One should always have a good reason to be in Lithgow. It is a cold hole of a place. I wasn\u2019t sure that mine was good enough as I turned into Main Street.<\/p>\n
I was there because I\u2019d seen the McKanes Falls Road on Google Maps and thought it looked like a road worth riding. If I went through Lithgow I could ride the Mount Victoria climb on the way out. That\u2019s a good road.<\/p>\n
A woman with a kid walked on to the pedestrian crossing a couple of hundred metres ahead, and the first car slowed. The second car was in front of me, and it slowed, too. Then it jinked hard left. \u201cWhat\u2019s that all about?\u201d I wondered, and then I heard the WHIRRR! and looked in my mirrors at the car stopped two metres behind me with smoke coming from its tyres.<\/p>\n
Antilock Braking System. The rubber doesn\u2019t get dragged across the road with its molecules screaming in protest. It goes WHIRRR.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d put everything he had on his brake pedal. I wondered why he hadn’t been watching me slowing in front of him. Pretty girl at the side of the road? Unlikely, this is Lithgow. Texting? Updating Facebook status on mobile device?<\/p>\n
I looked in the mirror again. The driver made a deprecatory gesture. He looked like he had a collar on. Priest? Probably distracted by the kid on the crossing. The Lord, I am told,\u00a0works in mysterious ways.<\/p>\n
Thank you Gabriel Voisin, for inventing the antilock braking system.<\/p>\n
Thank you whoever made the McKanes Falls Road.<\/p>\n
Cracker of a ride.<\/p>\n
Turns a couple of minutes cheating death in Lithgow into a sound investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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