Great Ocean Rd Day 4 - Port Campbell to Lavers Hill

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Well, the youth hostel at Port Campbell is a lot better than it used to be. Last time I stayed here it resembled an old Salvation Army hall, this time it was state of the art with great cooking and living areas. Over breakfast we befriended another cyclist, Byron who was cycling alone.

About 2 k before the 12 apostles Pete noticed Byron ahead so pedalled furiously to catch him. When Pete got to the 12 apostles, he saw Byron go past, so he followed him and told him that he had missed it. Very appreciative, Byron then stayed with us for the next 2 days!

Byron has a trailer carrying his luggage, and a big yellow flag with B.O.B. on it. Technically, this is probably the brand name of the trailer, but we assumed (actually, Pete assumed) that BOB stood for: "Byron Oh Byron!"

The first 12 k to the 12 apostles was beautiful and no headwind today - Praise the Lord! At Princetown we cycled the Old Ocean Rd which cut out 1 huge hill, again Praise the Lord. Unfortunately Pete got his directions wrong and led us down the Old Coach Rd, which is sandy and suitable for 4WD only. So, after a series of falls (Cheryl, Nesan, Cheryl, Greg, Cheryl, you see the pattern!) we doubled back and got back on track.

A beautiful feature is that Greg and Cheryl always wear matching cycling gear, they look lovely! I would like to say that I (CHERYL) have seen every single pair of Pete's undies through the holes in his lycra shorts. Also we have stopped at least 10 times each leg so that Pete can do a wee by the side of the road. (Pete again now), Cheryl is one lucky duck hey! Annette had fun folding the communal washing pile and sorting out everyone's bike gear and undies - now normally that role is left to either your Mum or your partner, just goes to show the depth of devotion in this cycling family!

Now, onto the actual cycle. Lavers Hill is 20k long and 400m up, and it took 2 hours to cycle up, and at the end we were very tired!

At Lavers Hill we stayed at a motel, and Byron joined us. We all had separate rooms. The rooms did share a balcony, so we agreed that we would have breakfast together on Greg and Annette's balcony. Sitting at the table at 7am was Nesan when Greg came out of the shower with nothing on but his deoderant. When I retold the story to my Mum, when I clarified that only Nesan and NOT Cheryl got the full viewing, Mum said: "Well, she missed out, didn't she!" Annette ran back inside with the camera. Isn't love beautiful!

Annette and Greg did the helicopter ride above the 12 apostles. In the afternoon Annette drove faster than Mark Webber along the Old Ocean Rd and killed a bird - which is still caught in the grill of the car.

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