April 19, 2021
Remarkably good sausage rolls
Gladstone to Melrose
We were the only ones staying in Gladstone Jail, and with the other 2 being in the deluxe rooms, I had the women’s block all to myself. It was slightly eerie, extremely quiet apart from the odd creak every now and then and I didn’t get a visit from the resident ghost.
We were up by 6.30 and out the massive gates an hour later heading to a rest day in Melrose. But not before pulling into the Gladstone cafe for a quick coffee. The 2 energetic and bubbly owners were in early baking up a storm for the 2 functions they were catering for that day ( I’m guessing funerals judging by Gladstone’s demographic). There were huge slabs of lemon butter cake and even bigger sausage rolls that had our names written on them. The girls were extremely funny and sent us on our way feeling very good about the world.
It was our first cloudless day and with no wind it meant perfect riding conditions. Laura was only 12ks away and a series of wide gravel roads led us to the town famous for its ice cream and being the birth place of CJ Dennis. The ice cream shop was shut and I could see no mention of the poet so we left somewhat disappointed.
Leaving Laura, the road gave way to a rough track as we made a long slow climb towards the Wirrabarra Forest and then had lots of ups and downs as we punched our way through the eucalypts.
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Eventually we spilled out onto some rolling gravel roads that were more than gently undulating and got our first glimpse of Mt Remarkable. Melrose sits in its shadow and is a mountain biking mecca.
Lunch was unsurprisingly sausage rolls that we heated up and smothered in sauce. Weighing a few kilos heavier I was happy to do the first drive after lunch.
I thought we were well out of winery country but we saw the sign for the Bartagunyah Estate cellar door and took a hard left. The drive meandered around the vines and climbed up a steep hill to what looked like a shearing shed. I could hear voices inside so we poked our heads in.
We eventually found the tasting room and and sampled their rich intense reds. They were solid earthy wines, but I actually would have preferred an ice cold coke.
We made the last 5 kms into Melrose with a feisty climb up and over a ridge line followed by a flying descent into town. There’s a bike shop/cafe that apparently has the best coffee on the whole Mawson Trail so we headed there for a cool drink before working out where our air bnb was. It was right next door between the cafe and the pub. Perfect!
Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 565 km (351 miles)
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