Day: |
002 |
Date: |
Saturday, 21 July 2007 |
Accommodation |
Motel in Woolgoolga |
Summary |
Riding from Taree to Woolgoolga |
Start Time: |
4:15am |
Finish Time: |
4:00pm |
Daily
Map Kms: |
268 |
Total
Map Kms: |
496 |
Map Kms To Go: |
13,915 |
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule: |
+25 |
Daily Odometer Kms: |
257.4 |
Daily Average Speed: |
26.3kph |
Weather: |
Mostly overcast with occasional sun.
Maximum temperature around 15C. Mostly tailwind with some
crosswinds. |
Nutrition: |
McDonalds for breakfast (again!), salad
roll and lime milkshake (a beauty) for lunch and a hamburger with
the lot plus chips for dinner. |
Encounters: |
None really. |
Highlights: |
Would probably have to be the tailwind. My
guess is that it’s worth 2 to 3 kph over neutral conditions. |
Lowlights: |
Problems with my front chain ring which
meant it was difficult to get my top gears a lot of the time.
However, I did some minor tinkering at lunchtime (I’m no mechanic)
and it seemed to work the rest of the day. |
Daily Pictures: |
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Daily Podcasts: |
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Journal: |
I got up at 3:30am and was away by 4:15am,
riding out through a very quiet and dark Taree. The roads were wet
but there was no rain. I had an alternating tail- and cross-wind
and made good time. My twin headlights working well and giving me
plenty of light. Traffic was light and I could see occasional
stars.
I had planned to stop for a cooked breakfast at Kew
(51km) but there was no café open as I passed through around
6:00am. I decided to continue on as day gradually dawned and I
thought of my Terrigal Trotters friends heading out for their
regular 6:00am Saturday run.
Around 7:30am I reached the Port
Macquarie turn-off where there is a large service centre and decided
to get breakfast at the McDonalds rather than ride another two hours
to Kempsey. The traffic was building but the roads were good and I
enjoyed riding through the forested low hills.
Every so
often all day the road crossed very big rivers flowing from the
nearby Great Divide to the ocean through large flat floodplains
predominantly grazed by dairy cattle. Most rivers had a town where
the road crossed. Between the river valleys were low mountain
ranges so I frequently had some climbing to do.
I stopped
for a quick break at Kempsey (127km), then continued on Macksville
(181km) where I had an early lunch outside a café overlooking the
Nambucca River. Very pleasant with the sun shining. The day was
going well and I was making good time with only 58km to go to Coffs
Harbour, my target for the day.
From Macksville to Coffs
Harbour I travelled along one of Australia’s most notorious
stretches of road where there is two-way traffic and the road winds
through a small mountain range. There are many accidents along this
stretch and little room for cyclists on the edges. It was busy and
the hills were occasionally tough, though mercifully short and I
passed through without incident except for being hit by an empty
plastic drink bottle thrown from a passing car. No damage done.
Approaching Coffs I passed the forests and mountains where
Sharon and I had ridden in the MTB Marathon events just three weeks
ago. I was pleased not to be as tired as I was at the end of that
100km race! In Coffs I stopped for a caramel slice (another of my
many culinary weaknesses) and drink at a bakery around 2:30pm. I
was still feeling quite good and could probably have made it to
Grafton, 81km further on, by nightfall, but decided to aim for
Woolgoolga 25km away. That would enable me to have dinner watching
the NZ vs Australia rugby game scheduled for 5:30pm, and still put
me a little ahead of schedule.
En route to Woolgoolga I
encountered a police roadblock and diversion because of an accident
further up the highway. One of the cheery policemen couldn’t tell
me how much extra the detour would add, but said he expected the
road to be open in 10-15 minutes so I chose to wait. He was right
and I continued on. The road must have been blocked for awhile
because the oncoming traffic was banked up for many kilometres.
I reached Woolgoolga at 4:00pm, found another cheap motel
($49), showered and got a burger from the adjacent service station
and watched the rugby while doing my chores.
It has been a
good day and I’m not nearly as tired or sore as I expected to be on
Day 2, and pleased that I’m a little ahead of schedule. However, I
know that I’m enjoying the best of cycling conditions with a
tailwind most of the time, good road surfaces and not too many big
hills. Also, I’m still doing less than the required average of
270km per day. Tomorrow will be a bigger test as I want to get
close to the south of Brisbane, meaning about 320km of riding, so
that I can get through Brisbane before peak hour on Monday morning.
I also have another challenge looming in that I want to
get to Townsville next Friday morning rather than the
currently-scheduled Saturday morning, so that I can get my bike
serviced and put new tyres on (mailed ahead) at the last real bike
shop on my route for 5,000km. To get there, I may have to put in a
“super day” some time next week. |
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ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
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