Another Beriault camper-trailer ride.

But first, a chap called Straun contacted me via this blog. He is from Victoria and was touring Tasmania in his caravan and he has a UK built ICE trike with him. Straun would like to go for a ride in the Norfolk Plains.

We met up at Bracknell where Straun was camping and prepared our rides (I took Bluey along in the car trailer). We yarned away while riding to Bishopsbourne via Pitts Lane. Passed through Bishopsbourne, rode up to Armstrongs Lane, went along said lane then headed to Cressy for a coffee.

The Rustic Bakery at Cressy was as busy as ever and the seating area outside was full. As we approached, hoping for a seat, a number of people left – Straun joking that his BO had persuaded them to leave. So everyone else did too!! Actually I couldn’t smell anything so I think it was just a timing thing but we all had a good laugh.

I was interested to find out that Straun knew Ian Simms, the designer and manufacturer of Greenspeed Trikes. I met Ian a few years back and was most impressed by the man. Straun went to Ian’s funeral – last year or 2022? Much chatting about the trike and e-bike scene in Melbourne ensued.

The Norfolk Plains turned the weather on and produced a delight. Sunny, tailwind, warmish but not too hot. Turning back towards Bracknell though we got the full force of the wind – in the face. Motors on, it wasn’t too bad.

On the way Straun mentioned that the pivot irrigators were working wondering why. I explained that, although he had seen rain on the west coast and “down south”, we in the central north have had a dry, warm, windy summer which has dried the soils right out. Indeed we have had a few days of total fire bans recently due to the very dry conditions of the bush and grasslands.

Back to Bracknell and our goodbyes. Another ride enjoyed with good company – but no still images taken.

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To Deloraine with a Beriault Camper

The day before I had been worried during a visit to the Doc. My head didn’t seem to be healing after a biopsy some weeks ago. The trainee GP who cut the skin out had moved on and a new one had a look. Didn’t really like what he saw, talked about removing the scab and it needing dressing after. Then he got another, more experienced, doc to have a look. Oh dear – daily dressing changes = no ride! Luckily the new Doc didn’t hang about – he just pulled the scab off and found all was OK underneath. I didn’t need daily dressing changes after all so the ride was on.

I got the Beriault Bicycle Camper known as Crazy Daisy loaded up the night before, strapped it up and attached to the trike. This was probably a bit too eager as I then found I had quite a few items to squeeze into the panniers the next morning but all went in, eventually.

Colin had cycled down to Deloraine from Port Sorell the day I packed up and was going to have a Deloraine rest day while I cycled over.

The day looked nice but there was going to be a bit of a blow happening – winds predicted to be 35-45 kph – probably a headwind. And it was !

When we were on roads sheltered from the winds it was great. I had packed the trailer really well and there were absolutely no rattles. The trike was running smoothly also making no noise and everything just felt balanced. I had raised and lowered the trailer top and the sides a few times during packing and, touch wood, very little paint has decided to make a move. In a couple of places the push-outs and the sides stuck and a bit of paint has pulled off but this is minimal.

Cycling through agricultural areas one tends to see things not understood, wonder why and then find out. Is the above dolomite to spread on the paddocks? Don’t know, will find out.

I had decided to try a slightly different route today. I haven’t ridden much on the Meander Valley Road for a few years. I did take it when I went to Deloraine maybe 8 years ago when I rode the Vivente over there on one of my first camping trips with that bike. I know I rode the backroads to Carrick and then the Meander Valley Road (MVR) all the way to Deloraine followed by the next day using the same route back to Longford. I don’t recall any specific difficulties with traffic but do know that since that ride I have always kept off the MVR! That said – I would ride it today but from Hagley.

The start of the ride was very similar to many rides to Deloraine – Bishopsbourne, Pitts Lane, Oaks Road, Whitemore and up to Station Road. At that point things changed as I rode Station Road past an old favourite cafe that is no more at Hazelbrae, up and onto the MVR.

Once on the MVR it was straight into the wind and the traffic load increased hugely. So did the noise. The roar of the wind plus the traffic was not nice.

The day warmed up, the wind blew, the noise kept going as I plugged on to Westbury. There I turned off, onto the Village Green and rested for a while under one of the large oak trees. Peace was shattered by a kid climbing the tree and yelling to his Dad “Look at me”; too many times. Dad got him down but the shouting seemed to echo.

