The Great Victorian Bike Ride - Day 2

DAY 2
The first 40

Well, the weather didn't get better. It pissed down and we had a dirty headwind for the full 44.5km. Yes that's a relatively short day, but consider thousands of sopping riders, battling against the elements over a short distance and the equation becomes a whole heap more complicated.
As you can imagine, when the rain's falling, the phone's tucked safely away in a dry spot, hence the relatively limited and unimaginative photo's.

A nice blur effect suggesting my phone could soon be
rendered useless from rain damage.

Had the weather been better I may have taken the time to stop off and do a little window shopping in Badenoch.

Reminds me of Chaddy a bit.

At each of the lunch spots on the GVBR there's an oversized Flubber. A big green blob that jiggles when you poke it. This Flubber, however, wasn't designed to get Robin Williams an easy pay check. It's what stores the 'water' for your bottle refills. I use the term 'water' loosely considering what I drank from Flubber was anything but. I don't know how to describe the taste, maybe the best way to explain is that Bear Grills drinking his own urine came to mind as a legitimate alternative. It truly was dreadful stuff. For anyone out there who thinks I'm just being precious, you're probably right. But that doesn't change the fact it was bloody awful.

I get it, the Tour de France starts outside of France so why not the Great Victorian Bike Ride outside Victoria? Well, the Tour de France has a severe history of doping, does this mean we need to start post-stage testing on the GVBR too?

"Um, can we get all the schoolkids to the testing area please. We need to get your urine samples now."

There's something just not quite right about it.

Could be argued we should've started the ride here.

Now if anyone gave me the benefit of the doubt earlier and didn't think me precious, you may change your mind now. Playing 'Wendy' didn't just mean I had the joy of carrying myself like a lady, it also came with the perk of touring with ALL TRAILS, a brilliant company that make the trip easy. See, every day, instead of finishing at the camp site and having to set up a tent, you're whisked away to a nice little motel where all you have to do is set up what channel you want to watch. For me, the cricket reigned supreme.

The campsite for many.

The campsite for us. 

I didn't take a picture, but the bathroom above doubled as a very convenient wash room. I have absolutely no idea how anyone can wash their gear at a campsite, but for me, it was a case of shower with your clothes on then hang them up to dry, which, of course, they didn't. But I can't complain, transporting damp cycling apparel makes for some delicious smells later. This is a test of any cyclist's character, see, if someone wants to draft behind me, making their ride easier, they've gotta put up with the aroma's wafting from my polyester. There were definitely some funky smells crossing Victoria on two wheels.

Anyone seen a coffee bag before?

I have now.

So day 2 certainly provided a horrible day's weather. Forecast for day 3 was less of the wet stuff but no less wind. Personally, I was not looking forward to the 7am departure. Precious? Damn straight.You try eating breakfast at 6:15 in the morning. It's so early that it's like eating a really late dinner.

Stay tuned for DAY 3: NELSON to PORTLAND


Previous post: GVBR Day 1 

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