Brakes? Definitely over-rated!
There are two types of cyclists in the world.
There are the ones who are happy to huff their way up the winding road up from Andermatt to Oberalppass, with bike laden, no matter what the day, or the weather. They are the purists. The die-hard cyclists, who would rather blow up lungs and legs than admit defeat.
The other type takes the train.
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Ready to Roll!
We arrive in Zurich after a very pleasant week in Malta, and it is HOT! Sometime between when we first landed in Zurich over a week ago and now, summer has hit with a vengeance. I’m now digging through my meagre clothing trying to find something to wear to suit this new weather while we go about finalising our ‘real’ departure to Andermatt, the gateway to our EV15 adventure.
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My bike is sad
My new bike – Joy – is very sad.
Born in late 2024, she had so much promise. A posthumous gift from my dearly departed parents, who may never have understood the idea of a custom bike, but who would have been happy to see me spend my inheritance on something that makes me happy, the name Joy is a play on my family name, and the feeling that riding bikes brings me.
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So ends the history of a good clean carefull affectionate wife
Our mission is successful. Accompanied by a couple of additional Friends – Garry and Lindsay – we embark on the last part of our journey which is a short 10km ride along bush trails to the Ninnes gravesite.
We have an arrival party!
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Busy roads and a Bills Trough
Our journey is still going well as we cycle out of Avoca. We stop by the Avoca Railway Station, now an art gallery, but it is too early for us to do anything but roam around outside and peer into the windows. We get back on the bikes and ride out of Avoca to Lower Homebush, once a thriving gold mining settlement, but now quiet farmland.
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Sydney vs Melbourne
They say that Sydney is a city for tourists – flashy, plenty of attractions – where Melbourne is a city to live, with plenty going on, plenty to do, but not so much happening tourist-wise.
The ride from Campbells Bridge (a short drive out of Stawell) to Moonambel is a bit like Melbourne. There’s not a lot to see, but the riding is great.
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Peleton!
Today we are a machine! We are a fully-functioning, fast-moving, whirry-sounding peleton of six, and we whizz through the countryside from Horsham as one. We fly!
Maybe we fly because we are full up of fine bakery goods, taken after a drive from Edenhope to Horsham to get us back on track (and off highways). Nevertheless we fly, and reach our lunch spot near Taylors Lake in record time.
There’s only one problem.
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Back to Victoria, the state of the roads
I am driving today, so no bike stories from me. Instead, most of this post is a collage of photos from my day on the road, driving from Naracoorte to Edenhope and supporting the cyclists.
Before we hit the road, Greg has another go at speaking with Macca (Ian MacNamara, ABC, Australia All Over program.) Macca pretends a little more interest in Greg’s story, but the difference between his attitude to Greg compared with Caroline from Kalgoorlie who came before Greg and openly sucked up to Macca (“Oh I listen to you every week, Macca”) is stark. Take a listen …
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Lest we forget …
We backtrack from Robe to Reedy Creek, where an Australian flag on a fence gives us a starting point for the day (it was even embedded in our detailed driving directions to the starting point). The flag is a reminder that today is ANZAC day, and we honour those who have served and those who have fallen. Two of our hardy team attended the ANZAC day service in Robe before setting out today.
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We spend a leisurely day in Robe. Some laundry, some touristing, some lunching, some ice cream, some leg resting.
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