Day 110 – Tenterfield to Aratula

First off, I’d like to apologise to anyone who was offended by my yoghurt comment the other day. I’d like to point out that Australia has been my favourite country so far and I meant absolutely nothing by it. Treat it as a sign of affection; I was fairly (very) rude about the French but I actually quite like them. In fact, cycling in the Alps has been one thing I’ve really missed at times. So yeh, I have nothing but love for you Aussies and your culture.

I would however like to point out that there is a disclaimer on the main page of my website… so I would like to apologise in advance to the countless Americans I will no doubt offend over the coming weeks.

Back to today – the majority of today was fairly similar to the last few days: my knee improved as the hours ticked by, it was fairly hilly, and the wind (whilst not strong) was not in the right direction.

The day finished with a long but gradual climb, followed by a descent out of the mountain range I’ve been riding through.

Cresting the top of the final climb was a pretty unique experience. I’ve never been on the edge of a mountain range that stops so abruptly. I even jogged up to a view point, only to find that the ‘view’ was blocked by trees.

Upon starting the descent, the trees cleared and I was greeted with what may be the best view I’ve seen across the whole of Australia. I must apologise as I didn’t get a photo. Riding on two wheels at 40 miles an hour is not an ideal time to whip out a camera. But it really was incredible.

The descent itself meant the day ended on a very good note, as despite having to overtake a couple of trucks, there was no traffic and the long sweeping corners offered a few very satisfying kilometres.

The drop in altitude has brought a significant temperature change. I can now walk around comfortably in shorts and a t-shirt after sunset. That was far from the case yesterday.

Distance: 113.75 miles / 183.0 km
Riding Time: 8:14:07
Av. Speed: 13.8mph / 22.2kph