The Grand Finale
Depart: 6:24; arr: 2:15; dist: 89.0km; saddle: 4h 50m; ave: 18.4k/h; ascent: 1378m.Total Dist.:780.1km; Total Asc.:9597m.
more data
Time to go home. We’ve had the mystical Ezekiel experience. Like hobbits we must return to the Shire. Time to burn the last of our matches. Leave nothing in the tank. The final departure. We have pretty consistent in leaving 20-25 minutes late each day. 
First we stop at yet another wooden rail bridge. This one a goodie, scene of the annual “long lunch”. We’ll be back for that one.
Morning Mist:
An easy 40km jaunt back into Melbourne traffic to Yarra Glen for 2nd breakfast. I have a sensational dish of Moroccan Eggs. 
Back onto another rail-trail. (Is it fair that Victoria has so many of these rail-trail things?) This one allows us to avoid traffic, but at the cost of slow-going dirt track.
A familiar name:
Cog bike cafe. Bicycle furniture.
At the end we cannot avoid traffic, or can we? After a couple of kms of “Sydney traffic” we are again on dirt tracks. This one unintentional, a feature of mapping with Google maps without road surface information. However it allows us to climb Mt Dandenong without the traffic.
A deer jumps out at us in suburban Melbourne.
At the top, after an epic 1378m ascent for the day, there’s nothing left in the tank. Quick, jelly snakes and banana milk, that’s better. We check the Vodafone silence. Perfect.
Cutting it fine. Left Leah to be picked up at the bottom of Dandenongs. At one stage we were in 4 groups: Leah, peloton, Mals house, Mal in car with flat tyre; all unable to communicate with each other. One hour until we have to be packed & on the way to the airport. In the end, it all came together. And that is The End.
And here I am 2 months later still enjoying the trip! Lots of laughs and good memories!