The silent ‘h’ in Nhill
Bike It In A Dress: Melbourne to Adelaide, Day 5
Today was a very hard day. It started off nice enough — awoke to kookaburras and cockatoos once again, and as I packed up my hammock I saw a little possum mother climbing the tree my hammock was on, with its baby on its back — unfortunately, the possums had also taken the liberty to piss and shit all over my tarps during the night. Taking the good with the bad, I guess…
I set out from Dimboola and before long reached Loch Iel, more commonly known as the Pink Lake. This salt pan is home to a type of algae that reacts to the sun by showing a pink hue, making the entire lake varying shades of pink depending on time of year, sun position, etc. It was very beautiful…
Despite my early start, the wind was directly in my face at 40 kph, gusting to 50–55 kph, and any time I saved in the morning was quickly consumed by my struggle into the strong headwind. I figured out why Nhill has a silent ‘h’ — the hills are ‘hidden’, in that it seems nice and flat by car but on the bike, especially with a headwind, those hills are enough to wear you down.
By the time I reached Kaniva, near the Victorian/South Australian border, I was utterly exhausted. Desperate to reach the border today, I was very disappointed to have to call it a day at Kaniva, and I booked into a local motel for the day. My body had just had enough, and it’s unsafe to be riding along a highway when you’re mentally and physically exhausted.
Kaniva is a weird little town. Today is a public holiday in Melbourne (for the AFL Grand Final Parade) but I’m not sure if it was being observed in Kaniva. There were some pretty dodgy looking characters getting around, plenty of meth heads walking the streets with no shoes and no hopes. Again, it could’ve just been a bad impression left by a public holiday but I was given the distinct impression of Kaniva as a bit of a dead town. The surrounding countryside is pretty enough though. I popped by the little pub for a meal then hit the sack.
Follow the journey
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Prologue — Media coverage in “The Courier”: Ballarat father of two preparing for ride of a lifetime...in a dress!
A bit of media coverage this morning went a long way to help drum up some awareness of my ride. Big thanks to The Courier for the article.
- Day 1
Up the hills!
I arrived at the Royal Exhibition Centre in Carlton this morning with no small amount of nervous trepidation, as well as some weary eyes, after catching the 0520 train with my partner, Danielle. We said goodbye with a big hug at Southern Cross Station, and I rode from there to Carlton, and parked at the big fountain to the south of the Exhibition Centre.
- Day 2
The second departure
Slept in slightly, then as I was leaving from home and not coming back, needed to double-check that everything was packed into the trailer and the gear was all ready to go.
- Day 3
Horsham
I awoke early this morning to the sound of kookaburras laughing, and then cockatoos having a screaming match, so much better than an alarm clock! I love the bush!! Enjoyed a beautiful sunrise through the gum trees as I packed up camp and had a muesli breakfast.
- Day 4
Dimboola
I started this morning in the worst possible way — disaster struck my rear axle. I snapped the ‘Burley Balls’ rear axle bolt, which was made out of cheap Chinesium, as I went to depart the Darlot Motor Inn! I was devastated — this could easily have been the end of the adventure right there.
- Day 5
The silent ‘h’ in Nhill
Today was a very hard day. It started off nice enough — awoke to kookaburras and cockatoos once again, and as I packed up my hammock I saw a little possum mother climbing the tree my hammock was on, with its baby on its back — unfortunately, the possums had also taken the liberty to piss and shit all over my tarps during the night.
- Day 6
Watching Toby get chewed up and spat out by a Tiger
After the hard day yesterday, today was brilliant! Awoke refreshed, with not a lot of distance to cover to finish off Leg 4 — about 40 km to Bordertown, SA. I left Kaniva early and headed out for the border between Victoria and South Australia at Serviceton.
- Day 7
A hangover to Coonalpyn
I woke up this morning with a bit of a hangover, but nothing too bad, and got my laundry done pretty early. I wandered around town for a while, checking out the Bordertown train station, a stop for the Overland Train I’ll be taking back to Melbourne this coming Friday.
- Day 8
The Mighty Murray!
I left Coonalpyn this morning feeling pretty awesome. I’ve gotten a large portion of my journey out of the way, I’ve stayed at some great places, met some lovely people, and seen some beautiful sights.
- Day 9
Resting in Murray Bridge
Today was scheduled as a rest and recovery day, to allow me to a) recover from the past eight day’s journey, and b) rest in preparation for tomorrow, which might turn out to be the hardest day’s ride yet.
- Day 10
Pushing beyond the limit, and arriving in Adelaide
Today’s ride was by far the toughest, most gruelling bicycle ride I’d ever undertaken, and pushed my body to limits I hadn’t exceeded for more than ten years.
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Epilogue — Media coverage in “The Courier”: Ryan Moore bikes in a dress to raise money for girls charity
A bit of media coverage this morning went a long way to help drum up some awareness of my ride. Big thanks to The Courier for the article.