It's All Over

Was it really only a week ago when we had 20 riders in Fish Creek for our first dinner ? Now a week (and over 300 km) later our peloton has been reduced to just 7 very tired riders. I guess we are just not as strong as we thought we were. Or maybe it was the Covid lockdown that has sapped all our energy ?

Whatever the reason, when we discussed how to spend the final day of our adventure, no one showed any hunger to do any more riding, especially when it would be followed by a 300 km drive back to Melbourne. We all felt that we had done very well by cycling as much as we had, we had nothing left to prove. We might have felt differently if a day or two had been lost due to rain, but we had experienced fine weather for the entire trip. It was a bit like taking the final bite of a large dinner and then deciding that you really did not need dessert.

It was decided that it would be far more pleasant to enjoy a leisurely drive home, starting with breakfast in Bairnsdale. So that's what we did.

After packing our bags for the final time (actually jamming everything in anywhere it would fit), we bade a fond farewell to Lakes Entrance. There is a lovely scenic lookout just out of towen which gives a spectacular view of the Gippsland Lakes and the actual entrance to the open ocean. We stopped there for a final photo opportunity before continuing to Bairnsdale for breakfast at Mr D's cafe. It was a perfect way to end the trip.

By the time we emerged from breakfast the outside temperature had risen markedly. It would not have been much fun cycling in those conditions, so we all congratulated ourselves on the extreme wisdom we had demonstrated. We had a final goodbye and pointed our car towards Melbourne. Well actually in our case it was pointed towards Inverloch, because that is where we were headed.

Our journey took us via the lovely little township of Mirboo North, where we discovered another rail trail that we have never ridden. If this is trip is repeated next year, we may modify it to remove the High Plains and East Gippsland Trails and include the Mirboo North Trail instead. It is worth thinking about.

After dropping Maggie back at Inverloch I continued on to Melbourne, finally arriving home around 3 pm. Another very successful and enjoyable riding adventure had been completed. Thanks so much to all those who travelled with us and those who made the trip from Melbourne to take part for just a day.Read more