2023-09-02 -37 144

Sat 2 Sep 2023 in -37,144: -37.6556400, 144.9875270 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

At the entrance to a quarry in Epping.

Participants

• Stevage

Expedition

I love Epping. There's no other explanation for why this would be my third trip there in a month, after visiting the vegetarian section of a Woolworths and the delightful entrance to a rubbish tip.

The expedition begins at Talex's house. He's going to help me install a new dynamo bike light on my bike. The old one has broken 4 different ways, and this time it looks fatal.

We don't get far. While removing the light from its packaging, I stupidly cut straight through the wire. He doesn't have a soldering iron handy so we're going to have to wait for another day.

It's a beautiful sunny day as I head northwest. I don't have much of a plan, which means I keep finding myself on very busy roads, and have to create my own bike paths beside them.

If there's one thing I've learnt from these recent northern adventures, it's that the Galada Tamboore bike path is closed between the ring road and the crazy bridge over the Hume. So I find some pleasant backstreets to take me there.

Alex had an idea that I could approach the point from the south, bashing through the wilds just north of the bike path. I have quick look. No. It's dense scrub with lots of big fences.

This is not the way.

Back over the bridge, up the bike path to my old friend Cooper St. Oh look, there's the truck stop I had a post-hash snack at just a week ago.

Something has changed though. Something is new. This wasn't here before:

Creative car parking.

Why is this car parked between Cooper St and the slipway onto the freeway onramp? I have no idea. It looks driveable.

At the entrance to the quarry, I hesitate a moment. Then, I boldly dash in.

After a few hundred metres of crappy crumbling asphalt, I'm startled to discover a collection of fancy office buildings. There's no around, so on I go.

There's a tall fence to my right. The geohash is also to my right. How is this going to work out? I honestly have no plan.

Conveniently, just before the hash, the fence has decided to keel over. I plonk my bike down and stomp through.

And discover a muddy quagmire. It looks grim. I gather my courage and boldly leap half a metre across. My feet remain dry!

There is a steep little embankment. I scramble up, trying to remain stealthy in my high-vis. It's ridiculous. Within 15m now. I siddle across the embankment and then scramble to the top, like some kind of trench warfare soldier about to get mowed down.

Staring straight into the late afternoon sun, I actually can't really make out much. But to get to the point, I get to the point. Success!

Success!

Back on the bike, I hear sirens coming towards me. It's an ambulance. I race for the exit, and...I'm out!

I'd love to linger for another stale potato cake at the truck stop, but with no front light and not long till sunset, lingering would be unwise.

I follow the exact same route from last week. Sadly, I do not get overtaken by a sprinty cyclist commuting home on a Saturday. But I do make it home before dark.

Achievements

Stevage earned the Bicycle geohash achievement by cycling 45 to the (-37, 144) geohash on 2023-09-02.