August 11: Kickstand Down at Kendalls Beach

I think I would have been excited to reach Kendalls Beach under any circumstances. With its beautiful soft pink and tan sand, shimmering green and silver rippling waves, and partially blue skies accented with grey and white stormy clouds it’s a slice of serenity in the beachside town of Kiama. But after one of the most hair-raising rides of this summer, I was just happy to park the bike.

Waking up to heavy rain in my motel room in Port Macquarie, I loaded up the bike hoping that perhaps the weather would improve throughout the day. Instead, as torrential downpours brought buckets of water bouncing off my bike and the road around me for most of the next seven hours, I felt like I was a set of dishes being cleaned in the kitchen sink – dunked in water, rinsed, and then briefly set to dry before the next plate was submerged.

With my visor partially open and temperatures cooler than up north, I was able to maintain some visibility by frequently wiping off my goggles and both the inside and outside of my visor. Periodically there would be enough of a lull in the rain for me to catch my breath and reset my navigation before the next volley.

Although I was trying to stay positive by reminding myself that I had made it through similar circumstances in the past, I was regularly reminded of the dangers on the road with signs like “Caution: Slippery Surfaces,” “Heavy Winds Ahead,” “Long Steep Decline,” and of course “Reduce Speeds When Wet.”

At some point about an hour and a half before Kiama my rear tire began fishtailing. Given how wet the road was I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t the bike that was the problem.

But after stopping for gas right after leaving the highway and then making my way a few blocks from there to the beach, I had to face the inevitable – the rear tire was soft to the touch, and the bike was sitting low to the ground. I got out my portable air compressor to pump the tire back up but could not get it to inflate beyond 8 psi, far below the recommended 41.

I was grateful to be in such a scenic setting while waiting for the tow truck to arrive. A stunning white egret perched on a piece of driftwood in the receding tide, the ocean waves made a beautiful lapping sound on the beach, and the occasional slivers of late afternoon sun highlighted the north side of town across the bay.

Thanks to the help of several locals and Facebook friends, I found a place to store Adventure Baby for the night and arranged for repair work to be done. Grateful to have lodging nearby, I sipped hot tea, put on all my layers, and turned up the room’s heater to bring my body temperature back up. What an adventure!

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August 12: Kiama Kindness Keeps Us Cruising

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August 10: Pretty Perch At Port Macquarie