On the road I usually sleep with earplugs in, great to block out unfamiliar noises but also means I might miss other things. Like the SMS the Rallymaster was sending with the final information about scoring the Rally. No matter though, I wasn't in a hurry today with only 400 or so k's to go.
I woke, ate some sultanas and travel oats and checked the phone. The information sent by the RallyMaster was the worst case scenario for me, I had a 50/50 chance of having a good crack at this but Murphy's Law prevailed, a perfect score in the ride was no longer on the cards.
Never mind, so with the appropriate photos taken it was time to get on my Super Tenere and head northish. But not before I needed to take a punt on my predicted odometer reading/total k's travelled via the odometer during the two days when I reached the finish about 8 hours away! This is where my Google Maps/ Odometer ratio I'd been measuring really came in handy.
Riding into Canowindra I was lucky enough to see a hot air balloon festival in full flight, with more than 30 huge colourful behemoths at different levels spread across a valley. I stopeed for a quick snap but it doesn't do it justice!
Next stop Wellington Caves Information Centre for a couple of more pictures and a brief chat with a number of other riders participating in the event. From there a quick fuel up in Wellington itself the off to the Pioneers Museum in Gulgong for another snap. It was a magnificent day, perfect riding weather for me.
We were made aware of a bonus opportunity available via a small detour off my route to Duneedoo where I picked up a specially prepared Anzac Biscuit that could be redeemed for a lesser penatly for excess k's travelled. I needed this after getting slightly lost yesterday.
I was no no hurry at Duneedoo so stopped for a chat and to say G'day to other riders who were dropping in for their cookies. With only two more locations to photograph, the Mullaley Roadhouse and the Neptune sign on the way in to Gunnedah. After the second of these it was time to sit for a while and go throught he paperwork. I had some time before I was due at the finish and decided to take advantage of some peace and quiet rather than tackle it there.
It was strangely stressful going through tthe list of locations, deciding what to claim and what not to claim to bring my total points as close to the target as possible. With that done I rode the short distance into town and was happy to note that as I rode into the meeting location my odometer ticked over exaclty the k's I'd predicted earier today.
Time to hand in the documentation and a strange panic set it. Had I lodged sufficient points to qualify? Was my maths OK? so after a couple of probably unnecessary adustments that most likely made my socre worse than it needed to be I took a photo of the ODO and submitted my paperwork.
PS. I was classed as a finisher around the middle of the pack. Happy with that for a first effort. Look out next time!