Round Australia by bike - Day 024 - Fitzroy to Roebuck Plains

Day:	024
Date:	9 June 2008
Start	Fitzroy Crossing
Finish	Roebuck Plains Roadhouse
Daily Distance:	361km
Daily Speed:	24.8kph
Relative to Schedule:	-565km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	After 6.5 hours sleep, I got up at midnight and was riding by 12:45am.  My motel room was upstairs and descending the external stairway carrying the fully-loaded bike in the dark and trying to do it quietly was a challenge….successfully completed. I was soon out on the dark savannah riding beneath the standard brilliant starlit sky in still and mild conditions.  I knew I had a big day and was determined not to dally and made good time, taking a short break every 60km.  Shortly before dawn, I almost ran into the back of a cow that was standing in the middle of the road.  We both got a big fright.  I then started laughing about the possible outcome when I recalled a training accident I had a couple of years ago on the bike.  I was riding about 15kph up a hill directly into a rising sun that made it almost impossible to see and was keeping well over to the left in case any following vehicles could not see me.  I ran straight into the back of a ute (pick-up), the bike stopped, and I exited over the handlebars straight into the back of the ute.  I imagined that if I had run into the cow I may well have ended up giving it a visual rectal examination! As the sun rose, the usual savannah was revealed, and a tailwind freshened, helping me to make good time towards my first goal for the day, Willare Bridge Roadhouse (230km).  as I neared the roadhouse, the scenery changed a little with a lot more huge dome-like termite mounds evident and a lot more of the weird-looking fat-trunked boab trees, making the landscape, which had also had the undergrowth burnt away look quite alien. I reached Willare at 11:00am and had a breakfast of egg and bacon pie and potato wedges, along with multiple drinks on a day which was becoming quite warm.  From Willare it was another 130km to my target for the day, Roebuck Plains Roadhouse, but conditions had changed and it turned into a very tough afternoon.  The weather was hot (33C), the wind had turned into a headwind and there was a lot more traffic on a road with minimal edge for riding.  My optimism about an early finish evaporated, aand I struggled into the Roadhouse at about 6:00pm after a particularly had last 30km when the wind had become very strong. Fortunately they had a spare cabin, and I checked in, had a quick shower, and then enjoyed a roast pork dinner followed by chocolate cake and ice-cream.  Tomorrow will be a significant day.  It is the same leg and the same day (Day 25…..although I have cycled 300km further to get here this time) on which I tore my quadriceps muscle last year and had to quit my quest.  If I feel OK when I get to Sandfire Roadhouse tomorrow evening, I may ride on through the night in an effort to make up some of the time I lost earlier in the trip.  If not, I’ll stop at Sandfire and try to make up the time later.

Round Australia by bike - Day 023 - Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing

Day:	023
Date:	8 June 2008
Start	Halls Creek
Finish	Fitzroy Crossing
Daily Distance:	289km
Daily Speed:	25.8kph
Relative to Schedule:	-646km
Daily Podcasts:	Here & here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	I got up at 1am and was riding by 1:45am.  I ended up on the wrong road out of town, but started to think something was amiss after a couple of hundred metres, and retraced my steps.  It was again tough staying awake until the sun rose.  I try and have a caffeinated drink in my backpack for a drink around 4:00am and that helps a bit. There was some low cloud, but it was dry and the sky began clearing in the first few hours, although I could see low cloud hanging over the Kimberley Plateau way out to my right.  There was again virtually no traffic and the road was reasonably flat and I made reasonable time. Sunrise brought with it a slight following breeze and showed me to be riding through mostly flat scrub land with brown grass and a lot of bare red earth.  Here and there all day were small plateaus and rocky outcrops to add some features to the landscape and in the far distance mountain ranges could be seen. Tourist traffic built up after 8am and so did the mostly tailwind and I began to make good speed.  I limited myself to a snack stop every 50 or 60km and ate the sandwiches I had bought last night. I reached Fitzroy Crossing at around 2:45pm, about an hour earlier that I had expected and checked into my pre-booked motel.  Everything in town was closed (Sunday) expect for the two roadhouses which hqd a very poor selection of hot food.  Fish and chips again!  I had to walk to the roadhouses from the motel and enjoyed watching a group of aboriginal kids playing kick to kick with an Aussie Rules football on the lawns in front of the Community Centre on what was a beautiful sunny afternoon. I have a big day tomorrow, 360km, so will be getting up at midnight and hoping that the tailwind is still blowing.  Not much phone coverage the next few days so it might be a while before the next report.

