Wednesday November 4, 2009, 55 km (34 miles) - Total so far: 444 km (276 miles)
Assuming there is no repeat of yesterdays wild weather, it's Bridport or bust...
A fine, cool and windy day is forecast, with north westerly winds, so I'm likely to have headwinds or crosswinds.
Well, after yesterday's extreme weather, conditions couldn't have been more different. I woke to a cold clear morning with it seemed, almost no wind, and left Derby as quickly as I could. After eight kilometres I arrived at Branxholm, where the cafe was open so I stopped for a second breakfast. There was quite a sharp little climb leaving the town and another a few kilometres further on, followed by a long descent and then rolling terrain into Scottsdale. The road surface was coarse and there were lots of false flats, it was quite a despairing, tiresome grind.
I had a relaxing lunch at Scottsdale (a steak sandwich and chips), then left for Bridport. After a series of 'whoop-de-do's' the road was downhill nearly all the way, and even with a fresh quartering breeze the 21 kilometres to Bridport were easily covered. It was a great relief, after all those false flats I was beginning to wonder why I was finding the riding so difficult.
Bridport is a charming little town on the Bass Strait, and is the port for the ferry service to Flinders Island. It's a little off the normal Giro route, but I want to take a route following the coast to the Tamar River, cross to the western bank then follow the river into Launceston. It promises to be a very scenic route through some of Tasmania's finest vineyards. It is a longer but hopefully easier route, but may be affected by headwinds.
After moving in to a room at the (unattended) backpackers, I set off for a look around the town.
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| Quaint public building in Scottsdale... |
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