Wollongong..trip over....well almost

Dipped my front wheel in the Pacific at Wollongong this afternoon...symbolic? Nearly had to leave the fully loaded Thorn on the beach as it sunk in the sand. Celebrated the end of west to east crossing of this vast country with a cup of hot chocolate and a bath in an up market room overlooking the ocean.
Off to Sydney tomorrow to get the bike boxed up unless the shop offers me a decent price for it. It worked without a hitch but we never became buddies!
Nearly got zapped several times along the Princess Highway coming into this resort town... no hard shoulders and crazy Sunday afternoon traffic. Nerves were very frazzled.
And that was after I survived the Macquarie Pass decent from the Southern Highlands- 700 metre drop over 12 kms with very hairy hairpin bends. The whole of Sydney's Hells Angel mob were racing up and down like madmen.
On the more sedate Illawarra Highway earlier( very lumpy in places) historic moment- I met my first self-support cyclist- a 69 year old from Brisbane cycling to Melbourne. As we exchanged details and took snaps, my bike fell over in the wind. That was the first time it had been on its side over 4500 kms.
Last night spent the night in a tiny room with no window in a boozer at Marulan off the Sturt Highway. Tania sends everyone her good wishes.....her dad comes from Bangor. Her other job is selling performance enhancing pills.....for horses
Before leaving Wogga bought the local paper. Hicks with his NDCC shirt made page 3. Load of contrived codswallop I dreamed up! I followed a route laid out by my 'bent' friend Pete Heal. I think he was indulging in a cruel bout of Pom bashing....pain by hard hill climbing.
Three seriously heavy duty hills slowed me up on the road to Cootamundra (birth place of Sir Donald Bradman). I thought I had time to make the next 40 kms to Harden before dark but I ran out of gas in just another 18 kms of climbing. (Terry will confirm all these hills on his Google maps !) So I was forced to wild camp on the edge of a sheep station. Bonus thrown in was a visit from a group of seven kangaroos- not close up.
The next day was close to the toughest on the trip- 90 kms to Yass. Some of the hills were so hard I had to use the lowest gear on the Rohloff 14 speed gear hub. The only way to descibe it is when you see the battery of hills towards the end of of the Tour of the Glens you say:"Oh FUCK". There were a lot of those. And then it rained harder and harder. And then I had 18 kms of the Hume Highway getting sprayed by trucks etc. It is the same as a motorway. I Felt I was breaking the law and expected to hear a police siren. To blacken my mood the manager of the motel says:"I don't you have a credit card?" Patronising sod.I had hoped Pete Heal could have popped up from Canberra but he was tied up.
The next day the weather was perfect so I ignored Mr Heal and his back roads and stuck to the Hume Highway- the main route to Sydney. Missed the turn off for Goulburn so took pot luck and ended up chatting to Tania. Anthony the chef was very nice too!
Terry....look up the Macquarie Pass on google maps.
Will try sending some last snaps when I find an internet connection that doesn't gobble up $2 coins at a rate of knots.
Mrs Hicks is quite concerned that I will arrive home before the kitchen is finished!!!!!!