Day 104 | Meekatharra Caravan Park: all night lights, road trains rattling past, dogs barking
60 km | zzOz total: 5,039 km
The day turns into a saga, reminiscent of trundling up the last, tired and hungry, section into Alice a couple of years ago. OK, I’m prone to exaggeration, it would take a bit to beat that endless day of toil fuelled by a solitary piece of high sugar cake.
At least I started with breakfast, I wolfed a bucket of plain white rice, yummm, nothing left to put into it, except some Vegemite, or coffee, which, for some reason I’ve ceased drinking.
I knew it was only a two thirds day so I mucked around first thing, listening to the news etc.
By the time I left, still pre 8 00 am, the wind had got up and unlike last night it had swung 180° and was now a full on headwind.
The road was starting to get softer, after yesterday’s rave over it’s merits, the tyres cutting in more than in previous days.
And to complete the full trifecta the road was starting to head, almost imperceptibly, maybe because there’s no points of reference, but certainly uphill. A gentle incline.
Also the flies in cattle country are distracting, small, swarming, oblivious to the wave of a hand. The combination of insect repellant, old sunscreen and the daily allocation of sweat caused rivers of toxic sludge to run into my eyes.
I’m usually fairly tolerant of these conditions, gee, if you don’t like flies, don’t come to Australia. As flies go I’ve adjusted to life with these ones, so small, not biting, just capable of walking over your eyeballs, ending up in your inner ear or being swallowed, if not inhaled.
After an hour and a half I realise that I’ve barely made 15 km, I’m still grinding into that gale and think I need to get into granny cog only to find I’ve been in it for some time.
Something is not right.
I check the front two tyres. 5 minutes later I get off the bike and check the trailer tyre.
Has been flat for some time.
That’s easy to repair, patch, pump it up and I’ve increased velocity by 50%.
Hooray, civilisation beckons.
Sadly it was a day of patching that tube. Find another hole. Patch, pump it up to test, seems OK, refit. 3 times this went on before I finally lost patience, hah, and swapped to a new tube.
A miracle.
Eventually I struggled into town, helped by the fact the last 25 km, ie, almost half of today’s pedalling was on asphalt, millions being spent on upgrading a road that by my estimation I’d seen less than 50 vehicles in the last two weeks, one day only a solitary car went past, paid for by mining royalties according to a sign.
Now late afternoon it’s time for lunch I headed straight to the supermarket, a couple of apples and a litre of fresh milk among the booty.
Sometimes those little things in life are what are really needed.