Day 34 Picton to Cronulla

Finished!

The final day took us from Picton to Elouera Beach (one of the Cronulla beaches) and then back to Cronulla Uniting Church.

In a sense this day began the previous day as we realised that the showers we had at the end of that day were the last we would have before our own showers at home.  And so on for each activity from then on.  As the trip had worn on there had sometimes been a bit of a “Groundhog Day” feel about things.  Now there was a finality about everything.

This last day’s riding started out brilliantly and got better as far as the weather was concerned.  The ride took us from Picton in the direction of Appin via Broughton Pass to Sublime Point where we had morning tea.  This journey was hilly, and the pinch out of Broughton Pass was the steepest climb on the trip.  However that pinch was not all that long and everyone managed it OK.  (For myself, having not used the “granny ring” all trip, it wouldn’t engage for me when I wanted it and I had to push up in the middle ring.  Good for me I suppose.)

At Sublime Point we were met by a number of local riders who rode the last ~50km with us.  One of them commented that he expected a bunch of weary riders who needed a tow from him to get home.  What he found was the whatever speed he rode the bunch of us simply sat on his tail.  Not weary but fit after that many days riding.

The road from Sublime Point in towards Sydney was hillier than I had expected and there was some work to be done before we were done.

Edna got back on the bike at Waterfall after the hills were all done for the final 20km.

We arrived at Elouera beach on the dot of noon as scheduled to be met by friends, relatives and representatives of the Bible Society.  For the Kippax folk, Lyndelle Ramsay was there to greet us with a hug and a pile of balloons for Edna.  Photos and general fun on the shores of the Pacific Ocean were then the order of the day.

Then it was on to Cronulla Uniting Church for the official end of the trip.  A good crowd to welcome us and participate in the final presentation of certificates and medals, followed by a great lunch for riders, visitors and all.

Eventually it was time to pack up and go home.  This turned out to be a much longer and trickier exercise than we expected.  We needed to load our bikes and gear into Jim’s trailer which was on Roger’s car, together with extra bikes and gear from some who were to stay at Jim’s place, then at Jim’s place re-engineer the towbar on Roger’s car to take the bike beak, then reload all our stuff from Jim’s trailer into Roger’s trailer.  Took a great deal longer than expected, by which time we realised we’d never make it to the Chinese restaurant booking we had in Canberra. So a cup of tea then as we got under way at 5pm there were lots of phone calls to get Louise and Jocelyn to cancel the booking, break into Kauffmans’ house, organise take away and contact those involved to come at a different place and time.  We eventually arrived home at 8pm to Chinese takeaway and a welcome home from our families, and a celebratory cake lovingly constructed from a route map off the web.

And thence home to our own beds.

What sort of a journey have we had?  We have been favoured with remarkably good conditions throughout the journey.  Yes we’ve had wind, rain and cold, but not much of any of these things.  Lots of tail winds when it really counted on the long days across the Nullarbor; only about three days of difficult winds; days when we’ve seen rain around and in front of us, even drenching the food crew as the travelled ahead of us, but the rain somehow avoiding the riders; benign temperatures almost all the way.

It will take us all some time for it all to sink in and come to understand what the journey means to us and what lasting effects it has had on us.  A bunch of over 20 people living in close proximity for five weeks and all getting on well for the whole time has been a great experience from which we will each learn something.  Although fundraising is the goal of the exercise, the journey is much more than that.

To all who have supported us in many, many different ways over the time, thank you from all of us.

West to Eastern Shore

West to Eastern Shore

(to the tune of ‘Stir the Wallaby Stew’)

We thought we’d do a worthwhile thing for eternity
We’d raise a heap of money for the Bible Society
Bike-4-Bibles was the go, Jim Blaxland knew the score
So we rode our bicycles from west to eastern shore.

(Chorus)
So, “On ya bikes”, says Jim, “Surprises are in store
We’re going to ride our bicycles from west to eastern shore”.

The scenery along the way, truly it was great!
The condition of the roads changed from state to state
But the most intriguing thing was not the land or view
No! it’s personal anecdotes surrounding each of you

Now Mister-never-snore-no-flats, who ever could that be,
The king pin of the big chain ring: Kevin certainly
And Mrs I-hate-snorers, keep them far and yon
Could be no one other than grandmother Yvonne

There’s another pair of grannies here, not your average ockers
Recumbent Rodge and Edna on their Jason Recliner Rockers
They’re followed closely often time by camera, beard moustache
It’s Richard! Now where’s Richard and his thousand photographs?

