Sunday, March 13, 2011

ShShSu # 147. The Great Southern Rail Trail - Gippsland




Freedom!

Bikes on car, panniers packed, ready for adventure.















Trail smoothed and welcoming,
just one short road section
sharing with traffic,
then only rail trail;
the sounds of scrunching gravel,
leaf litter
and wobbling rocks beneath the tyres.





An occasional whack as a large grasshopper hits my face.






Enviro-loo.
A welcome sight after litres of water
have been gulped down.




The fragrance of dairy cattle
blood and bone
the sweet smells of death
and rich humus.

Lulled into a false sense of security by the long,
long downhill start, I felt fit!

Stretched muscles feel good.

My butt disagrees.

Perhaps a weekend
and 90 kilometre round trip
was a bit ambitious.

"How long till the auto timer
goes off?"

"Are you sure the camera is pointing in the right direction?"

(90km is roughly 56 miles.)

Shadow Shot Sunday is hosted by Tracy at Hey Harriet. Pop over to see shadows from around the world.

A Drabble is a story told in 100 words. No more, no less.

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20 comments:

Ralph said...

My american mind has to convert from miles to Km - that is a lot of distance you covered! Yet, the visceral pleasures you experienced in the country had to make up for any pain. I would hope that the Enviro-loo smells better than the fields and hummus of the bovine pastures...Well written, I feel as if I were there. Nice!

EG CameraGirl said...

Holy moly! You must be in GREAT shape!

Sue said...

Ralph, I've added the conversion now, thanks for the reminder.
EGW: Don't I wish! Just determined (bloody minded is possibly more accurate) and very slow.

Sylvia K said...

Well, I know that I'm worn out!!! What a great day and a great example you've set for those more lazy, like me! Fun one for Shadow Shot! Hope you get some rest before a new week starts! When is the next run??

Sylvia

BLOGitse said...

wow, well done!
I feel really bad - I've been in bed most of the day, I have terrible flu. No way of 90km...even crawling! :)

Sue said...

Sylvia, planning the next one now :) The 90k was over the whole weekend though, not all on the one day!
BLOGitse, I hope you didn't catch the bug over here and take it home with you. Get well soon.

Jeanne Henriques said...

I did the Great Southern Rail Trail too! Congratulations for making it thru...gorgeous country, tough ride if you have not been on a bike for a while. It is amazing the type of seat padding you can come up with when in need :)

Thanks for your comment for ShShSu.

Jeanne :)

Marilyn & Jeff said...

Great photos and words ...and an awesome ride!

Catherine said...

love that first shot - strong shadow!

Hey Harriet said...

That was a most entertaining post! 90 kms? Far out! I'm a keen cyclist but that distance would be too much for me! I'm impressed and I hope not too many of those grasshoppers whacked you in the face along the way. Thanks so much for sharing your fun adventure! That was fun :)

Hootin Anni said...

Oh my goodness...my calf muscles are killin' me right now, just viewing and reading. Y'know, that grasshopper looks like a blade of grass!!! Excellent post.


My Shadow Shot Link BOARDWALK along the wildlife refuge

Anonymous said...

G'day.
I love this post, especially the first sign - buffalo, fish, then Fosters; there's something there for everyone, uh?
This is a real beaut bonzer post with some great shadow shots too. Thanks for sharing.

All the best from bonzer beautiful Bangkok Boonie

Dan Kent said...

There is nothing better than an outdoor trek, I agree! (Of course my treks are much, much shorter.) My two favorite shadow shots here - the faucet, and the last one (even though the camera is pointing the wrong direction). Fine drabble too.

Spadoman said...

Very ool! Thankls for taking us on that trek. We're not yet riding here where Ilive. Still too much snow and ice on the trails. The weather is getting warmer though, so that's a good sign.
I've seen something like that enviro-loo here. They call them comp[osting toilets, or dry toilets. Too bad they are so expensive. I believe more people would have them. They are a great idea for saving water.
I love your woprds describing the fertilizing of the fields. Nothing like being out in the country. Nice post. (You know it took me a while to find your blog opr I'd have been here weeks ago!)

Peace.

Ms. Becky said...

i love this post! my favorite shot is the "are you sure the camera is pointing in the right direction?"
my legs and butt would be so so sore after doing this. I've never seen an Enviro-loo, but I'm glad there is an alternative to the pit toilets and our porta-potties here. I was at a rally yesterday where there were over 100,000 people and there were dozens and dozens of the porta-potties lined in rows. they needed to provide something for all those people!
oh, enough of this. great post, photos, and drabble Sue. I hope you have a fantastic week!

Anonymous said...

I felt like I was on the ride with you. A great read, and images.

fiziskandarz said...

very interesting [ and quirky! ] entry :) the last image really had me chuckle [ we did that most of the time! ] :) hope u have a good weekend.

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

But, it's a good kind of tired, isn't it? I love the code of conduct! G'Day! Big smile on my face here from your post today! Lovely...

Sue said...

Jeanne, hehehe, yep I know what you mean! You're in the UK aren't you? I understand there's some good rides there too
Marilyn; thankyou, I felt pretty good - eventually!
Catherine; I nearly forgot to take that shot, too much huffing and puffing.
Tracy; interestingly, there's heaps and heaps of smaller grasshoppers around here now too, covering quite a bit of the town, not locusts which is good. Must be the soggy summer we've had.
Anni; it wasn't the calf muscles that hurt!
Bonzer Beautiful Bangkok Boonie (aka BBBB); whew what a mouthful! I saw those signs all along the trail and not once did I notice that! Brilliant as ever - oops now it'll need to be BBBBB
Dan I love getting outdoors, but usually it's for significantly shorter treks - but I love those longer ones.
Spadoman; I'm glad you found me, I wasn't deliberately hiding! Those composting toilets are amazing. Some friends have one that works with worms; no flush, no water, no smell. It's fantastic. Saw some interesting ones the other day at a camping expo that separate the 'deposits'. I meant to get a brochure to see how they work (hmm, I hope that doesn't put you off visiting again, I'm not really totally weird)
Becky: my legs and butt were very sore! But I felt great too. Porta loos are brilliant at those events aren't they. That's a big crowd to cater for, do they wait for the snow to melt before holding rallies? Have a great week yourself :)
Joan thankyou, I hope you enjoyed the virtual ride! Chubskulit; thankyou, have a lovely week.
Fiziskandarz; I'm delighted I made you chuckle!
Paula; Yes, its a great kind of tired. That feeling that you've done something that's really stretched you is so satisfying. Glad you liked the code of conduct!

Anonymous said...

You can call me 5Bs, although I'm not sure that I like the B and the S joined like that.....

All the best, 5Bs