I had some snacks to hand and ate them while making sure I had a good slug of water to keep hydrated. While at the green I took down the canopy which had been catching the wind and was holding me up more than necessary.

It’s a steady climb for quite a way between Exton and Westbury while just out of Exton the climb gets a bit more serious. I changed batteries at Westbury and so was not worried by the climbs into the headwind, I just powered up a bit. All the same it was nice to reach Deloraine and I stopped on the outskirts for a breather.

There was some shade and a bit of grass and it was nice to get off for a stretch. The old gum trees on the edges of this park look strong and craggy.

The picture looks out of focus but I think it’s how the shadows work. This little stopping spot smelt very Australian with the heat driving off eucalypt oils. No wonder fire bans are in place.

From there the run to the caravan park by the Meander River was just a k or so and I was glad of that!

Colin had set up in a non-powered site by the camp kitchen. It was shaded from sun and wind so very pleasant. The caravan sites in front of us were free from caravans and stayed that way for our visit so we could see and access the river. Top spot.

I was able to charge the batteries in a deal with the Office and set up the charger. There’s something about electricity in caravan parks. It seems like it flows very slowly through the wires as it takes forever to charge a battery. This afternoon and evening I managed to recharge one battery fully and part charge the second.

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The evening was very pleasant once the mosquito spray was working. I cooked up a rice and tuna dish on the trangia stove plus made a large mug of coffee. I had included quite a bit of fresh fruit but didn’t have the room for it!

The trailer continues to work well and continues to draw in spectators. You certainly don’t have to be shy to bring one into a camp site! A great way to meet people and find out what they are doing. One bloke came by and said “Ah – you’ve painted it! In the Australian colours !!”. He saw it when I came to Deloraine in November and Crazy D was in her natural colours.

The vestibule is like the icing on the cake. All boxes can be unloaded from the trailer and stored within the vestibule. This is essential or there would be no room for sleeping inside. I will be adding better lids to the boxes before the next trip ready for when condensation starts in the colder nights. Even better, the panniers can also be stored within the vestibule. This time I placed the panniers against the back wall as I wanted easy access to the boxes. Then the question was “how to access stuff inside the panniers?”. Ahah – a use for the back zip we installed erroneously during the build. I could now unzip the back, access the panniers and zip back up. Winner!!

Even with all this stuff under cover, access to the trailer door and sleeping area is not affected. Inside the trailer I have swapped the corflute shelf for a plywood one. Also made it a bit bigger. The stronger shelf no longer bulges downward with a load on and it can hold more. The mosquito net didn’t travel well though. The wire frame has bent and didn’t want to fit the opening any more plus some of the magnets held on with hot glue .. fell off. So it didn’t take long during the night for the netting itself to fall away and I relied on my small battery operated light cum fly zapper to deal with the mossies. Which it did. Well that and the liberally applied spray on me which had kept them off during the evening. I have an idea for a better doorway / mossie net for Autumn camping so there will be developments.

I was using a new-to-me inflated Nemo insulated sleeping pad with horizontal tubes rather than the longitude version of the Exped. The new one inflates using an air bag device and inflates really easily. I filled it full of air to see how that worked. Not so well, it felt like I was rolling off the mat when side sleeping. So, during the night I deflated the pad a bit. Then a bit more. Oh – a bit too much! Enough for the hip to ground and get sore. More experimentation required there but it feels like it will be comfortable once understood.

The foot push-out continues to feel very solid overnight as does the shoulder push-out. Basically using the trailer works well. It’s easy to get in and out, is long enough and wide enough for me to sleep in (wouldn’t want to be much larger though!) and is a real help when sitting in the doorway to get changed, get socks on or off etc. That’s one area where it really wins out over a 1 or 2 person tent.

One day I will find out how it performs in the rain and/or wind but that day is yet to come.

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Deloraine to Longford

I was cold overnight. The quilt is probably a 2 season quilt and the night was cool so I was up early – 6am. The thought of a hot coffee got me up only to find the camp kitchen power was out. I dug out the trangia, set it up in the kitchen and boiled water. I started with a cup of tea and boiled enough for Colin to grab a cup too.

Then I boiled a full kettle to make the 500 ml of coffee needed to get me fired up and caffeinated.

