Today we arrived in Glendambo, after a cold & stormy bush camp night and a windy ride in the outback. They recently performed a census and published the numbers at the entry to the settlement.
How could they know that the 3 humans are in town today?
And why do all but 2 of the flies bug me???
Tweet ##transoceania| The Twins Rest Area to Glendambo | |||||
| Date: | 11-16-2014 | Time: | 05:53 h | Σ Time: | 378:35 h |
| Distance: | 126 km | Σ km: | 8030 km | Temp: | 8/26°C |
| Up: | 141 m | Σ Up: | 73028 m | Down: | 173 m |
| Calories: | 2075 kcal | Σ kcal: | 171211 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Cool night in the bush camp. Wind still strong and facing us. | ||||
Another hard riding day. The wind was so bad, that riding in a group was the best. I was trying to form a peloton, but it wasn’t very well functioning and fell apart soon. Soon I caught up with another group and reorganized it to better work as a team. Somehow the groups seem to be competing. As soon as one appears at the horizon the other is chasing it, until it is caught and passed. Thereafter the just passed group accelerates to overtake the former again, and so on. Even in a peloton there is some competition of a kind ‘I can go faster in the lead than you’, causing the speed to ever increase. Chances to recover are not taken. Instead the easier conditions are used to further increase the speed and get other to their limit. The pack tends to fall apart and one has to do the work to keep the sheep together. After lunch I was alone with 5 women, when the last guy left the peloton and went ahead. But I managed to keep them together and we arrived together at the new campsite.
| Coober Pedy to The Twins Rest Area | |||||
| Date: | 11-15-2014 | Time: | 05:53 h | Σ Time: | 372:18 h |
| Distance: | 130 km | Σ km: | 7904 km | Temp: | 12/29°C |
| Up: | 460 m | Σ Up: | 72887 m | Down: | 514 m |
| Calories: | 2230 kcal | Σ kcal: | 169136 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Stormy night and a cold, windy start. Rain and gusty winds until lunch | ||||
It wasn’t the expected tailwind out of Coober Pedy. In the contrary, a storm hit our campground the night before and the wind changed directions again. Everyone was busy, securing the tents and flies. The change in wind directions came along with a huge temperature drop. Compared to the previous days, the temperature was down by more than 30°C. I was riding most of the day solo again and enjoyed the first kilometers out of Coober Pedy, with some photo stops at the mines. But soon the conditions became worse. The wind got very strong and gusty, later rain set in. Luckily I packed my raincoat the night before an got some protection. I rode with Henry and Doug, who had a slow leak and needed to pump up every 15 km. Lunch was still in the heavy wind and with wet clothes I felt real cold. Refreshed with 3 sandwiches and fruits I continued the afternoon part. The weather improved and became sunny and warmer, but still very windy until I arrived in the bush camp. I setup tent in the bushes, well protected from the cold wind. The movie was canceled as the conditions did not allow the setup the equipment and nobody would be sitting and watch in the cold. The night was clear, but cold.
Leavung Coober Pedy with a strong tailwind, drizzle and low temperature.
Sorry, no sunrise photo today …
Tweet ##transoceania| Cadney Homestead to Coober Pedy | |||||
| Date: | 11-13-2014 | Time: | 05:53 h | Σ Time: | 366:24 h |
| Distance: | 155 km | Σ km: | 7774 km | Temp: | 19/46°C |
| Up: | 303 m | Σ Up: | 72427 m | Down: | 321 m |
| Calories: | 2278 kcal | Σ kcal: | 166906 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Wind was our friend today. Made it a partially easy but a real hot day. | ||||
After my sunset photo I joined a group of 5 riders for a peloton. The first 58 km were quickly mastered with a 10 minute rotation. Then I dropped out of the group to take a 1 in a million chance for a photo I was waiting for, since we were riding the outback. A lizard was sunbathing on the hot tar, when suddenly disturbed by our approaching bicycles. Luckily it only escaped to the the shoulder of the road, where it was perfectly hiding camouflaged between the rocks. I got off my bike, camera ready, assuming it would run away from me. However it was quite the opposite. The lizard kept posing for me without fear. I really had to ‘touch’ it to make it move and take a video. I spent quite some time with it, and lost contact to any group for the whole day, which meant another 100 km of solo riding. Coober Pedy is the ‘capital’ of the Opal miners. The whole area seems to be turned from bottom to top. The dugout rocks pile up like huge termite mounts, but not as beautiful. We changed camp sites in Coober Pedy, away from the underground camp, closer to town. I rented a 4×4 with Michael Coo to drive to the Painter Desert for the sunrise. This means another 3:30am wakeup on a rest day. And it was said, their might be rain tonight making the drive on the 100km dirt road to the Painted Desert a real fun ride.
| Tarcoonyinna Rest Area to Cadney Homestead | |||||
| Date: | 11-12-2014 | Time: | 05:12 h | Σ Time: | 360:31 h |
| Distance: | 135 km | Σ km: | 7619 km | Temp: | 15/41°C |
| Up: | 175 m | Σ Up: | 72124 m | Down: | 272 m |
| Calories: | 2339 kcal | Σ kcal: | 164628 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Good for a solo ride as the wind wasn’t giving too much trouble. | ||||
Easy going all day. Unfortunately the pool at the roadhouse was a bit filthy, thus no swim after the heated ride. French fries were great at the restaurant. Another movie night, this time in apartment #11, made available by David J. Thus no flies and other bugs that would spoil the movie experience of ‘The Chef’.
