163.3 km ridden today
485.8 km ridden so far
2,263 km (est) to go.
791 m up
948 m down
5089 calories burnt
8/10 pain factor
Something I learnt today: The creek water is drinkable and Occy straps are up there with cable ties as one of the best inventions of human-kind.
Mad sleep again last night. Early night as I knew today would be a big day. Upon rising I deemed the full 200km to Charters Towers very optimistic, but I set about with the aim of getting as far as I could. I was on the road at 7:30am, rather crisp for these parts. The first 20km or so were pretty cool. A very gradual decent with no wind, but that’s where it ended. For the next 50km it was very undulating with long draw out ups and downs. It is very hard not to go too hard too early (and for the entire day really). I’m mainly a mountain biker and am more used to the pinch climbs and then downhill reward. Bikepacking, you have to turn yourself into a diesel engine, trying to maintain a cadence. It is tempting to get off the seat and push up a hill as well as pedaling hard on the downhills to gain speed. And treat the gears like a truck, gradually working your way up to speed.
Today I also had a heavy load, with no known water for the next 200km’s. I was carrying about 15 litres all up. I re-jiged the bike to hold a 2 litre water bottle on the front fork. In preparation for this, I was concerned about fail points on the bike and was particularly concerned with the bolts holding the rear rack on place. I researched and they were well capable of holding the weight. I also verified the capacity of the front forks. Although they are carbon, they are designed for weight as they have braze-on’s for mounting. 4 kilos up front is the recommendation.
Anyway, at about the 75km mark I saw a farm buggy on the side of the road up ahead, which I found on as it was a long way from a town. Turns out this older couple owned the station there. I stopped for a chat. Of all things they were spraying for weeds. It then made sense when they said this was the start of their property. A quick exchange on a few things (including more bewilderment at where I was going ESPECIALLY that my destination was Canberra). They asked if I needed water, but then to my extreme delight also shared that you can drink the water from the creeks/rivers and noted the next two run through their property (of which extended for the next 15km I may add). So not much further up I came across one. Water flowing. I took a drink and rest in the shade under the bridge. It was sooo nice for that 10mins
They also noted it was hilly up ahead. Ok thanks (not) I said.
It was quite hilly and to be honest the hardest bit of cycling I’d endured so far. Really struggled for 20-30km. And it wasn’t the legs or lungs. It was the bum. Man oh man it was aching and I started trying every possible position on the saddle. For about 2 hours the (head) wind really got up to. I only swore a few cranky words at it. Thankfully though, the terrain really flattened out with long stretches of near flat and the wind did down.
At about the 110km mark I came across the Bluewater Springs roadhouse. The biatch was closed (don’t worry, I knew this before the trip). Still it would have been a mad place to spend the night. Funny when you are in the middle of woop-woop these places really are Oasis’s.
I knew of the Fletchers Campground at about the 163 km mark. Decision was made to hit it before sunset still with option of carrying on in the dark to Charters Towers. Funnily enough, the 40km to Fletchers Creek were the easiest km’s of the day. I made it to Fletchers Creek right on dusk with just enough time to scope out a mad spot. There was lots of room. I assume if petrol and diesel weren’t liquid gold right now, more people would have been here. My spot was right next to the creek. I jumped in that baby, riding clothes and all. I then proceeded to drink 3 bottles of water from it.
You can see how far away my closest neighbor was…
So, while there were no issues with mozzies, the little midgy flying things were EPIC. I had to leave the light a few metres away as I was getting swarmed. No bites, just really friggin’ annoying. Tonight I slept without the main cover on the tent, just the insect netting. The moon wasn’t up yet and at 8pm I went to sleep, looking up at the amazing country night sky. The milky way, right there in plain sight. I also saw two small shooting starts.
Song of the day today: Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit. “Keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’. Keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’. You get the idea.