Monday 5 February 2007

We left John & Muriel's place this morning refreshed full with water and cold drinks and ready for the hot day that was forecast. Leaving town and turning towards Wycheproof we immediately enjoyed a quieter road. Joanne has a cousin in Wycheproof so we are heading down there for a visit.

The road was initially upwards but then levelled off providing us with easy riding except for the wind. The whole area around here is broad acre farming and so there was little to look at.

After 45 kilometres we came to the small town of Lalbert complete with obligatory grain silo, a run down pub and small general store.  Just before town was an iron man mailbox complete with dog and umbrella, well, the remains of one.

With the mercury around 45 deg (on the road) we pulled up in the shade and went into the store and bought an ice-cream before sitting outside and catching up on our journals and then devouring and egg and bacon roll. A brief chat with some locals and then we were off down the road to see if we could make it all the way to Wycheproof, or failing that find a decent campsite.

The wind had picked up and we were battling into it, the temperature remaining in the mid 40's and progress was getting slower and slower. We took a short break in some shade on a side road before continuing on and eventually arriving at a very dry Lalbert Creek. An inspection of the road bridge however showed that it was possible to get down to the creek bed and secondly to get under the bridge. We decided that this would be a great place to get out of the sun and perhaps even provide us with a campsite. We were both quite hot and bothered and so we decided that as we could get out of site under the bridge that we would have one of our one litre milk bottle showers, so we fitted our shower head top to the milk bottle, stripped off and each had a shower, the wind blowing over the water providing us with a very nice cool down.

Feeling refreshed we began to set up camp but unfortunately for us, as soon as we had set up we were invaded by a swarm of very thirsty bees, all of whom could smell the water that we had. Cooking our meal and trying to keep the bees at bay with only our safety flags was rather a challenge and during this process Joanne got stung on the arm.

So after battling mother nature on two fronts the evening was then spent sitting under the bridge completing journal entries, staying away from the bees and hoping that there was no water on its way down from upstream.

Today's Stats

From: Swan Hill

To: Lalbert Creek

Ride Time:
4 hrs 21 mins

Distance:
65.6 km's

Av Speed
15 km/h

Max Speed:
24.5 km/h

Max Altitude:
216 m

Max Climb: 3 %

Av Climb: 1 %

Weather: Hot 45 deg C.

Tuesday 6 February 2007

Heat stroke to hypothermia is how we described the change in weather today. After yesterdays very hot day we awoke this morning to a grey sky, very dark horizon, a strong cold headwind and only a few bee's.

Our bridge camp had turned out to be a good one despite the swarm of bee's yesterday and we had rested well from the previous days heat, and just as well because the headwind we were going to battle today was a strong one. Packing up and emerging from our underground burrow we began our ride to the town of Wycheproof where Joanne's cousin Lynette and her family live.

Aided by the lack of trees in the open fallow paddocks where the crops are grown, the wind increased in strength causing us to concentrate more on keeping the pedals turning than the countryside we were riding through, and it also allowed us some time to practice our drafting.

Arriving in Wycheproof (home to the worlds smallest registered mountain) we were warmly welcomed by Lynette and spent the rest of the day catching up with her and her family before enjoying a well earned rest. It's been 25 years since we were last here and it is nice to return.

Great News! Schwalbe Tires have agreed to provide us with tires at wholesale prices while we are in North America! A chance email to them a few days ago has led to their agreeing to assist us, despite the fact that we asked well after the sponsorship window closed. We have been mightily impressed with the Schwalbe Marathon XR tires we are running on the rear wheels and are more than happy to recommend them to anyone. Thanks to Tim Unger from Schwalbe we will continue to be well "booted" and we'll let you know how the tires and relationship with Schwalbe works out.

Today's Stats

From: Lalbert Creek

To: Wycheproof

Ride Time:
2 hrs 48 mins

Distance:
33.2 km's

Av Speed
11.8 km/h

Max Speed:
14.5 km/h

Max Altitude:
179 m

Max Climb: 13 %

Av Climb: 1 %

Weather: Cool 19 deg C

Wednesday 7 February 2007

Today is a rest day in Wycheproof, but before any rest was enjoyed a trip to the local school was taken for a show and tell on our trip during the school assembly. Our talk went over well and the kids had some great questions.

