Australia Bike Tour Day 5: Ararat

Last night I treated myself to an evening of knee icing in the Ararat Central Motel.

After a day of doing nothing, tonight is more of the same. However, this does not mean my nights have been without their excitement.

On my way back from picking up ice from the gas station across the street (where I chose to cycle to), my rear rack’s bungee came undone, the ice fell into the street, and then the bungee proceeded to become tangled in my gears.

I spent a solid thirty minutes sitting in front of the Ararat Shell station slowly removing the bungee from the gears (which I was certain I had somehow damaged).

And that was about all the excitement I could take.

Despite Ararat being a bustling 5.25 mi² / 13.6 km² city with a thriving population of just over 3,300, I failed to find any reason to do much exploring outside the purchase of a knee brace (which was far more expensive than I anticipated) and some ibuprofen.

Today I accomplished next to nothing; today was a huge success.

I’ve got my knee feeling marginally better, and I’m now a much more educated Australian resident – at least in terms of their television culture.

For example, I now know that people here:

1. Love MasterChef.
2. Have a terribly annoying Family Feud host (I think this is a requirement for any country’s host).
3. Can say “fuck” and “shit” on TV (unless I was watching the HBO channel?).

Interesting stuff, hey? (I also learned that people like to say “hey” after sentences when seeking a confirmation.)

Dinner tonight consists of three Domino’s pizzas and some not-so-fancy Australian wine.

Gotta love life on the road.