DAY 3 - DAYLESFORD to CLUNES

The ride today was fairly short, so we had plenty of time to walk around the lake, and examine some more of Daylesford's sights, before we set off. 

Lake Daylesford
Some more of Daylesford's sights 
We eventually set off out of Daylesford, uphill for the first couple of kilometres. For the rest of today's ride we were going mostly downhill. Unfortunately, we were heading west, and the wind was a westerly blowing at about 30kph. And it was cold. 
The road out of Daylesford was uphill
After about 10 kilometres we stopped for refreshment at the Overwrought Sculpture Garden and Gallery, where we stopped for a hot drink and shelter from the biting wind. 
Overwrought Sculpture Garden and Gallery - also serves coffee and hot chocolate
When we hopped back on the bikes we were off the highway. The wind was still there though. We rode through peaceful, cold-looking countryside. Around Lawrence some helpful roadside signboards explained the geological and historical significance of the places we were passing through. 
Landscape and signboard near Lawrence
From Lawrence it was a fairly steady downhill, into-the-wind ride, punctuated by the odd refreshment or photo stop.
Refreshment stop

Photo stop
We arrived in Clunes in the middle of the afternoon. The annual Clunes Book Fair is on this weekend, so after settling in to our bed and breakfast we made our way down to where the action was happening. On the way we passed several signs of the town's gold-digging past - Clunes was the site of Victoria's first recorded gold discovery in 1851.
Entering Clunes on their Book Fair weekend

Settling in to our b & b
Clunes - memories of a golden past
Clunes Book Fair
Day:  3
Distance: 38.67 km
Cycling time:  2 hrs 11 mins
Elevation gain: 841 metres
Cumulative Distance:  151.03 km
Elevation Profile - Day 3

Route - Day 3

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DAY 36 - ECHUCA (Rest day)

Image
Today we caught up with our friends Simon and Judy (see days 1,6 and 10) for a very enjoyable rest day, which involved a lot of bird-watching and  photography. We were picked up after breakfast and driven (in a car) to the Barmah National Park, near where we had ridden yesterday.  We had coffee at this establishment in Echuca on the way Just as we arrived at the national park, the Kingfisher was setting off on its morning cruise. We returned the waves of the passengers, and then set off on a walk through the forest.  The Kingfisher starting its cruise We immediately started seeing some interesting birds.  We saw this bird as soon as the Kingfisher had left While we expected it to flit rapidly away, the bird stayed for quite a while, so we took a few more photos of it before moving on.  The bird was in no hurry to move on So we took a few more photos of it The walk took us a couple of hours, as we stopped to examine all manner of interesting things on the way. Like these interesting-loo
Read more

DAY 32 - RUTHERGLEN

Image
This was our second day touring the Rutherglen wine country. We started riding in mid-morning in quite a heavy fog. We went first to The Wicked Virgin, intending to sample their olives and olive oil. When we arrived we found they were closed for crushing (despite their listing on Google indicating that they would be open). Although not exactly crushed ourselves, we were certainly disappointed, as we had identified this establishment as a potential highlight of the day.  Cyclists looking downcast at missing out on the Wicked Virgin We compensated for our disappointment with a wine tasting at the nearby Chambers Rosewood winery.  Cycling to Chambers in the fog Wine tasting at Chambers Suitably fortified, we rode in to Rutherglen to find a local business to support for lunch. We found one.  This one After lunch, some of us cycled up to Gooramadda Olives, about 16km from Rutherglen. The road was largely flat, with little traffic and attractive farmland on the sides of the road.  Pleasant c
Read more

DAY 38 - GOORNONG to BENDIGO

Image
We began the last day of our cycle tour on  foot, with a walk down to a dam on our farmstay to take some early morning photos.  Taking a photo at the dam Taking more photos at the dam More dam photos  Back from our walk, we were joined by our friends Simon and Judy (see days 1,6,10 and 36). Judy was dropping Simon off, and Simon was joining us for the day. We had a celebratory photo for the beginning of the final day's ride.  Ready to set off on the last day of our tour And then we were off, cycling on tarred roads (we like tarred roads) through the village of Goornong and down to Axedale. On the road to Axedale The weather was a bit dreary, and the traffic was fairly steady, so we didn't stop much during this early part of the ride.  Although we did stop to take a photo of this church And this boot Upon arrival in Axedale, we headed for the Axedale Tavern for a morning coffee and cakes.  Axedale Tavern - the last of many local establishments we supported during our cycle tour
Read more