We left the beautiful Bridport at 9 this morning in a bracing 1.5 degrees (wearing all our clothes on top of each other) but with a promise of sunshine poking through the clouds.
We had highlighted maps in hand ( yes paper maps do still exist) as mobile reception will be scant from here on in.
Earlier in the morning, when buying said map, David had got chatting to a guy who was in charge of road maintenance who plotted out a route for us guaranteed to minimise trucks and maximise sealed roads- so we set off confident of an easier day ahead.
The first 40k was an absolute dream- tail winds all the way, gentle undulations and no rain or hail!
Then we rode through Mt Horror National Park (I kid you not). While true to promise there were no trucks- the hills were the most challenging yet. We quickly became thankful for the steady albeit light rain as it kept us cool. We knew we were working hard when we could literally see the steam coming off our bodies! We’re definitely developing legs of steel.
We ended up biking AND hiking up the 14km of gravel roads in the national park before reaching tarmac again.
The final part of our ride was through the most lush farmlands I’ve ever seen- David though it resembled the Scottish highlands, with very round, gleaming cattle, who I’m convinced must have two legs shorter than the others so the can keep balanced on the steep hills.
About 10k out of Derby we came across the tiny Winnaleah Pub – a quintessential little country pub with a raging log fire. The publican was a delight and the couple of locals who were in the bar mapped out a shortcut to Derby for us – and then came out to see us off on the tandem.
Arrived in Derby round 5 absolutely thrilled to see our cottage had an open fire. Derby is an early 1800s town founded for tin mining and has many of the original cottages standing. In 2015 it became home to a mountain biking culture and now is full of what look like wealthy, near middle-aged mountain bikers (the MTB equivalent of MAMILs) all of whom seemed to be at the pub tonight.
After hearing so many cautions about safety on the road from Derby to St Helens (a pass similar to the black spur shared by cars/trucks/bikes alike) we have decided to take the easy/safe approach and have booked a shuttle over the pass. It will also be quite nice to give the legs a rest from the hills for a day 😀
Very lush paddocks, healthy cattle, beautiful country and entertained by a couple of weird people on a weird bicycle. A local farming family could not ask for much more, I expect.
Sounds terrific.
Love AJH