By mistake Paul had everyone up an hour early this morning. Barb was happy with this as she is always itching to get started but Brian wasn’t his usual cheerful self. He likes to lie in and work into the day slowly.
We started off before 8am when it was still fresh and cool with not a breath of wind. The road was smooth, flat and fairly straight, still on the A3. It ran close but not right on the coast, through forest, farmland, past lagoons and crossing creeks and rivers. At 26km we took a left turn onto the A4 to go over Elephant Pass to St Marys. The alternative was to stay on the A3 for the shorter, flatter road up the coast.
The Pass is a magic bike ride, climbing to 400m over 8km through a forest of gums on an extremely quiet road. The grade is about the same as the Akatarawara Hill but a kilometre longer and with a steeper section of half a kilometre in the middle. Last time Paul was having a bad heart day and the climb was difficult but today it was a breeze. We stopped at the Pancake Barn at the summit for the obligatory photos but not for the sweet syrupy sticky pancakes with cream. Somehow not the right food for an energetic bike ride.
At the Pancake Barn there is this sign adjacent to the entry to the owner’s house:
“Don’t even think about blocking these gates! Our elephants will stomp your wretched hire car down to the hub caps. Your co-operation is appreciated”.
This is in five languages.
From the summit it is a fast run down to the small town of St Marys and the Purple Possum Wholefoods Cafe. We called in here last time and Barb wanted to buy one of their tee shirts but they didn’t have her size. None were on display today but the lady said she still had a few out the back which were going to be sent back because they were made of a strange neoprene like material. There was one in Barb’s size and she got it for $10. Paul was very happy as well, as they had fresh baked rhubarb cake.
We then had about 7km of spectacular downhill through St Mary’s Pass, the road cut into the side of the hill and through more huge gum trees. At the bottom we met up with the A3 again for a flat run along the coast through Scamander and Beaumaris. Brian wanted to go to Eureka Farm who claim to have the best ice cream in Tasmania. So we put him out in front but he cycled straight past two huge signs without seeing them. By the time we caught him we were too far past. Over one more hill and we were in St Helens.
Our accommodation is about 2.5km south of town and located on a rise with view over Georges Bay. It is a two storied apartment with living/dining, kitchen and toilet upstairs, two bedrooms with shower and toilet downstairs.
In the evening Manfred and his partner Sarah came round to pick up Brian’s bike. They live part of the year here in St Helens. We invited them in and talked with them for quite a while. Manfred has been running cycle tours in Ireland for twenty years and works there during the northern hemisphere summer. He does the same thing in Tasmania in our summer. Sarah is Irish and has a small farm with four horses, chickens, dogs, cats, etc. Who knows we may use them as we want to go to Ireland in a couple of years time. Sarah has promised to buy us the first pint if we meet her there. However I think she could put away a fair few pints in an evening.
Tomorrow morning Brian catches the bus to Launceston to meet Jan and pick up their hire car.
Today has been the best day yet on this tour, perfect weather, fantastic cycling, Barb got her tee shirt and Paul got some rhubarb cake.