Bumming a lift

Tasmania 2023, Day 8

Published on
Last updated on

622 words

We started the morning with a nice brunch at Sco. & Co. and The Lifebuoy Café in St. Helens, as we we had arranged a rendezvous with Steve at 11. First we had to The hotel was having issues with our hot water system and we copped a cold one both this morning and last night. at The Bayside Hotel. There were heaps of bugs in our room last night also. We don’t know whether they were coming in via the ceiling or a gap in the doors, but it was a bit disconcerting.

But back to breakfast: I had a mushroom bruschetta with bacon and Danielle had the green eggs and haloumi. It was delicious and both dishes featured a really nice basil pesto. We finished breaking our fast and rode back to the park opposite the hotel to Steve had the same racks everybody does up here: vertical MTB style and await Steve.

The Lifebuoy Café certainly lives up to its name: everything is very nautical!

The Lifebuoy Café certainly lives up to its name: everything is very nautical!

Steve came at 11 and we all headed south to Bicheno. Steve is an interesting and incredibly kind and generous man. He took us to Bicheno today purely out of the good of his own heart, took his My son is also named Declan, but much older at 18. along for the ride and a walk up to the blowhole at Bicheno. We got the distinct impression he’s always helping someone out. He was an assistant principal at the local K–12 school, but resigned to take a fresh career path a few months ago.

At Bicheno we put the bikes back together again, farewelled Steve and Declan after profusely thanking them, then checked into the Bicheno East Coast Holiday Park as the carpark in which we put the bikes together was right next door.

We moved our bags inside and then I went for a fish on the beach. I cast a popper and bait on a paternoster rig out into the surf and sat on the beach with the butt of the rod in the sand. A pied oystercatcher (AKA red bill) flew into my braid line and entangled herself. I ran out into the surf to free her, but my phone was in my pocket so it was tough to get out deep enough. I got to her, held her wings and untangled her, then let her loose and she flew off alright. Hopefully she has no serious injuries beyond a cut from the braid and a mighty scare.

I found Danielle at the Lobster Shack at The Gulch, and we ate an early dinner of crumbed scallops, calamari salad and two Bicheno Pale Ales apiece. I went for another fish on the pier in front of the Lobster Shack, then the next one along in front of the distillery!

Another fisherman, who was wearing a Cycology shirt, introduced himself as Dick and lent me a squid jig, as they were on the chew. Dick is a bike mechanic currently working as a council compliance officer in Hobart. We chased some squid by sight — even though the water is deep, it was crystal clear and you could see the broken bottom, and watch the squid chase the lure out of big clumps of kelp. The Gulch is a channel between the coast and Governor Island, only about 50 metres wide.

A nice big squid for dinner from The Gulch

A nice big squid for dinner from The Gulch

I kept the squid, and we cleaned and ate him for supper. He was big: we struggled to eat it all!

We talked to Anneliese, packed our bags for an early departure tomorrow to Freycinet and went to bed for an early night.

