Round Australia by bike - Day 029 - Port Hedland to Roebourne

 

Day:	029
Date:	Monday, 24 August 2009
Start:	Port Hedland
Finish:	Roebourne
Daily Kilometres:	195
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	I got up at 4:30am and had the included breakfast provided at the motel, again making sure I got my money’s worth, before waddling onto the road at around 5:30am.  The early kilometres in the dark through the Port Hedland area were a little scary as there were lots of roadworks and deviations combined with heavy traffic of mining vehicles, trucks and roadtrains as everybody got their customary early start.  I finally got through the worst of it and was about 5km south of town when I heard the now very familiar twang of a rear spoke breaking again.  Very frustrating, since I hadn’t touched the wheel for two days and it had survived the previous day without problems.  I pulled off to the side of the road in the dawn half-light to see if I could make any temporary adjustments.  I had been there a few minutes when a mining vehicle did a U-turn and the driver asked whether I was Dave Byrnes and introduced himself as a friend of my friend, Greg T, back home.  We had a brief chat then he continued on his way to work.  I decided that I needed to buy the additional wrenches/spanners I needed to replace rear drive-side spokes before continuing on, so retraced my steps and then rode into South Hedland where I knew there was a reasonable-sized shopping centre, including a K-Mart, arriving about 6:45am.  I found the K-Mart opened at 8am so adjourned to the nearby McDonalds for a coffee while I waited.  I bought the wrenches in K-Mart and then spent some time replacing the broken spoke and, to the best of my ability, adjusting the rear wheel spokes to “true” the wheel and avoid any excessively tight or loose spokes.  It was quite late in the morning before I hit the road again with the goal of getting at least to Roebourne (185km) or maybe Karratha (225km) where I had confirmed there was a bike shop with mechanic available in the morning to look at my rear wheel.  A nice tailwind had sprung up and I was optimistic about recovering some of my lost time as I headed east through the mostly flat grasslands with occasional low ranges, rocky outcrops and red soil of the Pilbara.  There was quite a lot of mining and tourist traffic along the road as well as evidence of mining operations in the distance on both sides of the road.  After about 80km, I heard the familiar “twang” again as another rear drive-side spoke broke.  Curses!  I got off the bike and spent some time bending the broken spoke around two cross spokes to take some tension with the objective of getting to Karratha tomorrow and getting an expert to look at the wheel.  A campervan pulled up to see if I needed help, although the old guy seemed more interested in telling me about his biking problems in Broome where he had cracked a couple of ribs in a fall.  When I started riding again, the wind seemed to have swung round to be coming at me from 2 o’clock and the riding again became laborious.  Gone were my hopes for some time recovery and my chronic right knee began to get very painful.  I called in at the old Whim Creek Hotel for a cold drink and asked whether they had any accommodation, but was unsuccessful.  There was plenty of accommodation there, but I think it is just for construction and mining workers.  With 85km to go and the sun beginning to get lower I continued on into the wind with Roebourne as my target even thought I was fairly sure there was no accommodation there.  Instead I would sleep rough somewhere in town or nearby.  My knee began to get very sore (I have a 1.25cm crater in the cartilage behind the knee cap from years of long-distance running) and reached about 7/10 on the pain scale, the worst so far on the trip.  I had anti-inflammatories with me, but was very reluctant to take them now the record attempt was off.  They only mask the pain while further damage is incurred.  It began to seem foolhardy to continue with the ride if the knee was also going to become a problem.  It might not be so bad tomorrow, but there would be other bad days, and I wanted to keep some cartilage for future running and riding.  Finally, I reached the big decision that I would go home from Karratha, which has an airport, tomorrow, rather than continue on.  There were too many good arguments for finishing, and not enough for continuing, on balance.  The record was always the thing for me, and that was already out of the question.  I reached Roebourne, an historic old mining town and regional centre with a large aboriginal population in the dark about 8:30pm and cycled slowly through the very quiet town.  I eventually found a café still open and went in and ordered the night’s special of curried sausages and mashed potato.  I asked the guy behind the counter about getting a room somewhere in town and he replied that he might be able to help me out.  It turned out that the café was part of a mining/construction workers hostel and that behind it were rows of basic motel-like rooms.  I took one, and learned that breakfast would be available between 4:30am and 6am the next morning as part of the room fee.  After a shower, I logged onto the internet and booked myself a flight back to Sydney via Perth from Karratha at 11:30am the next morning and went to bed sad, but resolved to move on from this third failed attempt.

Round Australia by bike - Day 028 - Pardoo to Port Hedland

 

