Day 18 Injune to Roma 90 km

Not having to pack the tent I am on the road early after breakfast and coffee in the cafe. 6:45 am and I am on my way out of town. It is cold - 6 degrees and I have my jacket and gloves on but it is more comfortable than yesterday. 30 minutes later it is 14 degrees and I stop to remove the jacket. I pull into an memorial to a coal mine in the area. The mine opened in 1933 and only operated for 30 years supplying coal for steam engines.

I am riding in perfect conditions the air is cool and still and I make really good time. By 10:00 am I have covered 55 km but I keep pushing on anticipating the wind rising. I am in rolling hills - without the wind and with good surfaces I am able to maintain momentum even on the uphill sections.

I pass a sign for the Great Dividing Range - I have crossed the range before - other times I can recall are East Gippsland and the Bamboo Range in North Queensland, both with Tony. Oddly the next hill appears higher I wonder if the sign was placed in the wrong location particularly with the downward trend that follows.

At 11:00 am I have done 80 km without stopping except to drink from my bottles.

The last 10 km into Roma are slower but I finally arrive at 11:30 am and go straight to Maccas for a thick shake. When I sit down I realise the top of my head is covered in salt from sweat. When I look at my helmet later the straps are white with salt. Clearly I have worked hard.

I ride through town and find a caravan park - $25 for an unpowered site seems a little steep but I have a nice private shady patch of grass. The cabin next to me has a radio on the racing channel playing all afternoon. I suspect the occupant has gone out and left the radio on. Hopefully it will get switched off tonight.

Later in the afternoon I wander down the Main Street and buy a spare tube form Toyworld. No bike shops here but Toyworld carries a range of bikes and spares. I am pleasantly surprised that they have one that suits my bike.

School of Arts Hotel - what great idea!

Roma's Largest Bottle Tree

Roma doesn't seem to have much to offer tourists. The only thing that gets promoted seems to the the "largest Bottle Tree". Roma appears to be somewhere you pass through on the way to somewhere else.