20th December 2021 (Hot, sunny and windy) 51 km

Not as good a sleep as the first night. It was quite warm and we could hear the wind blowing all night, although we were nicely tucked away into a corner between two massive conifer hedges, so the tent fly only stirred softly.

Meanwhile inside the tent, Ju was blowing her nose all night while I was quite restless.  The conifer hedges probably didn't do Ju any favors with the hay-fever she's had since we arrived  on the mainland. 

So we were both awake at 5.30am and while Julia went to the TV room to upload some photos while nobody else was using the wifi, I went and shaved and showered and did some washing. Hung it to dry on the line and then began the ritual of packing everything up.   

It sounds strange, but it's a routine that we always enjoy. Being organised on the road is important and knowing where everything is at any given time makes the adventure run smoothly. 

This camp was quite busy, but not overly so. Ju got talking to a family in the kitchen who warned her of severe gales coming today.  She assured me they would be mostly tailwind.

By 8.15am, blog uploaded and everything ship shape, we rolled out of camp heading for Geraldine. 

Stopped early on to take shots of amazing cloud formations. A strong Nor west wind  was pushing us along and the road was virtually empty, other than the odd farmer, happy to give us a wave. I was riding along with my freshly washed undies dangling from my handlebar. Great way to dry clothes when touring. 

A car coming toward us pulled up in the middle of the road and it was Brian from the pub last night. We yelled out his name, like Norm from Cheers and he gave us a huge smile and a wave as we cruised past. Early days and we've met some lovely people, but that's one of the best things about cycle touring. Time is your friend. Whether smelling the roses, looking at cloud formations or taking time to talk to others. Mobile phones and the Internet can connect you with people all over the world, but it will never take the place of a face to face interaction and making someone's day.

By now we were alternating between a tailwind and a crosswind, both of which were strong. Into the hamlet of Mayfield. Not as quaint as it sounds... at all. The local cafe served us bacon, toast and the poorest excuse for scrambled eggs. Rubbery does not do them justice. McDonald's could learn a few tricks with their egg Mc Muffin. The one redeeming feature of this cafe/shop is they had a packet of loraclear on the shelf which Ju duly purchased and popped one immediately.   It must be good stuff cos she hasn't sneezed since.

With 35kms to go we headed off at 10am.  The wind was forcing us to concentrate on staying on the road and if a truck and trailer passed us, it pushed you toward the grass verge, which is at least better than being sucked under the wheels. Luckily that was a rare occurrence and the road was pretty deserted for the most part.

Sometimes we had a huge hedge of conifer trees on our left, which wasn't much good as it was on our leeward side, however it was definitely better than nothing as it reduced the effect of the crosswind  to a degree.  Seeing as it was virtually a dead straight road most of the way today,  we could see each band of trees on the right (or windward) side and we would cycle strongly until the next reprieve.  What a relief for the legs and the ears!  But at the same time you're hoping those trees don't succumb to the wind while you're passing by.

At one stage we had a long bank of silage spreaders on our right.  It took us a good few minutes to cycle past the whole line and as we cycle I'm thinking, I hope this farmer doesn't have a sick sense of humour and decide to turn on that silage sprayer, because with that wind we would have been instantly coated.

Took shelter for a breather by a stone wall. A young couple who owned the property were on their way out in the car and turned around when they saw me taking a picture of Julia, to ask if we would like one together. Nice! 

The closer we got to Geraldine, the less we noticed the wind. Checked into the campground where Dot was staying, set up the tent and strolled into town, under a hot sun, to the Running Duck for a nice lunch and an iced coffee. Geraldine looks to be a very nice town. 

Left Dot in town looking for a gift for Dennis while Julia and I wandered back to camp for showers and to finish off the blog.

We set the tent up in the shelter of this conifer to protect us from the wind which was blowing all afternoon,  but did drop in the evening. 

Funny, I thought the horns would start appearing a little wider apart.  Pete shows off his helmet sunburn.

Got chatting to a few people during the afternoon, then at 6.30pm who should be down from the mountains, but Dennis. After his well deserved shower, we walked to The Village Inn for a hearty meal. Julia had salmon while Dot, Den and I had the roast pork. Delicious.

After dessert, we wandered back to camp where we said our goodbyes to Dennis as he is back into the hills again tomorrow. Well done mate, you're a legend. 👍😊