Day:	028
Date:	Sunday, 23 August 2009
Start:	Pardoo Roadhouse
Finish:	Port Hedland
Daily Kilometres:	140
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	This was to be my second easy day in my transition competitor to tourist and I slept in until 5am and left as the dawn broke although lights were necessary for the first hour or so.  There were signs of activity in the Roadhouse kitchen and I presume I could have got breakfast at 6am, but I had bought a few sandwiches the previous day to take with me, and liked the idea of getting to Port Hedland in the early afternoon, maybe even watch some football and cricket on the TV.  The country started out to be a mix of scrub and grass plains, with few trees and plenty of red earth and red rocks.  I had a headwind again which seem to grow in strength as the sun rose and the road seemed forever slightly uphill.  It was probably a mix of optical illusion and headwind, but I seemed to have to push on the pedals all the time.  I don’t think I’ve had the luxury of rolling down a hill for three days and today brought up about 600km of constant headwinds.  On the plus side, the spoke I replaced hadn’t broken and the gears seemed to be working despite me dropping a few cogs off the rear sprocket in the dirt when replacing the freewheel yesterday afternoon (it had taken me a little while and much cursing to work out how to put it all back together again).  Although I felt physically refreshed after 9.5 hours of sleep my morale was still low and the day dragged as I averaged between 15 and 20kph into the headwind.  My knee hurt.  After about 60km a few low rocky outcrops and hills began to appear, along with more traffic, particularly roadtrains, and signs of industry.  A railway appeared to my left and I later saw a very long empty ore train heading into the outback.  Soon there were powerlines and the odd mining installation and even more roadtrains.  It was occasionally scary as the left margin on the road was only a couple of inches wide a lot of the time and I tried to remember to check my rear-view mirror every time something was coming from ahead in case I needed to get off the road.  There were also a lot of oversize loads of mining equipment.  I finally reached the edge of Port Hedland airport around 2pm, about an hour later than I had hoped, and discovered the big roadhouse/supermarket adjoining the caravan park where I hoped to get a cabin, was not longer there, apparently destroyed by a fire in the last year.  So much for today’s big brekky!  Not only that, but the caravan park had no accommodation available.  I tried the outrageously expensive motel next door and got a room, rather than continue on in the hope of finding something else.  The global financial crisis doesn’t seem to be affecting Port Hedland or the mining industry.  The place is buzzing with huge roadtrains pulling in to refuel at the service station (the fuel tanks didn’t go up in the fire, apparently) every few minutes, and the motel full of construction and mining workers.  They begin serving breakfast at 4am for the workers, apparently, so I will have that before I leave (especially since it is included in the outrageous room price).  With the roadhouse gone, I was forced to eat at the $38 all-you-can-eat seafood buffet dinner at the motel where I did my best to get my money’s worth.  A very large portion of rhubarb crumble and custard just about finished me off.  As usual, the warm conditions and dry winds left me dehydrated, and I must have consumed about four litres of fluid since finishing riding.  I did get to watch some football and cricket, which was nice.  I will continue on the bike for the time being, knowing that if my motivation is too low I can get the daily Greyhound bus to Perth from any of the towns/roadhouses along the way.

Round Australia by bike - Day 027 - Sandfire Roadhouse to Pardoo

 

Day:	027
Date:	Saturday, 22 August 2009
Start:	Sandfire Roadhouse
Finish:	Pardoo Roadhouse
Daily Kilometres:	138
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	I got up at 2:20am, after five hours sleep (I took an extra hour because I was absolutely worn out after yesterday’s “time trial” to get to Sandfire before it closed at 7pm), and was on the road by about 3:20am heading westwards across the saltbush and scrub plains.  It was misty and I had to keep wiping my glasses to see,  As day broke the mist cleared on the slightly higher ground but lingered, like a white lake, in lower areas.  Very pretty.  I came across a very large cow and a calf, both dead on the road, in the early light, presumably victims of one of the road trains during the night.  A combi van with some European tourists had stopped to take a picture (it was a very big cow, right in the middle of the road) and I later saw three police cars heading north, presumably to clear the road.  I had pretty much made up my mind that my record attempt was over.  The time the broken rear spoke had cost me, yesterday and the day before, was a couple of hours I could not afford to lose if I was going to ride successive high mileage days.  Although I could make Port Hedland today, I would be there too late to fix the spoke, rotate my tyres (the rear one was looking dangerously worn), do my washing, and get on the road by 1am tomorrow for the scheduled 330km which was to be followed by two similarly long days.  My decision was confirmed by the residual fatigue I felt from two hard days (probably worse because it was hard to get pumped about a futile cause) and a stiff headwind that sprang up as the sun rose.  I decided I would have two relatively short days, stopping at Pardoo Roadhouse and then Port Hedland, and then continue on at a slower rate that would get me home in around 60 days if I choose to continue.  The goal would be to still ride reasonably hard (~240kpd), but slow enough to average 6 hours sleep or better, and smell the roses a little.  There are also arguments for just jumping on a plane, bus or train and heading home.  My primary goal was to break the record, not just to ride around Australia.   I know I can ride around Australia at a slower pace, and I have already driven or ridden along all of the roads I still have in front of me.  It will be a lot cheaper to call it quits now than continue on for another month, and I have commitments that will be made more difficult by staying on the road an extra ten days.  I’m very disappointed to give up on the record, but not devastated.  I feel I was physically capable of accomplishing the goal, but made a bad choice about the bike to use.  I probably should have purchased a new bike before starting and had it properly prepared.  I think that would have avoided many of the mechanical problems and, in hindsight, it’s possible the pedal problem that led to the new bike, had its origins in the accident last year when I was knocked from the bike at high speed by the van.  Everything hit the ground pretty hard that morning.  Although I ultimately bought a new bike last weekend, there was not time to properly prepare it and run it in.  I arrived at the remote Pardoo Roadhouse around 11:15am and had breakfast while deciding whether to continue on to Port Hedland today.  As I ate, I watched the strong wind blowing the trees outside the roadhouse and worked out that I would not reach Port Hedland until around 8pm in such conditions.  I decided to stay at Pardoo and booked a basic cabin.  After a shower, the afternoon was spent washing, rotating my tyres and repairing my spoke using some borrowed wrenches.  The latter is not something I have done before, so I’m fully expecting the spoke to break again once I start riding.  Generally, I think the rear wheel needs some serious attention and am wishing now I had kept the rear wheel from the old bike, although this would have required swapping the rear cassettes because of the different gearing on the bikes, and it was too much to ask of Simon at 10pm last Saturday night in the Darwin bike shop when he was already doing me a big favour.  I had a very bland sweet and sour chicken at the Roadhouse for dinner and resolved to be in bed by 7:30pm for a long night’s sleep.  I will keep riding for the time being and decide during the next few days whether to end the venture or continue as a tourist.

