The second day is always the hardest to get started, so it was no surprise when my valiant steed met me with some resistance. A complaining knee, the dull remnants of my dehydrated headache and of course the teeth-sucking tenderness brought on following a day in the saddle. Luckily, as the old saying goes, it's nothing 4 slices of bread, 3 rashes of bacon, 2 hash browns, 2 sausages, hot chips and 2 coffees can't handle and by 6am I was on my way (yesterday I burned 3300 calories, today 3800, so it's pretty much free-for-all on the food front).
I cashed in my brutal climbs of yesterday in exchange for glorious descents into the glittering Gold Coast. With the heat tipping over the 30 degree mark for the second day and my sunburn causing mum's words to ring in my ear, I made a stop-off at my grandfathers in the canal complex of Mermaid Waters to replenish water/mince pie stocks.
Grandpaternal adoration aside, today's ride didn't get me as far as I would have liked, which led me to examine the anxiety caused by the threat of a slipping schedule. In addition to not factoring in the lost hour crossing the NSW border (woo!) I also reminded myself that perhaps holding myself to the pre-allotted pee breaks and a strict I-must-be-here-by-this-date-or-else mentality is probably counter to the whole idea of bicycle touring. With this, I swung back 5km to a gorgeous beach, went for a swim and sat suspiciously until sundown to pitch my tent with reckless abandon.
I thought it might also be worthwhile to expand a little on my bike setup, specifically how I charge my various electronic wares. In the front wheel, I have a dynamo that generates a small amount of electricity as it spins. This is then routed up the fork and split between my lights and a USB port. Due to the nature of iPhones requiring a constant current to charge, I run a battery from the USB charger and charge my phone from that. This has been an absolute boon and removes the anxiety caused by using a phone for music, GPS, ride logging and - occasionally - as a phone. The port and switch are by a company called 'Lightcharge' and the Dynamo is the standard model from Shimano, both highly recommended.
Soundtrack for the day comprised of finishing the audiobook of John Green's The Fault in our Stars (B+) and starting the 3rd edition of Stephen Fry's autobiography. So far so good, the only definitive comment i can make on the book is that I thoroughly enjoy the way he says 'silly'
Also, in complete contradiction to the fancy-free attitude claimed above, it's my aim to put in a big day in the saddle tomorrow and see if I can make up some of the mythical 'lost ground'. Revelations be damned.
Thanks for reading!
