Day four - Rutherglenn loop - 72 km, 238 m (Ride total 253 km, 1,411 m)

 It was 10 degrees at 7:00 AM this morning however by the time we had driven to Springhurst 27 km's out of town it would have been in the mid-teens and was very pleasant for the rest of the day, no wind to speak of, no hills to climb today and by midafternoon we were riding in 27 degrees.

Today's ride was our "Straight Road Ride" in that while it was a loop there were times when we pointed the bike in one direction and were still riding in that direction 20 minutes later. For probably a third of this ride we were on the same course that Peter, Elio and I rode on our Sydney to Melbourne ride 18 months ago except this time we were going in the opposite direction and in drought conditions rather than the underwater flood conditions we had last time.

Chiltern was our morning coffee/tea stop and as it was a town I had visited previously I was charged with navigating to the old Masonic Lodge building which is now a Cafe. The town is still very original in nature with few if any modern era buildings and many in the Mainstreet of brick construction with lovely verandas, one on the corner was built in 1817 and so it is now over 200 years old!

We had a 12 km stretch of busier road to ride before we were back on the quiet roads once again and headed into Rutherglenn for our lunch stop. "Howlong" was a town we just missed out on visiting however is a town with one of the more interesting names, I think.

Cemetaries have an appeal to me at the best of times, If only they could speak they would tell so many stories and how at times those who could afford elaborate plots and headstones, within three or four generations out are forgotten and those once high and mighty symbols of the people laid to rest have all but been forgotten - maybe, the likes of myself, stopping by to take pictures, to reflect on who they may have been might have made them happy to know that someone a long way after them has once again noticed their name, their life and their death.

The "Old Chiltern Cemetary" was closed in 1881 as it was felt it was too far out of town, too wet and flood prone, overrun with animals as it was without fencing and was not cared for by the Cemetary Trust Board!

Our lunchtime discussion morphed into one where the merits of the complex Aussie Superannuation rules were being diced and sliced - they certainly are more complex with the rules around super over here - the big difference being it is not "Universal" and there are means tests involved. Far to complicated for me to be able to add anything constructive to other than mentioning that our family home on both sides of the Tasman are not "Investments" but rather our "Home" and I have yet to meet the person who in NZ  has sold their lovely "Family Home" and purchased a lovely sunny unit on the other side of town to cash in part of their "Investment". My Aussie buddy Phil is the first person I have met on either side of the Tasman who has done so - however that involved selling a family home in Victoria to move to Queensland where property is considerably cheaper. Again, it all goes to show that whichever side of the Tasman we live on home is where we choose to live and we must make out "lot" work for us as best we can,

I'm certainly very happy with my "Lot"!





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