Day 173: Apollo Bay to Lorne

November 17, 2022

Start: 8:30am
Distance: 49km
Ride time: 2:45hours
Average: 18km/hr
Max: 46km/hr
Finish: 1:30pm

My mattress is getting worse. I inflated it 5 times last night.

I have a short day planned for today. It will be nice after yesterday's big effort. I was awake early. It rained so I didn't get up until it stopped. It would rain a few more times during the day. It wasn't much of a bother as it usually passed by in 15 minutes.

I took the time to have a cafe breakfast with lots of green stuff.

A rain shower in Apollo Bay before I departed.

The road to Lorne followed the coast all day.

Sometimes there was not much shoulder. Other times there was a small shoulder. The traffic was mostly polite.

There were pretty views the whole way.

This bright pink flower is a grass trigger plant that was growing on the side of the cuttings.

It's Stylidium graminifolium and it can eat insects.

I stopped for a short walk to see the Sheoak Falls.

It was a fabulous day's ride to Lorne. It was a little hilly but the constant beach views made up for it.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos.

Lorne is a nice small town with lots of shops set up for tourists.

Tonight I'm swapping my broken mattress for a normal person's bed.

I chose this hotel because it has a pool so I can fix my mattress and also the two caravan parks here have bad reviews.

Surprisingly my room has a bath so I didn't need to use the pool. I submerged my mattress and bubbles came up everywhere.

I counted at least 7 holes. They were all in the bends of the mattress. When I used a pen to circle the holes, it went straight through the mattress a couple of times.

The holes were in the top of the mattress where my shoulders would lie. Nothing has penetrated the mattress to make the holes. The material has simply worn super thin and is falling apart.

I concluded that it is not worth reparing. I will buy a different brand mattress tomorrow in Geelong.

Today's ride: 49 km (30 miles)
Total: 9,993 km (6,206 miles)

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Kerrie McCarthyWhen are you here dear nephew?
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2 years ago

Vince McCarthyI'll arrive in Geelong this arvo and will stay the weekend. 🤗
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2 years ago

Bill ShaneyfeltYou are getting good at nature IDs!
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2 years ago

Vince McCarthyThanks Bill. It's not my knowledge. I use Google lens to help.
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2 years ago

Scott DiamondWhat brand of mattress were you using? I have a love/hate relationship with them. Amazingly comfortable when they work but so frustrating when they fail.
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2 years ago

Beth ArtIf you have used that mattress for your whole trip I'm guessing you got your money's worth out of it all the same. Mind you we have one that we have been using since last century. We are now on a third replacement for it's mate.
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2 years ago

Vince McCarthyHi Beth,

I was a little disappointed it wasn't more durable. If ever I do a big trip again, I will use a foam mat.

Cheers
Vince
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2 years ago

Vince McCarthyHi Scott,

My old mattress was a Thermarest Neo air. My new mattress is a Sea to Summit ether light.

Cheers
Vince
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2 years ago