Restarting the Long-Distance Trailer Journey
At six in the morning, the air around the campsite was damp, clinging slightly to my skin. Crawling out of the tent, I warmed myself with a steaming cup of noodles. Today was the restart of a long-distance journey with my bicycle and trailer. My destination was Frankston, a seaside town southeast of Melbourne.
The night before, several messages had reached me: “Rain is coming.” And indeed, light drops began to fall just before departure. Yet, by the time I set off, the clouds began to break and the sky slowly brightened.
Along the Coastal Road, With Heavy Pedals
I had traveled this road to Frankston before, but never with the trailer in tow. The extra weight made the pedals far from light. Even small slopes demanded every muscle in my body.
“Don’t push too hard. Go slowly.” I repeated this to myself as I pedaled the nearly 50 kilometers. I left at nine in the morning and arrived just before four in the afternoon. It was slower than planned, but the pace gave me the chance to truly take in the roadside scenes and shifting landscapes.
At a rest stop, I ate the rice balls I had brought along. Looking up, I found that the gray morning sky had disappeared, replaced by a vast stretch of pure blue.
Frankston’s Sea Breeze and the Quiet of Night
Frankston, though part of Melbourne’s suburbs, holds a beautiful beach and marina. In summer, it draws both locals and tourists, but on this day, the atmosphere was calm, with a gentle sea breeze drifting through the town.
That night, I set up my tent under the roof of a public park shelter. Being in sight of others made me feel slightly tense, but more than that, I felt grateful. “Just having a roof above me is a blessing,” I thought. Perhaps this was a small piece of peace I had gained through the long journey.
Wrapped in the quiet wind of the evening, the day came to a gentle close.
