Mirboo North and a sad farewell...

In my part of Australia, during the winter, there are plenty of riding opportunities but only if you ignore the weather forecast and look out the window instead. Take today for example. The forecast was for showers and a top temperature of around 14ºC. You wouldn't think twice about heading out into the hills on a bike. By about noon however there was more blue sky than clouds, hardly any wind and the temperature felt quite mild. So it was worth risking one of my favourite short rides - over the Stzreleckis and on to Mirboo Nth. A very pleasant ride it was with only one or two rain drops on the visor. The objective at this stage was to have a light lunch, a coffee and a chat at the very pleasant Bullock Dray Cafe. I've had plenty a pleasant interlude here on my bike trips both solo and with friends. The proprietor always makes a fuss and if he's not too busy is always good for a chat, to say nothing of the odd complementary little something to go with the coffee. The cafe forecourt features a piece of astounding art which shows a bush scene featuring a bullock dray heading into the hilly distance. Most of this is a painted mural, but the foreground of the scene, including about half of the actual bullock dray, consists of real shrubs and a real dray. If you look closely at the wheel in the picture you'll that part of it is painted (lighter part) and the rest is a real wheel. When I got there today I was in for a disappointment though! The cafe was empty and the front door had a For Lease sign on it. I was speechless. How could this be? It shouldn't be allowed. One can only assume that despite my regular patronage the business wasn't doing well enough to remain open. It will be interesting to see if anyone else is game enough to open another cafe here.  Anyway, it finally dawned on me that I would have to find another place to have lunch. There is a bakery and another cafe or two but I really wanted to find somewhere a bit special and further down the street I came across Nanna's Kitchen. Pressed my nose to the window and sure enough the place was full with only one table spare. It seemed to beckon to me to come in.

Well folks, if you're ever riding through Mirboo Nth, I can recommend this place. The coffee was great and the menu had plenty of items to choose from with a great specials board. After a very nice plate of homemade hash browns and bacon and a bit of a chat with Nanna herself I rode off towards home, certain I will come back again soon.

Total Distance 115km