Ipswich to Sunshine Coast By Bicycle (The Long Way): Nanango to Kilkivan

Ride time - 5 hours 13 minutes

Distance - 87 kms

Climbing - 668 m

View the ride here:

http://cyclemeter.com/4539622a02fdb662/Cycle-20160829-0746

According to my phone, it was 2 degrees outside. I was as warm as toast in my several layers. There was a thick dew. Everything, including my riding gear, was soaked.

It was a slow old start but I eventually got on the road about 7.45am.

There are still plenty of hills and the granny gear got a fair workout. Over the 50kms to Goomeri there's an increase in elevation of about 100 metres.

I love the country out here. Tall eucalypts and prime grazing land, Poll Hereford by the look.

The road is OK, but plenty of traffic.

Goomeri is an old timber town. There are many original timber buildings in the main street, it has an old world feel about it. Wonderful war memorial and clock in the middle of town.

For something completely different, I had fruit for lunch at the Goomeri Foodworks. Very friendly locals, at least half a dozen people stopped to see what I was up to. The word was that the road to Kilkivan would be more of the same, but I thought it was pretty cruisy compared to earlier in the day.

Staying the night at the Kilkivan pub. Top spot, very hospitable people and cold beer.

Blink and you'll miss Kilkivan. It is a pretty relaxed place with a 'frontier’ feel about it. Apparently an old gold prospecting town first settled in the mid-1800's. Some fantastic old heritage buildings here that have been fully restored in some cases. According to a bloke at the pub, Kilkivan is one of only a few towns situated on the Bicentennial National Trail which stretches from somewhere in Victoria to Cooktown. Now, that would be some horse ride! Wonder if you could ride a bike on it.

Need an early start if I'm to do the 130kms to home tomorrow. Somehow, I reckon there'll be one more night of camping.