Cycle Against the Beast – 2022
9th March, 2022
This morning was a very early start. We had to reach Wagga Wagga by a certain time, as we were all going to be escorted by the NSW Police for the last several kilometres. So, Hannah and I left at around 06:45 – about 25 minutes before dawn. So, it was a little dark. The bike felt great, no loss of pressure overnight. So, I was hoping to cover as much of the day as possible. Due to the fast pace of the ride this year, I was resigned to the fact that I may not be able to cover the entire day’s distance. But I’ll take whatever wins I can get.
Cycling out of Albury involved having to negotiate with a decent amount of traffic – even before 07:00. Still, most drivers were quite respectful. It wasn’t too long before we were on country roads – a nice change from busy ones. We made a quick stop at Gerogery. Unfortunately the littlel shop was closed. Coming in to Gerogery, my back wheel again felt a little odd. As sure as night follows day, my back wheel was getting flat again. Annoyned, I gave it a quick pump up. This was becoming rather tiresome. Tubes have been replaced, rim tap also, but still getting flats. At least I was getting further this time.
The first break of the day was to be at Morven, almost 60 km into the day. Cycling along the country roads was fantastic. The only negative was having to hop off my bike every 5-10 km. Added to that, it was starting to get a little warm. Flats, frustration and heat don’t really go well with me. I rolled into Morven and decided to abandon for the rest of the day. There’d be no way I’d be able to keep up pace for the afternoon’s Police escort. Once again, I retreated to the bus.
On arrival at Wagga Wagga, I was dropped off at the Wagga Cycle Centre, hopefully to have my bicycle sorted out once and for all. A short time later, I received a call. It was ready to pick up. I asked what the issue was, advising them that I’d had a number of flats over the last week or so. The culprit – bindi eyes! As a result, I was recommended not to cycle on the grass. Again, the tube had been replaced. This time, though, the tube wall was a littlee thicker and it was self-sealing. Hopefully, I should not have any further problems.
There was a function in Wagga Waga this evening. However, as I went to the one in Albury last night, I didn’t go to the one this evening. The capacity was limited at both Albury and Wagga Wagga – those that couldn’t go to the function in Albury last night had first priority to the function tonight. Only fair enough! So, many of us had dinner at Romano’s Hotel instead. Not bad, either!
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