Round Australia by bike - Day 026 - Roebuck Plains to Sandfire Roadhouse

 

Day:	026
Date:	Friday, 21 August 2009
Start:	Roebuck Plains Roadhouse
Finish:	Sandfire Roadhouse
Daily Kilometres:	287
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	I got up at 2:20am after 4 hours sleep, conscious that Sandfire Roadhouse, my target for the day, closed at 7pm.  In neutral conditions I expected it to take a little over 14 hours which didn’t leave too much margin for problems if I started too late.  Initially the riding was good, if a little cool, and I soon put my jacket on.  After about 20km, I heard a familiar “twang” and discovered another spoke had broken on the rear wheel, also on the derailleur side.  Although I now had a freewheel remover, I didn’t yet have a suitable wrench to use it with.  I stopped in the dark to see if there was anything I could initially do.  The wheel had buckled and was rubbing on the brake so I disconnected the brake and continued riding.  However, an hour later, while it was still dark, I found a suitable spot to stop and decided to adjust some spokes to reduce the buckle but it was too dark to do so efficiently and I decided to keep riding to daylight.  I then stopped again and spent about 30 minutes making similar adjustments to yesterday.  All up I had lost an hour and now realised, with 240km to go to Sandfire, that I might struggle to make it by 7pm.  My problem was exacerbated by a brisk south-westerly sea breeze which, while it took the edge off the heat (low 30s C), was a direct headwind which I ended up battling into for the remainder of the day.  There followed a very tough day, where I struggled to maintain an average speed of 20kph, and ended up digging very deep in the last 50km, when already exhausted, to make it to Sandfire with three minutes to spare.  It is still using temporary premises (after a fire three years ago), and had a limited supply of food and drink.  Two pies and an ice-cream for dinner plus multiple 600ml soft drinks (6, actually) to rehydrate.  Although I started out with plenty of fluids on the bike, I began to think I had under-catered with about 80km to go when, as if sent by the gods, a foreign family touring in a campervan pulled up just ahead of me and asked if I wanted any water.  I said yes and they gave me a 1.5 litre bottle for which I was very thankful.  I spent a lot of time during the day worrying about my buckled rear wheel and when and how I would get it fixed without detouring off my track, and also worrying about my prospects for continuing the record chase.  It seems that every day I have to dig very deep, only for some problem to arise that requires digging even deeper, all so I can have another day doing the same.  I have more or less decided to stick to a schedule that will get me home in 51 days for as long as I can.  If for any reason this becomes impossible, then I will back off to become a tourist and aim to complete the circuit averaging, say, 250kpd, instead and trying to make it a little more enjoyable.

Round Australia by bike - Day 025 - Fitzroy Crossing to Roebuck Plains

 

Day:	025
Date:	Thursday, 20 August 2009
Start:	Fitzroy Crossing
Finish:	Roebuck Plains Roadhouse
Daily Kilometres:	362
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	As I cycled quietly out of Fitzroy Crossing just before 12:30am I noticed the Greyhound Bus quietly idling next to the community centre.  Each day since leaving Timber Creek I see it a few hours earlier.  I headed westwards out of town, quite apprehensive about the long hot day in front of me, and conscious that it was the first of a number of “crunch” days that I would have to survive to have any chance of breaking the record.  The first four hours, apart from a pleasant break watching the stars while I had a snack at around 3:30am, were quite miserable.  I could not get my mind off how hard the record attempt had become and how many more very hard days I would have before it was all over, one way or the other.  My mood became quite black and I was close to quitting.  Around 4:30am I became incredibly sleepy, which didn’t improve my mood because I knew that, to have any chance of making it through the day by a reasonable time, I could not afford to stop for any naps.  I persevered, but my speed slowed considerably as I fought to stay awake.  I was “saved” by about 10km of gravel road detour parallel to the main road which was being upgraded.  Although not too rough, there were occasional potholes and careful attention was required in the pre-dawn gloom.  About half an hour later, as the sun rose, I heard a familiar twang from my rear wheel and stopped to find that a spoke had broken.  Of course it attached to the hub on the derailleur side meaning that I couldn’t replace it without a freewheel remover which I wasn’t carrying.  Instead I bent and hooked the broken spoke where two other spokes crossed and tightened it to take some tension and then adjusted some other spokes to reduce the buckle in the wheel.  I knew that there was a risk of broken spokes with a new wheel, but I had been checking them and hadn’t noticed a problem.  The delay put me about 45 minutes behind my day’s schedule but I was lucky that as the sun rose, a nice easterly breeze sprang up and lasted to lunchtime, helping me regain some time as I headed across the red earth savannah past the giant termite mounds and boab trees to the Willare Bridge Roadhouse (225km), the first place I would pass through for the day..  About an hour before reaching Willare, a Swiss motorcyclist pulled alongside of me and we had a chat for quite a while as I pedalled along.  He (Matts) hade been all over the world and has a website www.globalbiking.com .  When I reached Willare, Matts was still there enjoying a drink, and he asked me about the bike.  I told him about the broken spoke and he immediately offered to try and fix it for me as he was qualified as both a bike and motorbike mechanic and though he might be able to remove the freewheel with tools he had.  He started the task with gusto and professionalism as I watched and occasionally helped.  Unfortunately he could not get the freewheel off and, instead, spent some time readjusting the spokes to minimise the problem.  He also worked on my gears, making sure that all were functional before he headed off to Broome, having asked where I was aiming for that night.  An incredibly nice helpful guy.  I left Willare about 1pm with another 132km to go to Roebuck Plains Roadhouse.  It was very hot (38C) and the wind had become variable.  The road crossed a few very inviting rivers and waterholes that were probably inhabited by crocodiles, so I passed.  Much of the time the road passed across arid grasslands and it was like a furnace.  I tried to drink regularly and not think about how uncomfortable I was, not to mention very tired.  I finally reached Roebuck Plains Roadhouse at 7:15pm as the last remnants of the beautiful sunset ebbed away.  Waiting for me at the roadhouse was Matts with a freewheel remover chatting to a few backpackers having a beer!  He had biked into Broome, another 33km away, gone to the bike shop and bought a freewheel remover part that could be used with a standard wrench, arranged for somewhere to camp for the night with an old acquaintance, and then ridden back to the Roadhouse to wait for my arrival.  I was totally exhausted after my long day in the heat, but very grateful to Matts and watched and waited as he replaced the spoke and gave my bike a once over.  He was meticulous and professional, but said he was a bit worried about the wheel, which needed some of the spokes to have higher tension than he thought desirable.  He finished about 8:45pm and I thanked him and wished him well.  I retired to my basic cabin where I enjoyed some shepherds pie and jelly custard dessert from the roadhouse.  Got to bed later than planned at 10pm, totally shattered and hopeful of an easier day tomorrow.

