2 under the belt

Well, I’ve presented in Ballarat and now Daylesford and my talks are actually starting to feel quite comfortable now. Some great questions from the audience in both locations and there has been some energetic to & fro that has stimulated me as well as the audience.

As I expected, this journey will be as much of an eye-opener for me as it will be for those I am trying to inspire. Hopefully, the stuff I learn along the way I can impart to others in my trek. There are people in both these locations who are an inspiration themselves. I will try to live up to their standards.

So far the riding has been good if a bit on the uphill side.

Home to Bacchus Marsh was largely uneventful except for a puncture just outside Melton – a bit surprising as it was a front wheel puncture. Considering the load on the rear wheel, I would have expected it there instead. I avoided (and will be as much as practical) main roads which meant a longer distance travelled – about 68km all up that day. The BoB trailer has been performing exceptionally well with my only complaint being that I have been able to carry a whole lot more than I otherwise would have been able.

After a night catching up with friends in ‘the Marsh’, I headed onwards and upwards to Ballarat early the next morning. I took the old Melbourne Rd in preference to the freeway – a much more pleasant ride but on dirt/gravel for most of the way to Ballan. A nice stop at the Teapot Cafe there for tea & scones before continuing on towards Ballarat. I’ve got to thank Joy for being a fine host while I was in Ballarat – she made me feel most welcome. Today was only ~63km but was mainly uphill with quite a bit on dirt/gravel.

It rained heavily overnight but dawned relatively fine and I set off about 10:15 the next morning for Daylesford. I headed out of Ballarat towards Dean – again I found myself rising up & up. The weather was constantly threatening rain and the temperature was quite cool but there was very little actual rain. The low temperature was just as well for me as the final hill into Daylesford just seemed to keep on going and I would have found this considerably worse in hot weather! I managed a rear wheel slow leak just as I arrived in Daylesford to balance things out from the front tyre puncture on day 1.

Unfortunately, when I turned my bike upside down to remove the wheel, I forgot to remove my speedo from the handlebars first resulting in a cracked casing and broken speedo. No bike shop in Daylesford, so I’ll have to wait for Castlemaine before I replace it.

I’m staying down in Hepburn with famed permaculturalist David Holmgren. He and Su are living the kind of life many only dream of; making the most of the land under their expert care, they are producing much of their day-to-day requirements whilst stepping ever so lightly on the planet. A true original thinker, he co-founded scientific permaculture with Bill Mollison in the ’70s. This has been a most interesting & enlightening stay! If you want to find out more about what David & Su have been doing, check out their website.