You Yangs to Lorne on the Great Ocean Road

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We awake to a bright but cool sunny morning, with the dew drops caressing the tips of the long autumn grass. We made cereal with powdered milk (you do get used to it) for brekky and then commenced our first pack, rigged up in my fancy cycling gear, I had to admire Colin , he is such a simple man, I say that with great respect, riding gear for Colin is shorts, Tee shirt and thongs, I asked Colin "Ain't your feet cold on this chilly morning", he replied in his usual ;laconic tone "Their too far away from my brain to worry about,". and so we begin Day 2. Bums a bit sore after a massive 112 ks yesterday, otherwise we are in pretty good shape due a lot of tough training for this epic ride. Before parting from Kirk and Bruno yesterday. we agreed to meet at the Geelong Post Office, around 12 noon.

On the way we stopped to check out an old mud brick house, that has sadly or not seen better days. Soon after we arrived at Lara, our first Blue Stop sign, commonly known as the big Fosters lager sign. Standing out like a beacon atop the hotel, it welcomes all weary travelers to stop and have a few cold ones. Ahhh Fosters, our first of many many beers for the road ahead. After a Toilet break to fit a few more coldies in, we chatted to the locals around the bar,. "How far you boys goin'" asked one old timer that looked like he was rusted onto the bar, "Mate this is day two, we are heading for the Alice," he replied astonished "your riding to Alice Springs", "yep that's our plan", Well ya better get going if you wanna be there by sundown, There is one in every crowd!. At around noon we met Bruno and Kirk as planned at the Geelong Post Office. We bought some more food supplies and as we returned to the bikes, we met Jack Tilley with his bike from another era, they don't make them like they used to, man or machine. Jack was 82 and fit as the proverbial fiddle, suit and hat, he too was amazed at our journey and politely asked if he could come along, He probably rode his bike in his younger days as a swaggie looking for work, It was a treat to meet a true gentleman. We had to leave Jack behind but it would have been very interesting to hear his stories along the way. .

So now we head out to Torquay to commence our ride down the Great Ocean Road,, 500 ks of Coastline. It was great to have a tailwind pushing us along, soon after we cruised through Aireys Inlet and were impressed by the new architecturally designed houses built after the tragic Ash Wednesday Bush fires of 83'. After a long days ride, some 99 ks we eventually arrived in the iconic surfside village of Lorne at around 6 oclock. A local cafe was advertising a "Monster burger", I was totally hungry, these burgers were absolute monsters, but after making short work of mine I then set about devouring any leftovers from the other riders, man I was hungry. Colin knowing the area well told us of some 10 cent hot showers by the foreshore. Belly full of Monster Burger, refreshing hot shower, ( there won't be too many of these on the trip), it was time to find a nights camp under the cover of darkness. Some secluded shrubberies did the trick, with the bikes tucked away we headed up to the, you guessed it. "The Pub" for some more amber liquid. Four guys sitting on a pub balcony over looking the moonlit waves. We shared a few of the days stories, jokes and lamented about the very long road ahead. After a few more coldies we made our way back to our waiting bikes and set up our little one man tents for the night on the sand, with the caressing sound of the ocean, wishing us off to sleep.. .

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