Storms and Tempests

No cyclist actually enjoys riding in pouring rain. Although it is possible to happily endure a few light passing showers, when the rain really sets in there is not a rain jacket on earth that prevents the water from progressively finding its way into every part of your anatomy. It soon runs down your legs and pools inside your shoes, adding a squelchy accompaniment to every turn of the pedals. It's just not fun.

You can therefore imagine our trepidation when the Weather Bureau forecast just these conditions for the whole of Wednesday. Yep, not just rain, but pouring, continuous rain for the whole day. They even topped up their predictions but adding layers of flood warnings and promising damaging thunderstorms and large hail. It is little wonder that I told our riders that it is likely that we would have to resort to Plan B.

We were therefore surprised and relieved when we awoke to only a few scattered clouds. There was no sign of thunderstorms, no rain and no wind. In fact it was as close to perfect as we could have hoped for.

Maggie and I drove from Inverloch to meet the group at Fish Creek. They all seemed just as relieved as I was about the weather. I felt so confident about the rest of the day that I didn't even bring my rain jacket.

I spent a couple of minutes augmenting my Lennie Gwyther story before we were underway. Even though I had carefully explained that today we would let the ladies take the lead, one again David and Henk ignored all the rules and quickly bolted out of sight. We had always suspected that David had strong feminine leanings, and this was even more evidence.

In the early morning the air was still cool and clean, although we could feel the early heat of the sun when we left the shade. About 6 km from Fish Creek is an elevated viewing spot at the top of the Hoddle Range. This rewards the cyclist with one of the best panoramic views in Gippsland. The view extends southwards to the ocean and Wilson's Promontory. The big problem is that it is not signposted, and I suspect that hundreds of cyclists ride straight past without even knowing the spot exists.

We were soon rolling down the eastern side of the range and heading past Foster towards Toora. By this time the conditions were becoming warm and humid and we decided that a mid morning drinks stop was in order. We arrived to find that the main street of Toora had been destroyed by some major earthworks. Since the street probably has only about 20 vehicles a day, none of us could understand why such an expensive undertaking would have been necessary.

It was so comfortable at the Latte Dah Cafe that several people decided that they had already ridden far enough and decided to make that their lunch spot. The reduced peloton continued on towards Port Welshpool. The path is dead straight in this section, although it is slightly undulating. Unfortunately there was little shade and the high humidity started to take its toll.

By the time I reached Welshpool, my GPS indicated that I had already ridden 35 km and I decided that, since I had nothing to prove, it was time to Uturn and head back to Toora for lunch. Allan also rode back with me to the Toora cafe.

Over the next 30 minutes or so we were progressively joined by a succession of hot and tired Ghostriders, who were all most appreciative of the air conditioning. There was still no sign of rain, although a couple of darker clouds were dancing around the horizon.

After a lengthy lunch and a lovely chat, it was time to get back on the bikes for the final leg of the ride back to Fish Creek. I think everyone was grateful for the fact that the final few km back to the car park is all downhill - a perfect way to end a long ride.

And as for the predicted rain ? Not a drop !

Tomorrow we have a "rest day" to explore the surrounding region. After riding over a 140 km on the first two days, I don't think that anyone will be sorry to give their backsides a break for a little while.Read more