Today's Stats

Thursday 8 February 2007

Our last visit to Wycheproof was some 25 years ago and we had forgotten what a nice little country town it is. Our visit with Des and Lynette was wonderful, and it was somewhat hard to leave. A cool 12 degrees and a strengthening wind greeted us as we rode up Mt Wycheproof, down the other side and out of town on a very straight road.

Our time off the trikes had done our legs some good but as always it was hard to get going, something we blamed on the wind. We were riding through sheep and crop country where the ground is used right up to the fence, and where the fence is right up to the road with little in the way of trees or bush to hide behind. Grain trucks were about the only vehicles other than us on the road and as usual they were sharing the road in a courteous manner.

We came to a farm gate which had a traffic mirror so seeing ourselves in it as we passed caused us to turn around and have some fun taking photos and a little movie as we rode past. Fun over we continue on and eventually found ourselves riding into Boort.

Boort has a population of about 850 people and is situated next to a very nice lake. We stopped in town to get lunch which we then enjoyed whilst sitting in the park overlooking the lake.

Lunch over we took the track around the lake both for the scenic route and to see if there were any camping opportunities. Locating a very nice position right on the lake we spent the afternoon enjoying the fish jumping, the pelicans and black swans as they did their thing on the lake along with the antics of three magpies as they hung around us waiting for us to provide them with afternoon tea, one of which got so game that it sat on my trike seat to get a better view of the table and any food that might have been available. Our position on the lake is very nice but reasonably close to town so even with the lack of any signs prohibiting camping, it will be interesting to see how we go, or if we get moved on.

Today's Stats

From: Wycheproof

To: Boort

Time:
3 hrs 56 mins

Distance:
52.3 km's

Av Speed
13.2 km/h

Max Speed:
38 km/h

Max Altitude:
208m

Max Climb: 6 %

Av Climb: 1 %

Weather: Sunny 30 deg C. SE headwind.

Friday 9 February 2007

Discretion being the better part of valour, we eventually decided not to push our luck camping next to the lake, so instead went for the Plan B option. Some 100 metres from our desired position was a large palm tree next to a gum tree, the two trees providing an alcove underneath and one which was shielded from the road. We set up camp in the small alcove and despite being passed by a number of walkers, cyclists and cars, went undetected for what was a very peaceful night.

A cool morning greeted us so we packed up and rode over to the table near where we had originally planned to camp and ate breakfast while enjoying the morning view of the lake and the pelicans feeding.

Riding out of Boort was pleasant enough, with a cool breeze to keep us cool and light traffic the only sweat raised was climbing one hill (there's always one) as we left town.

The ride to Mitiamo was uneventful, passing through more grain farms and over many of the irrigation channels that are in the area. Arriving at the locality of Durham Ox we stopped to use the toilets at the public hall and to see if there was any water in the rainwater tank. Durham Ox is a very small community and the buildings include three houses, an old corrugated iron clad church, a public hall, a small shed that apparently serves as a post office and a pole with an outline of an Ox on the top.

Leaving "the ox" as they call it in Wycheproof, we rode the highway for a while before turning off towards Mitiamo. Passing a metre long brown snake that had just been run over we arrived some 35 kilometres later in a town that really didn't appear to have much going for it. The railway runs through the town (which was moved from the old site 4 kilometres away to be next to the railway), there is the obligatory silo(s) and a shopping precinct of a general store and a Post Office. The lady in the general store told us of the towns park next to the swimming pool and of a camping area in the National Park just out of town.

Having had enough riding for the day we decided to ride the 4 kilometres to the National Park and camp there. Riding out of town and up the hill was fine until we came to the dirt road and the sandtrack into the park. Eventually after 2kilometres on the sandy track we arrived at the camping area where we selected a site and found the best place to sit in the shade for the rest of the day. The park has a large granite outcrop at the top which supposedly has some significance to the local indigenous tribe and affords a vista across the town and surrounding countryside.

Today's Stats

From: Boort

To: Terrick National Park 4 km's W of Mitiamo

Time:
4 hrs 29 mins

Distance:
63.1 km's

Av Speed
14 km/h

Max Speed:
28.5 km/h

Max Altitude:
267 m

Max Climb: 4 %

Av Climb: 1 %

Weather: Sunny 34 deg C.

Saturday 10 February 2007

Our National Park campsite was very peaceful as bar a few kangaroos and the birds, we were the only inhabitants. With a few kilometres to do today we began our day as dawn was casting the first rays of sun across the land, choosing to forgo breakfast until we had ridden back into a very quiet Mitiamo.