Round Australia by bike - Day 024 - Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing

 

Day:	024
Date:	Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Start:	Halls Creek
Finish:	Fitzroy Crossing
Daily Kilometres:	290
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	I was on the road by 1am heading south-west out of the sleeping Halls Creek.  The weather was mild and I only needed my short-sleeved top.  The weather forecast was for 37C for Fitzroy Crossing, so I knew it was going to get hot once the sun came up.  I decided to break the day into sections – 60k, 60k, 50k, 40k, 40k, 40k – and looked for the kilometre posts marking the end of each section before finding a place to stop.  Early progress was good and I again enjoyed a brilliant cloudless starlit night at my first break.  As usual, I got very sleepy as dawn approached, but once the sun came up, felt awake again.  Until dawn, the only vehicles I saw in 4.5 hours were the Greyhound Bus on its way from Broome to Darwin and one roadtrain.  Once the sun was up it warmed rapidly and the traffic increased, although still quite light.  For each break I was looking for a nice shady tree.  In the open savannah, this was not always easy to find.  With 70km to go, the road descended to the Fitzroy River flood plain and it seemed to get even hotter.  A headwind for most of the last 50km meant that I arrived very tired and hot, but more or less on schedule at 3:30pm.  I checked into my motel and then had to ride to a small supermarket and also to a roadhouse to get a pie and sausage roll for dinner.  Not much choice, although you’ll be pleased to know I also bought some fruit salad.  I’m not looking forward to the 360km haul to Roebuck Plains tomorrow, especially since the local temps are again forecast to be 38C.

Round Australia by bike - Day 023 - Doon Doon to Halls Creek

 

Day:	023
Date:	Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Start:	Doon Doon Roadhouse
Finish:	Halls Creek
Daily Kilometres:	254
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	After a fitful night’s sleep on the grass in my bivvy sack with the sound of mosquitoes constantly buzzing in my ears, I got up at 1:15am and was on the road by 2:00am heading south on a mild and very dark evening with a brilliant display of stars.  My initial goal was to get to Warmun Roadhouse, 90km away, soon after 6am in the hope that they would be open and serving breakfast.  Without my usual strong coffee before setting out, or my coffee milk for my first break, I was struggling to stay awake around 5am and took a No Doz to get some caffeine into the system.  I only saw two vehicles in the first three hours, but as it became light the traffic increased considerably as road construction crews headed out from Warmun Roadhouse to begin work on the various road upgrades I had been negotiating in the dark.  The sunrise was spectacular, lighting up the red bluffs and bush in front of me and I enjoyed the last hour’s run into Warmun where I arrived at 6:30am.  I got a big brekky and ate it while watching breakfast TV.  As I packed the food and drink I had bought, a guy came up to me very interested in my trip and was a bit of a cyclist himself.  He had met the driver of the van who knocked me off last year.  Small world!  From Warmun I had a hot hilly 162km to my target of Halls Creek.  I knew it would be a tough day in the heat and sun and was determined to maintain a reasonable pace, which I did with some assistance later in the day of a tailwind.  The road was quite busy with trucks and tourists and I passed the access road to the fantastic Bungle Bungle range off to my left, but out of sight.  Generally the road passed through arid cattle grazing land although there was some water in the creeks.  I reached Halls Creek at 3:15pm and checked into the expensive motel in the regional, predominantly aboriginal, town.  I bought take-out chicken and chips for dinner and drink and food for the trip to Fitzroy crossing tomorrow, a 290km haul with absolutely nothing in between.  It’s going to be hot again, but the road is flatter.  Hope the wind is blowing the right way.  My chronic right knee injury was playing up big time today, so I’m hoping a good night’s rest will improve it, or I’ll have to get out the anti-inflammatories.

