Round Australia by bike - Day 028 - Sandfire Roadhouse to Pardoo Roadhouse

Day:	028
Date:	Thursday, 16 August 2007
Accommodation	Cabin at Pardoo Roadhouse
Summary	Riding from Sandfire Roadhouse to Pardoo Roadhouse
Start Time:	8:30am
Finish Time:	2:00pm
Daily Map Kms:	137
Total Map Kms:	6,898
Map Kms To Go:	7,513
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	-654
Daily Odometer Kms:	na
Daily Average Speed:	na
Weather:	Cool early.  Very warm and sunny later.  Strong easterly winds.
Nutrition:	Toasted sandwiches for breakfast.  Sandwiches for lunch.   Chicken Schnitzel for dinner.
Encounters:	Saw a nice big brown snake on the side of the road waiting to cross as I rode past.
Highlights:	None really.
Lowlights:	Leg started to get quite sore again over last 30km.
Daily Pictures:
Daily Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	I got up at 7:00am having decided to take it easy on the short ride I planned to Pardoo Roadhouse (137km).  I packed up, strapped my left thigh with the bandage I had been given by the St Johns guy, had some last toasted sandwiches for breakfast and said goodbye to Ken, the proprietor and his partner, before hitting the road. The strong easterly wind was mostly from behind and made it easier to ride gently and protect my sore leg.  I coasted along at a good pace on a bright sunny morning through the low grass and scrub-covered plains.  There were some long gradual ascents and descents, but nothing significant. The road paralleled the Eighty Mile Beach but again, although it was nearby, I never saw the ocean although, tantalisingly, after about 100km I could see a line of white sandhills to the right which probably marked the edge of the beach. I reached Pardoo Roadhouse about 2pm and got a Donga for the night from the guy who was in a really bad mood for some reason, swearing under his breath at some other customers in the shop, and quite brusque with me for no reason. I stopped every 30km or so for a break and to stretch my quads.  The pain in the leg was minimal early on, but got rapidly worse in the last 30km, causing my mood to go from optimistic to pessimistic.  Tomorrow will be the acid test, I think, as I have scheduled 270km to Whim Creek.  I pass through Port Hedland after 150km, more than I pedalled today, and the leg is now sore just walking around the Roadhouse.  If I’m in trouble in Port Hedland I will probably give the trip up.

Round Australia by bike - Day 027 - Sandfire Roadhouse

Day:	027
Date:	Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Accommodation	Cabin at Sandfire Roadhouse
Summary	Sleeping, eating, playing Minesweeper and Solitaire and helping to erect an awning at Sandfire Roadhouse
Start Time:	na
Finish Time:	na
Daily Map Kms:	0
Total Map Kms:	6,761
Map Kms To Go:	7,650
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	-489
Daily Odometer Kms:	0
Daily Average Speed:	0
Weather:	Cool early.  Very warm and sunny later.  Strong easterly winds.
Nutrition:	Toasted sandwiches for breakfast.  Pie and pastie for lunch.  Toasted sandwiches for dinner.
Encounters:	None really.
Highlights:	None really.
Lowlights:	None really.
Daily Pictures:
Daily Podcasts:
Journal:	Just spent the day lazing around trying to kill time and hoping my sore muscle was mending itself with the help of some massage and stretching.  In the afternoon I helped Ken, the friendly and supportive owner of the Roadhouse, erect a temporary awning over the front of his prefab shop/office.  As he pointed out, that meant the day wasn’t a total waste.  I also managed to get a crepe bandage from a St John’s volunteer I discovered was stationed at the Roadhouse with an ambulance to respond to any local medical emergencies. I called Heidi at Scott Cycles in Karratha where I had arranged to get some new tyres to tell her of my predicament.  She told me her shop was open until 1:00pm on Saturday and that caused me to review my plans. I decided to ride to Pardoo Roadhouse (137km) tomorrow as a tester for the leg and, if it was OK, to resume my average 270km per day average which would get me to the bike shop about 9:00am on Saturday morning.  If the leg fails the test my option of getting myself to Port Hedland airport via Greyhound Bus and flying to Sydney remains viable for the next few days. Although I had been able to log on to wireless internet for a few hours each of the previous evenings, I was unable to tonight.  I must be on the edge of range and atmospheric conditions must need to be exactly right. I have been feeling withdrawal symptoms all day from not riding.  I have had this nagging feeling all day that I should be on the road and it seems unreal that I am not.

Round Australia by bike - Day 026 - Sandfire Roadhouse

Day:	026
Date:	Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Accommodation	Cabin at Sandfire Roadhouse
Summary	Sleeping, eating and playing Minesweeper at Sandfire Roadhouse
Start Time:	na
Finish Time:	na
Daily Map Kms:	0
Total Map Kms:	6,761
Map Kms To Go:	7,650
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	-290
Daily Odometer Kms:	0
Daily Average Speed:	0
Weather:	Cool early.  Very warm and sunny later
Nutrition:	Toasted sandwiches for breakfast.  Pie and pastie for lunch.  Toasted sandwiches for dinner.
Encounters:	The little three vehicle convoy doing road-testing that I saw two days ago west of Fitzroy Crossing have caught up to me and are staying at Sandfire tonight.
Highlights:	None really.
Lowlights:	It’s beginning to sink in that my quest is most likely over.  After a day of no riding it is still painful to walk up or down steps or to bend my injured leg.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	Just spent the day lazing around trying to kill time.  Dr Jon called the roadhouse twice in an attempt to speak with me about my injury and I called him back from a public payphone later in the day to discuss options.  He agrees that it is most likely a torn muscle and suggested some actions to hasten recovery although none is likely to achieve any miracles. I am still inclined to stick with my plan of resting for three days and then attempting to get back to riding my scheduled distances.  If the leg is too sore by the time I reach Pardoo Roadhouse, 137km away, then I’ll quit and get a Greyhound Bus to either Port Hedland or Broome and fly to Sydney. I’m pretty depressed about my situation and keep thinking back to those really hard days I put in to keep on schedule without apparent injury and wonder why this problem should have occurred on a relatively easy day.  I want to rewind the clock!  On the other hand, I recognize that I have been lucky to get this far without any serious problems and I always knew that luck would play a major part in the success or failure of this venture. It also saddens me to think of all of the people watching my progress who I know will be disappointed, particularly those schoolkids in Katherine and Kincumber. Anyway, I haven’t given up yet, and there’s nothing I would like more than to get going again in two days and go for the record.  My motivation will be intense, so long as the body holds together.

