Today started with a crash….ah but not on the bike. Trying to be a fastidiously tidy Air BNB guest, I was wiping the flower pollen from the glass table with a cloth and accidentally knocked the little green leaf dish….that cost me $20…and worst, we were down to $6 cash. Bugger!

Today for the most was cruisy. We just plodded along as the first 80 km pretty flat as we wound our way around the bay.

There was a nice breeze at various points, and we just sat on 23-24 kmh. We had heaps of time, no pressure. Came across this cafe! Bugger!

Stopping in Thames we located the bike store ( thanks Gervase) grabbing an extra tube to replace the one used in my rear puncture, a bank ( now we can buy stuff) and then a nice cafe to drink an iced coffee.

Cafe chair game manouveres like I have never witnessed in Thames.  I finished before Tony so leaving all my gear on my side of the table, I window shopped next door.

Returning my chair was gone…what? I asked Tony and he did not notice it’s removal by stealth. 😂😂  Lo and behold, a lady moved it outside another shop, sitting behind a sign, and sat…all alone…no table..nothing. Strange!

So I sat on the ground….😂😂😂

Cruisy ride then to the 80 km point with nice vistas.

Then the climbs started. Oh my gosh it was ever so hot. It got up to 37 degrees on my Garmin. I was melting in the hot and humid conditions, nothing like Tasmania. The sweat was trickling down my face stinging my eyes. But great views.

I was very pleased to reach the top. Crowded with tourists as there were great views. There we met Brian, who was up for a chat, asking about our plans.

Brian has an orchard out the back of Thames and grows citrus fruit including ‘ugly fruit’. I had never heard of ‘ugly fruit’.

Brian is a generous and kind guy and gave us an orange and ugly fruit each.  We demolished the orange ( juiciest and tastiest orange I have ever had).

I grabbed Brian’s contact details as he is coming to Launceston in 2 years for the Transplant Games where he will compete in athletics, cycling, tennis…I think there was more!

One more climb…

Then a few km of flat and whoot woo, we were in Coromandel, ahead of check in time. We found a nice shady tree to sit under and devoured fluids and an icecream.

Then came the toughest part of the day….getting to our accomodation! I knew it was up a hill  but not a 20% climb with cold legs. I bailed part way up as I was fearful of falling as my speed went down, down, down, but Tony  did it, with all the extra gear! Solid effort!!

The accomodation here is really unique. We are on a property that has about 7 acres of rainforest and woodland. The loo has the most amazing outlook.

This is the outside loo followed by our cabin.

For dinner, we walked down into town…that was hard work too. A few photos of the town. Plenty of murals, reminding me of Sheffield.

Tomorrow is a tough day. Lots of climbing and 130 km. Plenty of things to see, a ferry crossing.

Brian looked at our plans and said “you won’t make that”! I said, “I will! I have to!”

So that’s it for today…a brilliant day in glorious ( albeit too hot) weather, where again I have appreciated ( vs cussed) a nice headwind. The views have been great and all in all, a pleasant and satisfying day.

Thanks for reading the blog! 😊💪🚴