Peddle Power: The Pricherts
Rest Stop: The Pughs
We awoke this morning knowing we needed a rest day. We did laundry while we waited for the kitchen area to open up so that we could do coffee and breakfast. We took our time and discussed taking the rest day today, but we both thought Narooma would be a better place even though we really didn’t want to ride. But by the time laundry was done and we had eaten we felt pretty good.
We rode out of town and started down the road to Narooma in pretty good spirits. We had stretched a bunch and were ready to get on with it. The skies were dark and it was cold and misty. We rode out up hill from the coast and into the hillsides that were lined with forest. We saw a little wallabie and a wombat which was kind of cool. The hills were rolling today along the coast but they were the kind where you can get enough speed on the downhill to almost make it up the next one. Some guys on mountain bikes went by and the last one went by me saying, “commendable, absolutely commendable” as he drifted right by my huffing self. We were aiming for a town 30 miles into the ride for lunch and the ride was not easy it wasn’t extreme either. Rest breaks did bring relief and some of it was even funny. We rounded on bridge to find an 500 meter uphill that Larry just laughed at. We got maybe ½ of the way up and had to push. Itwas not hard though because it was short and we were soon on our way again. It was much cooler and even rained a few times. We came to a beach and talked to a man there who simply walked up to us and said, “you can’t be Austrailian”. We said, “American” and he said yeah that makes sense – no ausie would do that…. Then he talked about the beach and the road – which we had expected to be gravel and was now paved. Then on the town famous for fishing – we arrived there and it was culture shock. People everywhere – like a little Gatlinburg. We got lunch there at a café and watched it rain pretty hard. Lunch was amazing- we got these wraps – Larry got chicken and I got BLT.
We headed out for the last twenty – half of which would be on the Princess Highway. Up, down and around and up, down and around and before you know it we were at the highway. This made for easier grades but bunches of traffic – maybe people going home from the holiday because it was Sunday. We saw an ambulance go by and then a cop and then all traffic was stopped. We scooted by and sure enough there had been an accident – looked pretty bad – truck dropped off the steep side of the road about 25’ and it looked like another car was involved but had stayed on the road. This was sobering as it didn’t look very good. The ambulance went by us again – without lights… either a great sign or a very bad sign.
This was the final ten miles and I was spent – I had been riding fine but the constant up and down was wearing me out. We rolled into Narooma and I was glad to see the sign. We had made reservations so we were looking for a particular holiday park. We saw a man on a bike and Larry went over to him – his name was Ralph and he was from NZ. He had sold everything and made a rack for his bike and was into his ‘new life’ now five weeks. He had started in Brisbain. He would have chatted for a long time I think and we did probably chat with him for 45 minutes – long enough to get cold and stiff. He seemed to need to talk though so we talked. He is thinking of spending his life this way riding from country to country and seeing the world. I don’t think I could do that – I want a place to belong and a work to do and so forth.
We pulled into camp and they showed us our site. A couple came up to me while Larry was in paying for it and they were just really nice. They told me that we should stay here for a day and enjoy it and a few places we should visit. I thought that was odd – but we were planning to get a rest day in – maybe tomorrow we would stay. As we started to set up the neighbors were a young couple in their twenties who were initially afraid we were taking a spot reserved for their friends coming in the next day but then settled down when they realized we were just here for the night. We set up our tent and a few minutes latter I hear my name called and she (Kat) is asking me how we take our coffee! So on a cold rainy day we pull into camp and our served hot coffee with cream and sugar! We sit at a table with her and her husband Matt. Kat walks down to the bathrooms (she is pregnant and goes there often) and passes the Lion’s Club tent where they are selling food. She tells them about us and they invite us down to have whatever we want for free. So God’s provision tonight is amazing – roll into camp to coffee and dinner already prepared and costing us nothing. We spent the whole evening talking to Matt and Kat. They are Christians and were in ministry but are not now. We discussed with them many different aspects of our faith and while I believe we were meant to talk with them, God used them in our lives in a strong way also showing us once again that God is not only interested in providing for us, but is invested in it.
We went to sleep tonight knowing we are loved by an amazing God and ready to rest tomorrow in this wonderful spot. In the morning we would walk the boardwalks and and explore…. But we would not ride. We are half way through the days of riding and have just about 700 miles – the most difficult ones, behind us. Larry snored so loud I had to get out an ipod.
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