After 1,000 kms and 13 days on road this was it as we set from Barwon Heads off to Ocean Grove (just as the sun was rising) for breakfast on the last day of our cycling adventure.
After shoring up some much needed protein, having relived the trip and solved most of the worlds problems, we headed off to Queenscliff knowing that the Bay Ferry left every hour on the hour. Despite this we'd somehow left ourselves needing to cover the remaining 15 kms in 45 minutes otherwise we were in for a long wait which was not such a great idea with a potentially long day ahead!
The cumulative effect of touring started to take its toll when Marysia started to struggle to keep up the pace needed to make the ferry on time. Luckily Kev's Vietnam watch told us that we still had 7 minutes left as we rounded the Queenscliff promenade and raced for the ferry terminal.
We'd no sooner boarded the ferry on and taken our seats when the departure call sounded - it seems Kevs watch was about 5 minutes slow !
This was a glorious way to finish off our trip and return to Melbourne as we sailed across the glassy bay waters on a beautifully sunny day to disembark just 40 minutes later at Sorrento
From Sorrento it was a breeze cycling to Safety Beach at Dromana where we encountered our first "grizzle" hills on our undulating ride to Mornington albeit complete with fantastic views of the bay and the Idle rich !
There was just time to take in a Thick Shake at Mornington before consulting Dr Google for a way to hook up with the Peninsular Link Cycle trail at Moorooduc about 9kms away. It was with some trepidation that we followed a suggested walking route (no cycle route showing) that headed first by the Nepean Hwy and then up and over a pretty steep saddle in Mt Eliza down to the Moorooduc train terminus. Henley increased the grizzle meter by a couple of notches saying it was a bit rough having to climb so much at this stage of the trip !
The Peninsular Link bike path is one of Melbourne's newer bike trails running by the Freeway itself with some pretty consistent profiles, initially all up for the first half (the way we were going) with the 2nd half mainly down or flat!
Also for the uninitiated navigating can be a bit challenging on the trail as it keeps swapping from one side of the freeway to the other leaving you wondering whether in fact you've just gone around in a full circle !
As it was we finally found our way in the beating heat to Patterson River and to Carrum Downs Railway Station to complete our epic journey.
After such a great trip the finish and farewell was pretty low key no doubt partly due to our collective exhaustion but also partly due to the fact that we all had to work our way home - Kev and Marysia by train and self by a lift after I first navigated my way back to Thompson Road in Carrum - yep more cycling !
For Kev and Marysia the 1,100 kms was an absolutely fantastic achievement and I thank them for the opportunity to share this great experience with them !
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