Day 8. Tuesday, 7 March, 2023. Echuca to Barham

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So far so good with the weather.  A brisk morning saw us in arm-warmers which we kept on all day as the temperature climbed to the low 20s but the strong head and crosswinds kept us cool.  It was 116 kms from Echuca to Barham, a small agricultural town first settled (by white people) in the 1840s.  

Again, the countryside was very flat and this is typical of what we saw most of the day.

The crosswinds strengthened as the morning wore on and one way to counter this was by lining up in an echelon formation.  

Riding NW with the winds coming from that direction, the stronger inside riders provided shelter to the riders to their right.  

We stopped for morning tea

at Bunnaloo Oval and clubrooms.

This was the view from Dave's Hill, overlooking the turf wicket, where on Sunday the local cricket grand final will be played between the Bunnaloo Butterflies and the Moama Mosquitoes.  Unfortunately, we will not be here to witness what we are sure will be a cut-throat battle.

As we stopped on the gravel approach to the oval, Ganners, intent on getting to the teabags first, neglected to unclip from his pedal and ended up horizontal instead of perpendicular to the ground.  

The result was not pretty

but Nurse Sandrino and SASMan were quickly on the scene administering healing balms and soothing words of comfort.

Pretty soon Ganners was all bandaged up and good to go.

but declared he didn't think he'd be able to ride for at least a couple of days.  

And with a 144km ride coming up in two days' time, a couple of other riders were listening intently to Ganners

and wondering how they could pull a similar stunt to get out of the ride.

And speaking of Antonio, we marvel how he always presents as a picture of sartorial elegance, a perfect example of Italian cycling chic,

unlike the buffoon to his left in his mismatched jersey and socks, clashing frightfully with his lurid and unfashionable vest.

Chalkie seized this opportunity to pontificate endlessly

on the correct way to ride on gravel and the neccessity of unclipping from your pedals before attempting to dismount.  A bit late, mate!  You should have thought of giving us your boring little homily before the ride started.

The rest of the ride to Barham was reasonably uneventful.  We were impressed by this roadside sculpture 

depicting airmail,

 email

and snailmail.

With no shops along the route today, Faybie was unsure what sustenance would be available overnight.  Having heard from riders on the Tour de Nullarbor of the rich pickings to be found along the way, she was delighted to be able gather a few tasty morsels when the opportunity presented. 

These, along with some other tasty-looking scapings

she later came across will be sure to provide a nutritious dinner.

MAJOR

OF THE DAY

Chalkie is awarded the Giant Lollipop

for his major meltdown during a long day riding into buffetting head and crosswinds.  After being severely castigated by the rest of the group for taking over as lead rider and upping the pace to show the world how strong he was and dropping poor old Pubserv in the process,

when the group reached the last corner and turned towards Barham he sprinted to the front and shouted: "O.k., who's going to set the pace now?', then slunk down to the back of the group

and sulked for the rest of the ride.

At long last, our destination

came into sight and we pedalled on to the

situated right on the banks of the Murray River

 and home to the famous Barham Thong Tree,

not to be confused , of course, with other type of thong tree.

 We were very happy with our little cabin

and even happier when the Grand Pooh Bah had finished his sermonising

for the day.  After a meal at the local RSL Club next door to the caravan park, it was shut eye in preparation for a short, 77 km dash tomorrow to Swan Hill.

Selfish Rider Award
Name	Kms ridden day	Total kms ridden	Name	Kms ridden day	Total kms ridden
Antonio	116	539	Ms Tradie	40	207
Chalkie	116	539	Ms Twinkletoes	76	432
Cockie	81*	371	PubServ	116	539
Faybie	32	230	SASMan	63	306
Ganners	53	382	Twinkletoes	116	508
Kaybie	53	233

·         Includes 15km extra Cockie claims he was robbed of due to slippage.

 

Helpful Driver Award
Name	Kms unridden day	Total kms unridden	Name	Kms unridden day	Total kms unridden
Antonio	0	0	Ms Tradie	76	382
Chalkie	0	0	Ms Twinkletoes	40	107
Cockie	35	168	PubServ	0	0
Faybie	84	309	SASMan	39	219
Ganners	63	157	Twinkletoes	0	31
Kaybie	47*	290

·         Includes agreed reduction according to formula.