Appropriately psyched up, today was the day to get out there and give it a go.
I just cannot get excited about the ride down the Cygnet Coast Road even though it runs parallel to one of the nicest stretches of river you will see in this country. Cars go too fast and too close in their headlong rush to get wherever their important day is taking them.
It is always good to turn off up Pelverata Road where things immediately turn to gravel. Whilst there are very few cars, the surface has noticeably deteriorated over the last 6 months with pot holes and washboarding. Not really an issue for me today on the Triton with her low pressure 2.3s, but maybe not as pleasant if I was Warbirding.
I was enjoying the signs on Pelverata Road today. Twisty turny bits next 11km, just says fun to me.
And don't you worry about your vampires Mr Dusk to Dawn, down here in Tassie we have giant kangaroos that will lift your car up and throw it around like a toy.
Halls Track Road turns off Pelverata Road at Pelverata itself. Pretty good option to take as the road is sealed again at Pelverata, which is a little bit less fun when I am on the 29er. In effect, by taking Halls Track Road I can cycle to Sandfly on nearly all gravel once I turn off the dreaded Cygnet Coast Road.
The other real bonus of Halls Track Road is that it doesn't climb at the stupid gradient that Pelverata does, it kind of bends around the mountain a bit more making it easier to ride and just a bit more fun. I'll take a GPS with me one day just to sort out the different altitudes on the 3 options for getting over the mountain into Hobart.
Halls Track Road has an excellent surface for the first couple of kilometres at least. Reminded me about a conversation I once had about how good it is to be able to hear the gravel crunching under your tyres. Engagement of the senses.
Apparently I was still enjoying it at this stage.
Getting closer to the summit there was definitely some dodgier surface. Not certain young Benny is going to enjoy the descent on his skinny 28s back down the Track.
Crested not long after that and kind of bumped along the top of the mountain for a few kilometres and decided to stop and get a photo of the mighty steed. Held up by magic stick.
Exactly where I stopped had apparently been used as a rubbish tip by one of the locals. If anyone is looking for a pedal car, just yell out.
It was an excellent descent down some long flowing hills on a much improved surface. Someone who enjoys that kind of thing may probably have gone much faster than I did.
Had to take this photo for dad. Who doesn't want an old Toyota in the shed? Don't know which one will last longer, the Toyota or the shed.
Some excellent letter boxes spotted today. I had always thought that rows of letter boxes out in the middle of no where was a very Australian thing but can recall seeing things like this in Montana as well. I really should have had a camera with me back then.
Letter box of the day goes to the Rooster.
Had so much fun riding Halls Track Road that when I reached Sandfly I decided to turn around and head back up and over the hill again rather than taking the sealed option on Pelverata Road. Glad I did, enjoyed the longer ride. It was either a bit steeper from this side or I was a little bit less good on the bicycle. Photo says when you engage gear 1 on the Rohloff, it is a long way back around to gear 14. The Rohloff aficionados will know what kind of bird that is on the shifter, but the bird is telling me I am in 1st gear for the climb back up Halls Track Road.
Spotted this sign on the ride back over. What an excellent idea for a sign on a quiet dirt road, should see more of that.
Not a very long ride today, maybe 60km? but it was exactly what I needed. Got out there, blew away some cobwebs, explored somewhere I have not cycled before and could feel my mind starting to operate properly again for being out there. No racing or being worried about being left behind just me out there on a bicycle.
It is probably time to start getting serious on the bicycle again which will involve plugging a GPS in again and counting kilometres and getting out there on days when I don't feel like it or will feel guilt for cycling when I should be doing other important things but today was just a good day to ride a bicycle.
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