Round Australia by bike - Day 025 - Roebuck Plains to Sandfire Roadhouse

Day:	025
Date:	Monday, 13 August 2007
Accommodation	Cabin at Sandfire Roadhouse
Summary	Riding from Roebuck Plains Roadhouse to Sandfire Roadhouse
Start Time:	3:15am
Finish Time:	6:50pm
Daily Map Kms:	289
Total Map Kms:	6,761
Map Kms To Go:	7,650
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	0
Daily Odometer Kms:	na
Daily Average Speed:	na
Weather:	Cool early.  Very warm and sunny later
Nutrition:	Snacks during the day.  Pie and pastie for dinner.
Encounters:	None really.
Highlights:	Managing to get to Sandfire Roadhouse ten minutes before they closed for the night.
Lowlights:	Damaged left quadriceps muscle to the point where I was unable to pedal with my left leg.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here & Here
Journal:	I woke at 2:30am and prepared to leave extremely quietly.  The wall of the Donga were extremely thin and I had woken several times during the night to hear the guy in the next room talking in his sleep. I left at 3:15am in cool weather and pedalled south west out into the scrubby plains.  Off to my left I could see a small patch of reflected light in the sky which was probably the town of Broome.  About 4:30am the sky behind me began to lighten and an hour later I was treated to a brilliant red sun rising in my rear view mirror. I made reasonable progress, stopping every 40km for a snack and drink while it was still cool.  A pimple on my butt (I know, too much information!) was causing me considerable discomfort and at times I found it hard to sit comfortably while pedalling.  Around 100km I began to notice some pain in the front of my left leg just above the knee, but didn’t take too much notice of it as it has been quite common to get occasional niggles which come and go. The scenery was pretty much unchanging scrub on both sides of the road, although high enough that you couldn’t really see for any distance, even at the top of the many gradual ascents.  It was hard to believe that the Indian Ocean was only about 10 or 20 kilometres to the east.  I never saw it. As the temperature rose, I began stopping my frequently for drinks and snacks.  My sore leg muscle was gradually getting worse, to the point where is was quite painful to pedal, but I had no choice but to keep pedalling.  There was nowhere to stop and I needed to get to Sandfire Roadhouse before they closed at 7pm. By 200km I was in real trouble with the leg, which was painful to bend and to push on the pedal with.  My average speed dropped to around 15kph as I pedalled with my right leg with my left leg just going through the motions.  Even that was painful and I spent some kilometres with the left foot off the pedal and dangling while I pedalled with the right. My spirits nose-dived as I realised there was no way I could continue my quest with a leg this damaged.  I couldn’t imagine riding the 290km I had scheduled for tomorrow, let alone another 28 days.  In the short-term, my attention turned to making enough progress to get to Sandfire before they closed.  I was stopping every few kilometres to rest and stretch the leg and pedalling single-legged in between as the sun set and the road entered a vast open saltbush plain.  Eventually I reached Sandfire Roadhouse at 6:50pm, about two hours later than intended, after a very painful and arduous afternoon. The Roadhouse burnt down four months ago and has been temporarily replaced with a prefabricated shed from where they offer a limited range of supplies and sell fuel.  The attached caravan park and cabins survived the fire and there are some nice large tropical trees to provide shade during the day and the odd peacock wandering the grounds.  No grass, just red dust everywhere, and this little oasis is surrounded by a vast saltbush plain stretching in every direction like the sea. I got the keys to a cabin and a pie and pastie and some drinks for dinner, and retired to my cabin to consider my riding future.  I was very relieved to have reached Sandfire, but now was trying to deal the full impact of the injured leg on the balance of my trip.  There was no mobile phone reception, but I just managed to get some wireless connectivity for my laptop using the special aerial I was carrying and so was able to discuss my plight via Instant Messaging with Sharon. In the end I have resolved to have up to three days off in the faint hope that the leg repairs itself sufficiently to keep riding.  Losing three days will still leave me an outside chance of breaking the record, provided that the leg stands up to the rest of the trip.  This seems a bit unlikely.  If I had a similar injury as a runner, I would be taking three weeks off to allow the soft tissue repair necessary.  I’m not sure I will continue the trip if I have no chance of breaking the record, especially if it is painful to do so.  I can ride around Australia as a tourist another time.  The real goal of this venture was to see if I could break the record.  I was starting to believe that I could, perhaps unwisely feeling a little indestructible as the weeks passed and I made good progress, so continuing on at a leisurely pace does not really appeal. Sandfire Roadhouse will be an interesting place to spend three days.  There’s no TV, no reading matter, only pies, toasted sandwiches and some confectionary for food, no mobile phone coverage and only occasional wireless internet connectivity.  At least the time off will allow me to catch up on sleep.

