You did that why?
A warning to heed?
140km left to get to Sydney. One day of riding, follow parallel to the highway and I’d get there by late afternoon all going well. After all this time the finish though wasn’t such an appealing prospect. Another day in the saddle seemed like a good idea, the traffic was getting heavy and I wanted to get away from it so I took some diversions. Instead I was heading east through lush greenery not north to Sydney but towards the coast and almost my doom!
About 100km from Sydney I nearly ended my ride (and other things) in spectacular style. I was riding down MacQuarie Pass towards Wollongong. The road was a damp, tight, twisty, a 500m drop in just a few kilometres – Fun but not ideal conditions for a heavily laden touring bike. Halfway down, barreling towards a corner at a speed far in excess of what was wise (the signs were indicating 15km/h) an articulated truck appeared filling the entire road. I grabbed on the brakes as hard as I dared to try and stop in time but there was no chance, too much debris on the shoulder of the road. I went as far left as I could, my bags rubbing up against the rock face and I still had to twist my body to just avoid the edge of the Trucks trailer catching my shoulder. It was that close! After letting the adrenaline levels return to normal I turned around and headed back up the hill a little to get a picture of the corner. Thereafter I took it calmly, keeping a firm grip on the brakes but still enjoying the descent.
The little villages and towns I passed through were quiet and pretty, and everything was very green. It almost felt like being in home, it was that lush. Barely a day ago I was riding through scrubby brown countryside suffering the effects of drought. Clearly at least this area was getting enough rain. Adding to the familiarity were the names of the places I passed through and the way they appeared. Sutton Forest, Moss Vale, Avoca, Fitzroy Falls all names that would fit right in at home. Not only that but the appearance of the towns, houses and shop fronts were decidedly un-Australian and very British.