Rutherglen Adventure Day 6 Friday 30 March 2012

Today I did a 40Km plus ride around Rutherglen.

John Towing Buster in his trailer.  The front is open and Buster can stick his head out  and look back to see if Mum is following.

 Those are two tandems ahead.  Both have blind stokers whose guide dogs have a day off.

 Buster at the coffee stop

 Rutherglen's main street and the guy just leaving is Peter Bike Friday's reprentative at the gathering.

 Rutherglen main street.

 

The long ride home after and over long coffee break . 

I was a lovely social ride through flat but interesting countryside.  In the evening I dined at the local pub with a group of other riders.

Rutherglen Adventure Day 5 Thursday 29 March 2012

Today was declared a familiarisation day and the rides were short and followed walking and cycling  trails around Corowa.  Corowa is a lovely lively town and is the starting point for all our rides which either cross the John Foord Bridge or the new Federation bridge in Victoria where Rutherglen is located.  See the following link for its interesting history  http://www.murrayriver.com.au/corowa/ .

I was lucky enough to attach myself to a group lead by a Bike Friday Club member Graham, who has lived in Rutherglen for many years and was the Principal of the Corowa High School for a long time.  We took several trails over the next four hours but only covered 30Km as we stopped numerous times while Graham pointed out areas of interest and related tales about the Corowa/ Rutherglen area.  It was a fun ride.

In the afternoon I had a rest, caught up with Wednesday's blog and had a beer with other riders  In the evening we had a barbecue and sat around to about 10.00pm talking Bike Fridays and weird and outstanding things they get up to.

There was one shadow on the proceedings as our founder, Margaret Day, and her husband, Graham, were not present.  Graham has cancer and is suffering from severe dementia.  He wont re able to attend future get togethers.  I was friends with Graham and Margaret in South Australia and rode with them regularly.  Margaret encouraged me to get back into cycling by buying on of her loved Bike Fridays.

Views of the River Murray around Corowa

 Margaret and Graham

 

Rutherglen Adventue Day 4 Wednesday 28 March 2012

Today was really going to be an adventure as the roads south of West Wyalong had all been badly   affected by the recent extensive flooding in NSW and the route via Narrandera was still listed as impassable.  The caravan park manager assured me that I could get through.

It was a 116Km drive to Narrandera so I did it in one hit and stopped there for my morning coffee break in a bakery which also made custard pies so I had one.  I walked the main street and it all looked a bit run down.

Leaving Narrandera I was diverted for few kilometres including some dirt roads until I met up with the main road once again.  It was then down the Newell Highway for 29Km where I took a minor road to Urana.  The road had been reduced in width by the highways department and access limited to light vehicles.  This road showed evidence of the recent floods with surface damage and badly broken edges.  The road was deserted so I was able to make good time to Urana at  about 60Km and found that it was almost a ghost town.  I took another walk and the only person I saw was the postman.

From Urana it was another 62Km to the main road the Riverina High Way and another18Km to my turnoff to Corowa where I was meeting the Australian Bike Friday Club.

I soon found the caravan park and set about erecting my new tent which I bought on Saturday.  It took 30 minutes and I was very pleased with the result.  I have never camped before in a tent which I can stand up in.

Then I met up with friends from last year and had a barbecue before going to bed.

This is the end of Part One of the adventure.  Part two  follows.

Narrandera

 

 Urana

My new tent

Rutherglen Adventure Day 3 - Tueday 27 March 2012

I was awake at 6.00am and on my way by 7.30am.  It was quite cold and I had to put on a fleecy top.

I drove about 160Km via the small Gilgandra to Dubbo.  For the first 90Km I was the meat in a B-Double sandwich at 120KPH .  These huge trucks have two semi-trailers and are officially speed limited to 100KPH.  I had the option of travelling at my limit of 110KPH with a huge truck sitting about 10m from my tail or speeding up to match their speed which I considered the safest option.  At Gilgandra I went and looked at the village and they sped on.

I drove straight through Dubbo but was able to identify the caravan park where Margaret and I stayed with our big Poodle, Pierre, when moving from Adelaide to Tewantin in 1998.  After Dubbo I pulled into a lay by for my morning coffee and blow me there were the B-Doubles with the drivers setting up their sleeping cabs.  What the hell was all the rush for.  Later I heard on the news that there transport authority had set up road inspections ahead to inspect trucks speed limiters.  These guys obviously had radio communication that they were heading into trouble.  I didn't get hassled by another B-Double all day and actually got held by a couple.

I continued on via Parkes where the first moon landing was monitored by Australians when NASA had problems onto the small town of Forbes where I stopped for lunch after 150Km.   I took a couple of photos of this typical outback town.

The last leg of the day was 104Km to West Wyalong where I took another cabin at the West Wyalong Caravan Park. On the way I passed the B-Double check point.

I took a long walk around the town and took some photos.  On the way back I saw a car parked at the curb with two Bike Fridays like mine.  As I passed by the owners walked back so I asked if they were going to the same get together at Rutherglen and they are.  What's more they came from Queensland, in fact from the adjacent suburb to Tewantin, Noosaville.  More amazingly the had a young dog with them who they were going to tow in a trailer on the rides.  They are camping at the same park as I am.

I have just had a Chinese Take Away meal and am off to bed soon.

Photos of Forbes

Tonights Cabin

Another cabin using a converted railway carriage

For Helen and And

Photos of West Wyalong

And finally a B-Double

Rutherglen Adventure Day 2 - Monday 26 March 2012

I slept well in my cabin and after a light breakfast was on the road at 6.00am.  Actually I set my watch to 7.00am as after a few hundred metres I crossed into New South Wales which is still on Eastern Summer Time which QLD doesn't agree with and is still on Eastern Standard Time.


