78.8km ridden today
1122.4km ridden so far
1081km to go (adjusted)
297m up
326m down
2467 calories burnt
Pain factor: 6/10
Strata that shit: https://www.strava.com/activities/18168763836
Another day, another flat tyre….
So I was a lot more tired than I thought arriving in Roma at 2:30am. 945km on a bus on bumpy roads definitely takes it out of you as well. I pretty much fell into bed at the motel (rode the 500m there, getting more brisk at night the further south I go). Didn’t wake up till 9:30am so it was a late start comparably. Weird having an 11:30pm stop at Charleville. Even the local cops were looking for something to do so came over to sus out the situation. We also went bug hunting, Aliens style.
Not a great deal of photos today sorry as after my phaffing I wanted to jet it for the mighty Surat (name doesn’t really have a “come here!” vibe to it, does it?)
Apparently bottle trees are a thing in Roma. So here is a bottle tree to excite you.
So the ride was quite scenic. Undulating, winding. All the ‘ings really. Head wind was up. Crank-o-metre was up, but manageable.
After a bit of traffic around Roma, it settled down a lot and was actually really quite. I played the usual game of chess with the road trains. Assessing when they can go round me or if I needed to pull over. The shoulder was frustrating. It was there. Then it wasn’t. Then it was there again. With the visibility and low traffic I mostly rode in the main lane.
Cruising a long with about 20km to go I thought the bike felt a bit more bouncy than normal for 5 or so km’s. I was due a rest so pulled over. Another flat. This one though was a slow burner. I figured it may get me to Surat as I couldn’t be assed fixing it on the side of the road. Two air top ups got me there.
Surat is a pretty random place. There is a plethora of spots for camping by the river. Zero people there now though. Surat isn’t being overly mighty right now.
I did try and find da’ dongers. Could only find the motels. Though upon arrival the motel is very dongerish complete with aluminum walls with pop-rivets (well, I guess the Sydney Harbour Bridge is held together with pop rivets right?)
I think it is so out there and unique it probably is somewhere you could take a lady to woo her. She’s laugh so much you would be sure to be a shoe in (or a Donger in). $110 for the night for this baby.
Front tyre fixed. Not sure I can be assed fixing the old one tonight and I have two brand new spares. Might wait till I have some more time. Early night tonight after the redirection halfway across Queensland last night.
Song of the day: Well this one was on my mind as a “I’m back” (until the flat tyre) and I was singing it in my head for most of the day. I’ll go with it anyway though as it is one of the most iconic of Aussie rock songs (though my come back is rather more inferior than theirs). It would also be a travesty to leave them out of my song of the day. AC/DC- Back In Black