Evening at the Thunderbolt

After 60 uphill miles, broken by the occasional screaming downhill such that if I'd planned better I might have left some weight behind and carried only two gears (huge and tiny) for all the use I was getting out of the middle. I arrived in Uralla shortly after dark. I was about an hour off my estimated time, taking longer than planned due to a flat front tube that refused to be relieved in spite of numerous attempts with a patch kit, causing me to ante up a spare. Australia it seems, is no safer than Somerville MA when it comes to hoods throwing glass bottles to the side of the road. Looking over my front tire after the first leak I discovered I actually had two punctures in the same tire, one of which still had a shard of glass still stuck in it. I relieved that one with a spare dollar bill I keep for just such occasions. But since I had only one US dollar, I actually had to turn to the next lowest currency in my personal repair arsenal, a New Zealand fiver, to stuff the second. Not just getting expensive, my bike now felt like a 2006 model Ford. Mostly made in Asia, with a few parts and joints from around the world, and a big sweaty American driver.

Uralla is a country town of the kind that doesn't need country music to crow to in order to let you know you're in it. I stopped at the Thunderbolt Inn, a pub with spare rooms upstairs and more shag carpet and false wood interior than a 1960s sitcom. Wet and not a little chilled after the day's uphill slog, I took an extra long shower, ventured into the pub (complete with wall-to-wall mounted antlers and shooting trophies), took a seat by the woodstove, and ordered a schooner of beer. What was making news that night was New South Wales versus Queensland rugby, which NSW was slated to win, but was getting trammeled on by Queensland. I watched for as long as it took for the beer to hit its mark - about 15 minutes - and half in the coma by the time I climbed the stairs, I went promptly to bed, thoughts about the next uphill section already evaporated before I even tumbled under the covers.