Day 58: Marlborough to Waverley Creek.

April 13, 2021

Start: 6:30am
Distance: 68kms
Ride time: 3:53hrs
Average: 17km/hr
Max: 30km/hr
Finish: 11:15am

The alarm went off at 5:30am. I felt good when I woke this morning. I was keen for an early start to avoid the heat.

I wasn't sure if there would be water at today's destination so I started the day with 10 litres of water on the bike.

After 30kms, I stopped at a rest area.

It had solar and a small wind turbine to power a camera that was pointed at the water tanks.

The tanks supply water for the toilets. The tanks are filled by trucks, not rain. The red poles at the top are floats so the camera can see when the tanks need refilling.

It was about 5C cooler today than Sunday and I had a small tailwind. These factors made the cycling so much better than Sunday.

Now that I've thought about Sunday more, I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated.

I feel like I'm drinking every few minutes on the bike. I'll have to try harder to drink more. Anyway, I was feeling much better today on the bike.

Later, I stopped on the side of the road to refill my water bottle and I saw this little lizard.

Edit: Bill later identified this as a Tommy roundhead. Thank you Bill.

He was about 15cm long. He was moving very fast, yet he paused so I could get a good pic.

I kept cruising down the highway. The shoulder was narrow and there was long grass on the verge.

Just as a truck was passing me a snake came very quickly out of the grass onto the road. It sensed the truck and then retreated to the grass again.

I stopped my bike to avoid running over it. I don't know what type of snake it was. It was light brown in colour, very thin, and about 75cm long.

I'm glad I didn't run over it. It would be a long wait for an ambulance out here if I got bitten.

And in almost record time, I arrived at Waverley Creek Rest Area. This is a large rest area with lots of parking and a few picnic tables. And lots of grassed areas fenced off from cars, perfect for a cycling tourist's tent.

There were two taps that were dry and I found a third tap that was operational from a rainwater tank.

I used a powdered chicken soup mix and a can of corn to make a yummy lunch.

While I was eating lunch, a blue-faced honeyeater was begging for food. I gave it a dried cranberry.

It used its fast tongue, zipping in and out to lick the dried fruit as it would for a flower's nectar.

After lunch, I chilled out and listened to The Sprocket Podcast.

It rained a couple times so I erected the tent under the shelter instead of on the grass. I hope the lights don't come on.

There's not enough phone reception to do the blog tonight. Hopefully I'll have reception tomorrow night.

Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 2,776 km (1,724 miles)

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