Follow the journey

  • Plan
    Planning our tour of the Apple Isle — and doing it this time!
    So we started planning this trip a few years ago, and unfortunately events at home (and not just the pandemic!) have transpired to keep us off our bikes for the most part, with a few exceptions such as my Great Ocean Road trip, but I had to do that one solo. In that time I’ve started a new job, Danielle bought a beautiful custom Velo Orange Pass Hunter gravel/touring bike and importantly, my children have continued to mature to the point I can now leave them for a few weeks to go a‑touring!
  • Day 0
    Taking the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to Devonport
    After more than a year of looking forward to, planning, stressing and organising, we’re finally on our way to sunny Tasmania! Of course, we haven’t quite made it to Tassie yet.
  • Day 1
    Poppies and hills to Gravelly Beach
    Our first-ever day of touring as a couple was, I fear, a bit of an eye-opener for Danielle! Not in terms of adventure, of course, as Danielle is a seasoned traveller who has roamed every corner of the world, but in terms of the physical demands of heavily loaded touring bikes.
  • Day 2
    Vineyards on the river, a family maritime history and... penguins!
    This morning was a lovely one as we packed up our gear, and rode around to the Paperbark Café, not far from the park we’d stayed the night in. The café was new, and the breakfast — “mushroom huddle” with bacon for me; smashed avocado with Tasmanian salmon for Danielle — was delightfully delicious. And cheap! $18 without the extras in this economy!
  • Day 3
    He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps, he likes to mow down cyclists...
    We slept well last night. Maybe a little too well. We didn’t get packed up and off until late and we rolled into George Town at about 09:30. We visited the post office and mailed ahead 3.9kg of extras to reduce weight from our packs. We stopped at a café and I bought a coffee and found a free copy of Deliverance.
  • Day 4
    Cherries
    We set off too late again this morning from Bridport and as a result rode in the peak of the heat. We only did 20 kilometres to Scottsdale but there were lots of hills, trucks and no shade nor shoulder. Scottsdale itself is atop a big hill. We rested, however temporarily, at a cemetery on the outskirts where a nice little park bench under a tree provided us shade. It was lovely.
  • Day 5
    The North East Tasmanian Rail Trail
    Today was a lovely day. We got up before sunrise (05:00) and were on the path to the North East Tasmanian Rail Trail before the sun came up. Compared to everything we’d ridden to date, and standing alone, it was a delightful leisurely roll through rainforest, farms, granite cuttings with overgrown ferns, old growth forest and logging areas and little makeshift station memorials where we had coffee and a breather.
  • Day 6
    Hitching a ride to the Bay of Fires
    We woke up this morning at The Dorset Hotel, and had our breakfast in the little dining room downstairs, packed our bags and bikes, and wheeled them across to the road to Bark Off Bikes. We took our fenders off in the rain then boarded the bus.
  • Day 7
    On our way to Biche—oh no!
    Today was… well… let’s start at the beginning, shall we? We awoke after spending a beautiful night under the clearest skies, to a gorgeous sunrise on the Bay of Fires. As we packed our tent, the sun poked up with beams of light streaming through the clouds and spread across the bay, and it was marvellous!
  • Day 8
    Bumming a lift
    We started the morning with a nice brunch at Sco. & Co. and The Lifebuoy Café in St. Helens, as we we had arranged a rendezvous with Steve at 11. I had a mushroom bruschetta with bacon and Danielle had the green eggs and haloumi. It was delicious and both dishes featured a really nice basil pesto. We finished breaking our fast and rode back to the park opposite the hotel to take off our fenders and await Steve.
  • Day 9
    On the road again...
    We left the holiday park in Bicheno this morning nice and early, about 07:00, and stopped at the Blue Edge Bakery for a quick start coffee before heading south. The hills were very flat and rolling along was easy enough.
  • Day 10
    Freycinet Lodge and Wineglass Bay
    A red letter day. We awoke naturally to the sunlight streaming over The Hazards and into our cabin as we nursed our hangovers from the wine and beer consumed last night. We dragged ourselves off to a breakfast of smoked salmon benedict for Danielle, and a Freycinet “Big Brekky” for myself, with two double espressos. We returned to our room for an in-room couples massage…
  • Day 11
    The end of the cycling portion of our cycling tour
    Well, fuck. We awoke late and had a nice breakfast, then packed up, checked out and headed off. At first we made good time.
  • Epilogue: Conquering the Mountain!
    I’ve had such an awesome tour this year around Tasmania, but I have to admit to some small disappointments and setbacks. So when I set out this morning at 05:45 to conquer kunanyi, the 1,270m high mountain overlooking Hobart, I was very dubious about my chances of making it successfully to the summit.
  • Epilogue: Kingston Beach
    Danielle’s parents live in Sandy Bay, and her aunt Jan lives in Kingston Beach. The Channel Highway connects the two seaside suburbs of Hobart and lucky for us, it’s a favourite route for local cyclists, and for very good reason.

Copyright mmxxiv Ryan Moore. All rights reserved unless otherwise specified.