Round Australia by bike - Day 022 - Doon Doon to Halls Creek

Day:	022
Date:	7 June 2008
Start	Doon Doon Roadhouse
Finish	Halls Creek
Daily Distance:	271km
Daily Speed:	21.5
Relative to Schedule:	-601km
Daily Podcasts:	n.a.
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	A tough day, despite not being high kilometers.  Firstly, I ended up sleeping on a concrete apron adjacent to the toilet block under a huge steel canopy that provided good weather protection.  I was going to use the BBQ shelter, but some campers decided to use it for a BBQ before I got there.  How unfair!  Anyway, my five hours sleep was interrupted by various visitors to the facilities and by the sound of torrential rain and violent winds at various times.  The latter inspired me to get up and make sure my airing clothing had not been blown to Indonesia. When I did get up at 12:30am it was raining and windy.  I left at 1:30am (takes a little longer to pack up when using the tent and air mattress) in the abysmal weather.  I had visualized that there would be days like this, and I wasn’t disappointed, except for the fact that it was in the Kimberleys in the Dry Season and it’s not supposed to rain. The first 100km to Warmun Roadhouse was particularly hard work into the wind and because I was very sleepy.  Additionally, the road was hilly.  I arrived at Warmun at 7am, having made very slow progress and decided to have a big brekky, which it was.  It rained torrentially while I was there and was still raining hard when I left, much to the amusement of the staff and some local aborigines, not to mention the people looking out of the window of the Greyhound Bus making a scheduled stop at the time. It pretty much rained non-stop for the rest of the day, with varying intensities.  The wind diminished a little, which helped, but with the constant hills, I frequently struggled to keep my speed above 15kph.  The road was covered in puddles and I was very wet, though not cold.  My wet weather gear seems to be doing the job.  I had my lights on all day as did most of the traffic.  I got lots of sympathetic toots and waves.  The scenery, somewhat masked by low cloud, was still impressive with low hills and rocky crags always visible on both sides.  It was cattle station country and there were cattle and horses roaming freely on the road.  There has been a lot of rain in the last 24 hours and the authorities have begun closing some of the gravel roads, including the road into the Bungle Bungles, a nearby spectacular eroded rock mountain range, which I’m sure will annoy a lot of tourists. I finally arrived in Halls Creek, a largely aboriginal town with a sad reputation, where I had managed to pre-book an egregiously over-priced motel room, which I was glad of in the circumstances.  I was very tired towards the end of the day, and am looking forward to getting some uninterrupted (though short!) sleep tonight and another very early start for the 289km to Fitzroy Crossing where I have booked another expensive motel room.  There’s nothing between here and Fitzroy Crossing , but the road is relatively flat and swings towards the east so maybe the winds will be more favourable.  It looks like the rain is clearing.

Round Australia by bike - Day 021 - Timber Creek to Doon Doon

Day:	021
Date:	6 June 2008
Start	Timber Creek
Finish	Doon Doon Roadhouse
Daily Distance:	315km
Daily Speed:	n.a.
Relative to Schedule:	-601km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	I got up with very little enthusiasm, tip-toed around in another cabin with paper-thin walls while I got ready and was on the road around 1:15am.  I tried not to think about how many more days I would have to do this.  I have had enough. Once riding I found it was quite warm (20+C), and soon stopped to take off my jacket.  I also noticed that there were no stars in the direction I was traveling, which was a bit ominous, and probably explained the higher temperatures.  I tried to put my negative thoughts behind me and focused on maintaining a good pace and finding a radio station I could listen to.  I finally found a staticky ABC Radio National station and enjoyed listening to their various current affairs programs as I cycled along.  I stopped after 60km to have a snack in the dark at a rest area, surrounded by sleeping caravanners, and again after another 60km in another rest area just as dawn began to break and the caravanners began stirring.  The light revealed spectacular rocky crags and ridges near and far.  As usual my fatigue abated a little as it got light and my mood lifted.  I continued on the undulating road through similar country, spotting another loping dingo crossing the road ahead, until I reached the West Australian border where there was a quarantine station and they checked my bags for fruit and meat.  I gained 1.5 hours moving into a new time zone. It was then about 40km into Kununurra, a significant regional town.  The area is near the huge man-made Argyle Dam which provides irrigation water for a variety of tropical crops and there is also plenty of mining activity nearby, as well as plenty of tourist attractions.  I stopped at a huge service station/store for lunch and didn’t bother going into the town itself.  The place was buzzing. I left Kununurra, with the intention of riding another 100km to Doon Doon Roadhouse which was about where I wanted to end my day, but where I was not sure there was any accommodation.  The road had turned south and the wind was a strong south-easterly, making the riding slow, barely above 20kph, and I was tired.  It was also forecast to rain, but I didn’t get more than a few heavy spots of rain every now and again.  However, both the wind and rain are forecast to continue for the next two days, which is not good news. Offsetting the weather and fatigue was the magnificent Kimberley scenery I was now riding through.  Long high rocky ridges overlooking the valley and great views from the higher road elevations, although the hills added a bit to my misery.  I arrived at the Doon Doon Roadhouse to discover they had just given away their last accommodation, but I decided to stay in their campground where they suggested I sleep under the BBQ shelter because of the impending rain, and I had a nice shower.  I had a chicken schnitzel at the roadhouse for dinner and intend another early start tomorrow.