The trip into Echuca was uneventful in itself, the wind from the side keeping us cool and ensuring we had to do some work as we made our way. Sore legs ensured that we didn't break any land speed records and a stop to rest them every 10 kilometres helped we made the distance.

Arriving at the main highway into town we found the traffic very heavy indeed, arriving in Echuca some7 kilometres later showed why. We had arrived on day one of the Echuca 80, a water-ski race on the river where boats and skiers cover an 80 kilometre course. With some of the streets closed off and full of powerboats the traffic was crawling around town and the jams were pedestrian as well as vehicular, except in the bike lane where we over took much of the traffic with all sorts of comments overheard.

Our destination was the tourist information centre and upon arrival we were told that the caravan parks were all full and that the only accommodation in town was a free camp on the river some 5 kilometres out of town - gee, just what we wanted, free accommodation.

Prior to finding a campsite we toured the historic Port Precinct where the paddle steamers are located and the street is not only vehicle free but resembles a bygone era, complete with horse and cart transport.

In it's heyday the Port of Echuca had a wharf 1.2 kilometres long, these days there is just a small part of that left. On our arrival at the historic wharf there were three historic paddle steamers, one of which was the PS Pevensey also known as the PS Philadelphia from the mini series "All the rivers run" starring John Waters and Sigrid Thornton. The Adelaide being the oldest (circa 1866) on the river was also there as was the Alexander Arbuthnot.

Leaving for our campsite we stopped for some supplies and then rode out to find our camp. Navigating the bumpy, corrugated and dusty track for a kilometre or so we eventually found Betts Beach, a three metre wide strip of sand around a corner in the river. After selecting our campsite it was time to get some chores done so changing into swimming attire we took our washing down to the river and washed not only our clothes but ourselves as the speedboats, skiers and knee boarders raced up and down the river. 

Today's Stats

From: Terrick National Park 4 km's W of Mitiamo

To: Echuca

Time:
5 hrs 13 mins

Distance:
75.72 km's

Av Speed
14.4 km/h

Max Speed:
24.5 km/h

Max Altitude:
247 m

Max Climb: 7 %

Av Climb: 2 %

Weather: Sunny 32 deg C.

Sunday 11 February 2007

Our last night on the river did not disappoint and we awoke with magpies chortling, kookaburra's laughing, an owl hooting and Corella's screeching. We slept in and enjoyed a brief chat with the people in the caravan parked nearby before a leisurely pack up and breakfast.

Riding back into town we immediately noticed the distinct lack of traffic after yesterdays bumper to bumper traffic jam. Taking advantage of the lack of traffic we took another trip around town and again down the street of yesteryear to view the  paddle steamers once more before meeting a friend and her daughters who had driven from Finley to meet us.

The race down the river traffic began to depart as we said goodbye to Glenda, Jaymie and Melissa and it was not long before we were smack in the middle of thousands of people as they departed from the race on the river and headed for home, many tooting and a few idiots hanging out the window to yell something that was only audible or understandable by them.

The weather began to build as we rode, the clouds getting darker and darker and the wind beginning to build in strength, evidence that we were riding into something interesting. About 10 kilometres from Rochester, birthplace to Sir Hubert Opperman (Oppy), arguably Australia's most famous cyclist the wind began to have some effect, filling the sky with dust and reducing visibility quite dramatically. Lightening was also around and before long traffic was braking as a grass fire started and motorists stopped to see what they could do to extinguish it. Just after the fire a car had pulled over and a man was off watering a tree beside the road, so as we rode past I yelled out "the fire is back there mate!" causing him to laugh, and Joanne to comment on the fact that she had thought what I had yelled out just before I did.

Five kilometres out and we could smell the rain and then it hit, totally drenching us and providing the drivers more of a reason to toot, or the passengers to yell more stupid things, presumably about their being dry. We rode to the caravan park but they were full so a quick call to the local motel secured us a room complete with spa bath (which we enjoyed using).

Today's Stats

From: Terrick National Park 4 km's W of Mitiamo

To: Echuca

Time:
3 hrs 8 mins

Distance:
44.32 km's

Av Speed
14.0 km/h

Max Speed:
23.5 km/h

Max Altitude:
211 m

Max Climb: 7 %

Av Climb: 2 %

Weather: Hot 34 deg then rain and19 deg C.

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