Cycle Against the Beast – 2022
3rd March, 2022
I checked out of the motel at 07:45. The weather was clear skies. A nice change from the last several days. It was going to be nice to get back on the bike again. I stopped by ‘Coffee on Cooper’ for a coffee, before moving on. But first I had to refill my water bottles. The fountain in the town centre wasn’t working. So, I moved on to the local oval. Thankfully, that one was working. All refilled, I left town cycling past the house Australian legendary cricketer Don Bradman was born in.
After climing the big hill of the day, my bike felt a little wobbly. I knew what that meant – a flat. After pumping it up, I determined that it was another slow leak. There must be something on the inside of the tyre that’s causing it. The pressure held, so I got on my bike again. About half an hour later, I reached the small town of Stockinbingal. I stopped at what I thought was the general store, as that’s what it said on the sign out front. It turned out to be possibly a museum. Less than 50 metres along the road, I found somewhere to buy a cold, sugary drink. The tyre pressure had dropped again, so I pumped it up confident that I’d be able to reach Temora without having to repair it. I only had to cover another 35 km.
The pace I was travelling at was faster than I expected, regularly exceeding 25 km/h. It wasn’t long until I reached a rest stop 15 km from Temora. I chose to refill my water bottles. A quick pump of the rear tyre, I carried on. 40 minutes later, I arrived at Temora. I made my way to the local bowlo for a cold beer and lunch, before checking in at the Shamrock Hotel.
After checking in, I went to the bar and spent a couple of hours there. I then made my way to the old railway station. The line is still in use, but nothing came by. I then went to the bowlo for dinner, before retiring for the night back at the hotel – complete with loud music.
