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Journal: |
I slept well despite the paper thin walls of my “deluxe” (bed
PLUS fridge) allowing me to hear every word of the bed-time
conversation of the elderly couple next door. I decided my
mobile phone alarm clock would wake them as well, so just trusted
myself to wake around 2am, which I did. I tip-toed around
packing and getting ready and was on the road about 2:50am. It
was the usual bright starry night, but I was disappointed to find
that I am now so remote, I had difficulty tuning in an AM radio
station to listen to the cricket from Antigua. I finally found
a static-ridden station and made do with that for as long as it
lasted.
I couldn’t see what was on either side of the road,
but presume it was the standard lightly-timbered savannah.
It’s hard to tell at night, but the road seemed to keep climbing and
there was a slight headwind, so my average speed seemed
frustratingly slow. There was no traffic and I didn’t see
another vehicle until about 7am. Because there was nothing in
between Cape Crawford and Daly Waters, my target for the day, I had
loaded up on provisions the previous evening at the roadhouse store.
I stopped for a sandwich breakfast at about 100km as the sun began
to warm the day and then had a sandwich lunch in a rest area at
about 180km. Apart from the stops and a couple of rest breaks,
the whole day was pretty much spent cycling westwards through
undulating savannah and arid forest country on a narrow strip of
bitumen, under an increasingly hot sun. There was a following
breeze for most of the day and I was pleased to make good time and
reach Daly Waters soon after 3pm and get a motel room for the night.
I called Rodney Gregg, a teacher at Casuarina Primary School in
Katherine, and arranged to call in there between 1pm and 2pm, as he
had requested, to meet his class and tell them about my trip.
It means an early start (on the road before 1am), but it suits me to
finish early as well and I have booked a motel room in Katherine to
follow the school visit.
Today was relatively comfortable
and, apart from a few saddle sores and numb toes on both feet, I
seem to be in reasonable shape. I have been cycling with my
right shoe unbuckled and my Achilles problem has abated. I’m
hoping that a few more “on target” days will build my confidence and
well-being to the point where I can think about recovering some of
the lost ground. If I can get 300km back before I get back to
NSW and IF (and it’s a big IF!) I don’t encounter any problems, I
still have an outside chance of getting the record. For the
moment, I’m just happy to get into a routine of hitting my daily
targets.
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