One of the highlights of riding around Victoria is the infinite
opportunities afforded to the inveterate dog spotter. Up at
Murrabit on the Murray River just east of Swan Hill, where the population probably struggles to reach 150, there's no shortage of Jack
Russells. Not city dogs on leads with brushed fresh coats, but amiable little country chaps who trot along behind their owners, sniffing the dusty grass and on the lookout for a tasty morsel. When 4,500 of us arrived in town on that first night of the Great Vic Bike Ride in November 2005, the first night of my first bike tour, there was no shortage of morsel donors due to the array of
barbeques set up by the locals to tempt our
tastebuds and I like to think the dogs were as happy as were we to enjoy the town's hospitality.
So it's a bit bewildering to consider that soon I will be riding through countryside where the sight of a dog is more likely to fill me with fear rather than pleasure. I have a vision of riding along in bumpy chaotic Romania
pursued by a pack of dogs yapping at my heels, one of which manages to sink his
sharp little teeth into my ankle. Or worse, a Romanian bear wrestles me in my tent and scores a hit. I've seen 'Old
Yella' so I know what's going to happen. Think I'd best seek that rabies vaccination post haste!
In the meantime I thought I'd share the start and end of the '06
GVBR - Lucy, Dale, Pedro, Pauline, Gonzalo, Catherine, Anna and me. I enjoyed lots of great dog sightings en route.
