DAY 23

After living in luxury from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday, it was about time to get back on the bike again. Beer is switched with water and Coca Cola is switched sports drinks. Egg and bacon for breakfast is switched with banana and tuna, and pizza is switched with canned spaghetti. It’s about time to use the charged batteries. Anders can’t wait and is longing for feeling hungry and thirsty again.

The bikes are better than ever and they will notice that by the increased average speed. The first k’s went a bit slowly since Melbourne is so large in extent and it was only at 13:00 they finally could say they were out of Melbourne. They arrived in Lilydale which originally was yesterday’s target, so then it was just to restart and pretend the leg started now.

Out of Melbourne it was quite heavy rain and cold. After a few hours it finally stops and the clothes they are wearing goes from being wet to being clammy the rest of the day.

The goal was Alexandra to make up for the extra resting day in Melbourne. Anders realized early that that was not possible, but they decided to continued cycling when they came to Healsville. Anders, who had for the last 30 k’s seen mountains ahead thought that now it will get steep , Yarra Range where about to be conquered. Lasse was a bit more positive and said “don’t these roads gives in between the mountains in the valleys?”. Anders didn’t comment but thought that if Lasse wanna start Yarra Range this afternoon, then he will join.

And the hills came. Beautiful landscape with really old forests with huge trees. The hit an Hill and it continued up, up, up, up and up. Anders takes the lead and feels that his knee injury is lurking, but walking for 15 k’s is not an option so he pedals carefully. The roads in the hills are full of turns, and the higher you get the smaller the road becomes, with no barriers.

Cycling up is better than cycling down in regard to all the cars. They don’t go as fast up as they go down, and obviously neither do Anders and Lasse. They get more time to think and act when it goes upwards.

There is plenty of road signs and tv-commercials with focus on drivers and cyclists. “Share the road”, “rider think driver, driver think rider” is the most common ones. Also every 10 k’s the sign “drowsy drivers die”. Quite direct warnings in other words. The boys have cycled past many crosses with flours and a name written on them along the roads at the place of accidents where people have died.

At the bottom of today’s hill Anders waits for Lasse. Lasse is a fair bit behind and Anders said he was tried ran over by a car. “Me to, by a green jeep” Lasse answers. “The same car” Anders said. Obviously a local fool who thought it would be fun to squeeze the two guys off the road and hunk for a long time while passing in 80 km/h. Anders and Lasse had quite high speed themselves and were laying on the road shoulder that should be safe for cyclists. Although note safe enough when they met this second class/rate citizen of Australia. His acts where with purpose and could be confirmed by the same thing happening to the both of them and not on the same time. The boys become a bit more nervous going downhill after that.

A new enormous hill was climbed and conquered before rolling down to Narbethong. Anders and Lasse goes in to the only building there that show signs of life. A strange store that sells everything from kayaks to pie, maps and wellies. The old lady behind the register can confirm that there is no caravan parks in the area. After 84 k’s with a lot of hills, they can not start with another 50 k’s. The clock was 17 and it gets dark at 20:00, so they did not reach their target of the day. The lady says there is a picnic area across the street that you can use if you don’t drink and play loud music. “No problem we are just sleeping Anders says”.
“It’s a lot of snakes over there, but you should be fine, it’s to cold for them today” the lady suddenly says. “EEH OKEY” Anders and Lasse says in a choir. The lady laughs and calms the boys by saying it’s to cold for them to play out of their holes.

The boys set up the tent, skips dinner and closes the tent at 6:30 pm. They are staying there until the next morning. From a comfortable apartment in Melbourne to snakes I the bush in less than 12 hours.

Awesomestralia – a normal life is boring