Another steady rider here, who could forget
Franki Bicycletti and his morning tea spaghet
And there’s Luke who eats spaghet straight out of the tin
Luke who jumped us all one day and was the mountain king

Now Trevor Lawrence got so ill, he nearly died, they said
But now he’s flying up those hills, risen from the dead
And Big Al, the way he rides, his personality shines
It has to ‘cos he’s dropped his radio 3 dozen times

Now Alec joined us half way through and has to leave, that’s sad.
Another grandpa, for his age, his riding ain’t real bad
And Nicholas, with stripy tan, fancies he is quick
But he’s really quicker as a magnet for the chicks

The peleton it rolls along, without spits or spats
Stopping here and there it seems, just to fix up flats
And now .. … Another stop! .. What for? .. … What’s the matter?
Ah … the answer’s obvious! Weak Bladder Gazza!

Another man from Queensland side joined our riding throng
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.” was his daily song
He was referring to his butt, so big, so sore, no less
Trevor was his real name, but Butticus fits best.

Now Lucky Jim, he’s made the plans for all our nightly stops
But something happens to his brain when on the bike he hops
It takes away his power of speech and leaves him all bereft
Of any words at all, it seems, except for . . . L E F T ! ! ! !

We can not let the roadies off without a special note
The riders would be nowhere fast without these special folk
There’s Eric and there’s Richard on the CB to the trucks
To tell them that us cyc-a-lists are not just sitting ducks!

Then there’s ‘Triple R’ & M who get the food prepared
For Robert, pyrotechnics is his special flare
Rebecca, Robyn, Margaret make food to make us faster
And gave us all a brand new game - “Guess what’s in the pasta?”

Magella, Emmet, Caitlyn now finalise the list
And for the adults present they provide a certain bliss
When we arrive at end of day with our aching niggles
You take our focus off our pain with your smiles and giggles.

This ditty's not complete ’til the author’s in the ballad,
Maximus Superfluous, a lover of pasta salad.
Remembered for his raucous laugh, his wit and his devotions,
But most of all, his bag of pills, his potions and his lotions.

Though there’s been fun these 30 days, the purpose was intense
To get the Word of God to folk to make a difference.
Nothing would have happened though, except for one great bloke
Big THANKS to Lucky Jim, I say, from me and all these folks.

Day 33 Goulburn to Picton

Last night rain arrived at about 8pm and continued for a few hours.  Not sure how much rain fell in Goulburn, but Jocelyn and Louise had rain all the way back from Goulburn to Canberra.  We also heard that the Melmoth’s West Wyalong farm had some welcome rain.

By morning the clouds were still quite heavy but it hadn’t been raining for some time.  As the day progressed the skies cleared and we had a good riding day with some light tail winds.

The route took us straight out of Goulburn onto the Hume Highway where we stayed until the Hilltop, Colo turnoff passed Mittagong.  Mostly it was safe riding on the highway, although one or two spots, such as the Marulan truck checking station, required extra care.  Also just before the “big dipper” on the Mittagong bypass there were road works that closed the shoulder and the left lane, reducing the road to a single lane.  Not as bad as it seems since Richard’s bus behind us could occupy the lane preventing any traffic from attempting to pass the bikes.

For some time out of Goulburn there are a series of significant climbs culminating in a long one with a rough shoulder to make the climbing that much harder.  We stopped for morning tea beside the highway (I think at about the southern end of the Belanglo forest).

Having turned off the highway we followed the old Hume highway to Yerrinbool, through Bargo and on to Picton.  Lunch was in a small memorial park in Yerrinbool.

I was surprised at the amount of traffic on the road from Bargo to Picton, and that section of the road has to be a candidate for the worst, roughest road we’ve ridden on the trip.

Edna’s illness continues to improve, however she will not get on the bike tomorrow morning.  She expects to get on at morning tea for the largely downhill ride to the end.

Yesterday evening was the last evening for Alex and Margaret Hood as they had to leave us immediately on arrival in Picton.  Therefore  there were a few reminiscences and three skits put on.  I’ll publish the words of Mark’s song later as it requires a little typographic editing (the words are fine!) before publishing.

Day 32 Yass to Goulburn

For a change today we awoke to fog for the first time.  We rode through fog for the first 10km before emerging into a fine day again.

