Round Australia by bike - Day 011 - Mount Garnet to Croydon

Day:	011
Date:	27 May 2008
Start	Mount Garnet + 67km
Finish	Croydon
Daily Distance:	294km
Daily Speed:	24.9km
Relative to Schedule:	-197km
Daily Podcasts:	Here & here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	I woke up at 3am and was on the road by 3:30am, feeling like I was still riding from yesterday.  By 5:30am I was weaving all over the road and too tired to continue.  I found a sandy spot off the road, put down my tent as a groundsheet, and instantly went to sleep, not waking until the sun rose around 7am.  I was still very tired but knew I had to get going. Thirty minutes later I reached the very small settlement of Mount Surprise, just as everything was opening up and got a big brekky at the quaint roadhouse café. I was still very tired, my right Achilles was very painful and my mood was low as I headed west across the savannah towards Georgetown, 91km away.  I worked out that if I continued on from Georgetown to Croydon (another 148km) I would probably get there too late to buy food, including for the next day, when I would pass no stores.  I was extremely tempted to stay in Georgetown and get a good nights sleep.  Staying there would have put me exactly a day behind schedule, but still on target to equal or beat the new record of 51 days.  However, a nice hamburger and chips for lunch along with the chatter and admiration of some tourists, decided me to continue on to Croydon.  I called the pub there to book a room and set off.  The rest of the afternoon was a real test.  I was exhausted, my Achilles hurt a lot, and I couldn’t deal with the thought of another very short night’s sleep followed by another very early start and another long day.  The country continued to be brown-grassed, lightly-timbered savannah with some low mountain ranges to cross. I now don’t think I have any chance of maintaining a 300km per day schedule.  It’s just beyond me, especially after losing time with the punctures.  I will stay in Croydon until the shops open in the morning, and get breakfast and supplied for the next 24 hours.  That will give me a reasonable night’s sleep tonight and hopefully my mood will be better tomorrow.