Lovely ride to St Helens along the coast before turning inland and the hills. The big climb was sheer hell - very hot and windy. We climbed over 600m in 15 km. just as we were near the top, 2 cyclists were coming down at speed. We spotted Richie Porte and cheered him on and Team Sky. Richie is from Launceston and had recently completed the Tour Down Under winning the famous Willunga Hill stage and placing 4th overall. He is now preparing for the Giro d'Italia where he will be team leader for Sky.
We made our way through strong gusts of crosswinds (reportedly up to 100km/h) to the historic Weldborough Pub and set up our tent under a holly tree.
The campsite was emptying since there had been over 400 mountain bike riders there for the annual Blue Dragon Mountain Bike Challenge. The village (of about 3 houses) was the centre, together with nearby Derby for tin-mining and during its peak, over 1000 Chinese workers were employed.
"You're foreigners, from Australia?", we were asked by one of the regulars at the bar. He was very friendly and gave us local information
Distance: 68km
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| Weldborough Pass Rainforest |
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| Camping under the holly tree |
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