Day 224, Sunday, 8 November, 2009

Distance travelled – 73.6 km
Avg speed – 21.1 kph
Max speed – 42.5 kph

Lake King to Ravensthorpe

Another day of favourable winds which combined with the flatter terrain saw us in Ravensthorpe for a late lunch. We commented as we rode how morale boosting it was to be able to climb hills at nearly 28kph compared to the 9kph we had been doing similar climbs earlier in the week. The speed was so addictive we began to race the clock between the 10km marker posts. 20 km from Ravensthorpe we called a stop to our racing and took up a more leisurely speed.

Throughout our journey people have commented to us at how we must see a lot more than they do passing in their cars. We came across a good example this morning. As we rode up a hill we noticed some Banksia flowers that seemed to be growing directly out of the ground. We stopped to have a closer look and indeed they were. This was something we have never seen before and later in Ravensthorpe we learnt it was a form of prostrate Banksia unique to the area.

Since leaving Canberra we have come across many farm gate entrance markers. These have ranged from a large tractor tyre painted white to creative pieces of ‘art’, some with no obvious meaning. Today we found our first interactive gate marker which by its design invited us to get on and have a go. It was a large penny-farthing bicycle made from old farm machinery parts. When we stopped to have a closer look we discovered it had steps so you could climb on for a ride. We wonder how many cyclists have passed this way and stopped for a photograph on top of the penny-farthing.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

Prostrate Banksia

Pallarup Rocks, Pallarup Nature Reserve

Morning tea with the flies at Pallarup Nature Reserve

Denise on the penny-farthing

Previous Report

Next Report

Top