Round Australia by bike - Day 024 - Willare Bridge to Roebuck Plains

Day:	024
Date:	Sunday, 12 August 2007
Accommodation	Donga (basic room in prefabricated hut) at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse
Summary	Riding from Willare Bridge Roadhouse to Roebuck Plains Roadhouse
Start Time:	7:00am
Finish Time:	1:00pm
Daily Map Kms:	127
Total Map Kms:	6,472
Map Kms To Go:	7,939
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	0
Daily Odometer Kms:	na
Daily Average Speed:	na
Weather:	Very warm and sunny
Nutrition:	Big Brekky for breakfast.  Pie and pastie for lunch.
Encounters:	Ken and Val, the tourists from Singleton (back near the Central Coast) travelling in a campervan pulled up alongside me again today.  They have seen me about every second day since I left Queensland.  They are finishing their trip at Broome (30km from here) and wanted to wish me luck for the rest of my trip.
Highlights:	Opening my morning snack, which was supposed to be one of the very nice fresh chocolate chip muffins I had seen at the Roadhouse this morning, and finding that the very concerned lady behind the counter there had slipped in an extra one to keep me going.  A much appreciated random act of human kindness.
Lowlights:	None really.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	I woke about 5:30am after another luxurious seven hours of sleep, packed and went in to the roadhouse for breakfast and to purchase some supplies for my relatively short ride (127km) to my target for the day, Roebuck Plains Roadhouse.  I decided to try and avoid dallying and get there around lunchtime so hit the road about 7:00am peddling west on a mild and very sunny morning. After crossing the Fitzroy River, the road was much the same as yesterday for the whole morning’s ride – long straight sections, mostly flat but with some gentle ascents and descents, dry-looking scrub and low trees on either side, sun beating down, and some controlled burning going on in some areas. I divided the ride into roughly 40km sections and, apart from a brief unscheduled stop to catch up with Ken and Val from Singleton who were crossing my path in their campervan for the last time, made good time and arrived at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse right on 1:00pm.  I checked in and was given a room in a Donga (prefabricated construction worker-type housing). I spent the afternoon catching up on some chores, washing and e-mails with the football on TV going in the background.  It was nice to have the feeling of some free time especially since it is probably the last time for the trip.  The ride this morning, though short, was thirsty work and I will have to make sure I carry sufficient fluids for tomorrow’s 289km ride to Sandfire Roadhouse.  There is nothing in between and it will be hot as usual.  The roadhouse here doesn’t have a great selection of food that is good for the road cyclist in hot weather, so I have stocked up on jelly beans, etc.  Having been told here that Sandfire Roadhouse closes at 7:00pm and, having recently been partially burnt down, doesn’t have much of a range of food either, I will aim to leave earlier than usual.  It seems like the next few days are going to be tedious for a number of reasons.  I have also had no luck booking accommodation beyond tomorrow night and may end up sleeping rough multiple times.  I’m almost looking forward to getting down south where it is still winter and there are fewer tourists and no mining boom.

Round Australia by bike - Day 023 - Fitzroy to Willare Bridge

Day:	023
Date:	Saturday, 11 August 2007
Accommodation	Basic room at Willare Bridge Roadhouse
Summary	Riding from Fitzroy Crossing to Willare Bridge Roadhouse
Start Time:	8:40am
Finish Time:	7:20pm
Daily Map Kms:	227
Total Map Kms:	6,345
Map Kms To Go:	8,066
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	0
Daily Odometer Kms:	na
Daily Average Speed:	na
Weather:	Very warm and sunny.  Light easterly breeze.
Nutrition:	“Truckies Breakfast” for breakfast.  Sandwiches for lunch.  Stew for dinner.
Encounters:	About an hour after I left Fitzroy Crossing, a car drew up beside me and the front passenger asked me whether I was Dave Byrnes.  He was Jim, a long-time friend of my long-time running friend and more recently regular golfing buddy, Dave Cundy.  Jim was travelling with his wife Gaye with a camping trailer, and his father, Don, in a separate car and caravan.  They pulled over a few hundred metres ahead and we all had a cup of coffee and discussed our various travels.  Dave had told them I was riding through the Kimberleys and they had checked my website last night and found that I also planned to be in Fitzroy Crossing.  We actually stayed at the same resort, but they couldn’t track me down there.  It was an interesting and pleasant twist to my day’s travels and I was pleased they had taken the trouble to track me down. My second interesting encounter for the day was with a three vehicle convoy travelling in the same direction as me, at about the same speed.  All carried multiple flashing lights and signs and the front and rear vehicles were there to warn traffic about the middle vehicle which towed a trailer and stopped every 800 metres to automatically carry out a series of tests on the road surface.  The stop-start nature of their work meant that, for many kilometres (maybe 20) I kept on catching and passing the testing vehicle which would then speed past me and stop again and I would pass it and so on.  I wondered whether this odd little band was on a contract to test Highway 1 and their lives involved driving around Australia at 25kph.  Maybe I’ll see them again!
Highlights:	A good night’s sleep.
Lowlights:	Being verbally accosted at Willare Bridge Roadhouse on arrival by a truckie who complained that I was a menace travelling on the roads at night.  He agreed that I was well-lit, but said it was hard to work out what I was and he had almost mistaken me for a guide post and passed very close when a vehicle was coming the other way.  No harm done.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here & Here
Journal:	As sometimes happens when the pressure is off, I tended to dally a bit early today, but enjoyed my seven hours deep sleep in my safari tent.  I left at 7:00am and rode into Fitzroy Crossing town and went to the only roadhouse offering breakfast which, I think, also doubled as a community store for the local aboriginal population.  There were already plenty of aborigines gathering and chatting around the roadhouse and I felt a bit guilty about moving my bike to somewhere where I could see it while I ate my breakfast.  Nobody showed any interest in it.  Sadly, I had seen a couple of boys aged about eight loitering and smoking outside the store on arrival.  I thought again about the capriciousness of birth.  Many of these kids really have no hope of making a go of it. I dallied over my breakfast and the selection of food and drink to carry with me for the day and finally left town at 8:40am for the 227km ride to the Willare Bridge Roadhouse.  In between the two, the map showed there was nothing, and that proved to be the case.  It was already warm and rapidly became very warm as I pedalled into the bush.  Again it was mainly lightly-timbered savannah with vast horizons and escarpments occasionally visible in the distance, mainly to the north.  The road had many very long straight and flat sections which seemed to exacerbate the heat, but there were also plenty of very gradual climbs and descents.  Sometimes the climbs were so imperceptible that the only way you could tell you were climbing was because you seemed to be working harder to make reasonable progress. I had probably underestimated my fluid requirements and could have had another couple of litres on top of the five litres I carried, although it was sufficient (I finished with half a litre of water left).  I realised during the morning that I probably hadn’t drunk quite as much with breakfast as usual, which may have contributed to my thirstiness.  However, my good sleep meant that I felt more refreshed and the kilometres passed by easily enough, although the last forty dragged as usual.  Later in the day, there were vast sections that had recently been burnt as part of the fire management that gets practiced in tropical Australia.  For many kilometres, the ground level vegetation was black as far as the eye could see and the occasional log was still slowly burning sending a trail of lazy white smoke into the sky.  The air smelt of burning and smoke and I saw two “willy willies” (whirlwinds) that were almost stationary but vigorously spinning columns of black smoke and ash high into the sky. There was a brilliant red sunset which would have looked great from Cable Beach at Broome, which is only about 100 kilometres to the west.  Many times during the day I wished I was in the water catching waves at that beach.  After travelling the last hour in darkness I reached Willare Bridge Roadhouse and was greeted by the friendly staff, given my room and served a nice stew for dinner while I watched some football on their TV.  I will get up in time to have breakfast when they open at 6:00am tomorrow and then ride as quickly as I can to the next Roadhouse, at Roebuck Plains, 127km away, with the idea of getting there soon after noon and then having a relaxing afternoon.

