After a hell of a ride – all day into gusty headwind – I setup my little castle in Alice Springs for 3 well deserved rest days. Most of the riders gave up the struggle in the morning. I organized a small group if 5 and we shared breaking the wind in an efficient way, to arrive in camp shortly after 1pm.
This is the end of the ‘Bike the Outback’ section. I will leave tomorrow morning for a 2 days Uluru and King’s Canyon trip.
Tweet ##transoceania| Aileron to Alice Springs | |||||
| Date: | 11-05-2014 | Time: | 06:16 h | Σ Time: | 338:28 h |
| Distance: | 132 km | Σ km: | 7081 km | Temp: | 18/41°C |
| Up: | 171 m | Σ Up: | 71227 m | Down: | 240 m |
| Calories: | 2176 kcal | Σ kcal: | 154963 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Tough, as the headwind was blowing gusty all day and slowed down progress to get to our rest day location. | ||||
132 km doesn’t sound much to cover on a flat land like the Australian outback. However, if the wind is blowing right into your face all day, it makes cycling a real workout. Keeping the average at about 20km/h was hard work. No way to stretch and relax the legs, always pedaling to not go backwards. I was going the first 45 kilometers on my own, before a group of 4 closed up with me and I joined them to share efforts to break the wind for the rest of the day. At 104km we passed the Tropic of Capricorn and had a short photo and refreshment stop. The last 20 km to town brought a bit of a relief, as it was a slight descend from the highest elevation point on the Stuart Highway to Alice Springs, and the wind direction seemed to have changed.
Camp is at a nice, green and shady place just a kilometer out of town and the starting point for my tour to Uluru and around, during the 3 rest days. I also need to do some shopping, maybe a new camera, as my old D70 is eventually ‘falling apart’, after 10 years of service in the most unreal areas and situations, brought to us by TdA and my other adventure travels.
