All downhill (except for the uphill bits)

March 17, 2022

Miena to Ouse

A bed was welcome after 2 nights of camping so we had a somewhat late start out of Miena. After a decent cappuccino and a somewhat disappointing bacon and egg roll that was prepackaged some time in March, we headed off under menacing skies. It was pretty chilly and a lazy wind ( that blows through you rather than around).

It felt and looked like how I’d imagine the Scottish highlands to be; scrubby heath and distant lakes enshrouded by a mist. It was dirt roads almost the whole day and they were rough and corrugated right from the get go.

Eventually we cleared the heath a spent most of the day in native forests that had some impressive old gums but had been logged and burnt out as well in recent years. We’re surrounded by lakes but don’t see much of them until we one just popped up in time for morning tea.

A storm rolled in and the light changed dramatically

It was always going to be a long day in the saddle but again there seemed to be a miscalculation on my behalf and we ended up doing over 90ks. Fortunately the board members of ‘The three old blokes’ cycling team have released a statement saying that despite the manager having buggered up the daily distance calculation 4 days in a row they stand firmly behind him. I expect to be sacked shortly.

Whilst we did drop from 1100 metres to 88 metres in Ouse we still ended up climbing over 1000 metres today so it was another big day. After lunch the roads became rockier and corrugated but we were heading down off the plateau and wind was firmly behind us.

Steve sticks the landing on his double twisting reverse pike, whilst Pete deals with his first flat tyre.

With 25 ks left we turned onto a track that was rutted and sandy and crying out for a mountain bike. That didn’t seem to bother Steve who clearly hasn’t gone over the handle bars in the last 2 years and took off like a scalded cat. We didn’t see him again until we popped out onto the Ouse road.

We finally made it to Ouse by 6.30 and had an immediate beer at the Lachlan Hotel, set up camp at the rec ground and returned to the pub for dinner.

This guy is walking the trail to raise money for prostate cancer. The first walker we’ve seen.

Dinner at the pub was excellent partly due to the obliging publican and his wife, and the rather bizarre menu options available. I chose the chicken calypso that was quite good and involved Camembert bacon and quince, there was lamb cutlets kilpatrick and the winner was volcanic scotch fillet described as curried surf and turf.

You pronounce Ouse as in ‘booze’. Also I think I need to wash my shirt!

Today's ride: 94 km (58 miles)
Total: 457 km (284 miles)

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