Round Australia by bike - Half Day 21 and Day 22 - Warmun to Fitzroy Crossing

Day:	Half Day 21 and Day 22
Date:	Thursday & Friday, 9 & 10 August 2007
Accommodation	Cabin in Fitzroy Crossing
Summary	Riding from Warmun (Turkey Creek) to Fitzroy Crossing
Start Time:	7:00pm Thursday
Finish Time:	7:20pm Friday
Daily Map Kms:	452
Total Map Kms:	6,118
Map Kms To Go:	8,293
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	0
Daily Odometer Kms:	na (flat battery)
Daily Average Speed:	na (flat battery)
Weather:	Very cold at night and very warm and sunny during the day.  Moderate easterly wind.
Nutrition:	Roast chicken and vegetables for dinner.  Sandwiches for brunch.  Chicken Parmigiana for dinner.
Encounters:	Met the couple from Newcastle (unforgiveably, I have forgotten their names) who introduced themselves two days ago after seeing me several times during their campervan travels.  This time they spotted me having a break in a rest area and came over and offered to top up my water bottles and give me a cold can of Coke.  I gratefully accepted both offers. Also saw plenty of kangaroos hopping across the road in front of me during the night.
Highlights:	Brilliant starry night with meteors, no wind and barely a sound.
Lowlights:	Labouring mightily in the last 200km and then not being able to find the motel I had booked.  I set off down the road it was supposed to be in on arrival in Fitzroy Crossing, but after bumping along the sandy and corrugated for about a kilometre with no sign of lights and one carload of hoons racing past yelling at me, I decided to try a different nmore expensive lodge where I got a cabin.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here & Here & Here & Here
Journal:	I didn’t feel great when the alarm woke me at 5pm to prepare for my 24 hoour ride to Fitzroy Crossing and, despite a nice meal at the roadhouse, I still had a dull headache as I left hoping it did not grow into a migraine.  I really am operating on very little sleep and heavy workload and am probably on the edge.  My hope was get to Fitzroy Crossing by Friday night which would put me on schedule and then have two relatively low kilometre days to recover from the exertions of the past week. It was already dark as I started cycling, but not very cold.  Happily, my chafed areas seemed to have recovered and I had no problems sitting on the bike saddle.  Despite plenty of long gradual climbs, I felt I was making good time.  There were plenty of kangaroos ambling across the road in front of me and I barely missed hitting one.  It was another brilliant starry night and I enjoyed the quiet time in my rest breaks. After midnight the temperature began dropping rapidly and I made several stops to add more clothing but still got cold, especially whenever travelling fast enoughto generate any wind-chill.  It was the coldest night I had struck so far on the trip. Eventually, I reached Hall’s Creek (162km) at about 3am and cycled quietly through town.  There were still a number of people wandering around town and occasional shouting.  I decided I would be wiser to take my next rest break out of town, which I did.   Around 4:30am I began getting very sleepy, as usual, and after nearly falling off while dozing, decided I had to have a short nap.  I got off the side of the road, spread out my groundsheet and immediately went to sleep despite freezing temperatures.  I woke an hour later to find the sky lightening and quickly packed up and hit the road, still shivering from the cold.  However, around 7am, once the sun had risen a little way the temperatures rose markedly and by 7:30am I was riding in a T-shirt.  It promised to be a warm day. There were less hills after Hall’s Creek and some long flat stretches.  It was scrubby cattle grazing country with occasional rocky outcrops, big escarpments in the distance many red-earth termite mounds of all shapes and sizes.  As the sun rose the easterly wind sprang up and I got some tailwind assistance.  It was just as well, because I was starting to fade again.  I had some sandwiches I had brought with me for lunch at a picnic area on the Mary River and then began the last 180km which turned into a bit of a saga.  Not only was I very sleepy, but my legs were felling very tired and my motivation was low.  I broke the journey into 20km sections, stopping for a brief drink and snack at each. I finally reached Fitzroy Crossing where, after some difficulty, I got a cabin in a sort of resort and ordered a take-out dinner from the bar.  I haven’t been able to buy any food for tomorrow’s 227km trip to Willare Bridge, so will start a bit later, maybe 6:30am, and get breakfast and some supplies at a roadhouse on my way out of town.  It means I won’t get to Willare Bridge until around 7:00pm, but does mean I’ll get a longer sleep tonight.  I’m glad to be right on my 53-day schedule and looking forward to a couple of easier days necessitated by the location of the various roadhouses.

