Round Australia by bike - Day 013 - Burke & Wills Roadhouse to Cloncurry

Day:	013
Date:	29 May 2008
Start	Burke & Wills Roadhouse  - 90km
Finish	Cloncurry
Daily Distance:	271km
Daily Speed:	n.a.
Relative to Schedule:	-313km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	I woke soon after 3am and was on the road by 3:45am, feeling very tired.  Unfortunately, the southerly wind had got stronger during the night and it was an effort to make reasonable speed.  Around 5:30am, as always seems to happen to me, I got very sleepy but managed to keep myself going until the sun rose and my motivation rose. I reached Burke & Wills Roadhouse around 9am and enjoyed a hearty breakfast while watching their TV and the passing clientele.  It was turning into a sunny, warm and windy day and I restocked with fluids and snacks as it was becoming increasingly apparent to me that I wouldn’t reach Cloncurry (181km) at an hour when I could buy food.  I therefore needed enough to get me to Mount Isa, the next town. The afternoon turned into a great trial.  The road gradually climbed into higher country capped with occasional rocky tors and the headwind became ferocious.  At times I could barely manage to keep my speed above 10kph and I remember another time where I had to weave to dodge tumbleweeds roaring down the road towards me.  It was very tiring riding, with no respite, and I began taking a break every 20 kilometres to recover. Around 6pm I reached to isolated bush pub at Quamby and decided to stop for a meal and cold drinks.  It was a very authentic pub, with very few patrons (who had a few jokes about the wind at my expense), and the barman said I could camp in the grounds for free if I wanted.  I declined, saying I wanted to get at least to Cloncurry for the night   I ordered the only food on the menu, rissoles and vegetables, and sat on the pub’s front verandah watching the sun set while it was prepared. I then continued riding southwards into the wind towards Cloncurry, reaching the major road junction just to the west of the town around 9:30pm, completely spent.  It was too late to bother with a motel, so I found a bare patch of ground near the junction, spread out my swag and quickly went to sleep.  I should have the wind with me tomorrow as I head for Mount Isa, but have 313km to Camooweal, my target town for the night and have to make a call into the Post Office in Mount Isa to collect some things Sharon has mailed, including a spare tyre.  It could be a long day.