Ian had already investigated local bike shops. I had been very tempted to continue our ride with Becky and Robin and hire a car at the airport. It seemed a shame to abandon our cycling however without at least seeing if a bike shop could help. The problem was that the axle size was non standard as was the 15 inch wheel. So Ian drove us to see Steven at Hendry Cycles in Ocean Grove. On the phone Steve had been very positive and said "get the bike to me and we will work out how we can get you back on the road". Steven said that with luck the actual hub may be ok, but the axle and cones were of course ruined and non standard. He would have to consult his axle bits box.He said it was the second to last axle in his box, but the important thing was it was a fit and he had the cones as well!!! Steven asked us to give him an hour and our bike would get his immediate attention. So an hour later we walked out of his shop with everything looking good with the bike. It reminded me of the real value of local bike shops. Torquay , Scotsdale and so many places we had visited had once had a local shop, but it had closed. I guess we should all think about the value of having experts at hand when we need them.Hendry Cycles were really really good and if you are travelling this way make a note of them.
So all we have to do is get the bus the 100 miles back to Princetown and we can resume our tour. I really thought our biking was over, but with luck now we can put this behind us.This is all down to Becky,Robin,Ian,Kay and bike mechanic Steven, thank you all and thanks to Will (who we stayed with on our first night in Aus) who read our last post and offered help.
We had fish and chips on Torquay beach with Ian and Kay to celebrate our success .
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