We watched people passing. Lots of early-rising Deloraine dog walkers out and about. One guy from the caravan park walked past, his head swivelling on his neck so he could keep looking at the trailer. Eventually he got his phone out and took a picture. People came in to the kitchen only to not believe us when we said the power was out – the kettle was tried several times in several power points by several people hoping to prove us wrong. Finally one smart person found a live power point in the laundry. All others were directed that way afterwards.

Packing up went slowly, we had plenty of time. While I was getting ready for storing the boxes, pushing in the push-outs and folding up the trailer, Colin was bailed up by a chatty fellow who had built several houses during his lifetime. They talked away about house building while I worked on, adding a very occasional comment. (See the video!).

Packing up is so simple! Stuff the quilt in it’s bag, roll up the mat to remove air then fold it neatly and store in it’s bag, put everything in the boxes then put the boxes in the push-outs, push them in, add a few other bits and pieces in the gaps and fold. Panniers on the trike, trailer on the trike and you’re away.

On this occasion I could only find one riding glove! That was a bit annoying. Also I packed the 360 camera in the trailer and only realised when the trailer was already attached to the trike. I was feeling a bit tired so didn’t fancy detaching it and searching so no 360 video today.

We were hoping for a tailwind and, in anticipation, I set-up the canopy to keep the sun off.

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We left the caravan park and headed for the coffee shop at the foot of the climb out of Deloraine. It was closed. Opens at 10.00 and it was 9.30. By the time we got to the top of the climb it was 9.45 and Colin reckoned if we turned back we would get to the shop as it opened! I declined as I didn’t want to do the climb twice.

At this time Colin’s trailer is getting a face lift and is in bits in his workshop so he was using a tent and panniers for this trip. It was an ideal opportunity to think about the pros and cons between pulling a trailer and having all your kit in panniers mounted on the trike plus actually living in the trailer v living in a tent. Colin’s battery usage told a tale – very much lighter in power use today than when towing. Also, he was much speedier up hills. Some of that may be because he has been working out how best to use the motor efficiently – by keeping up a good cadence and dropping down the gears. The Pendix demands specific riding techniques to get the best out of it.

The nett result of our deliberations is, at our age the pros for trailer living outweigh the cons.

As yesterday, my trailer was pulling nicely so I must have got the balance right with box and weight positioning. One snag though, today something was rattling in the trailer!! How annoying. It’s not easy to get in there and fix.

We rolled along enjoying the promise of the light tailwind and climbed up to the top of Heartbreak Hill. Today we do the descent! Brakes on as this hill at 11% gradient can soon get the trike rolling and heart pumping. I braked, holding 25 kph down the hill hoping that the brakes wouldn’t overheat. They didn’t. Towards the end I thought it time to let her rip but immediately hit 45 kph and braked some more.

At the bottom, what’s that? No noise !! The bumps on the descent settled down the box contents and fixed the noise problem and it stayed away for the rest of the trip.

We were taking the short route today away from traffic. It was a great roll through to the start of Cluan Road as it is mostly slightly downhill and the tailwind strengthened. Cluan Road was polished off smartish too although I did stop to change batteries at one point. I also swapped the hand the glove was on and sun screened the other. The wind was no problem for the canopy so, although it was getting warm, I generally had some bits of me in shade. The bits in shade depended on how the road direction worked with the sun but my head and a good amount of shoulders and chest were always in the shade.

We took the left turn past a new puppy farm onto Glenore Road. Colin hadn’t ridden this route before and enjoyed its scenic views and very light traffic. We eventually came out on Oaks Road down which we went to reach Pitts Lane and very well known roads back to Bishopsbourne.

We stopped at the sports group and had a bite to eat and some water.

After it was a simple ride back home and we were still mostly being pushed along by the wind. How good is that.

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Trip figures. Distance to Deloraine – 59 kilometres.

Distance back – 52 kilometres

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Weekly Riding

Just a short catch up on how I am doing with the riding figures per week for the New Years Resolution.

It was shot to bits when I was doing the Efudix course but is now ticking along OK.

95K the week before last and 104K this week thanks to the Deloraine trip. The split between Bluey and Brompton is not happening though.

More on this in reports to come.

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Here is the video :

’til next time …………………………………………