Round Australia by bike - Day 022 - Timber Creek to Doon Doon

 

Day:	022
Date:	Monday, 17 August 2009
Start:	Timber Creek
Finish:	Doon Doon Roadhouse
Daily Kilometres:	331
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	I was on the road by about 1:30am, hoping the new bike was going to go OK in its first outing.  Two problems were immediately apparent, though neither of them were showstoppers.  Firstly, the brake/gear levers were not set evenly on the handle bars, i.e., the left side was at least an inch lower than the right, and to fix it would involve unwrapping the handle bar tape and moving the levers, neither of which I was disposed to do at this time.  The second problem was that I could not change the gears onto the big front chain ring, so didn’t have access to gears 19-27.  I can fix it with a bit of time, but wasn’t disposed to in the dark with a big day scheduled.  The early riding was very pleasant with no wind or moon and a brilliant starry sky.  It would have been more enjoyable if I could have stopped thinking about the task I had set myself.  I very narrowly missed (by less than a foot) small wallabies which, on two separate occasions, bounded across the road in front of me.  As the sun rose I climbed out of the Victoria River Valley and was treated to some spectacular red rocky bluffs and many alien-like boab trees.  The bike was running fine and I was making good time.  However, as the sun rose and the road became more undulating, it rapidly became hot and a headwind made things unpleasant.  I laboured on to the West Australian border where I was quizzed by a quarantine inspector about whether I was carrying any fruit and gained 90 minutes by entering the western time zone.  From there it was about 45km to Kununurra, my only town for the day and a regional tourist, agricultural and mining town.  Along the way I was flagged down by some caravanners to see if I wanted a cold drink, but I declined, having plenty of fluids and not wanting to lose any time.  At Kununurra I stopped in at the 24 hour roadhouse/supermarket and got a pie and pastie for lunch, plus some preserved fruit and an ice-cream, and a lot of drinks.  I left around noon for the last 105km to Doon Doon roadhouse and endured the worst heat of the day, ~35C, on a narrow and busy road through arid country surrounded by rocky hills.  After 45km, I turned south, got the wind behind me at last and enjoyed a reasonably pleasant run to Doon Doon by the light of a setting sun and surrounded by spectacular Kimberley mountain ranges, though I was feeling very tired.  I got to the roadhouse at 5:10pm, 20 minutes before their kitchen closed and ordered a schnitzel and vegetables dinner from the female proprietor who remembered me from last year.   I booked a campsite for the night and had a shower before sleeping inside my one man tent as a bivvy sack on the grass.  Tomorrow is a short day to Halls Creek where I have booked a motel room.  The next week is pretty much defined by where the roadhouses/towns are and I’ll stick to my originally-planned daily hops until nearer Perth where I will try and claw some time back.

Round Australia by bike - Day 021 - Timber Creek

 

Day:	021
Date:	Sunday, 16 August 2009
Start:	Timber Creek
Finish:	Timber Creek
Daily Kilometres:	0
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:
Journal:	My flying visit to Darwin all went to plan, more or less, and I am very grateful to Simon of Bike to Fit for opening his shop late on a Saturday night and being patient while wheels, tyres, saddles, bottle cages, etc., were swapped.  He even gave me a lift back to my hostel in the city.  I arrived back in Timber Creek by bus at 3:30pm and then spent two hours refitting the new bike and packing.  Apart from a few minor issues, it seems OK, although I haven’t ridden it at all yet.  My plan is to get an early start tomorrow  and head for Doon Doon Roadhouse, tomorrow, 330km away.  It’s forecast to be 35+C tomorrow.

Round Australia by bike - Day 020 - Timber Creek

 

