Day 7 & 8

(1st of all, many thanks for all your comments and best wishes - I look forward to them everyday and they are very much appreciated!)

Sunday November 30th, Day 7:-

I LOVE Thredbo and want to spend at least a week here! It is like a mini Chamonix, busy with skiing in the winter and walking/biking in the summer.

Today though is a "rest" day...

ah, maybe chill out with a coffee and the newspapers?

No

Maybe read one of the 4 books I have brought with me, but failed to read one page yet?

No

How about 9 holes at Australia's highest golf course?

erm?.... No

I know, let's climb Australia's highest mountain?

Yeeesssssss!!!

I make a quick enquiry - apparently it is -5 degrees at the top, but it should warm up to -3 degrees later on! The memories of yesterday are cast aside and we take the ski lift up part of the way. This in itself is a surreal experiance? Last week, sweltering heat in dry, arid farming land with kangaroos and flies - today, on a chair lift, going over ski runs, hat and gloves on and not a marsupial or insect in sight.



There is a checklist at the top of the chairlift and the beginning of the walk:-



Er?... No, no, no, yes, yes, no, and no!

We walk the 13km return route to the top, where in deed it is freezing cold and visibility is non-existant. For a few moments, we are the highest people in the whole of Australia, yeah!:-









After the walk, Mark and Phil pack and head back to Melbourne - it's a 7hr drive for them. It's been great having them around and I have thoroughly enjoyed their company.

I am at a loose end once they have gone and decide to polish off another 35kms and head down the valley to Jindabyne. The wind is with me and it is a comfortable ride down. I book into the Snowy mountain backpackers, and head out for a steak and chips and a glass of Tooheys.

START:- Thredbo, 6.20pm
FINISH:- Jindabybe, 8.20pm

DISTANCE:- 37.56 km

AVERAGE SPEED:- 21.2 km/h

MAXIMUM SPEED:- 73.9km/h

CYCLING TIME:- 1hr 46mins 18s

TOTAL DISTANCE:- 715.6km

TOTAL TIME:- 44hrs 27mins 9s

Monday 1st December, Day 8:-

Today is the 1st day of Australia's summer!

However, it's grey, raining and blowing a gale - marvellous!

I'm up early and on the bike before 7am. Time is pressing and I still have along way to go!

taking into account the extra distance at the start and end (door-2-door remember now) and the 20km detour in Wangaratta, I reckon that the total distance will more likely be 1,300kms. That's almost 600kms more to go in only 5 days...

Today is a day of 2 halves. The 1st 65kms, the wind (from the NW) is off my left shoulder as I head east. Despite constant undulating terrain, I polish off the 65kms to Cooma in 3hrs. At Cooma I turn to head North - 120kms north to Canberra!

It is bloody hard going with the NW wind. I guess it is gusting up to 60kms/h and it keeps blowing me across the road. The road is single lane all the way and has huge logging trucks and other 40m lorries thundering along. The terrain is a repetetive cycle of 3kms up, 3kms down, 3 kms up, 3kms down, etc. There is no shelter at all from the wind and I struggle for nearly over 4.5hrs to cycle 65kms. The scenery is beautiful with mountain ranges to either side, but I am oblivious as I concentrate on maintaining my course on the L side of the raod. By 8pm, I am physically and mentally exhausted and for the 1st time, I consider packing in. The wind is unrelenting and if it remains from the North over the next few days I won't make it to Sydney. My bike and gear weigh about 40kgs. That's over 30kgs more than what old Lance rides. No wonder they can steam up the hills. They want to try having 20 Le Creuset Omlette Pans strapped to the back of their bike! Then they would see how tough it is...

At 8pm I pause and chew over the options. The sun is setting and the sky turns an amazing colour.

I'm stuck in the middle of the highway in the middle of nowhere, its getting dark and my spirits are exceptionally low...

I keep pedalling, my feet ache, my achilles tendons are killing me, my legs are sore, the knees stiff and the backside, well - I lost the feeling there about a week ago!

A sign shows that there is a fuel stop in 2kms at a place called Michelago. I pedal on and arrive 15mins later.

Feeling sorry for myself, my day is about to take a huge turn for the better! I pull into the garage and there is a Motel just up the hill. I wander up and there are 3 blokes outside drinking beer and cooking on a gas stove. The owners of the hotel are away, but the guys reckon I can pitch a tent up outside no worries and they invite me over for a beer.

I then proceed to have a fantastic night with Kenny, Gadget and Frank, 3 swimming pool installers from a place called Parkes - 3 of the nicest genuine Australian blokes you could meet. They insist I have a plate of chicken and veggies that they have been cooking. "Help yourself to beers" - music to my ears and I work my way through 4-5 Castlemaine XXXX Golds as we sit, talk and laugh until midnight - it's my birthday tomorrow and I could not imagine a better way to 'party'!

I will never forget how good these blokes have been to me, salt of the earth fellas, willing to share what they have with a stranger in need. Kenny even gave me one of his work sweatshirt when he sees me shivering away (it gets cold here at night time!) - the motto on the sweatshirt is "No hole is too big a problem"... I wonder if this is laddish Australian humour, but then realise it refers to his swimming pool business - they are contracted to dig the holes to put fibre-glass pools in. He tells me to keep it! Top, top fellas - thanks a million, you don't know how much the whole night meant to me and I go to bed happy and positively refreshed for the challenge that lies ahead.

START:- Jindabyne, 6.51am

FINISH:- Michelago, 8.20pm

DISTANCE:- 130.91 km

AVERAGE SPEED:- 17.5 km/h

MAXIMUM SPEED:- 69.1 km/h

CYCLING TIME:- 7hrs 28mins 31s

TOTAL DISTANCE:- 846.6 km

TOTAL TIME:- 51hrs 55mins 40s