Round Australia by bike - Day 020 - Katherine to Timber Creek

Day:	020
Date:	5 June 2008
Start	Katherine
Finish	Timber Creek
Daily Distance:	277km
Daily Speed:	24.6kph
Relative to Schedule:	-586km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	On the road soon after 1:00am, I cycled out of the sleeping Katherine and turned west on the Victoria Highway towards Western Australia.  The lights were soon behind me and I was once again riding beneath a cloudless starlit sky.  There was almost zero traffic and it wasn’t too cold.  The road was undulating, though gradually climbing, and it was relatively slow progress.  I stopped a couple of times for sandwiches I had purchased the previous days and enjoyed the bush at dawn.  As the sun rose, a large dingo sauntered out of the bush to my left, took a look at me, deciding I was of no consequence, and continued on its way into the bush to my right. Soon after, I entered the Victoria River region which comprised deep red rocky bluffs bordering the Victoria River valley.  The scenery was great and offset the strengthening headwind.  The road gradually descended into the valley and then followed its floor until finally crossing the Victoria River adjacent to the Victoria River Roadhouse (187km).  I arrived about 10:45am and had a late breakfast sitting on their verandah watching the world go by including the tourists and a National Park Ranger organizing a burn-off of grass surrounding the roadhouse.  Wherever, you go up here, it seems like they are deliberately slow-burning the undergrowth, and the smell is familiar and occasionally tedious. From the Roadhouse only had 92km to go to Timber Creek, my target for the day, but the very warm weather and gradual ascents made it hard work.  I arrived about 3:15pm and took the opportunity to do a load of washing as well as my other chores.  Dinner was a hamburger and chips, and I bought sandwiches and other supplies to get me to Kununurra (228km) the next habitation en route.  I may be camping by the roadside tomorrow night as there doesn’t look likely to be any accommodation where I will be.  I’m planning the usual very early start tomorrow morning, especially since I recall the first 200km tomorrow is very exposed and prone to be very hot.

Round Australia by bike - Day 019 - Daly Waters to Katherine

Day:	019
Date:	4 June 2008
Start	Daly Waters
Finish	Katherine
Daily Distance:	273km
Daily Speed:	25.2kph
Relative to Schedule:	-567km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	Got up at 12:30am and was on the road shortly after 1:00am listening to the cricket and admiring the starry skies.  Even though I was now travelling north along the Stuart Highway, the main link between Adelaide and Darwin, there was little traffic.  In fact, I generally have no problem these days on my snack breaks while traveling at night to just sit in the middle of the road and look at the stars and listen to the night sounds of the bush while I snack and rehydrate. I made reasonable time although there was a slight opposing wind and I reached Mataranka (168km) by 8:45am where I had the smallest “big brekky” I have seen on the trip.  There are some great thermal pools near to Mataranka, but they’ll have to wait for another time.  Just before reaching there, the road crossed a tropical swamp on a long causeway, where there was a covering of exotic water lilies and many different kinds of waterbirds.  Otherwise the scenery was the usual arid savannah, with occasional cleared pastures. The weather became very warm after breakfast and probably reached the low 30s centigrade, with the sun blazing down from a cloudless sky.  The road also became quite busy with tourists, road trains and some oversize trucks so that I was always checking what was coming up behind.  On the plus side, I was getting lots of support from everybody including friendly toots from road train drivers and even had some tourists pull over to take pictures of me while I rode past. I reached the southern outskirts of Katherine around 1:30pm, and made my way to the Casuarina Street Primary School, where I gave a short presentation on my trip to Rodney Gregg’s students, who have been following my trip, and answered their questions.  They were very supportive and interested.  I hope I make it this time.  I called in on my first Round Australia trip last year, and then bombed out, injured, a week later.  Hopefully, history will not repeat itself. From the school I rode into central Katherine and checked into my motel room.  After a shower, I enjoyed the luxury of sufficient time for a visit to the adjacent supermarket and a short walk around town before adjourning to my room to eat some Asian take-out food and a whole litre of ice-cream (I wasn’t sure I could do it, but it was easy!) and do my chores.  Katherine is an interesting town.  It has an outback/government town feel to it, and is peopled by transient grey nomads (caravanners) and European backpackers resupplying and booking sightseeing, along with the local inhabitants, including a large number of aborigines.  Many of the latter don’t seem to have anything to do (and probably don’t….I don’t imagine there’s a lot of work around here), and tend to gather on street corners or sit in the shade of trees chatting. I’m hoping to get another very early start for my last day in the Northern Territory.

Round Australia by bike - Day 018 - Cape Crawford to Daly Waters

Day:	018
Date:	3 June 2008
Start	Cape Crawford
Finish	Daly Waters
Daily Distance:	270km
Daily Speed:	25.6kph
Relative to Schedule:	-550km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
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.