Rest Day Thoughts

Goondiwindi has parallels with ‘Hotel California’: you can check out any time you like but you can never leave. After the long ride up on the sun scorched and featureless A39 I thought I’d use the rest day to get further north and closer to Brisbane. This meant getting to the next big town 150 miles away, Toowoomba. This could be done by train, bus or even car hire. This would be a change to my schedule but I wanted to get past this section of the country.

This proved impossible, despite having a train line it’s exclusively for freight. This is a place where the motor car is king and so the 1990s had seen the last passenger train. So take the bus? Usually in response to a problem I’ve caught a couple of long distance coaches. They’re certainly a solution for the younger Australian. Via Goondiwindi Visitor Information and a lady at a tobacconist (!) I confirmed there were coaches out of the town but not on the days I was going to be here!Lastly in exasperation I attempted to hire a car. Hertz, located in my destination town, but supporting a sub office in Goondiwindi, had no vehicles available. A taxi would have a 300 mile round trip and an enormous cost assuming I could find one. The only way out after my rest day was on my two wheels. To head toward Toowoomba would take me to Millmerran. A mere 90 miles on the same kind of barren road. After that it was a hilly 50 miles to Toowoomba. I was starting to think someone didn’t like me.

So beaten I checked into a motel and over the remainder of that day, and the next, did some laundry, got the bike lock cut off my rack (for which I’d lost the key!)

Bought another bike lock, drank coffee, wrote up my blog and bought provisions to see me through the next day after another very early start. I also looked around the small and attractive typical rural town.

It was a lazy time and not my usual cock up of where I walk 16,000 steps instead of pedal.

I went to bed with a little dread, tomorrow meant a very long next day. All the preceding days’ terrain had been flat but hard going. It was flat tomorrow but that was little consolation. Anyway, it had to be done.