Day 89 Luther to Clare 114km

What does it say about a day on tour when this is the only photo you take???


It started with a constant light misty rain, deceptively wet! And made cold by a chilly northerly wind, blowing down from Canada. But riding uphill, encased in waterproof jacket and pants is a recipe for the creation of your own personal, portable sauna. I couldn't decide if it was wetter inside or outside! A public holiday (Labour Day) means the tiny little towns we pass through are like ghost towns, and finding some ingredients for lunch proves a challenge. So does stopping for any decent break, as we are wet with sweat which quickly turns icy without the warming effort of pedaling. We fuel the pedaling with the remaining contents of our food pannier, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, eaten while sitting on a discarded tractor tyre, never tasted so good. After lunch the sun breaks through the grey, and our spirits are lifted. You really notice just how dependent your attitude is on the weather when you are mostly living outside. At kilometre 100 we stop for a chocolate bar break, and buoyed up by sugar and fat we decide that we can make the push into the next town, and reward ourselves with a cheap hotel. The very nature of these kinds of decisions means that they will not go as planned, twice the expected distance, and a couple of phone calls later (it is always demoralising when at the end of a hard days cycling, you ask for directions and they say "we are just over the big hill"!), we arrive at our cheap hotel. Luckily on the way over said hill we found a supermarket and liquor store, so once ensconced in our room had no need to leave our warm nest. And with both ourselves and our bicycles well lubricated (see image) slept deeply, trusting that Federer was kicking arse. (6-1, 6-2, 6-0) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad