Mansfield to Yea 50 miles (297 miles total)
We left a little bit later as the weather was cool and going to stay that way for the rest of the ride. We have worked our way a bit south of the heat, so the only other thing we need to worry about was the wind.
We treated ourselves to a nice breakfast in town before we got moving.
Then it hit us. Holy shit. We had a HUGE head wind the entire way today. We rode past the lake in Bonnie Doon, where the family from the movie went on holiday and boating, and it was nothing more than a damp patch of grass at the bottom of a tiny valley.
We actually had to pedal going downhill as the wind was so strong. This ended up being the single toughest day of the ride, and for the last 15 miles, Ed, Jane and I took turns drafting just to take the worst of the wind off us for periods of time.
When we finally ended up in Yea, we headed straight for the pub and drank several pitchers of lemon squach and bitters and watched more of the cricket. The town had the common sense to close the main street to traffic and we bikers ran the roost for the day. We had a lovely time and we advised the boys that they should be in camp around 10pm so they could get a good sleep for the last ride. Of course we knew that, with all the girls riding around as well, this might not happen. We were okay with that.
At one point, Ed and I were walking down main street and we happened to run across a few of our boys chatting up some girls. I made eye contact with one in particular and played the part of the good dad, talking out loud about what a nice group of boys we had and kept on walking. Ed, of course, stopped and gave them a little shit. I, likewise, had to stick my beak into the fun and let them know we wanted them to be safe.
Earlier that night the group of girls at the sight next to ours had a major briefing where the teachers told them that they wanted them up at 5am, and wanted them to set new records for being early, and we all sat around rolling our eyes. Ed, taking this as a perfect opportunity to have a go at private school bullshit, jokingly gave our boys a pep talk about how no one is allowed to get drunk again, start any fights in the pubs, and should be back in their tents by no later than 2am. The girls thought he was serious and we were given a few stink eyes from the teachers.
Mission accomplished.
By the time I was in the tent, I was dreaming of seeing Nina again and getting a big hug and a kiss. Our bed, toilet, and shower...ahhh the comforts of home.
One more day.
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