Round Australia by bike - Day 020 & Half of 021 - Victoria River to Warmun

Day:	020 & Half of 021
Date:	Wednesday & Thursday, 8 & 9 August 2007
Accommodation	Motel in Warmun (Turkey Creek)
Summary	Riding from Victoria River Roadhouse to Warmun
Start Time:	5:00am on Wednesday
Finish Time:	7:30am (WA Time) on Thursday
Daily Map Kms:	515
Total Map Kms:	5,666
Map Kms To Go:	8,745
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:
Daily Odometer Kms:	518.4
Daily Average Speed:	23.81kph
Weather:	Cool to cold mornings and very warm and sunny days.  Negligible wind.
Nutrition:	Big Brekky for breakfast.  Sandwiches for lunch.  Pizza and ice-cream for dinner.  Big Brekky for second breakfast.
Encounters:	Saw quite a few kangaroos.  Had a couple from Singleton who stopped their campervan near where I had stopped for a break on the side of the road to tell me that this was the third time they had seen me since Camooweal and did I have a double?  Met a Japanese guy with a broken bike hitching on the road near Kununurra who was riding round Australia in the opposite direction to me, but much more slowly.
Highlights:	Fabulous scenery in the Kimberley.
Lowlights:	Bad chafing from hot weather during day meant that I rode the entire night standing on the pedals to avoid incurring further pain and to let the chafing repair itself.
Daily Pictures:
Daily Podcasts:	Here and here and here and here
Journal:	I set out a little later from Victoria River Roadhouse than planned and immediately began to climb in the cold morning air.  However, as the sun rose the day rapidly warmed and I was soon stripped down to my T-shirt. I stopped in at the Roadhouse in Timber Creek and ordered a big breakfast which seemed a very long time being prepared.  It later turned out that my order had been given to someone else who arrived later.  I sat at a bench outside the Roadhouse and sent off my diary, etc., while waiting for my meal, given that I had wireless reception.  I also chatted with a NZ couple who were travelling the world for a few years. I didn’t leave Timber Creek until 10:30am, which was much later than planned with 225km to ride to Kununurra, the next habitation.  The road passed close to the big Victoria River which must house more than a few crocodiles before it travelled across a vast flood plain in what had become a very hot day.  There were long straight stretches and the road was very exposed.  I got very warm and sweaty and was drinking lots.  It was not until late afternoon that the road climbed away from the floodplain and into the hills to the west.  The scenery became more interesting with brown/orange rocky crags and bluffs overlooking desert like valleys populated with scrub, eucalypts and distinctive baobab trees with huge white bloated trunks and “bad hair day”-like branches on top. The higher I climbed the more pasture-like became the countryside and soon plenty of well-fed cattle were in evidence.  As the sun set, I reached the Western Australian border and was interrogated by the WA Quarantine officer who wanted to know if I was carrying any live animals (they were looking for cane toads)!  From there it was 43km to Kununurra which I reached at 7:00pm, local time, having gained 90 minutes by crossing into the WA time zone.  I found a huge roadhouse/supermarket and had a pizza for dinner while watching the cross-section of life that visits such establishments at night. Having failed to fine a room when I telephoned a few places two nights ago, I resolved to keep riding given it was 359km to my next target town, Hall’s Creek.  By this time, my backside was badly chafed from the hot sweaty ride earlier in the day and no amount of Vaseline would relieve the pain.  It became obvious that if I wanted to continue riding I would not be able to sit down on the saddle, so I spent pretty much the whole night cimbing into the Kimberleys without sitting down on the saddle.  It was hard work and my knees became sore, but by daybreak the chafing pain was more tolerable. Dawn broke over fabulous mountain and valley scenery in the Kimberleys but the prospect of another hot day and a still-sensitive backside, decided me to stop at Warmun (Turkey Creek) and book into the motel there for the day with the intention of beginning riding again at night and continuing all the way through to Fitzroy Crossing, 450km away by tomorrow night, which would leave me on schedule.  I had breakfast at the roadhouse, did some washing and had a sleep.