Day:	020
Date:	Saturday, 15 August 2009
Start:	Timber Creek
Finish:	Timber Creek
Daily Kilometres:	0
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:
Journal:	Firstly, I have to thank everybody for the sympathetic and constructive advice and support I have received through the Yahoo Group, after describing my mechanical problems of yesterday.  I’m very grateful and apologise for not responding individually.  As a consequence, I decided to explore a couple more options before giving up and heading home.  However, a prerequisite was that any solution would have to see me riding again on Monday, with the loss of only two days, otherwise there is no chance of me breaking the record.  Plan A was to find some temporary fix that would get me going to the next bike shop (Broome, 1300km away and 40km off my route).  I asked around the campsite to see if any of the grey nomads had some industrial strength epoxy resin.  One guy had a lesser standard but expressed doubt, on looking at the bike, that any resin could be applied in a way that would solve the problem.  The alloy nut into which the pedal screws in the carbon fibre crank arm has actually fractured and it’s very hard to see how you would apply the resin to bind the pedal, nut and crank arm.  I decided it was not a feasible solution in the time available. Bearing in mind it is the weekend and taking the bike to any nearby town (at least 225km away) for an epoxy bond repair has doubtful merit.  I have to get there, find someone who will do it on the weekend, and then get back.  The garage in Timber Creek is closed on weekends and they weren’t much help yesterday.  Plan B was to find a bike shop in Darwin with a replacement crank arm or crankset in stock and get them to ship it to Timber Creek on the daily Greyhound bus that leaves Darwin at 7:15am and gets to Timber Creek at 3:30pm on the same day.  I also called Dan Cleary from the Pushy Galore bike shop back home that supplied the bike to see if he had any ideas and left it with him.  I began calling Darwin bike shops and none of the first five had a compatible crank arm or crankset.  I could get another brand crankset, but it would likely require more tools, parts and expertise than I had available on a Sunday in Timber Creek to do the job.  The sixth bike shop I called was Bike to Fit, an Avanti/Specialized dealer, who had just been called by Dan on my behalf to see if they could help.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have a compatible crankset either.  I then asked what bikes they had in stock that might suit my purposes, thinking that it might be easier just to get a replacement bike.  They had one Specialized Tricross, the same bike I have now, but in the standard version (I have the higher-end Expert).  Simon, the proprietor was very helpful and said he could have it ready to ship it to me tomorrow on the Sunday Greyhound bus.  I called Greyhound and discovered their freight office is closed on weekends and that their drivers won’t accept freight unless it is pre-booked.  With an hour to spare, I called Simon, said I would take his bike if I could collect it late tonight or early tomorrow morning, and booked myself a return ticket with bike from Timber Creek to Darwin.  I then hastily stripped my bike of as much of my customised gear as I could in the time remaining, booked my room in Timber Creek for Saturday and Sunday nights so I could leave gear there, and booked myself a room in Darwin near the bus terminal for tonight.  The bus arrives at 9:30pm and I will then get a cab to meet Simon at his shop, leave my current bike with him to ship home, buy the replacement bike (swap my front wheel, which has a dynamo hub to power my lighting and my rear “puncture proof” tyre….can’t swap the rear wheel or crankset easily because the new bike is 27 speed as opposed to my existing 20 speed), return to my hotel room for some sleep and then catch the 7:15am bus back to Timber Creek.  When I get back in mid-afternoon, I will fit the new bike with the customised gear I need – racks, lights, wiring, bottle cages, etc. – hope to get an early night and be on my way by very early morning on Monday. I had a minor panic when I rushed to get the bus from Timber Creek because there was no activity indicating an approaching bus service.  I suddenly thought that I had assumed a 1:40pm departure instead of a 1:20 departure and missed it.  But then it turned upJ.  If this all sounds complicated, then I can assure you that it has been a lot more complicated than I have detailed here, complete with a backdrop of frustration, depression, loss of motivation, and a sense that I’m clutching at straws in a futile and faint hope of continuing successfully.  (The money I’m spending on the new bike could pay for a trip to the UK next year to hike from Lands End to John O’Groats, my next project.)  Even with the loss of just two days, I now have to average 314km per day for the next 30 days to come close to the record.  During my first 17 days on this trip, I averaged 304km per day and four hours sleep per night.  I felt on the edge many times, had several “foetal” moments (just wanted to curl up in the foetal position on the side of the road and wait for my mother to come and get me), and don’t relish the prospect of going even harder for longer from this point on.  There will be no margin for error with respect to health, the bike or the weather.  Common sense tells me that too many things have to go right for success and that I am now grossly over-committed in terms of goals and money.  I think that the most likely outcome is a few more problems, a falling further behind schedule, and a gradual loss of motivation.  We’ll see.  I’m writing this from the Greyhound bus about 2.5 hours south of Darwin and will send it when within range.  Thanks again for all the support.

Round Australia by bike - Day 019 - Katherine to Timber Creek

Day:	019
Date:	Friday, 14 August 2009
Start:	Katherine
Finish:	Timber Creek
Daily Kilometres:	288
Total Kilometres:	5455
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	The day started well and I left a sleeping Katherine at 2am with my short-term target the Victoria River Roadhouse at 195km.  There was quite a bright half-moon and I felt stronger and more rested than any time since leaving home.  I made good time through the undulating savannah and was treated to a lovely bush dawn as I approached Gregory National Park and the Victoria River Valley, an area of red craggy bluffs, with small exotic-looking clusters of prehistoric palms nestled here and there at the base of the bluffs.  With about 30km to go, I became conscious of a slight anomaly in my right pedal motion and initially attributed it to a small stone jammed in my cleat, which I removed.  I had a big brekky at the Victoria River Roadhouse, which sat above an impressive new, but not yet used, bridge over the river.  There was a lot of construction work going on the road approaches to the bridge and at various points along the road for the next 30km.  Early on in the remaining 93km to Timber Creek, where I had a room booked for the night, I realised that the pedal problem was getting worse, to the point where my bad right knee, which always hurts a bit, was getting very painful.  A closer examination revealed that the alloy nut in the crank arm, into which the pedal screws, was working loose from its carbon fibre moulding.  I unscrewed the pedal and confirmed that the skewed motion of the pedal in the loose nut was also beginning to strip the thread from the inside of the nut.  It got so bad that, with 30km to go, I was left pedalling very gingerly with my right leg for fear that the nut would break free from the carbon fibre crank arm.  Eventually, I arrived at the one pub, one garage, one general store outback town at 4:45.  I stopped into the garage to see if there was anything they could suggest.  I asked about using some kind of epoxy resin and they said that might work temporarily, but that there was none in town.  There’s an exceptional amount of stress on that pedal every day, and I have my doubts about the longevity of such a fix, anyway.  There’s no bike shop ahead of me for more than 1000km and the nearest is Darwin, a nine hour bus ride away in the other direction.  Sharon offered to fly to Darwin and then drive to Timber Creek with my spare bike, but I don’t want to go to such extreme measures, which don’t really fit with the “solo and unsupported” theme of the record.  I called the Kununurra Cycle Club, Kununurra being the next town I go through (225km ahead), to see if they had any ideas, but they said they order their bike gear in from Darwin and there is no bike shop in town.  I started out this trip by saying that I would keep going round Australia, even if I had no chance of breaking the record.  But, now it has come to this point, and I‘ve invested so much effort and energy into putting myself into a good position to break the record, I really can’t find the motivation to continue after a bicycle repair which I think will cost me at least four days in time.  I could get a bus to Darwin tomorrow (Saturday), get the bike fixed (hopefully) on Monday, then return here on Tuesday in time to resume riding on Wednesday, but there is no way I could make up the lost time.  As an alternative, I’m thinking of catching the bus to Darwin tomorrow and then flying home from there on Sunday (embarrassed, with my tail between my legsJ).  I’ll sleep on it, but it seems to me at the moment that I’ve made three serious attempts on the record that have cost money, time and effort, and it’s time to move on.  There are other, perhaps less demanding, adventures on my list.

