Bike Odyssey
Around Australia 2003
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| Around Australia 2003 Sydney to Darwin 01 Around Australia 99 | Great North Walk 98 Snowy Mountains 97 Tasmania 96 | |
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| David Linda Bike Odyssey E-Mail: djf01@bikeodyssey.com.au | |
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| Journal for 26-Oct-2003 : Cocklebiddy+37 |
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Another cold and windy night. The bike fly flapped about endlessly in the wind. It was so cold this morning I started a breakfast camp fire. I set the day's maximum within the first five minutes, just before the wind came up. Kangaroos hopped by the road in the early morning. After 15 minutes of riding it had picked up to full strength (40-50kph in our faces). Our best hour today was the first, where we covered a whole 15km. A guy driving a clapped out bomb with a wobbly trailer nearly side swiped us. After a few hours (we'd covered less than 40km) my new rear tyre's bead broke from the casing, and it rolled off my wheel. As we were down to 9kph at the time it wasn't the drama it might otherwise have been. We didn't get back on the road for another two hours while I fixed it. This shows how keenly I enjoy headwinds! Fortunately the wind dropped back to 35kph while I worked. Got to *save* a reluctant Shingleback lizard. More wedgetail's in the trees too, and Emus running by the road in places. The Cocklebiddy roadhouse sells bumper stickers badges 'meals on wheels': with cyclists on wheels being picked off by giant wedgetail eagles for meals. Lunch and showers at the roadhouse. Back on the road we passed the guy with his clapped out bomb crashed out asleep. Not before time either. He was lucky I couldn't damage his car any further. Got to save another even more reluctant shingleback lizard. And, we're up to 12kph! Maybe it's a good day after all. A bus full of cyclists on one of the ROC (Remote Outback Cycling) drove past the other way. In spite of their tailwind these bludgers were still crossing the Nullarbor in the sag wagon. It's truck day today, Sunday, with most of the trucks heading west. A crazy kangaroo by the road panicked at our presence, and started hopping away. Naturally he hopped across the road, and thus across the path of the oncoming road train. The truckie blasted his horn, so the stupid animal panicked again and decided a random course change was in order: straight at the truck. He was within half a hop of being hit, and with what might well have been his last hop the stupid thing (at last) bounded away from the juggernaught and back into the bush. No wonder so many end up piles of meat on the road. Camped in the scrub, just 60km from Madura, where the *realy * exposed roads start. We are making very slow progress, and will probably not make it to Eucla for our meeting with Linda's parents. << Prev - Next >> |