Monday, March 14, 2016

March 14 - Alexandra to Mansfield

Another great day!  

Amazing weather and amazing scenery was the rule of the day.  We did a metric century (over 100k) with less than 1,000 meters of climbing.  The route for today was on a converted rail line/rail trail.  
    The rail trail we rode today.

We started out the day with a bit of excitement.  The first thrill was an attack of the ants.  A couple of campers discovered that there tent was situated near the abode of an ant colony.  But these ants were not your ordinary ants.  These babies were over two inches long with mandibles that looked like they could cut through steel.  The camp dog Tigga got bit and took off running for the hills.
The second was the auspicious start that one of our riders had.  He discovered that he had a flat just as we were heading out.  He fixed that and we all headed out.  But that was only the beginning for him.  He shortly thereafter had the second flat which they fixed and subsequently had a third before he finally got it all sorted out.  I went back to help and joined him and Simon, our host.  The three of us formed our own little peloton for the day.  
We headed out and took a detour that took us to a famed tunnel that was part of the railroad that was built in the late 1800's.  
    Relaxing with Simon my host after an arduous 13k ride of 3% constant grade.

Being a rail trail, it took us out into the countryside.  The trees and birds and wild life was spectacular.  We came upon a group of llamas.  Since I was with a native Australia I asked if they were native to Australia.  He educated me on the useful purpose the imported animals took for the farmers.  The farmer introduces a llama into a herd of sheep.  As the llama acclimated himself to his new mates he takes on a leader role.  He assumes the protector position for the herd.  Should a dingo or pack of wild dogs attack the herd, the llama will kick the s... out of them.  Hence a nice symbiotic relationship is created.
Speaking of wild life...  here is a sign that was along the trail today warning us of potential danger:
   Yes, they are dangerous and as I am learning are many things in this land.

We also came across a cow and her just born calf.  I know this because my other riding mate was Jim the Veterinarian.  He said the mother had given birth to the calf and was just standing up.  He said you could see the placenta.  Pretty awesome!

Some of the other sites of the day:
   Fantastic vistas as we came to the top of some of the climbs.

   The stark dry hills were a contrast of varied shades of browns and tans.
   Huge trees would stand out in the fields to give shade from the hot sun to cattle, sheep and kangaroos.

   This valley is now a dry basin since it is the dry season.  In the rainy season it is a lake that completely fills the valley and is a haven for boaters.  Hard to believe...

   We came upon the town of Bonnie Doon.  It was made famous by the Australian movie The Castle.  I need to see this to understand its significance.

And lastly, here is where I am now:
   The blue dot.





7 comments:

  1. Michael,
    we are really enjoying the blog and the pictures. What a beautiful country...except for the ANTS !!! Those ants are scary, we have small fire ants here in Florida, I cant imagine those big ants, WHOA !

    Stay safe, luv
    pam and dan

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    1. The ants were the biggest I have ever seen by double. And they'd were aggressive!

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  2. Damn! Another thing I forgot to tell you about. Ants are way down below Magpies but still can cause some distress (as Tigga apparently found out). Just to cover the list, did I mention wasps, bees, hornets, goannas, blue tongue lizards (aka Bobtails), all other living fauna and flora. Stick with sheep; they are pretty safe. I am enjoying seeing all this through your eyes.

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    1. Scott, you forgot to tell me about the udonwanna's. You know, u don't wanna go there because there are so many things that can kill you!

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  3. 3% grade... 😂😂😂

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    1. Annie, I know, 3% is nothing compared to what we did on the Ruta Maya. But it has been three months of not being on a bike. So it still hurt... 😣

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    2. Lucky you aren't on ruta maya then ha ha -Kim

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