Clearly I am lost in the world of after-thought if I’m still writing about India. Of course, it is simply because I am playing catch-up; the urge to explore is mightier than the pen sometimes. I thought it might be useful to give you some bearings as most of you are far more familiar with Australia than I am. Some place-names may stir a few memories and likely some welcome day-dreams in the middle of a working-day.
I arrived into Melbourne where I spent a week, a fantastic city as you already know. I stayed in and explored the CBD before feeling the need to build-up my bike to broaden my boundaries. On one afternoon, I managed to cruise most of the suburban precincts being Brunswick Street, Smith Street, Richmond, Chapel Street and St Kilda. While St Kilda is a really clean and well set-up beach area, the edgier alternative vibe and cafes of Brunswick Street made it my favourite part of town. I grew eager for some biking so I cast my net further adrift on another day and biked all the way through 50 kilos of suburbia to arrive at Lysterfield Lake Park. This is a dedicated mountain-bike park and has a really nice mix of trails. The Blair-witch trail through the tall slender beech trees was fantastic as was the Commonwealth Games mountain-bike course. It was a great spin and a good excuse to explore the city-limits.
The beach in Anglesea where I campedWhile Melbourne is far from claustrophobic the call of nature is never too far away for me. I loaded my bike up once more and took the train to Geelong (80k of Freeway away) to cycle out the Great Ocean Road to Warrnambool. This allowed me to enjoy both ‘The Surf Coast’ and ‘The Ship-wreck Coast’. I passed through the town of Torquay where all the big surf brands are head-quartered although I did not manage to make it down to Danger Bay or Bells Beach. I was in fact chasing day-light and so set-up camp just off the beach in Anglesea where I could hear the waves. This was my first proper night under the Australian stars and I am guessing that the nursery rhyme ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ was composed in the southern hemisphere. Truly spectacular. I made my way through the beautiful town of Lorne before stopping for the night in Apollo Bay. By this stage the weather had turned sour. I continued along coastline and through Otway Forest Park to Port Campbell passing the iconic Twelve Apostles National Park. The final stretch to Warrnambool wasn’t so interesting but I managed to make the train back to Geelong so that I could bike to the western tip of the bay that Melbourne sits on and stay the night in Queenscliff. In the morning I took the ferry across the bay to Sorrento so I could bike the 100k up the Mornington Peninsula back to the city for Saturday night. The day started brilliantly and I hooked up with Greg via a guy I met in Kathmandu. Greg took the brunt of the breeze for me as we biked along some really scenic coastline. The name Sorrento should give Dubliners the idea. Once around Mount Martha it was possible to make out the Melbourne skyline 60 clicks around the bay. Greg showed me a great little route and generously cooked me some lunch before guiding me towards the city-limits. I could have used his cheerful company all the way in as a stiff breeze and some rain-delay scuppered plans of Saturday night out. I know, I really have to get my priorities straight ... but getting drowned for the second Saturday running in St Kilda wasn’t exactly the plan.
So now you have an idea of what I have been up to for the last while. I rode 650k over the last seven days and so I’m looking forward to a few rest days in Melbourne. The distance was not actually that big a deal but the going was tough as the bearings in my hubs and bottom-bracket were shot and so there was a great deal of friction to deal with. It’s tough to deal with bike-maintenance after a day in the saddle when the weather has been as bad as it has. In addition, not being an early riser and having a propensity to faff means that the morning is not the ideal time to do bike maintenance either. Days off are best for such things. Clearly the Indian heat and the load have been harder-wearing on the bike than I imagined. So now that you have gotten your bearings, I have to go get some for the bike. Once I get the itch I’ll begin the next leg up to Sydney along the coast.
I will post my impressions in time.
Marco
The 12 Apostles