Day 284 | suddenly it's Kalgoorlie: 30,000 miners and me
80 km | Heading west total: 13,559 km
The stove wasn’t working well this morning. A small part has broken but its not terminal.
I add this to the growing list of not working properly bits and pieces.
Clothes: let’s just say some important replacements are required.
Tent: not quite fully waterproof any more and the only moving part, the one and only zip, has broken.
Bike: bottom crank grinding and uneven. (I try not to notice, turn up the iPod.)
Ditto the pedals.
Trailer: dropouts for attaching to the bike rear quick release are also grinding away the meat to the metal due to the corrugated roads and a consequent bit of slop now exacerbating the issue. The original holding pins for same have gone: the ones fashioned from spare spokes have bent due to the flimsy diameter but at least I have recently picked up some thicker stainless steel wire to shape some more robust pins. The trailer bag is punctuated with various sized holes.
But some things are still holding up. All welds on bike and trailer appear sound. My blow up Thermorest sleeping mat now stays up comfortably all night after my Broome repairs. The camera now has only infrequent lens issues despite a recent plunge from the fast moving bike.
Even my dodgy knee has come through. The rest of my body seems to be holding together as reasonable well as expected and the arse has the opportunity for a few days respite.
It’s just the mind. That needs a bit more time.
Maybe a whole lot more.