I drove the first 123Km to Moree without stopping but after clearing the town stopped at the first lay by for a coffee break. 

 My coffee stop  on the Black Soil Plains

All that was there was the shelter and tables just off the main highway. After my coffee I needed a comfort stop.  I hope other motorists were not offended by the sight of a little old man standing next to a bush staring into the distance.

The next 99Km was through similar countryside to the town of Narrabri where I stopped at a MacDonald's for an early lunch.  I took a walk through the small town which is a typical outback town.

Then it was on to  Coonabarabran my overnight stop.  After 60Km I saw a Rest Stop with a Loo sign so I took another comfort stop.  The Loo was a single deep drop system and it was at least a 3 metre drop.  I think that I prefer the open air!

The countryside became more wooded over this section and was part of the Pilliga State Forest   which is over 3000 square kilometres.  It made a change from the plains.

 I was too early to book into the caravan park so I walked the full main street and checked out options for my evening meal.

After checking in I to another cabin found that my Wireless Broadband Dongle had a signal so I e-mailed Helen land posted Part 1 of this blog.

Really enjoyed today's drive as I was feeling more relaxed.  The distance was only about 350Km and the traffic was also light.

I bought take away fish and chips for dinner and after watching a repeat of Dr Who went to bed by 9.00pm

 

My cabin and the caravan park

PS - before I left I promised to let Helen know if I had forgotten anything.  Yes, my comb and a lighter for my small camping stove.

Rutherglen Adventure Day 1 25 March 2012

First an update on Louis.  He had his stitches out last Monday and the vet says that he is doing just fine and will be OK if he takes it easy.  Louis doesn't know what taking it easy means and acts as if he never had a problem.  I am still towing him behind my bike to the the park where he meets all his friends.  He is allowed out for short walk.  Helen came up on Wednesday and is looking after Louis while I am away.

This trip is really quite an adventure in three stages.  Stage one started yesterday when after loading my little Jazz with my bicycle and camping gear I drove over 500Km from Tewantin to Goondiwindi  and was still in Queensland.

I am driving the inland route from Tewantin to Landsborough  over the range to Kilcoy, Woodforde and Esk down the Brisbane Valley to Toowoomba and then the Darling Downs to Goondiwindi.  It was a good drive but I was a bit worried about it as I haven't driven very far since recovering from my sroke.  I took breaks about every 100 to 150Km and have a rest, a cup of coffee and something to eat.  As I was driving through some isolated countryside I took a thermos flask of hot water and made coffee as wayside stops.  I bought lunch at a service station just south of Toowoomba which said it was the last place for food and petrol for 170Km. They weren't kidding.

As I am carrying camping gear I've decided to stay at Camp Grounds but I have made no advance bookings.  When I got to Goondiwindi I dropped into the first park and took an overnight cabin.  I had a take away meal and a couple of beers.  I watched TV for a while before having an an early night.

My home for the night

The view from my cabin

Louis Has Surgery

Last year, when Helen was visiting, Louis went quite lame so we took him to the local Vets.  Here he had several X-rays under anaesthetic so that his legs could be manipulated.  The results were not good. His right leg showed signs of arthritis and his left leg had a floating knee cap and he had badly stretched his cruciate  ligament.  At the time the vet suggested conservative treatment which meant Louis had enforced rest for a few weeks followed by a gradual build up in exercise.  This appeared to have worked and in January at his annual check up he was given the  all clear.

In early February he went lame again and he was put back on enforced rest for another few weeks.  Unfortunately when I returned from a ride he was unable to put weight on his left leg so it was off to the vets once again.  His vet, K, examined him and advised surgery which was scheduled for last Wednesday.  He stayed in hospital over night and I picked him up on Thursday morning.  A specialist orthopaedic surgeon carried out the operation.

The surgery showed that Louis had nearly snapped the ligament and that the knee joint was very loose.  So much so that it had "rolled up" a section of the maniscus  requiring its removal so in Louis' case surgery was a define requirement.

He came home after being given some strong pain killers and he was very difficult to keep quiet.  All he was supposed to do was to rest and use the garden for toileting under my supervision.  Fat chance,  he wanted to run, jump on the settee and act like nothing was wrong.  I had to block the access to all areas except where he was resting.  Through out the day the pain killers wore off and he became aware of his sore leg and began to settle.  I lifted him up so that he could lie beside me in my big armchair during the evening.  When I got up I made sure that he was blockaded in by other chairs.  He had some more painkillers and had a very quiet night.

During Friday he was very quiet and unable to get around easily.  He spent most of the day resting and while I was at MOW I don't think he moved.  He was very pleased to see me and I could hear his tail thumping as I came in from the garage.

Over Saturday he improved and was able to walk, gingerly, in the garden and go to the toilet for the first time since Wednesday which was a relief for both of us.

One thing that is not affected is his appetite and he is eating well. Another is his social nature.  I have bought a kiddy trailer for my shopping bicycle to carry bulky necessities such as Cask Wine from the local shops.   I have installed cushions to make it comfortable and Louis still gets to meet his canine and human friends in the park.

Louis' new chariot.

First ride and a little apprehensive.  Note that he is restrained with two straps. The collar is removed when he is eating or drinking.  The trailer cover is rolled down while moving so he cant get out.

 

Arrival at the park. 

Settled down and ready to accept pats and licks.

He goes back to the vets tomorrow for a check up and has his stitches removed next Monday the 19th.

He was going in kennels on the 24th while I go away on my driving/cycling holiday.  This may change as Helen has said that she will come and stay and look after him while I am away.

I'll update things in a couple of days.