, with me holding my edge of the lane, and holding my nerve, as not just one semi but followed by the other, passed between me and the tractor. It was so close, I could easily have touched the semis, but I suspect the second semi driver got the shock when he realized a cyclist was there and he had to fit his speeding semi between me and the slow going tractor. It was all over in seconds, and my heart settled down again.

I could not pass the ‘upside down dunny’ which was beside a roadside pub in the middle of nowhere.

At about the 30k mark for the morning I came into Wyuna, which was also (apparently) Big Cherry country. I suspect this was set up by an enterprising farmer who is a cherry grower, and doing his bit to bring attention to his product. I thought it was great!

The wind was shocking – it is a funny thing that of the 19 days of the trip, I have been into the wind on all but one of those days! The road turned due north and I was heading for the little town of Nathalia. It was to be my ‘lunch’ stop at 56k, which at about 19kph average and some stops I was looking at a 12:30pm arrival. The country became very pretty again with lots of gums, and eventually the road opened out and I could see a long way off down the road the signs of Nathalia beginning to appear. However, I was struck by a farmer doing his work, and I suspect he paused in his turning of his tractor so I could get the photo.

Nathalia is a beautiful country town, a lovely wide main street that runs over an enchanting bridge that crosses a very decent river that feeds the Murray to the west. I must say it was nice to arrive, and I was looking forward to a cup of coffee and meeting a few locals.

I cant resist the water shots. This is a most picturesque end of town. I failed to get the name of the river, but it is quite substantial, not like some that I have crossed that are virtually dry



I enjoyed lunch at The Bakery. It was a very busy place. I seized the moment to finish my blog, taking advantage of the strong Optus signal here. It still took time, and by the time I was ready to leave it was close to 2pm. As I went to pack the bike, I was shocked to see that the rear tyre was completely flat which is accutally inexplicable. It had served me well since Naracoorte not even requiring to be pumped up. But here it was flat. So….it means off with everything, out with the wheel and the tyre and tube, and then all back together again. I rolled away from this lovely town after 2pm, realizing that I still had some 85k to go to reach Yarrawonga. At 20kph at best, that meant at least 4 plus hours actually in the saddle, and it was back into the wind heading due east for most of that 85k.

Somewhere between Nathalia and Numurka, I stopped by this lovely billabong that boasted beautiful gums already in studio pose for their photos to be taken. Lovely, aren’t they?



It was 22k to Numurka. It was now well past 3pm. I pressed on heading now for Katamatite, a further 26k – these roads are ‘pencil’ straight and so can become a little tiring just riding in a straight line for hours, especially without variation from the wind.

However, I now moved in to Canola country. It is quite spectacular when seen in full bloom and with acre upon acre of it. The roads are straight, and of course I can’t resist cows. These cows were particularly curious of my presence. Usually when I stop, the cows and sheep disperse, but in this case the longer I was there, the bigger the audience became. They were so lovely.



I reached Katamatite, to note that it was now another 34k to Yarrawonga. I stopped at the pub for a coke and to re-fill my water bottles. It was  5:15pm when I steered the bike out of Katamatite, and turned east again for Yarrawonga. Despite the wind I was riding really well. However, it was now a race against time because dusk was approaching, and nightfall some time after 6pm. It would be ‘touch and go’ if I was to beat nightfall getting in to Yarrawonga.

The closer to dusk, I find the wind drops. Today was no exception. From Katamatite I decided to pull out all ‘stops’ and get the bike rolling to capacity. My knees were telling me they were under strain, but I was quite intrigued that after 110k I could ride faster in the final 30k than I did all day. The k’s were dropping slowly but surely, but I couldn’t help notice that with the sun directly behind me (west), my shadow on the road was getting longer and longer. The sun was a ball of orange behind me, creating a most magnificent kaleidoscope of colour as the sun began to sink behind the horizon.

I was in a hurry, but chose to take the photo. My little camera takes good gum tree shots, but does little justice to the beautiful, radiant sunset.



With less than 15k, and the sun virtually gone, the bike was really flying, now in the mid-high 20’s. Try it yourself with 40kg on the bike. Actually without wind and once the bike is rolling is doesn’t feel that hard to keep it rolling.

The road took a tight left turn to the north, giving me a magnificent view of the sunset now to my left. This was the final photo I could get.



I turned on my helmet light to be visible, but just couldn’t afford to stop to find my other lights in my bags. I pressed on, driving the bike really hard now. I bumped over the railway, thinking I was close to town, but the sign then said ‘8k’ to Yarrawonga. I couldn’t believe it! I crossed two more sets of railway lines before turning into the final 2k run into town. I managed to reach 30kph before choosing to ease off to take the final corner into Yarrawonga. I was hoping to see the lake (Lake Mulwala that is fed by the Murray) but it was now dark. I just had to find the Burke Hotel.

For a Hotel, these places are lovely. The people are wonderful and I delight in making conversation. The bike stopped outside at 140k, a lot longer than I anticipated but it was clearly my best day of cycling.

Tomorrow is my final day. I am in mixed emotions. I am glad to have ‘come through’ but sad that a wonderful and great adventure has come to an end.

My room is wonderful – old style charm, and the chap booking me in told me that breakfast….is free! I was looking forward to my ALDI porridge and the final handful of sultanas….but these are things that I have to deal with, with utter grace. It has been a most wonderful day.

Just finally..it was lovely to pull up outside ‘Burkes Hotel’. I knew I had made it; I knew I had a safe place out of the dark and the cold; I knew it was a place of security for the night. But it will only be for one night. Just reading Psalm 27, I noticed something that is true for me not just for a night but for a lifetime….”One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple”.

Until tomorrow…….if my sums are correct, it is a mere 100k to Albury, from where I board the train to Yass on Thursday.

Until then…                                                                   

KRA