I took a solo run inland to avoid the Otways because of debris on the roads from all the recent heavy rain. I left Geelong under a cloudy sky with the temp around 16C, but expected better weather inland. I headed through the tourist trap town of
Daylesford (having been tailed for around 5 klm by a marked police vehicle) to go to the historic former goldmining town of
Maldon via the back roads through Newstead. The day quickly warmed up and before too long I had to pull over and remove some layers.
Here's the route
Pic below is between Ballan and Daylesford
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| The 'roos are a problem and behave much like deer in the USA. |
Once past Daylesford I pretty much had the roads to myself. There was some minor road damage evident near Newstead from the flooding of the
Loddon River, which peaked late on Friday.
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| Looks to me like the layer of asphalt was too thin in the first place. |
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| River debris. There were flood warnings for nearby Maryborough so I kept clear. |
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| Lunch |
I had a bit of a walk around but it was so humid and I was overheating, it would have been nice in shorts and a T- shirt, like the 'fella below actually!
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| Saw this guy go bye in his "Queensland leathers" on a lovely old Vincent Comet single. |
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| It started first kick after he stopped at a nearby shop. |
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| Said g'day to the dog! |
As I was leaving a couple pulled up in an immaculate old Mercedes 190 two-door.
This thing was pristine.
Always some surprises in the store windows in the country - a solar powered snake deterrent!
It was hot and humid and the shady verandas are perfect. There's a historic vehicle museum in Maldon, but a cast of guys on Harleys with beards like they play in ZZTop were there so I continued on.
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| VFR resting in the shade |
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| An uncommon color for an Australian Wing. |
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Jules,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see the map so that I can "ride with you", so to speak. Awesome photos too. You guys really have had more than your share of rain this year!
Love the "Queensland leathers" epithet! We were on the Sunshine Coast a few years back and it was scary to see riders on open roads with virtually no protection at all. What a find for you with the Vincent and the Merc!
BTW, what the heck is a solar-powered snake repeller??????
Great post mate!
Geoff, yes I've finally learned how to do the maps quite quickly now so will post them more often.
ReplyDeleteI've never known such a wet start to summer, but fortunately we've been spared any drama, other than the minor inconvenience of having to pull the pin on our camping holiday last week.
I've added another pic with a spiel about how the snake repeller supposedly works. I'm skeptical.Not sure if there's any evidence supporting them, however, a restaurant beside the river in our neighborhood was required to install a similar device before their insurer would indemnify them for public liability, so maybe it's not a gimmick!
Cheers Jules.