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Climbs, cars and a rail trail: South Gippsland on a Mercury

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Moronic:
Thanks John for the pannier suggestion. Yes I have looked at these and the low weight is attractive.

I might end up there. OTOH I'm quite attracted to the Ortlieb Sport Packers for the convenience of their flip-top access. Even though they add more than a kilo to the Arkels. And even though I have an ancient set of Ortlieb Back Rollers on hand, in an early version that I suspect weighs less than the smaller Sport Packers.

I suppose one really needs a suite of these things - so that you've always got just enough space for a certain expedition and never too much. And then of course you can equip inexperienced companions with the spares.

PH:

--- Quote from: Moronic on December 16, 2021, 01:35:31 pm ---I might end up there. OTOH I'm quite attracted to the Ortlieb Sport Packers for the convenience of their flip-top access.

--- End quote ---
Lovely report, it's almost a shame to dilute it with chit-chat...
I notice you're closing your ortliebs as designed with the shoulder straps, it's common to see them used without, just rolled and the two ends clipped together on top, used that way any advantage of the Sport Packer's closing system disappears.
If I were looking for a new pair of panniers, I'd be having a good look at the Ortlieb Gravel ones, about the same volume as their other front bags, but a bit taller and protrude less from the rack. But I'm not looking, my 15 year old classic Front Rollers are likely to outlive me. 

Andre Jute:
Moronic wrote:

--- Quote ---So we were cautious and thought tiny Toora would be close enough to the coast.
--- End quote ---
And, anyhow, if you're starting from Melbourne, you take the St Kilda Road and soon enough you end on the beach, a flat ride.

Lovely report, and PH is right: shame to interlace it with chit-chat.

Moronic:
I may have overstated the alcohol consumption from our evening at Toora, because I recall now that at the Royal Standard I drank no beer at all and instead downed two schooners of ice cold pub squash. Pete I think managed a Carlton Draught, a long standing local brew. But then we didn't waste the wine on the cooking. Point being that we rose happily and headache free the next day, struck camp, and rode into town for breakfast at a surprisingly excellent cafe called the Windmill.

From there it was back along the rail trail to Fish Creek, a ride of about 20km and all-senses pleasure. We reprised the long climb, repassed the big panorama, and enjoyed the light and shade.



At the small and uninviting town of Fish Creek we weren't even hungry, so we bought from the roadhouse excellent filled rolls to eat later. Then set out along the road to Walkerville, formely a tiny settlement and slightly larger foreshore campground alongside Waratah Bay, from where you can look across the water to the minor peaks on Wilson's Promontory. There a well patronised national park marks the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland. We had expected little traffic on the Walkerville road, and in that we were disappointed. Since I had camped there as a teenager, a residential subdivision had been developed on high ground above the coast that now sited at least several dozen substantial houses. Unaware of this as we traversed heavily undulating bitumen towards it from Fish Creek, we marvelled silently at how many cars and 4WD wagons and wagons with trailers had needed to emulate us in both directions over this remote dead-end route on a Sunday.

The contrast with the peace of the rail trail was ghastly, and as well we had lost most of our shade and the weather had warmed. There is nothing quite like the experience of vulnerability as you approach a sweeping blind turn with a double white centreline and hear the hiss and whirr of a heavy motor vehicle approaching from behind at high speed. Their options are, 1, to brake hard and match your speed until they can see through the corner; 2, to give you a wide berth, illegally cross the centreline at speed, and risk a head-on collision with an oncoming truck; or 3, to partially cross the centreline at speed, miss you by 18 inches or so, and know that in extremis they could regain their lane early at the expense of only a brush with a cyclist. Almost no one took option 1; some took option 2; and most took option 3 as overwhelmingly the most convenient. Sometimes several vehicles would overtake in swift succession.

I think this aspect of cycle touring spooked me on the prior trip with Pete through southern Western Australia, which was my third in that region. I know I returned feeling fit and expecting to continue my fegular rides around that State's capital, Perth, and that instead I barely cycled at all over the following year.  As I said in my review of the Mercury, what had brought me back to cycling was the local abundance of dedicated cycle trails. I've resolved to be more avoiding of motor traffic in planning future routes. However, this route was the only one available to Cape Liptrap, and Pete had a special reason for wanting to go there. At the border of the State park here we pulled over and enjoyed our lunch.



Also memorable from this trip were road signs warning with stencilled silhouettes that kangaroos, wombats and koalas might be crossing, to which a humorist had added a similar sized silhouette of a rhinoceros. No I didn't stop for a pic. Another road sign warned motorists, using a picture of a sedan on an incline, that the grade ahead was unusually steep. I walked some of that one. None too soon we arrived at the turnoff to the Cape Liptrap lighthouse, where the bitumen ended and this surface began:

JohnR:

--- Quote from: Moronic on December 17, 2021, 03:12:56 am ---There is nothing quite like the experience of vulnerability as you approach a sweeping blind turn with a double white centreline and hear the hiss and whirr of a heavy motor vehicle approaching from behind at high speed.

--- End quote ---

I always cycle with a Garmin Varia radar on the back of my bike (I've had to improvise mounts for different situations such as on the end of a rack or the Carradice Bagman). Apart from the radar emitting a bright red light that even a poorly sighted motorist should see from a distance it sends details of what's behind to the Garmin Edge computer on the handlebars and this squawks when an approaching vehicle is detected and then shows one or more blobs moving up the right side of the screen. The latest version of this radar also works with a smartphone.

However, I would much prefer to be on the railtrail and free from the vehicles (and have less challenging hills).

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