The route from Yass to Goulburn did not follow the Hume Highway, but rather followed the Yass Valley Way (old Hume Hwy) for about 10 or 12 km until it emerged onto the current Hume Highway.  We followed that for a short distance before turning onto the Jerriwa Dalton road.  This pleasant country road took us through rolling farmland through those two locations and on to Gunning where we stopped for morning tea.  Continuing on from there via the old Hume Highway eventually took us back to the current Hume with 22km to follow along the highway to Goulburn where we arrived for lunch, and enough time to catch up on blogs before we were able to go for showers at 3pm.

Some hill work today, but nowhere near as serious as yesterday.

Eric and I are looking forward to a visit from our wives Jocelyn and Louise who we haven’t seen for almost 6 weeks.

Day 31 Young to Yass

Sorry this blog entry is late, but the arrangements in Yass were that we were picked up by Yass folk and taken to their homes for showers and dinner, returning in the early evening to the church hall.  This didn’t leave much time for fiddling with computers.

A touch of frost around and about in Young as we set out.  To get out of Young you have to go up!  There’s about 15km worth of climb on the way out, and of course that set the tone for the day.  Much more hill work than we’ve had to date on the trip.  From this day (and for the rest of the ride) we split into two groups for portions of the journey, to give those wanting to kill themselves on the hills the chance to do so.  (There are cyclists who think hills are the greatest invention since sliced bread, and there are those who don’t.)

The countryside along the road from Young to Harden where we stopped for morning tea in the park is spectacular, although it doesn’t look so spectacular in a photo.  And of course its the rolling countryside that makes for hard work on the bikes.

The important thing about morning tea in Harden is that at this point Edna decided the head cold (or whatever it is) had got the better of her and she got off the bike and into the bus.  After we arrived in Yass she visited a doctor who diagnosed sinus infection, put her on antibiotics and ordered her off the bike for at least two days.  She’ll likely get back on for the last portion of the last day.

We stopped in Bowning for lunch before a quick 12km run into Yass along the Hume Highway.  Because the church hall was in use by the local school for a yoga class we could not get into the hall until 2:45 and were due to be collected by our hosts at 3:00, so there was not much we could do until then.

Mark, Gary and I were hosted by Jo and here two boys Joseph (3) and Dominic (1).  (Her husband Cliff was not home from work until after we’d been returned.)  Someone made the remark that we were treated to dinner and a show, because once they got used to us they became very boisterous as we entertained them while Jo finished dinner.  And what a fantastic dinner we had.  All three of us had to raise the white flag when we were stuffed to the gills.

Our heartfelt thanks to Jo for taking on three strangers while looking after two youngsters at the same time.

Day 30 Temora to Young

What can we say? Another fantastic day’s riding.  Blue skies, little or no wind, pleasant temperatures.

Before we started we had a visit from the reporter/photographer from the local newspaper who wanted to do an article on us.  He took the obligatory photo of the massed group, then got all the names in photo order.  He then headed out on the highway and waited for us at two spots as we rode by and took a stream of photos.

Over the trip we have had visits from photographers from a number of newspapers, and Jim or a substitute has been interviewed by a couple of radio stations.

Today’s ride had a few more hills than yesterday, though still basically flat.  It gave those keen to stretch their legs a chance to blow the cobwebs out of the system.  There’ll be plenty more of that between now and the finish.

Because today’s ride was short we only had morning tea on the road.  Lunch was provided for us at St John’s Anglican church when we arrived.  The morning tea stop was beside a church built in the late fifties and apparently in the middle of nowhere.  We’re accustomed to seeing very old churches in such places, but not one so modern.

Roger was not without his tyre difficulties again today, but he is not worried about making it to the end.

Since we have plenty of time after arriving in Young, there has been plenty of time for people to get their computing “fix”.  There’s almost a little Internet Cafe here.

Connections Connections

On the ride we have a couple Alan and Robyn Melmoth from West Wyalong.  Those connected with Kippax Uniting Church will know that a previous minister Brian Thompson came to Kippax from West Wyalong.  Also previous Kippax parishioners Cameron and Helen Webber are now at West Wyalong where Cameron is the minister.

Yesterday Cameron and Helen made the short trip from West Wyalong to Temora to see the Melmoths and the four Kippax folk on the ride were able to catch up with them.  It was good to see them, but time goes by!  Their eldest is now 19!

