Day 174: Lorne to Geelong - A happy ride around Australia (third attempt) - CycleBlaze

November 18, 2022

Day 174: Lorne to Geelong

Start: 8:35am
Distance: 78km
Ride time: 4:35hours
Average: 17km/hr 
Max: 53km/hr
Finish: 5pm

Today was a sunny day. The water was a nice blue.
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I had a small headwind and the first half of the day was hilly. The traffic was very busy and courteous today.

There were two big roadworks. The stop/go men were good and held the traffic for me to pass safely.

I am still on the Great Ocean Road. I'm not sure where it officially starts and ends.
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It's good to see an indigenous sign again. I haven't seen one for ages.
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The view from Urquhart Bluff.
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There were lots of swimmers at Anglesea.
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I stopped at a big chocolate and ice cream shop for lunch.
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This fortnight lilly was in their garden.
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Dietes grandiflora.

This is the iconic Bells Beach.
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This is the surfing capital of Australia.  They hold professional surfing competitions here every year.

Ripcurl and many other surf brands originated here.
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The Cats are Geelong's Aussie rules football team.
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I stopped at a camping store and bought a Sea to Summit brand mattress. Hopefully it will be more durable than my old Thermarest one.

Next stop was Dad's house. It was great to see him.

He has bee hives in the front yard.
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They have been unusually angry recently due to the wet weather. When I was leaving, one of them stung me in the neck. 🤬

Next stop was Geelong High School. I went here 30 years ago.
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I used to ride my bike 4kms each way to school.

The school is 1km from the beach. We would run down here and do our swimming lessons in the freezing cold water. It has a promenade to keep out sharks.
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Royal Life Saving Service statues.
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Beach babes.
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I dined like a king at an Indian restaurant.
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I'm staying in a hotel near the beach. My digs for the weekend.
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Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 10,071 km (6,254 miles)

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