Day 3: Macquarie Pass – 0, Me – 1

March 18th, 2011

Shellharbour to Robertson
Distance: 40km
Total distance: 190km

My day started at 9am due to my unsuccessful attempt of waking up earlier because of the rain. I tend to get unmotivated to start my ride when it’s raining. Consequently I started my journey at 10.15am, very late indeed. As I was checking out, I was warned for the second time by caravan park staff that the road I’ll be using is going to be a difficult climb. Naturally, the first 20km I was distracted by the thought of the tough climb at Macquarie Pass. The sight of the high and foggy mountain range from afar feels really unsettling.

The 8km climb took me 2 hours. It wasn’t all that bad, I was actually getting lots of encouragements from motorists and bikers in the forms of thumbs up and friendly honks. The final 2 bends were dangerous, they were extremely steep and long trucks must reverse to overcome the bends. The uphill continues for another 5km but the road was relatively straight and comes with wider shoulders. The climate however was quite different above the Macquarie Pass. It rained continuously, it was cold and air becomes foggy.

At this time, I was getting quite exhausted and stopped by at the famous Robertson pie shop for two yummy meat pies. There, I was contemplating whether to continue riding to Moss Vale which was about 25km away or spend the night at Robertson, only 3km away. My inner thigh felt sore due to constant scrubbing between my thighs, and the weather wasn’t helping either.

With much consideration, I decided to settle down in a motel in Robertson. Paid quite a fair bit for the room but it was a good call. I would never have made it to Moss Vale in that condition. Besides, I’ve already made a good 750m climb today. I took the opportunity to clean my clothing at the motel, using the heater to help dry them. I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, and American Dad before I retire to bed at 9pm.