A variable day with a good finish at Iron Knob, again in the dark! Great name for a town, although after 9 days and over 2,300km in the saddle Iron A*#e might be a better name for it. Auspiciously the town marked the 888km point from the SA/WA Border so i thought it was a good place to stop although not where we intended!
The day started cold (again .. sigh) and with headwinds (double sigh) so the first 50km was hard going. When i met up with the support crew i decided to swap bikes back to the Scott Addict with 303s, amazing the weight difference! The countryside is now more rolling hills as we move through the wheat belt towards Port Augusta - it is still very remote and considering i was riding on Route 1 the traffic was incredibly light.
The roads are really great, few if any holes, which means that riding at the end of the day with only a front bike light to guide you is still safe. However the tarmac is not smooth like in Singapore. I am convinced it impacts rolling resistance and therefore speed!
So, although the Magpies are back attacking helmets, they will not get my low point vote, that goes to the multiple changes in motel location that had me thinking i was doing a short day's riding, but ended up with needing to do another 100km from where i thought i was stopping. I was not a happy at that point, a fact that i suspect didn't go un-noticed!
My High? Having a hot shower at the end of the day, chatting with loved ones and finally feeling warm! (my biggest mistake, so far, is to totally misjudge the weather conditions and i have felt cold most days!) Oh Yes! and getting a great message from Colin who i met on the Nullabor and a donation - here is a pix of us - thx mate you are a top bloke, if you could read the messages of support that i get each day from children and parents on the Learning for Life program it would warm your heart!
Music - OK so Leonard Cohen cover versions do NOT mix with low blood sugar and/or cycling, bad idea back to some rhythm!
Finally thanks to those of you that have already donated, please tell your friends so that together we make a difference to lives of disadvantaged Australian children!
Stats
250km (2345km total)
S 32' 41.388
E 137' 12.092
PS i added the whale pix because there is a major breeding ground for the Southern Right Whale here, although i didn't see it, the support crew did!
Dear Gary
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you are cold. If it's any consolation at all Sydney is rainy and cold too. Thinking of you cycling along - all that way already and still going strong. I admire your courage and tenacity. You set a great example and I was talking about you with my ten year old today and discussing what you were doing...needless to say he was impressed! But this Mum isn't letting him do a 5,500k ride just yet...later, later. Thank you for your commitment.
Rhys (TSF staffer)