 

Round Australia by bike - Day 018 - Katherine

 

Day:	018
Date:	Thursday, 13 August 2009
Start:	Katherine
Finish:	Katherine
Daily Kilometres:	0
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:
Journal:	I got 9.5 hours sleep and could have slept for longer, but had a long list of chores including washing, shopping, bike maintenance and much other stuff.  It was nice wandering around the busy town in the very warm sunshine ticking off my chores. It will be hard getting back on the bike tomorrow.  However, I feel like it is a fresh start and think I have a reasonable chance of staying on my now-51 day schedule without struggling every day, which seems to have been the way so far.  Always playing catch-up and just hanging on.  If I’m going well in the last two weeks, there will be some opportunity to gain some time.  Of course, I now have less buffer if any significant problems arise with bike or body.

Round Australia by bike - Day 017 - Day Waters to Katherine

 

Day:	017
Date:	Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Start:	Daly Waters
Finish:	Katherine
Daily Kilometres:	274
Total Kilometres:	5167
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	I let myself have 5.5 hours sleep after two tough days and got up at 5am and was on the road at 6am from the rapidly stirring, but still dark, Daly Waters Roadhouse.  There were a lot of construction personnel and truckies staying at the place and having an early breakfast in the before heading off to their work locations.  I decided to eat later and set off northwards along the quiet Stuart Highway, the main north-south route through central Australia.  It was cool and, unfortunately, the forecast north-easterly breeze was already blowing.  Although the road was relatively flat and the surface good, my average speed rarely went above 20kph and I knew I was in for a long day.  It confirmed in my mind the wisdom of having a day off tomorrow in Katherine to allow for some extra sleep and various chores.  The countryside was typical straw grass savannah with scraggly olive green eucalypts.  Here and there was evidence of controlled burning to reduce the undergrowth.  By the time I reached the small settlement of Larrimah in late morning it had become very warm with clear skies and a blazing sun.  I stopped in at a small somewhat oddball bakery/teahouse run by Fran for brunch and demolished two delicious pies and two vanilla milkshakes.  A woman at an adjacent table began talking to me and it turned out she was a member of my sister’s former church congregation in Adelaide.  Small world.  After lunch I laboured on to Mataranka, which seems quite tropical and exotic, with a large indigenous population, wide streets, large fig trees and grassy parkland.  The dry and hot headwind had given me a parched mouth and throat and I went into the small supermarket for a drink and ice-cream, emerging with a one litre container of premium vanilla.  It went down so well and I savoured it as I watched the local comings and goings before setting off reluctantly for the last 106km to Katherine.  The road was quieter and it was cooler, but I had more than had enough and just wanted the day to be over.  I am sick of starting out in darkness and finishing long after sunset.  I eventually arrived in Katherine, a large provincial town in the tropics and checked into the central motel I had booked earlier.  After buying some fish and chips at a nearby roadhouse I got to bed at 11pm, looking very forward to a long night’s sleep.

Round Australia by bike - Day 016 - Cape Crawford to Daly Waters

 

Day:	016
Date:	Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Start:	50km short of Cape Crawford
Finish:	Daly Waters
Daily Kilometres:	320
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	I got on the road around 4am, still very tired and rode the 50km to Cape Crawford, arriving around 6:30am and had to wait for them to open at 7am.  It’s a pleasant shady campground and roadhouse with nice lawns in the middle of the outback.  I bought breakfast and some sandwiches for later in the day and set off westwards for the 270km to Daly Waters where I had already booked a motel room.  I was much later than expected, having planned to have an early start from Cape Crawford originally.  It became a very warm day as the road climbed on to a forested plateau and decided early on not to force the pace because of fatigue and the heat.  I’m seriously thinking about having a couple of easy days in the next week to catch up on some sleep and switch to a 51 day schedule.  Around 4pm with 140km to go the road became easier and the wind shifted to an easterly and I made fast progress to Daly Waters, although it was still 9:30pm by the time I arrived.  I bought some dinner and supplies for tomorrow and will see whether or not I continue at this pace or have the easier days.

Round Australia by bike - Day 015 - Cape Crawford

 

Day:	015
Date:	Monday, 10 August 2009
Start:	Barkly Homestead
Finish:	50km short of Cape Crawford
Daily Kilometres:	326
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	My four hours of sleep was interrupted multiple times by some drunks arguing and carousing outside the motel rooms.  I got up and left by 2:30am and set off on the road with no services or habitation for 376km.  I was already pessimistic because the weather forecast was for northerly winds.  They were blowing but only lightly at first.  Fatigue caught up with me early and I needed a 15 minute catnap at 4am, followed by two hours at 5am.  I could not keep my eyes open.  Momentum was already lost for the big day.  When I resumed riding the wind was much stronger and there was a slight uphill gradient as the road climbed onto the prairie-like Barkly Tablelands.  I struggled to keep my speed above 15kph for about four hours by which time I was exhausted and well behind schedule.  The scenery was spectacular with grassland reaching to the horizon in all directions.  In the afternoon the wind diminished and I made better progress, but had no hope of reaching Cape Crawford in time for a bed.  Met grey nomads at the only two rest areas and they offered food and water to me which was gratefully accepted.  Around 11pm I began to lose the plot and decided I had to stop.  I found a poor spot off the road and slept fitfully and cold for five hours on the stony ground.

