It’s been awhile, but there ain’t no better place to get back on the bike than Merimbula. If you’ve never been, “do yourself a favour”, as Molly would say. The return trip to Pambula is a perfect start to what I plan to be a huge week of cycling (relatively after a 6 month lay off). I also had the company of my brother, which adds a social touch to the ride.
It has been blowing a gale since arriving, so the 30 odd km headwinds wasn’t quite the gentle push off that I’d hoped. What comes up must come down, so to speak, so the thought of that tailwind as you rip alongside the airport on the way back was reward in itself.
The ride starts at the top of town, crosses the bridge and heads alongside the airport on a purpose built bitumen bike track towards Pambula. The track is relatively flat until an unmistakable whiff of the treatment plant (or was that Michael!!) signals a rude little climb of 5% providing the first workout of the day. The fresh wind blows the fruitiness out of the air pretty quickly, replaced by the view of the kangaroos on the golf course as the path twists and turns around the bush. The crest of the climb is almost signposted by Wheeler’s Oyster Farm before coasting down into Pambula.
Turning around at the Pambula Recreation Reserve, the wind now provides the fuel for a couple of PB’s for the return leg. The climb seems less inconvenient as you head back towards Merimbula. I don’t know why. It’s the same gradient. It may even be slightly steeper, or maybe it’s the thought of the slingshot feeling you get as you rip around the Fishpen. We stop at Cranky Cafe; for what is, today, a pretty decent coffee.
This 15 km ride is finished off by some competitive spirit shown my Michael. I think he forgets he is on a bike which is built like a brick shithouse, whilst I bought my road bike this year. Brothers will be brothers!!! I’ll leave you with some of the terrible sights in the last three km’s of the morning’s ride. I think tomorrow we will extend the activity to Pambula Beach. Stay tuned.