Round Australia by bike - Day 019 - Mataranka to Victoria River

Day:	019
Date:	Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Accommodation	Motel room at Victoria River Roadhouse
Summary	Riding from Mataranka to Victoria River Roadhouse and visiting Casuarina Street Primary School in Katherine.
Start Time:	3:50am
Finish Time:	7:10pm
Daily Map Kms:	300
Total Map Kms:	5,151
Map Kms To Go:	9,261
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	0
Daily Odometer Kms:	306.0
Daily Average Speed:	24.50kph
Weather:	Cold early.  Very warm and sunny later.  SW winds.
Nutrition:	Big Brekky for breakfast.  Snacks during day.  Schnitzel Parmigiana for dinner.
Encounters:	Visiting the students of Rod Gregg’s class at Casuarina Street Primary School to talk about my trip and answer their questions.  They were interested and well-behaved children and I very much enjoyed the visit.  This was followed by a photo session in front of the school.  Rod plans to write an article for the Katherine newspaper and will e-mail the report and photographs to me later.
Highlights:	Despite fatigue, the last hour riding through the valleys of Gregory National Park surrounded by high craggy bluffs at sunset.
Lowlights:	The last 100km was very hard work on a hot afternoon against a moderate headwind.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:
Journal:	I rose at 3:00am and left at 3:50am to ride into Katherine and my appointment with Rod Gregg’s class.  I miscalculated how long it would take me for the 100km trip, compounded by residual fatigue meant that I ran behind time and called Rod to say that I wouldn’t get there until about 8:15am when school was due to start.  He didn’t seem to mind and the visit was a lot of fun. I left the school and rode into downtown Katherine where I decided that I needed to have a good breakfast given there were no other towns between Katherine and Victoria River my goal for the day.  I ate at a roadhouse, then did a bit of shopping before leaving town about 10:30am heading southwest towards Western Australia. The day had become very warm and I heard it reached 29C in Katherine later in the day.  Compounding the heat was a slight headwind and some gradual hills, which meant that progress was hard work and a little slow.  The countryside was predominantly lightly-timbered cattle grazing country with lots of Brahmin cattle around a good covering of brown grass. As I grew more fatigued I increased my break frequency to every 30km and found I was drinking lots.  The tedium of the afternoon was broken by seeing a cattle drive of a several hundred cattle and eight or ten drovers parallel with the road.  A little while later I got a wave from a small helicopter whizzing along about 50 metres above the road. The last part of the ride was through Gregory National Park was scenically spectacular with the sun setting over craggy mesas and dappling the valleys.  I finally reached my destination of the Victoria River Roadhouse which looked like it might be an attractive place, but I won’t see it in daylight. I tried booking a room at Kununurra for tomorrow night while having breakfast in Katherine but had no luck.  Therefore I will aim to reach Kununurra (316km) around dusk tomorrow and if there’s nowhere obvious to stay will continue on towards Hall’s Creek grabbing a nap somewhere along the way. One downer today was discovering that the two podcasts I had recorded had not worked.  I messed around with the Voice Recorder for a while and seem to have managed to reset it.  Hopefully it will work tomorrow.

Round Australia by bike - Day 018 - Elliott to Mataranka

Day:	018
Date:	Monday, 6 August 2007
Accommodation	Motel in Mataranka
Summary	Riding from Elliott to Mataranka
Start Time:	3:50am
Finish Time:	5:50pm
Daily Map Kms:	316
Total Map Kms:	4,851
Map Kms To Go:	9,560
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	-105
Daily Odometer Kms:	314.5
Daily Average Speed:	26.75kph
Weather:	Cold early.  Warm and sunny later. E/NE winds.
Nutrition:	A very Big Brekky for breakfast, gourmet pie and pastie for lunch,
Encounters:	None really.
Highlights:	None really.
Lowlights:	None really.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here & Here
Journal:	I woke at 3:00am, and managed to leave the motel compound without being bitten by the Rottweiler, Shadow, and his German Shepherd mate (who I hadn’t been told about).  However, they did give me a rousing send-off, so everybody in the neighbourhood was well aware of my departure. It was quite cold again and I was wearing an extra sweater and my Goretex gloves to keep warm for the first few hours.  It was breezy but not as windy as yesterday and the wind direction had swung round to be an easterly (cross) wind.  There was a half moon and plenty of stars to admire in the clear skies as I headed north.  Around 4:50am I passed the entrance to the famous Newcastle Waters Cattle Station and could see the lights off to the left.  Opposite the entrance was a rest area where a friend, Greg Tegart, who had passed through on holidays a week earlier, had stuck up a sign wishing me well (he had e-mailed me a photo).  I looked for the sign but couldn’t find it, despite cycling around the rest area that was packed with sleeping grey nomads in their caravans and campervans. I continued on and stopped at the Dunmarra Roadhouse (109km) around 8:30am for what turned out to be a very big breakfast.  As usual the cook was very friendly and interested in my trip.  On a full stomach I headed north but stopped at 11:00 when I passed the Daly Waters Roadhouse for a quick muffin and coffee milk. By now the day was warming up and there was more traffic around.  Of particular interest were a number of escorted oversize trucks heading south with battle tanks on their trailers, presumably following exercises further north.  I presume these were some of the new tanks Australia has just purchased to replace their ageing German Leopard tanks.  As a sign of my own ageing I can remember them road-testing the braking ability of the Leopard tanks prior to purchase back in 1972.  I was in the army (National Service) stationed at Puckapunyal in Victoria and the braking test consisted of the tank rumbling up to near top speed along a road that passed by my office and then hitting the brakes just outside my office, multiple times.  I can still remember the ominous rumbling that crescendoed to an earthquake as the tank arrived and braked hard. At 237km for the day I reached Larrimah, a tiny sleepy little settlement where the main excitement seemed to be a competition between Di’s and Fran’s homemade pies and pastries in a series of signs visible as you approached town.  In the end I opted for Di’s and enjoyed a very tasty pie and pastie for a late lunch. Then it was on to Mataranka, 79km further on.  The countryside was becoming more tropical bushland with more trees, water in some creeks, lots of burnt undergrowth (controlled burns to reduce the risk of bushfires), lots of large termite mounds, and deep red soil.  It also became more undulating as the day wore on, although not really hilly. I arrived in Mataranka just before 6:00pm, checked into the motel and enjoyed a meal at the attached hotel for dinner.  I called Rod from the Casuarina Primary School in Katherine and arranged to meet him at the school on my way through Katherine tomorrow morning to meet the kids.  I hope to make Victoria River tomorrow night, making it a 300km day, and have to do a little bit of shopping in Katherine (running out of antiseptic cream and Vaseline for treating my backside!), so it could be a long day.  Depending on how I feel, I may push on through tomorrow night with the aim of getting to Kununurra earlier on Wednesday, so that I can get a good sleep and early start to the following day’s 359km trek to Halls Creek.

