Tasmania: it's a bit damp

But first: bloody hell. As uon said when sending me the link: maybe we do actually live in the future now. I am v impressed indeed.

Today & yesterday I have CHEATED & forked out to live in the indoors rather than the outdoors. This is because the weather is being absolutely foul. Particularly yesterday, when I had an exciting 65km of riding into rain and a strong headwind, in 15deg temps. Up mountains. (Well. Big hills.). It reminded me v much of Wales, except more so. (Ideal preparation for future BCMs: a couple of weeks of touring somewhere hilly.) Anyway: on arrival at Triabunna campsite, the nice owner-person noted that for an extra $5 I could have an indoor bed in their bunkhouse. We both looked at the rain lashing not so much down as *across*, outside. "You know," I said, "that actually sounds like quite a good idea."

She gave me a duvet and a blanket and I spent the next 2 hrs on the sofa in their camp kitchen, tucked up under the blanket with a nice cup of tea and a trashy novel from their swap-bookshelf, warming myself backup.

Today I was going to go to Maria Island, but the ferry almost certainly wasn't going to run (because of the weather), and anyway I don't have with me hiking kit suitable for strong winds and rain. So instead I set off up the coast to Swansea - a far better ride than yesterday due to the fact that a) it hardly really rained at all, & b) the wind was behind me. Whoosh! I should however by now know better than to believe the routesheet when it says "pancake flat": their reference for "pancake flat" is obviously something a bit bumpier than the marshes out near Rye.

Spent the afternoon pottering round Swansea, which is v nice even in storm conditions. Hoping that things die down tomorrow. (BBC weather indicates that it will be nicer in Hobart, anyway, so maybe this will extend 100k north.)

Tasmania: it's a bit damp

But first: bloody hell. As uon said when sending me the link: maybe we do actually live in the future now. I am v impressed indeed.

Today & yesterday I have CHEATED & forked out to live in the indoors rather than the outdoors. This is because the weather is being absolutely foul. Particularly yesterday, when I had an exciting 65km of riding into rain and a strong headwind, in 15deg temps. Up mountains. (Well. Big hills.). It reminded me v much of Wales, except more so. (Ideal preparation for future BCMs: a couple of weeks of touring somewhere hilly.) Anyway: on arrival at Triabunna campsite, the nice owner-person noted that for an extra $5 I could have an indoor bed in their bunkhouse. We both looked at the rain lashing not so much down as *across*, outside. "You know," I said, "that actually sounds like quite a good idea."

She gave me a duvet and a blanket and I spent the next 2 hrs on the sofa in their camp kitchen, tucked up under the blanket with a nice cup of tea and a trashy novel from their swap-bookshelf, warming myself backup.

Today I was going to go to Maria Island, but the ferry almost certainly wasn't going to run (because of the weather), and anyway I don't have with me hiking kit suitable for strong winds and rain. So instead I set off up the coast to Swansea - a far better ride than yesterday due to the fact that a) it hardly really rained at all, & b) the wind was behind me. Whoosh! I should however by now know better than to believe the routesheet when it says "pancake flat": their reference for "pancake flat" is obviously something a bit bumpier than the marshes out near Rye.

Spent the afternoon pottering round Swansea, which is v nice even in storm conditions. Hoping that things die down tomorrow. (BBC weather indicates that it will be nicer in Hobart, anyway, so maybe this will extend 100k north.)