Round Australia by bike - Day 014 - Camooweal to Barkly Homestead

 

Day:	014
Date:	Sunday, 9 August 2009
Start:	Camooweal
Finish:	Barkly Homestead
Daily Kilometres:	260
Total Kilometres:	4245
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	The day started badly when I woke up from my four hours of sleep with a very sore throat.  I hit the road at 3:30am for what should have been a relatively easy day, but was immediately struggling with cold and fatigue.  Eventually, at 6:30am, my progress was so insipid, and I felt so bad, I found a spot off the road and out of the icy breeze, crawled into my bivvy sack, and set the alarm for an hour later.  The sun was up and it was warmer when I got up and I resumed progress at a better pace.  I guess I’m over-tired and have to watch out I don’t come down with something.  The day was mostly across the dry grass plains of the southern Barkly Tablelands and it was very warm (low 30s C) and sunny.  I felt better as the day wore on though I needed another catnap around noon to keep me awake.  No stores en route today and I just had enough food to see me through.  I arrived at Barkly Homestead at 6:30pm, Central time, the first daylight arrival (just) for a week.  Big day tomorrow, 378km, with no stores or habitation at all.  I will have to leave early to finish in time to get a bed and food.

Round Australia by bike - Day 013 - Cloncurry to Camooweal

Day:	013
Date:	Saturday, 8 August 2009
Start:	Cloncurry
Finish:	Camooweal
Daily Kilometres:	310
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	Rolled into Camooweal at 8pm tonight after spending the last two nights taking catnaps here and there along the road.  Very sleep deprived, but happy to be on schedule and to have a needed replacement tyre fitted and a quick bike service from the very helpful people at Sportspower in Mt Isa.  I have now done 3985km in 13 days and have managed to just hang on to my 50-day schedule by the skin of my fingernails.  Lots of stories to tell but no time to write them down, unfortunately.  Looking forward to an easier week in prospect (the roadhouses are closer together) apart from the 378km haul to Cape Crawford the day after tomorrow.  Time for a much-needed shower and four hours sleep.  Goodnight!

 

Round Australia by bike - Day 012 - Normanton to Cloncurry

 

Day:	012
Date:	Friday, 7 August 2009
Start:	Normanton + 50km
Finish:	Cloncurry
Daily Kilometres:	332
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	At about 8pm last night, Dave passed through Normanton...and was just going to keep going to B&W Roadhouse. He was looking at just taking naps along the way, and had bought supplies to stay self sufficient and it was going to be a total of about 500km without a decent sleep. Tired, but on schedule.

Round Australia by bike - Day 011 - Georgetown to Normanton

 

Day:	011
Date:	Thursday, 6 August 2009
Start:	Georgetown
Finish:	Normanton + 50km
Daily Kilometres:	353
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here
Journal:	No Report.

Round Australia by bike - Day 010 - Atherton to Georgetown

 

Day:	Day_010
Date:	Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Start:	Atherton
Finish:	Georgetown
Daily Kilometres:	311
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here
Journal:	No report

Round Australia by bike - Day 009 - Cardwell to Atherton

 

Day:	009
Date:	Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Start:	Cardwell
Finish:	Atherton
Daily Kilometres:	284
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	Here & here & here & here
Journal:	No report

Round Australia by bike - Day 008 - Bowen to Cardwell

 

Day:	008
Date:	Monday, 3 August 2009
Start:	Bowen
Finish:	Cardwell
Daily Kilometres:	362
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	n.a.
Journal:	Just a quick note to say I arrived in Cardwell (2402km) at 8:15pm tonight after a 362km day.  Tired but OK.  Tomorrow I pass through Cairns and then turn left to begin my journey across the top.  Hoping to begin more regular diary updates, but have had to choose sleep over the diary in the past week as time was chewed up by mechanical problems.  I’m getting four hours sleep a night so feeling a little jaded but otherwise OK.  I’ve modified my route slightly tomorrow to follow Highway 1 through Cairns and Kuranda up onto the Atherton Tableland.  This is slightly shorter (about 80km) than my originally intended route, but is the more obvious road to follow and still takes me on a longer route than that used by Erik when he set the current record.  Time for bed!

Round Australia by bike - Day 007 - Mackay to Bowen

 

Day:	007
Date:	Sunday, 2 August 2009
Start:	Mackay
Finish:	Bowen
Daily Kilometres:	188
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	n.a.
Journal:	Dave arrived in Bowen, about 2040km completed. More dramas with the bike (the first being a snapped gear cable, then a bearing went in the rear wheel, requiring a wheel replacement), and now the latest being a ruptured tyre wall requiring changing in Sarina last night. No motel rooms free either, so after changing the tyre and tube, he had to continue on to Mackay, where he didn't end up getting to bed until about 11pm. It was a fast 35km from Sarina to Mackay, but a few party revellers on the road yelling out to him along the way during the night. So a later start today, at 5am, and reduced mileage will see him about half a day behind schedule. Voice recorder has also failed, so a few podcasts were thought to have been made...but were sadly not recorded. Dave will possibly stop in Cairns for a new one.

Round Australia by bike - Day 006 - Rockhampton to Mackay

 

Day:	006
Date:	Saturday, 1 August 2009
Start:	Rockhampton
Finish:	Mackay
Daily Kilometres:	335
Total Kilometres:
Podcasts:	n.a.
Journal:	No report