Round Australia by bike - Day 017 - Three Ways to Elliott

Day:	017
Date:	Sunday, 5 August 2007
Accommodation	Motel in Elliott
Summary	Riding from Three Ways to Elliott
Start Time:	4:20am
Finish Time:	2:00pm
Daily Map Kms:	242
Total Map Kms:	4,535
Map Kms To Go:	9,876
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	-145
Daily Odometer Kms:	230
Daily Average Speed:	28.00kph
Weather:	Cold early, warm and sunny later.  Gusty SE wind.
Nutrition:	Big Brekky for breakfast, pie and sausage roll for lunch, fish and chips and an ice-cream for dinner.
Encounters:	Missed hitting a startled kangaroo by about a metre when it bounded across the road in front of me in the pre-dawn darkness.
Highlights:	Nice strong tailwind most of the day.
Lowlights:	None really.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:
Journal:	Given the relatively modest target distance for the day, I decided that a 4:20am start (3:30am get up) would be sufficient.  There was a brisk and cold wind blowing from behind as I set out north along the Stuart Highway, and it wasn’t long before I stopped to put on my Goretex gloves. There was little traffic, the road was mostly flat and the wind made it easy riding.  However, a narrow miss with a startled kangaroo, improved my concentration.  As the sun rose I had some great views across the Barkly Tablelands.  They are impressive more for the vast vistas of plains and scrub that for spectacular topography.  The country is now more rocky, with occasional low craggy bluffs, and the soil is a deeper and darker red. The hills aren’t steep, but they are there.  Much of the time you are riding up or down these long gradual grades.  Sometimes you are not even aware that you are climbing, just that your speed has dropped a little.  You can see a crest in the far distance and gradullay climb to pass over it.  Then you are into a long gradual descent followed by a flat stretch across a floodplain, then another climb.  The road has very long straight stretches so you can see many kilometres ahead. I stopped in for breakfast at the Renner Springs Roadhouse and chatted with the driver of a semi-trailer carrying explosives, who had passed me earlier.  He apparently does a round Australia trip once a month from his home at Toowoomba (near Brisbane) stopping off at various mining operations to deliver their explosives order. After breakfast I continued on making good time although the wind occasionally blew from the side, making it hard to ride in a straight line.  I reached Elliott (242km) my target for the day at around 2:00pm.  I probably could have continued on another 109km to Dunmarra Roadhouse, but had talked myself into having an overdue easy day and a rest. The motel rooms behind the Elliott Hotel weren’t particularly inviting, but I took one and enjoyed watching the football on TV as I had a relaxing afternoon.  The early morning departure could be exciting as there is a large Rottweiler roaming the grounds who I discovered on arrival doesn’t like bikes. Barring the unforeseen (and attacks by Rottweilers), I should be able to get back onto my 53-Day schedule by Wednesday night.  But I’m still only one-third of the way around Australia, so there’s plenty of work to do yet.

Round Australia by bike - Day 015 & 016 - Mount Isa to Three Ways

Day:	015 & 016
Date:	Friday & Saturday, 3 & 4 August 2007
Accommodation	Motel at Three Ways
Summary	Riding from Mount Isa to Three Ways
Start Time:	1:30am Friday
Finish Time:	3:30pm Saturday (Central Time)
Daily Map Kms:	641
Total Map Kms:	4,293
Map Kms To Go:	10,118
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	-150
Daily Odometer Kms:	638.8
Daily Average Speed:	24.58kph
Weather:	Cool to cold nights, warm and sunny days.  Gusty southerly winds.
Nutrition:	Big Brekky, sausage roll & ice-cream for brunch on Friday.  Big Brekky for breakfast on Saturday.  Pie and milkshake for lunch.  Roast of the Day for dinner.
Encounters:	At breakfast early on Saturday morning at Barkly Homestead Roadhouse I was chatting with a number of guys who turned out to be part of the film crew for the new Nichole Kidman/Baz Luhrmann movie “Australia” who were midway through moving all of the film gear from Byron Bay on the east coast to Kununurra on the north-west coast in a convoy of trucks.
Highlights:	Cycling right through a surreal Friday night out on a very dark, cold and windswept savannah with almost no other signs of life.
Lowlights:	The last 100km into Three Ways was really hard work as I was exhausted.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here & Here & Here & Here & Here
Journal:	I left Mount Isa reluctantly and with little motivation at 1:30am on Friday morning with the prospect of two long days in front of me.  It was cool and breezy with a slight headwind, but at least the winds weren’t as strong as yesterday afternoon.  The road climbed a bit, but then opened out onto a vast plain with occasional small rises and a creek crossing every so often.  The further I went the less tress there were and sometimes it just seemed to be brown grassland as far as the eye could see in any direction. I made reasonable progress and reached Camooweal (189km), a stereotypical Australian outback town with some very run-down old buildings and stores, two roadhouses, a pub, a very wide main street, lots of vacant rubbish strewn vacant lots and a few dilapidated houses with bright red earth visible through the scant brown grass covering. I had a breakfast at the roadhouse and then, as I was leaving still a bit hungry and realising I was not going to see another store until tomorrow morning, I returned to the roadhouse and bought a large sausage roll, and ice-cream and a big coffee milk.  I left about 1pm heading directly west back out onto the brown grassy plains.  After 12km I crossed the border from Queensland to the Northern Territory. There was a cool strong crosswind.  I rode until about 5pm when I reached the Avon Downs Police Station, a small green oasis in the brown desert, and stopped in the rest area across the road.  I decided to have a 90 minute nap while the weather was still warm, before trying to ride through the night to the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse.  I found a concrete picnic bench and stretched out and had a fitful nap, before crossing the road to get a cup of coffee from the unmanned “Driver Reviver” (gold coin donation) stall outside the police station, and eating one of the pieces of carrot cake I had bought at Camooweal. As the sun set, traffic became rare and I soon found myself battling the strong crosswind, zig-zagging across the road, in near complete darkness as clouds had now rolled in with the southerly change.  The night took on a surreal feel with me battling the elements, fatigue and the endless kilometres in the isolated darkness.  To break up the long haul (265km from Camooweal to Barkly) I began stopping briefly every 20km to have a snack and drink and just kept soldiering on in between.  Eventually, I rolled into the seemingly deserted Barkly Homestead Roadhouse at 3:00am and saw that it opened at 6:30am.  I wandered around and found my self a corner on the concrete flooring of the verandah where I was somewhat protected from the icy wind and had a sleep for three hours.  It was cold and I woke up shivering several times, but 3was tired enough to go back to sleep. At opening time I went to the café and ordered breakfast along with a number of other chatty travellers.  They were very interested in my trip.  After stocking up on some more snacks and drink, I left at 8:00am for the 187km haul to Three Ways.  The wind was now predominantly a tailwind which made for fast initial progress, but I soon got tired and the last 100km, during which the wind often switched to cross/headwind was a long drag. I got to Three Ways, the junction with the Stuart Highway (from Adelaide to Darwin), turned north and pulled into the Three Ways Roadhouse at 3:30pm where I got a motel room for the night.  I was in time to do a load of washing and look forward to a good night’s sleep and a relatively easy day tomorrow (242km to Elliott).