The connections don’t end there.  It turns out that Robyn went to Sunday School with Annette Purdie and they have remained good friends.  Don and Annette made the trip from Adelaide to Waikerie to catch up with the Melmoths, so there was another Kippax catch up that was done.

Are there any more connections?

Day 29 Leeton to Temora

Another magnificent day.  The forecasts seem to have been correct and the front passed through early yesterday evening with an apology for a shower, but cooler temperatures.  This morning was clear again and the winds were very light and basically from the south.  All of which leads to great riding conditions for the day.

Today brought us a few hills.  This is the first time since the port Pirie to Burra leg that we’ve seen anything resembling a hill, so it made for a pleasant change in the nature of the riding.  We shall have at least rolling countryside for the rest of the trip.

Today’s route took us via a number of local roads and eventually onto the Burley Griffin Way, a short stint on the Newell Highway and finally through to Temora on The Burley Griffin Way, arriving somewhere around 2:30pm.

Pictures below show a “Gazza Break” and an example of our accommodation arrangements (at Leeton in this instance).

Day 28 Hay to Leeton

During the rest day there was a lot of anxious consideration of the weather for today's ride. Earlier forecasts indicated a change coming through early that would turn the ugly winds of Friday to the SW which would be great. However forecasts later in the day indicated that the change would come through late in the afternoon. If that turned out to be the case, we could have a day like Friday, only 40km longer.

As it turned out the latter forecast was right and the change arrived at about 5pm. However the wind had shifted from the N-NNE around to more like NW and that was enough to change the complexion of things. That meant wind on a hind quarter for the whole distance except for about 10-15km after Darlington Point we were turned due North. A great day's riding with clear skies and good temperatures.

During the rest day Jim Blaxland went out in the car to scout a couple of alternative routes for the first part of the ride. The aim being to try and skip as much of the Sturt Highway as possible without making the route too much longer. This was done and we cut off 60km of Sturt Highway at the cost of only about 5km extra. Morning tea was on the Murrumbidgee at Carathool bridge. Lunch was beside the Murrumbidgee at Darlington Point (60km and 120km respectively)

Lowlight of the day occurred when one of our number (Mark) got a bee sting on the ear. A quick check to see the sting was out and he was under way. However a few km further on when we stopped for Edna's niece's husband Phil to join us for the run in to Leeton, Mark suddenly felt really crook and packed up his bike and got in the car. (He said later that it came on him so suddenly that if we hadn't stopped then he might well have fallen off and caused a prang.) A little later he vomited, so Eric took him straight off to the Leeton hospital (that's the 3rd time on this trip). Turns out he settled down OK. The hospital gave him Phenergan and he appears to be OK to ride tomorrow.

Picture is morning tea at Carathool beside the river (look carefully to see the river).

Day 27 Rest day in Hay

The place we are staying for the two nights in Hay is magnificent. It is a place called Claughton House ande is owned by the Uniting Church. It was set up as a boarding house for school children of all ages from outback regions across Australia to live in as they attended school in Hay. From our point of view it has everything we want - real beds to sleep on, lots of working showers on site, plenty of toilets. These latter two are significant. When staying in a church hall, for example, we usually have to bus ourselves to a caravan park or community centre with showers, and the church may well have only one toilet, two if you are lucky. Get 24 people trying to organise themselves quickly in the morning and you can see the potential for traffic jams.

Claughton House also has a great kitchen, dining and lounge areas.

Unfortunately the numbers of students has declined over the years. Looking at the student photos each year, numbers have decreased from around 80 in its heyday to 15-20 over the past couple of years. I believe it is not operating any longer and the facility is up for sale. It would be a pity if there were no takers, but it is hard to see any other sort of use for the facility. I can't imagine a conference facility being viable in Hay and I guess the dormitories are not really up to normal conference standards, even if the rest of the building is.

The weather today is the same as yesterday, so makes it a great drying day for washing. (Last major washing day!)

This morning there seemed to be a sort of kitchen cook-off. Two people independently decided that they would cook up something special, so in one stove we had bacon and eggs being turned out, and on another stove omelettes with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes being turned out. A pleasant leisurely morning.

Apparently the Hay Show is on this weekend. I don't know that I'll bother, but I think a couple of the young folk (actually we only have two young folk) will give it a try.

I'm told that you can wander down from Claughton House to grassy banks on the Murrumbidgee River. I'll have to try that later on.

The picture shows the entrance to Claughton House.

