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.
No comments:
Post a Comment