December 16, 1991
To Roxburgh
After a lovely, sound sellp we awoke to a much improved day - calm, with light broken clouds. We biked out early for Milton, where we planned to have breakfast - but found no breakfast spots and settled for yogurt and muffins from a grocery. After a few more miles we came to our intersection and, heading west, left busy Highway 1.
By today I finally started getting a handle on the reversed traffic lanes. Rachael seems to have caught on more quickly than I - I've been slow to learn to use my right hand mirror, look over my right shoulder, recognize that oncoming traffic is not in my lane, recognize which person was the driver (I was startled once to see a 6 year old apparently driving), and especially to remember which lane to turn in to at intersections. I'm still not too reliable at this.
The first half of the day featured a number of climbs of varying degrees of difficulty as the route gradually gained elevation. The countryside is gorgeous - the wildflowers in particular are stunning along this stretch - the hillsides near Raes Junction are brilliant yellow, blanketed with Scotch broom.
The nature of the land changes as we gain elevation - wall-to-wall sheep give way grudgingly to orchards, especially as we near the Clutha. The most memorable spot of the day was the hour we passed lounging on the sand on the shore of the Clutha, near Millers Crossing.
We spent the night again in a cabin. We had planned to tent, but the difference in cost ($20AZ versus 14) made it seem not quite worthwhile. The manager of the motorcamp was entertaining, as he described for his lone visit to the United States - a tour of LA, Vegas, Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Hawaii - he won in a drawing a few years ago.
We walked into town and after carefully screening all of the options settled on another teahouse for dinner. Rachael had a salmon salad, which was good except for the salmon which had a very odd, mushy texture. I had vegetable soup and a pie. On our walk back we took a shortcut up the hill, and were arrested partway up by a pair of billy goats. We faced off for a minute, uncertain whether it was safe to pass - when a resident called out from below to tell us that they were to be trusted.
Today's ride: 72 miles (116 km)
Total: 128 miles (206 km)
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