I am on my way through South Australia. More deserted than the Northern Territory. First telefon signal since 3 days, thus a quick update from the road.
After a night in the desert we are heading for another road house with pool and cold drinks. The night under clear skies was great. Moon and shooting stars completed the picture.
Now 135km through desert with littke change, like these small table mountain.
Tweet ##transoceania| Kulgera Roadhouse to Tarcoonyinna Rest Area | |||||
| Date: | 11-11-2014 | Time: | 04:55 h | Σ Time: | 355:18 h |
| Distance: | 126 km | Σ km: | 7484 km | Temp: | 16/40°C |
| Up: | 132 m | Σ Up: | 71949 m | Down: | 238 m |
| Calories: | 2137 kcal | Σ kcal: | 162289 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Cool morning, heat turned on as usual. Wind was more to our favor accelerating the ride to the next camp. | ||||
Today was the crossing over into another state. We are leaving the Northern Territory to South Australia on our way to Adelaide. Before I started onto the official track I turned into a dirt road at camp for some sunrise photos. The wind seemed to be good to us today, as we turned a bit more to south out of the ever blowing south-east wind. It was a quick 20 km ride to the ‘border’ to South Australia. Not a real border, but huge signs warn from carrying uncertified fruit, veggies and livestock from NT to SA. They want to keep fruit flies and other parasites out of their state. The landscape turned flatter and flatter with occasional small hills. The trees and bushes grow smaller and do not offer any shade at all. We are entering a deserted territory. The distances between roadhouses increases, such that we are forced to camp in the ‘middle of nowhere’. No more cold drinks, no cell phone reception. Just us and occasional trucks and caravans that stop at our rest area. I was riding at the very end of the group. Only Henry and Chelsea were behind me. Good time for photos, as the ride will be not exhausting today. Lunch at 70 km was well placed with lots of food. The 56 km thereafter a bit more into the wind, but not as bad as the previous days. I arrived at the desert camp at 12:30. Brutal heat, no shade, but hot soup and tea. Everyone was hiding in the little shade the van and the canopies offered. Some fellow riders obviously don’t like camping, or the desert and continued on their own to the next town, which is another 51 km further south. However not before they emptied a substantial part of the cold drinks in our cooler box. I think the desert camp and camping at all is the flair of such an expedition trip and not the run for AC cabins in every campsite. However some like it different. Tonight is another cinema night, the only goody we have in the desert besides a cooler box with cold drinks for a while, since Gerald bought the LCD projector.
| Desert Oaks Rest Area to Kulgera Roadhouse | |||||
| Date: | 11-10-2014 | Time: | 05:00 h | Σ Time: | 350:22 h |
| Distance: | 108 km | Σ km: | 7358 km | Temp: | 15/39°C |
| Up: | 266 m | Σ Up: | 71817 m | Down: | 172 m |
| Calories: | 2362 kcal | Σ kcal: | 160152 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | Again a windy ride with constant head- or crosswind. | ||||
Who thought it would be an easy, short day after yesterday’s 169km, was told different. The wind was constant against us, keeping us cool but substantially slowing us down. I was riding on my own this day. 108 km is a short distance and even with headwind not much of a torture. Keeping it at a moderate pace will make it early enough to camp to enjoy the pool, cold drinks and food. The Erldunda Roadhouse at 33 km was to goal in the morning to get cold drinks and snacks after the night in the desert. Thereafter keeping nose to the tar and rolling down the kilometers in an environment that does not offer much of a change. The Kulgera Roadhouse is the most expensive place in Australia so far. All prices for food and drinks are astronomic. This guy knows how to make money with the monopoly he has here in ‘The middle of Nowhere’. However the pool was a real refresher. The water was cool as ice. Don’t know how he get this done. He probably manages to keep it cool from the night temperatures, which are as low as 10°C. Halfway into the night it is time to crawl into the sleeping bag. After dinner we had a few games in the pub. Pool billiard, darts and kicker and the music box playing songs of the good old 60th and 70th.
After a night in the desert camp – the first of 4 we will have south of Alice Springs – the Roadhouse at Erldunda, just 33 km south of our last camp eas a welcome Coke stop.
With only 77km more to go today time is not an issue, spending time with the emus in the gardens …
