April 23rd, 2011
Peterborough to Port Fairy
Distance: 95km
Total distance: 1718km
Took off at 8am this morning, my planned destination was Warrnambool but the weather looks promising so I’ll try to make it further to Port Fairy. I was also very eager to ride the rail trail from Warrnambool to Port Fairy! The morning saw me stopped at a couple of lookout to catch the final glimpse of the GOR’s limestone cliff before heading inland. Something embarrassing happened at one of the lookout. As I was enjoying the view and listening to the sound of the waves, I thought I was all by myself, being a silly me I was happily singing the song “All By Myself” loudly and when I turned my head, I was greeted by an elderly couple walking pass behind me. Quickly walked back to my trike and continued riding!
The road zig zags a few stretches before joining the Princes Hwy, alternating between headwind and crosswind at every 90 degrees corner. Good thing the road was quite flat throughout so I was able to ride a decent speed. Nearing Princes Hwy, I stopped at Cheeseworld where I had a toasted sandwich and a milkshake. I had the banana flavoured one and this is possibly the best milkshake I’ve ever tasted! Earlier, I read an online article about GOR cycling and the milkshake at Cheeseworld was one of the highlights. The reviewer was spot on! I would recommend anyone to drop by just to try their milkshake, particularly if you are cycling since this will give you a good energy boost!
When I got into Warrnambool, I went straight to the visitor info centre to enquire about the rail trail. Turns out the Warrnambool end of the rail trail was under construction but 2/3 of the trail (Illowa to Port Fairy) is opened. So I continued riding on the Princes Hwy until I reach Illowa. Had a bit of problem locating the start of the rail trail using GPS. In the end, I just use a road that intersect with what I think is the rail trail. Eventually I found the rail trail and it was an unsealed rail trail, but nothing short of awesome! It was somewhere at the beginning of the rail trail that I started getting a strong headwind and crosswind that lasted for the entire 22km length of the rail trail until I reach Port Fairy. I manage to use the strong wind to my advantage, at some sections I timed my ride to avoid the passing rain clouds. Ha! Not so smart now eh, mother nature?
I reached Port Fairy pretty late at almost 6pm, just settled with the first caravan park I come across. It was expensive, but I got a bit of discount, presumably because I’m a cyclist. This evening, I wanted to go to the town centre for a walk and dinner but the persistent rain kept me inside the tent. So looks like dinner’s going to be cereals and biscuits. Okay, you win this time mother nature!