Day 26 Balranald to Hay

If you looked out your window on this day you would conclude that it was another magnificent day like the previous leg to Balranald. But if you then opened your window a different tale would be told. Wind!

Yes the day was all blue skies and great temperatures for riding. But a N to NNE wind was blowing when we started and throughout the day it got stronger, and stronger,and stronger. We, of course, were heading north of east. It was a stinker of a riding day. Only very rarely did the road bend in a direction to get the wind onto a rear quarter. We averaged 21.7 kph on this day for 132km compared with 27.3 the previous day for 162km. And after lunch, because the wind was now very strong and everyone was tiring, brief stops to catch breath and grab an extra sugar fix were happening every 10km or so. We arrived on this shorter day over an hourlater than on the previous longer day.

With the Hay plains being so flat and treeless as we approached the lunch stop we could see where they were set up from many km away, but it seemed like one of those surreal dreams where no matter what you do you can never break through and reach the goal. Just as you seemed to be making progress the road would bend away into the teeth of the wind for two or three km. We finally got there!

The road through Hay to our lodgings passed by the Visitor Centre and as we passed Roger suddenly stops. It took a moment to realise that he wasn't going to wait a moment more than necessary to see if his tyres had arrived. When Roger ordered the two tyres he thought afterwards that perhaps he ought to have ordered more and was putting contingency plans in place to get Tracey to come out to Yass with another if need be. It turns out that Roger's agent had mis-heard the instruction over the phone and actually sent three tyres. So Roger is well pleased and feels confident about the rest of the trip.

The picture shows our morning tea stop in the middle of the Hay plains at the entry to the Hay Shire.

Day 25 Mildura to Balranald

Sorry this post is late, but we were staying in the gym at Balranald Central School and the gym was in use for classes until 8pm, so we could not unpack our stuff until then.

The day itself was magnificent. Clear blue skies all day and what breezes there were were very light and tending behind us. Roger managed the day without further mishap to his tyres.

Of course immediately after leaving Mildura we crossed the Murray into NSW and will be there for the rest of the trip. Some folks reckoned the road surface worsened after we went into NSW. I'm not so convinced. There was certainly a rough section across the border through Gol Gol for a while, but there was a lot of good road further on. Sometimes when you are riding the bike it is hard to accept that these roads are not built for bikes and if there is a broad shoulder or no shoulder, or fine or course aggregate on the road, it is largely incidental to the intended purpose. We must take what we get!

One thinks of these regions along the Murray as completely covered with vineyards, orchards and other crops. The reality appears to be different. Near the major towns you se plenty of vineyards but you don't have to move too far before you are riding through unused countryside until you get near the next significant town.

The picture is our lunch spot on that day.

Day 24 - Paringa to Mildura

(For those having trouble finding Gol Gol, there was a change along the way somewhere and we are staying in Mildura proper.)

This day turned out to be a good day's riding. The night before there had been rumours that someone had seen a weather forecast predicting NE to NW winds. If so that might have been ugly, depending on the strength. As it turned out, things were different. The day started off completely overcast, but it never looked like raining. Overcast meant winds didn't build up, so we had calm conditions for a fair portion of the ride. After about lunch time the clouds started to break up and what little wind did build up was across or behind.

Temperatures remained cool for most of the day, although the afternoon here in Mildura is lovely.

The riding itself had no real highlights. No punctures so Roger breathes a sigh of relief for another day. Outside of the actual riding we crossed the border into Victoria this morning, so we are now back on Eastern Standard Time - begins to feel like home is not so far away (actually its 1000km away).

Day 23 Waikerie to Paringa

(Paringa, for the geographically challenged is across the Murray from Renmark.)

Today started out a beautiful cloudless morning and we started riding in such conditions. We were allowed to sleep in until 6:45am this morning because we only had a short ride (81km).

A breeze developed as the cloud cover increased, and there was evidence 10km or so out of Waikerie that there had been some light showers around at some time. We didn't get them. The wind was occasionally behind us, but most of the time a cross wind or slightly ahead.

We stopped at Barmera beside Lake Bonney for morning tea (see picture). By then there was practically no sun and the wind was cold! A lovely spot, but not today. We kept on to Paringa for lunch. By then the cloud had cleared again to a fine afternoon.

Roger and Edna are beginning to have serious problems with the tyres on the recumbent bikes. Thet brought four spares with them, but have problems with side walls ballooning and eventually producing blowouts. It appears the tyres are a bit too light weight for the purpose.