Round Australia by bike - Day 013 & 014 - Normanton to Mount Isa

Day:	013 & 014
Date:	Wednesday & Thursday, 1 & 2 August 2007
Accommodation	Slept rough on Wednesday night and motel in Mount Isa for Thursday night.
Summary	Riding from Normanton to Mount Isa
Start Time:	1:20am Wednesday
Finish Time:	11:30am Thursday
Daily Map Kms:	494
Total Map Kms:	3,652
Map Kms To Go:	10,759
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:	189
Daily Odometer Kms:	514.8
Daily Average Speed:	23.45
Weather:	Cool to cold nights.  Warm sunny days.
Nutrition:	Big Brekky for lunch.  Corn chips and Mars bar to dinner. McDonalds for breakfast.  Salad sandwiches for lunch.
Encounters:	Saw a pair of brolgas close to the road.
Highlights:	Almost getting back on the 53-day schedule.
Lowlights:	Not quite making it.
Daily Pictures:	Here
Daily Podcasts:	Here & here & Here
Journal:	I set out from Normanton at 1:20am in the hope of making it as far as Cloncurry (380km) during the day.  I had only had about six hours sleep after similar amounts the previous few nights, and it caught up with me around 5:00am.  I could not keep my eyes open and was struggling into a cool southerly headwind.  After catching myself twice riding off the road while dozing I walked for a while and even then couldn’t stop from stumbling.  In the end I accepted the inevitable, found a quiet spot about 20 metres off the road, spread out my groundsheet, put on my long cycling pants, and immediately went to sleep. I woke up two hours later bathed in warm early morning sunshine feeling much refreshed.  Even the wind had switched to a north-easterly, and I began riding again making good time across the scrubby flat landscape to the famous Burke & Wills Roadhouse where I arrived at noon and ordered my usual breakfast.  I decided to continue onto Cloncurry and bought some snacks and drinks to sustain me during the 180km trip.  Even though the road began climbing gradually through low hills to a kind of tableland, I continued to make good progress and began toying with the idea of riding through the night and into tomorrow in the hop of getting to Camooweal, my originally scheduled stop for Thursday night. I reached Cloncurry at about 9:30pm and began looking for a roadhouse that I was sure would be open to service the all night truck traffic passing through the town to and from Mount Isa.  I was wrong and the only place I could find open was a hotel bottle shop where I bought a packet of corn chips, some chocolate bars and some Coke for dinner.  I then sat on a bench in the main street which was very quiet apart from very loud Bee Gees music emanating from some hall somewhere and echoing all over town.  The local Justice Department patrol car called by to see whether I was OK and offered to find me somewhere to camp, but I said I was shortly leaving for Mount Isa. I headed out of town at about 11:00pm and immediately began climbing into a range of hills silhouetted by the moonlight.  I began to feel very tired and decided it was time for a nap.  I found a not-very-good spot off the road in the dark and settled down for two hours of fitful sleep lying on rock hard ground in an increasingly cold breeze.  At about 1:00am, I decided I should get moving again with the aim of getting to Mount Isa for an early breakfast.  However, at one of my short breaks, with about 50km to go, at a small roadside picnic area I sat down on a bench, put my head on the table, and decided it was time for another nap.  It got colder and colder (7C in Mount Isa, colder in the hills) and I decided I would stay where I was until the sun rose sufficiently to warm me enough to start riding again. About 7:00am I hit the road again and reached Mount Isa around 9:30am.  I couldn’t find a café, but did find the McDonalds, so had breakfast there and contemplated the remaining 190km to Camooweal.  It was already getting quite hot and north-west (head)winds were forecast.  My best guess was that I would get to Camooweal around 8:30pm (where I had booked a hotel room), all things going well.  As I rode out of Mount Isa, the headwinds grew stronger and, as I passed the last motel on the edge of town, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and changed my plans. I checked into the motel, showered, washed and bought some lunch with the intention of leaving again around midnight and perhaps sleeping rough again tomorrow night rather than stopping short at Camooweal or trying to get to Barkley Roadhouse (another 265km further on).  I’m disappointed that I didn’t get back on the 53-day schedule, but feel that next week there may be other opportunities to catch up, all things going well.