120.6km ridden today
1476.9km ridden so far
751km to go
265m up
193m down
3460 calories burnt
Pain factor: 2/10 (ask me about frustration factor…)
Strava that shit: https://www.strava.com/activities/18209113309
So a day I expected to be quite benign turned out to be a mixed bag….
So first up, 100 metres back to the bridge for a re-take of the border photo with Sophies Stinky Sock. Half in QLD, half in NSW. Bodertown Mungindi. Pop. 600. Talk about a claim to fame. The sock has been riding up front with me the whole way. It does not get the benefit of a shower to get rid of the dirt and grit and god knows what. It is starting to look it.
Probably the most average accommodation on the trip yet, as highlighted in last posts highly inviting bathroom. And guess what, there was a pussy in my room! Seriously! After spending a few hours sorting things out, writing blog etc… I crawled into bed. 2 minutes later, “meow”. WTF I though. It definitely came from in the room. After moving the beds around I found a mid sized kitten hiding. I tried to catch it, but it wasn’t having a bar of it. In the end I had no choice but to open to door and force its only escape through it. It left dust in its wake as it scooted off into the darkness. Not much more I could do.
After succumbing to the temptation of a cafe coffee (a rather nice place for such a tiny town) I was on the road.
I was expecting the worst today. Last night the legs were jelly, the hip flexors hurt and I was TIRED. I did lay in bed briefly contemplating staying a second night, but there was nothing here. GET UP! (see S.O.T.D) I said, and again the diesel engine warmed up. Amazingly, the body was like “ok fine, you can do it, I can” and I motored off… for 20km then…
Flat. Front (not the tube that was apparently “thorn resistant”). Ok fine I said, sat on the dirt on the side of the road and did what is becoming a recurring trend. Alas, when I tried to pump up the tyre – Nothing! Another dud tube! I don’t think I have once had a faulty valve on a tube in my life, but I have had two this trip.
I think this was a genuine moment of “I’m fed up”. What frustrated me most is the body and mind were good. It was just these damn flats. I thus wasted 45mins on the side of the road; putting me back to a likely after dark arrival in Moree. The biggest problem was I had no fresh spares. My only option was to ride on and pray for no flats. If I got one, I’d have to do a puncture repair job (which would be hard with precious drinking water needed to find the hole) and then flag someone for a lift to Moree. Finally, I got back on the road and accepted my fate.
A random dead tree painted blue for NSW. Whatever pumps your nag I guess…
Moree shire sign, 100kms out of Moree. Somewhat larger than the Sutherland Shire back in Sydney…
So on road trains again. First of all, I wish there was a way I could thanks to all the truckies. Turns out they are by far safer than the small vehicles. Even if I have moved right off the road for them, they still move over to the other lane. On the long clear straights, I keep riding and stay to the side. Channel 40 is all about safety too. Warnings of wide loads. I’m passing etc… These guys are professionals. I make every effort to get out of their way and give them a “thumbs up” as they pass.
The road trains also turned from the big 3 carriage freight to 2 carriage cotton or beef trucks. Layers and layers of cotton and cows. I recon Australia would have a 3 year supply of cotton from the side of the road (see above pic). The cow trucks stink and leave a wake of complete “crap” behind then. Again, some more prime movers that are a thing of beauty.
And now. A rant. The first 70km of today the roads were bloody terrible. It was almost like you could see the change at the border. I am not talking about potholes/filled potholes either. While the road “looks” good in the photo above the surface was terrible. As the great Homer Simpson says “Just throw some bumper stickers on it, it’ll be ok.
Back in QLD, the solution to low lying flood prone road was some pipes and a concrete a spillway over it. Not here. Solution – run some small trenches across the road every 20 metres or so. It was like that for 20 or so kms and I had to slow right down. To make matters worst, I came up to a section of recently re-surfaced road (no lines marked yet) and eventually the roadwork. The completed work was terrible. Worst still was the actual roadwork in progress. The workers were very friendly and told me ride on the right and radioed ahead that a cyclist was coming through. THE YET TO BE SURFACED SIDE WAS BETTER THAN THE RESURFACED SIDE. WTF. I mean WTF!!! The cynic in me lays blame on the NSW government. I reckon there is an agenda for the KM of rural roads they resurface in a year. And it is a case of quantity over quality. Thank f*#k things did get better closer to Moree. But still. Do better NSW!
***END RANT***
The roadworks also created a a bit of a Formula One style backing up of the pack. I knew the length of the works and the time it took the pilot cars to take cars through. So Id get 20mins of no traffic then a cluster of the released traffic. I simply pulled over for a minute or two to let each cluster through. Worked on nicely.
In an attempt to get the average backup I took only brief stops in the tiny towns of Garah and Ashley on the way to Moree. AND FINALLY the wind cut me some slack and I motored the rest of the way to Moree. Oddly, on arriving in Moree I could have smashed out another 30 or more km’s. The road was also more interesting, WITH TURNS and changing scenery.
Not sure if this is happening elsewhere, but a sharp drop in petrol prices.
Scratching my head, I don’t recall seeing any traffic lights since Roma, 430km ago. Who’d have thought, traffic lights, an iconic sight….
Can you say MOREE?!?
So I think I went a bit too cheap with the motel in Moree ($80). First time in the whole trip I’ve been asked for ID and since changing to a new phone I am not carrying. Old bugger wouldn’t let me stay. I guess it was a sign that they are weary of anyone going that low for rates. Walked across the road and got a rather up-market one for what I have been used to on this trip (oh and last nights place (with the pussy) was dodgy enough I put the pillow in one of my t-shirts.
Oddly last night I felt I needed a day off, but after today could get up and keep going. But I’m going to take a rest and regather. I’ll NEED to re-stock my tube supplies and am seriously considering finding some mountain bike tyres. The tyres on the bike are gravel tyres but perhaps they are just not happy with the thorns from hell up here. Again, trying to find the positive. I used kevlar lining on my BRS to SYD ride. This added weight. Mountain bike tyres will too (and slow me down). But considering the weight I am carrying and the time wasted in changes, in the broad scheme, does it matter?
Song of the day: Well after that 20km incident I was trying to think of a depressing song. Perfect Day by Lou Reed rolled around my mind. But I took a wholistic view of the ride so far and positive experiences and after motoring to Moree I considered the “GET UP” aspect of the day. Once I was up I was firing on all four. So I’ll take you back to the 90’s dance era with Technotronic’s “Get Up”… “Over and on and on again, get with it and do that thing… get up get up get busy do it, get up and move that body!”