Roger has contacted his recumbent supplier who is shipping a couple of new tyres to the Hay visitor's centre where we'll arrive on Friday. Hope things hold up until then.

Day 22 Burra to Waikerie

Overnight there were showers and it looked dodgy in the morning. However as we got under way it appeared that the showers were hanging around the hills and we seemed to get clear before suffering any showers. The terrain changed rapidly from lush rolling pasture to apparently unused land covered with saltbush. (Actually there were a few sheep around.) The characteristic of the day was strong winds that moderated a bit but stayed there all day. Fortunately they stayed behind us most of the time, but as the road wandered around sometimes it was dead across us (which is worse than no wind).

We hit the Murray river at Renmark for lunch on the banks of the river, then took the punt across the river before the final 38km to Waikerie. (The Riverland is not as flat as they'd have you believe!)

For myself I rode the whole distance today, so things continue to improve. I'm still way short of the condition I was in before the bug hit though. Even shorter day tomorrow, so I should manage that.

Day 21 Rest day at Burra

This day proceeds much as any other rest day. Laundry, rest, coffee, look around town.

Burra seems to have gone in the direction of places like Mittagong in NSW - accessible from Adelaide and developed craft shops, antique shops and so on. So its quite interesting to wander around.

Burra's origins are mining and there are Cornish and Welsh remnants in town. One of thye striking things is that there are a number of rows of miner's residences (see picture). It appears that these have been turned into motel units for visitors. The buildings are stone and many are in excellent condition. I picture of the Visitor Centre building is attached.

Being Sunday, and given that we were staying in the Burra Uniting Church hall, we went to their 11am service. A great deal more songs than I am accustomed to, but an enjoyable service in a lovely old church. The service was run by the minister's wife. Thge minister took Roger and Edna with him to a far flung church where the three of them doubled the congregation.

A highlight of the visit was that the local church not only provided us wit6h dinner on Saturday evening, but also provided a lavish lunch on Sunday. (Then we had to front up to the Burra pub for dinner!)

Day 20 Port Pirie to Burra

We're beginning to have more and more wonderful riding days. Today started out clear and cool, a few scattered cumulus clouds developed but later in the day those cleared to a cloudless day. Wind conditions were light, but what there was was behind us.

The route today took us out of the industrial/mining areas and through the tail end foothills of the Flinders Ranges through Crystal Brook, Gulnare and on to Burra. This countryside is rolling countryside with field upon field of wheat and canola. Most of the canola is now in flower and the sights were spectacular.

Today also got us away from the flat countryside we've followed for weeks, so today we had a few hills. Not so much a shock to the system as a pleasant change for most people. Plenty more hills along the way between here and Sydney.

As for myself, I could not believe the difference between yesterday and today. My previous day's ride had been between Norseman and Balladonia - 192k and not at all difficult. Yesterday I could only manage 10k and was absolutely had it. Made me realise what had hit me. However today I got on the bike and rode 60k to Gulnare and got off there not because I was had it, but because I felt it expedient not to push things too much. With tomorrow's rest day I should be right to go on Monday!

Today I got awarded the "Maillot Blanc" a jersey instituted a couple of day's ago to the rider who sticks most assiduously to the left and thus rides most safely. So my day to wear the white jersey will be Monday.

Day 19 Port Augusta to Port Pirie

This was meant to be an easy day. Less than 100k and flat. Ask most of the riders and they'll say it was not an easy day. There are a couple of reasons. For one thing a cross wind blew with a slight head component - not a gale, but enough. And the road conditions made riding difficult. There was a lot of traffic and most of the time we needed to ride to the left of the white line marking the edge of the road. You had to be careful of the white line as it was an audible line all the way, and they are no joke on a bike. There were cateye reflectors to the left of the line that you had to keep dodging. (Hit one of those too fast and you get a snake-eye puncture.) Then there was plenty of gravel on the side of the road that needed to be avoided. Some largish rocks amongst it. So it was a matter of continuous concentration, no chance to look at the scenery (gulf on the right, Flinders Ranges on the left).

The weather looked after us. As we approached Port Pirie we could see a shower cut across Port Pirie but it passed by in front of us and left us alone.

As for me it was kind of a big day. Got on the bike for the first time since Balladonia after morning tea for a short while. Only a very short time - a measly 10.5k -but I still have absolutely no energy and it was a start. A little each day and we'll eventually get back there.

