Tuesday, May 15, 2018

May 15: The Longest Day, Butt It Was Fine!

A little update from last night is in order. My camping neighbor, Ian, was also a cyclist. We chatted for a bit, then he offered me some fish for dinner that he was going to be cooking up. I said sure. Well, it wasn’t just fish, it was also pasta salad and tomato too. I contributed some chocolate for dessert. We had fun cooking on the BBQ with parchment paper (a new thing for Ian...the parchment paper). Ian was pretty funny. He had a very dry sense of humor. He is from New South Wales, and is driving to Perth to visit his sons. I have to say, about half the time I had no idea what he was saying. I’ve gotten pretty good with most of the Aussie vernacular, but sometimes the accent still throws me. Every time a person would walk by, he would say, “Hey Champ, how ya goin’?” Then when they answered, he would ask where they were from. Then, there was a camp trailer parked across from us (between us and the water). He said he wished he had a bazooka so he could blast that trailer because it was blocking his view. Then he thought maybe he could push it into the water, but he didn’t think that would do much to improve his view. Funny guy...


I planned to get going early because I was hoping to make it to Ceduna which was 111kms. I ended up leaving at 7:45. So much for the early start. But, I also had an out. I could go only as far as Smoky Bay if I wanted, then have a short day into Ceduna. Ian was going to Smoky Bay (he was bypassing Ceduna altogether). I decided I would see how I was doing when I got to the turn for Smoky Bay.


There was really no wind to speak of at first. The terrain was a continuation of yesterday’s gradual ups and downs. I stopped for a break at the turn for Perludie. I could look back and see Streaky Bay. 


I stopped about 15kms further up the road at another rest stop. There was a trailer pulled in (a smoke break for the guy). We chatted for a bit, then we both continued on. 


I started to notice I was going along at a pretty good clip...22-25kms/hour. Even up the hills I wasn’t slowing down much. Ah, at last, a tailwind! This was looking promising for making it to Ceduna!


I got to the turn for Smoky Bay at noon. I was feeling pretty good. I decided to go for Ceduna. I had taken the best possible actions to make it the least uncomfortable...liberal use of chamois cream, wool capris instead of my pants, and my most comfortable undies. And, it worked! Of course, what really helped was the wind. I arrived in Ceduna at 2:45 after 111kms in 6 hours of ride time.


I made one stop at an outdoor shop to get another fuel canister. My fuel isn’t out yet, but I doubt I’ll be able to get more fuel on the Nullarbor. Then I went on to the Caravan Park. In the office, I met another cyclist named Steve who has just finished his tour from Perth to Ceduna. We ended up going to dinner together, and he shared with me his experiences with the Nullarbor. He said it was really great, but he had a headwind many of the days (hoping that continues, because that will be a tailwind for me). He said I will really enjoy it. We had a great time talking about our tours, and just how great traveling by bike is. Tomorrow his friend is picking him up, and they will go inland. He gets to go to Uluru. I’m totally jealous!


Tomorrow I will stay here in Ceduna. I need to stock up on as much food as I can, and do my laundry. I don’t know how much WiFi there will be (if any) across the Nullarbor. So, if you don’t see any posts for awhile (It might take me about 18 days to get across to Norseman), it’s probably just because I have no WiFi. Even maybe not until Esperance which is a couple days beyond Norseman.


Sunset in Streaky Bay


Streaky Bay in the distance


Back to the Eyre Highway


Only 5kms to go!


Tree full of Galahs in Ceduna





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