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Journal: |
Got on the road at 10pm from the West Gosford McDonalds,
farewelled by about a dozen friends. It was cold and drizzling
and the bike seemed too heavy....maybe I bought too much food for
one day. Headed north through drizzle and mist to the F3
Freeway, 10km away, and the drizzle stopped and clouds began to
clear, though I could see lightning flashes up ahead for the next
four or five hours and the road was often wet. There was a
slight headwind, but I was making reasonable progress and decided to
keep riding until I got to Raymond Terrace at about 100km.
Stopped there for a short break in a bus shelter at 2am and watched
a number of police cars flying by at great speed, but with no
flashing lights. About 5km after I started riding again, the
gear cable to my rear derailleur snapped and I was left with only
10th and 20th gear and no hill-climbing gears, which meant it was
going to be hard work on the hills. I toyed with catching a
train back home and restarting in a couple of days. I was
concerned that to go on would make a very tough day (it was already
going to be 355km with no sleep) and there would be a risk of
injury. In the end I kept going with the idea of getting the
cable fixed in a bike shop in Taree rather than try to fit the
replacement I had in the cold and dark. The riding was OK
except for the hills and some roadworks that gave me little room
with lots of cars and trucks whizzing by. After Bulahdelah,
where I had my second break, the hills got longer and steeper and I
became really tired. In the end some hills were simply
impossible to ride up and I embarrassingly had to walk. By the
time I reached Taree at 9am, I was totally exhausted. I found
a bike shop, Bourkes Bikes, where they were extremely helpful and
sent me off for breakfast while they replaced the cable and housing
for the princely sum of $10. I was on my way again at 9:45
and, though still tired, in much better spirits. The remainder
of the day was spent crossing verdant floodplains grazing cattle,
crossing big rivers, climbing over small forested mountain ranges
and negotiating many roadworks as the authorities worked hard to
duplicate the highway between Sydney and Brisbane. I was very
tired, but not too bad, and finally reached Kempsey at 3pm, my
original target time, pleased with a good day's work, but
anticipating much stiffness and soreness for a shorter Day 2.
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