Winchelsea to Echuca

Today was a fun day. The weather cleared enough in the morning for me to pack up without getting too wet. I took off and realised the GPS was taking me to the freeway. I wasn't keen on that so I put the gps in mystery mode (twisty roads) and it took me through hills, down country lanes and through peaceful little villages.

I stopped at Meredith for lunch and thought about setting the gps back to boring mode as it had taken me around 2 and a half hours to go 100km. But I think I'd actually gone a lot further. I missed a couple of turns and the gps does not want me doing U turns so it reroutes me no matter how much longer the alternative is. I discovered this in the top end when I missed a turn about a km from my destinations and it rerouted me 130km.

I met this dog in Meredith

In the end I carried on in mystery mode and really enjoyed the ride. I kinda thought the whole country would be more like today. As I got around Bendigo the weather started to warm up into the double digits and the rain stopped. I had a bit of a Top Gun moment when I came across a rural air strip with a plane taking off along side me. It wasn't exactly a fighter jet. It looked a bit Spruce Goose-ish. But that was fitting as I'm not exactly riding a Ninja. I ended up beating the plane down the runway but I had a rolling start. A little ways down the road it cut across in front of me and turned around. I pulled over to take a video and it came right back towards me. I thought it was going to buzz me and that I might actually be Tom Cruise but then it turned away and sprayed a field.

I arrived in Echuca (pronounced you choo ka) and stopped for supplies. Then I rode out of town and found a spot beside the Murray to camp. It's a ripper spot too. Right on the bend of the river in a clearing.

I pulled out my cooking stuff for what I think will be the last time this trip. The BBQ sauce has exploded everywhere. I used the last of my antibacterial wipes trying to clean it up. Hopefully I don't have to poo because they double as my toilet paper.

This is what cooking looks like for me. Also, I found a chair. 

After I cleaned up I discovered I've lost my knife. I was having potatoes, carrots and rump steak so I really needed my knife. While searching for it I found a pair of scissors that came with my clippers and used them instead. Now I don't know why I ever used anything else. A big pair of scissors would be better than a knife any day if the week!

I'm trying to figure out what route to take to Bowral. The Alpine Way looks tempting but cold. Otherwise I can go through Yass I think, or follow the border to the coast. I'm not looking forward to crossing into nsw where I have to go 90.