Day: |
011 |
Date: |
Saturday, 3 September 2005 |
Start: |
Alice Springs |
Finish: |
Ti Tree |
Daily
Kilometres: |
194 |
Total
Kilometres: |
1751 |
Journal: |
Got up at 4am after a restless night (too
much caffeine?). I left about 4:45am with what seemed to be a very
heavy load. I guess I had seven litres of fluids plus more food
than I really need. Maybe I'll ditch some later. In the dark it
was hard to tell, but the road seemed to climb out of Alice Springs
and the going was slow and hard. There was also a bit of a
headwind.....again! Eventually, as it got lighter, the road seemed
to flatten out and the going was better. I aimed for a rest stop,
which was 95km from Alice Springs, for breakfast and got there
around 9am, which wasn't bad given the weight on the bike, the climb
out of Alice Springs, and the increasing wind. It was a very nice
morning, but rapidly getting warmer. There was more vegetation,
mostly a cross between scrub and trees and there were frequent
cattle stations and the occasional road to an aboriginal
settlement. The road had some undulating sections passing through
low ranges but was mostly long straight sections with low crests.
Despite the increasing wind I made reasonable time and arrived at
the Aileron Roadhouse just before 12pm. I had lost radio reception
so knew I wouldn't be able to listen to the Geelong vs Melbourne
football game which I thought started soon after 12:30pm. I had
pretty much decided to have lunch at the Roadhouse, take a break
from the wind, and watchthe game on TV while having a few Cokes.
However, it turned out that the game started later than anticipated
so I decided to ride the last 60km to Ti-Tree where I planned to
spend the night despite the very warm sunny conditions and the
headwind. Again, I made reasonable time (got a text update from
Aaron on the footy score en route) despite a few breaks and reached
the motel at around 4:15pm and caugh the last 10 minutes of the game
which Geelong won comfortably. I washed out my very sweaty gear,
had a shower, and watched the first part of the Wallabies vs All
Blacks rugby game before heading to the Roadhouse for an early
dinner where I watched the last half. After dinner, I watched the
first half of the St Kilda vs Adelaide match before going to bed at
8:30pm. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
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