Not Flying Home: Day 29 Rest Day & Day 30 Goonumbla to Forbes via Trundle 100 km

Day 29 Rest Day
A lovely relaxed morning with the Mraks. I didn't get out of bed until after 9:00 am. Tony cooked pancakes for breakfast and then we went out to the bee hives. Tony is a good teacher and had me helping while he checked out the hives. He was taking out frames, to see how much honey and brood there was and looking at the health of each hive.

Me using the hive tool to loosen a frame before lifting it out

Tony smoking the hive to relax the bees

We swapped out 10 frames loaded with honey that we later extracted 15 kg of fresh honey from. I got to take home a big bottle of liquid gold.

1.5 litre bottle of honey - weighs 2.25 kg

I spent the afternoon relaxing while everyone else got on with chores. In the evening Tony cooked wonderful Thai Curry with Coconut Rice for dinner. Bridget followed with waffles and ice cream. Lovely dinner! We also did a FaceTime call with Lisa & Steph which was great fun.

Thank you to Tony, Erica, Bridget and Connor for being such gracious hosts. Special thanks to Connor for giving up his bedroom. Also lovely to meet Lily who was staying with the Mraks.

Day 30 Goonumbla to Forbes via Trundle 100 km

Too hard to explain where Tony and Erica's place is so just look 50 km west of Parkes. As it happened I felt a little disoriented after leaving the front gate. Although I knew I was going in the right direction it felt wrong and this continued for much of the morning.

Lily, Connor, Tony, Erica and Brudget

Connor, Tony, Joe, Erica and Bridget

An early start after breakfast with Tony and Erica heading off to work taking the Bridget and Lily to drop off for the bus to school. Connor was feeling crook but he did get up so we could get some parting photos.

First up my aim was to go via Trundle a small town with a big main street - 60 metres wide. It also has a pub with very long verandah. To get there I rode gravel roads for 19 km before hitting the bitumen. This is the only gravel road I have ridden on this trip and it wasn't as challenging as some other places I have been but it required due care to keep the bike upright particularly in the loose gravel outside the channels made by cars and trucks.

60 metre wide main st of Trundle

Trundle Hotel - really long verandah!

In Trundle I stopped for a pot of tea and had a chat with some locals. I tried to persuade an older lady in a mobility scooter that she could tow me along behind. She had a wonderful cackle. Also got the score from the Trundle Boomers Grand Final win last week. There were signs up around town about the match but it wasn't clear to me whether Trundle won the match so I asked and was told, not only did they win it was their 3rd successive premiership.

War Memorial Clock in Bogan Gate

After Trundle there was 30 km to Bogan Gate over Bogan Hill and down Bogan Way. Now it is easy for me to take the p!$$ about being "bogan" however according to something I read, in this case it refers to an indigenous head man. As it happens there is not much there. I did get some directions in the pub/store as to whether I should go right or left to get to Forbes. The advice was I could do either however if I went right and then immediately left I would not encounter any traffic.

It was good advice although I suspect it was 10 km longer. Heading directly south for about 30 km had me riding in strong crosswinds but the last part of the ride I turned east and rocked along in the high 20s until I hit Forbes.

half of a decorative gate surround. My feet wouldn't reach the pedals

Dust "Willy willy" blowing through

I had been told there was a great free camp just 500 metres from the main strip next to the Lachlan River. Only downside is the nearest toilets are 200 metres away. That is fine for the Crusties with fancy RVs, a bit tough on me particularly if it rains which is forecast. I'm happy to take a hit if it means the locals get some significant rain.