Day 18 Kimba to Port Augusta

What a difference a day makes! After howling adverse winds yesterday, today we woke to clear skies, crisp temperatures and no wind. Set off under those same conditions. After an hour or so some scattered cloud began to appear and it stayed that way all day - lovely fine day. But more significantly a breeze sprung up behind us and the riders had a great run through to Port Augusta. In fact 21 minutes longer for 152km today than we took yesterday for 107km!

It was interesting to watch the countryside change along the route. We started out riding through beautiful green wheat fields, but as the day progressed that disappeared and gave way to lightly wooded country. Still further on the trees became sparser and more stunted so that we were looking at scrub. Then more and more saltbush appeared until it dominated the scene and trees were few and far between. By then we were into iron ore country. (One view of Iron Knob mine is sttached.)

Because this is the first "big smoke" since we left Perth, many people have been off attending to various needs including parts and fixes at a local bike shop. Roger, Edna, Eric and I did a bit of that and visited a coffee shop this afternoon.

As for me, getting on the bike again is getting closer. Depending on the weather and how I feel I might get on the bike for a short stint between "Gazzer breaks" - named after "Weak Bladder Gazzer". I'll play it by ear.

Speaking of Gazzer breaks, one of the riders said the other day that it takes some of the shine off the achievement if he has to admit that he did the ride with two grandmothers and Weak Bladder Gazzer. (Mind you I think poor old Gary is the scapegoat. There are others keen on the break...)

Day 17 Wudinna to Kimba

This day was supposed to be relatively easy - just 101km. And while the rain kept away apart from one brief shower, the wind did not!

We heard the wind come up during the night and I think most people lay in their sleeping bags wondering which way it was blowing. It was blowing the wrong way. Not full in the face, but an ugly wind from roughly a front quarter. Almost made me glad I was still not on the bike today (I reckon that's a few days away yet). My guess is that it was a 45kph wind. It was not a fast day.

Today we were joined part way along by Alex and Margaret Hood who will be with us as rider and roadie for the rest of the trip.

Kimba asserts that it is half way across Australia. Don't know what their measure is, but it doesn't match our distances. Also I'm not sure what the connection with the Galah is.

Lurgi and smashed dreams

I know there are many people looking at this site, but I originally intended this as a personal site and so this post is a purely personal reflection.

On day 7 we set out from Norseman to Balladonia on the first of three long days, and the first of what I describe as the Nullarbor leg. The ride was an excellent one. There were a few showers, but the dominating factor was a good tail wind. The ride, though 192km, was not hard.

In the evening when walking the 200m or so from the dining room to the cabin I broke out in completely uncontrollable shivers. A pretty unpleasant night was spent and in the morning I dressed in riding gear to defer a decision until after breakfast. In the end I decided that I was in not state to ride, so loaded the bike on the trailer and climbed in the support car with Eric. There I dozed, sweated and vegetated. Essentially the condition got worse over the next few days and I've ended up with a full blown respitory virus infection. Turns out to be the worst such lurgi that I can remember having.

On Day 9 (Caiguna to Madura Pass) Eric and I cleared out from the team at morning tea time to make a 300km journey to Eucla to visit a Silver chain nursing service clinic there, and back 200km to Madura Pass. The nurse's prognosis after doing the usual checks was "probably swine flu" Great! Her concern was getting the temperature down and keeping it thus. No evidence of a need for antibiotics. Plough on for another couple days and we decided it was time for a visit to a doctor at Ceduna Hospital. He didn't mention swine flu. He still reckoned no secondary infection evidence and thus nothing more than symptomatic stuff from the chemist. A question of hang in there..

Today was the ride from Streaky Bay to Wudinna and for the first time there's some evidence of improvement. I feel human for a lot of the time today. A long way to go, and I heed the warnings of both medicos at the risk of heart damage if I try too much too soon .

So what does this mean? I've been off the bike for over a week. After spending months getting physically and mentally prepared for this big adventure, being off the bike this long brings the dream down in tatters. To be off the bike over the iconic Nullabor section is utterly devastating. It will take me some time to come to grips with it and I have to remember that the personal challenges are not all we're here for.

It seems even worse when I know that my legs, knees, etc were all going really well. In the end it was something that Icannot control that undid me.

Now that is out of the way, more cheerful stuff from now on. (I promise)