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Day 11: Homeward bound

The final day of our trip lived up to my hopes. Last year we were unable to do the Rainbow road and so I was quite keen to do this 100km road from Hanmer to St Arnaud. I first heard of it 20 years ago when they used to run a mountain bike race along its length. It fully exceeded my expectations for both incredible beauty as well as fun riding that seemed to get better the further north we went. The coffee stop at Lake Tennyson  must be one of the better settings on the trip. Perfect weather to round it off. 
Beyond that a bit of melancholy as we approach our return to real life, balanced for me by looking forward to catching up with Jennie and the boys. 
So it is time to finish the final episode of one of the best trips of my life, which is setting the bar high as I have been fortunate to have had some good ones indeed. 
Thanks to Dave Lear who helped plan the trip. Many hours of pondering what has been a big project, from being prepared to also buy a KTM 500exc and go through the complex process of turning it into an adventure bike. This led into the trip planning, from routes to accomodation to what to pack. Our ultralight philosophy worked and the fact that we had such a good time didn’t happen by accident. 
Thanks to Dave Mac. He was a true sport and was out the door every day before 8am! Being able to spend time together again was awesome. We had so many laughs and good conversation and somehow seeing you on the bike with us makes the world seem right. Thanks for making the effort Dave. 
Of course thanks to Bernie as well. The few days we had with you were fantastic. The Upcot ridge will live long in our memory (etched I think)! Thanks also for introducing us to Hayley and Jeremy. Best night of the trip. Next time you will come for the whole trip, you promised. 
Lastly thanks to Jennie who always encourages me to live my best life and makes sure I go with a light heart. You are the best. 
It feels like we have been away for months. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1NdmHg4-JhNjCNuKMTp3HxAnBBqoxw8s-https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1lv97RRPA8tUFHPGr4tk01OtQUwUjRIAihttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1l_4-ps9E6TTWgmSwhR0bdKwAqhiuHIGUhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1MS6b4wm3zDvTbMLq1zVw_GgancPm46LUhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1wwN4baE5LdfhYnNJfDpCYMGT1b5QCVuG
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=17iCstnw6msR5cGNA1pYf2h7hOSZOEZBR

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