Day 15. Eucla to 40km W Nullabor Roadhouse.

Weather forecast for favourable winds... Must make for an early start.  

Up at 5am, & out on the road at 6.25am, just after sunrise. 

I'm greeted by cloudy skies, low cloud, hmmm might rain??  

Doubt it! lol ;-)

Finally the "Exit" sign to Western Australia appeared through the fog at Birder Village. It's taken me 2 weeks to cross the State! Damn this place is big!!!  

 As is mentioned by every cyclist, the "sort of safe" road shoulder abruptly stops, the moment you pass this sign...you're now either riding on the road or going bush to get out of the way of traffic. 

Welcome to South Australia.

G'day Rooey, just visible in the fog. 

Pick a direction & distance ( in the dim dawn light) lol

Panoramic view 60km east of the Border. Wide, flat, quiet, endless view to the horizon in every direction. 

The winds are indeed brisk but favourable. A Sou'wester is helping me cruise at a comfy speed of 30km/h. 

My rest day yesterday had the same or stronger wind form the Nor'east. Good call to rest up!!!

Hard to see, but the sign reads "Nullabor National Park" some 90km from Eucla. Top travelling today, I've got here in under 4h45m. Nice!

This view has made the last 1750km (1000+ Miles) totally worth it. Bunda Cliffs Lookout. 

Not a bad spot to call "lunch time". 

126km travelled at this point, the body and legs are ok, maybe a few more  K's before sunset??

Indeed, 159km... just 1k short of 100 miles for the day.... T&L had scouted ahead to find the night's campsite. 

Top Choice!! 

Afternoon tea... All stop!  :-)

Day 14. Eucla Rest Day.

2 weeks travelling, today is my second rest day. 

Morning view of The Southern Ocean...

& being Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny found us ...

Domestic duties call.. clean out the muck, sweat...and some tears. 

Get the laundry happening. 

Give the Rotovelo a bit of TLC, to get it ready for the run to Ceduna. 

One broken spoke, lube the chain, check all nuts & bolts. Check tyre wear & pressure. Recharge lights, phone, iPod. 

Arvo swim in the Motel's ice cool pool!! Brrrr. I'm not kidding, even though it's 35deg, the pool was ice cold. INVIGOURATING!! :-)

A refreshing ale at the Hotel, then dinner & an amazing sunset. 

I'm pretty sure we're ready for the next week's adventure.  :-)

Day 13. Mundrabilla to Border Village.

The plan today is to tackle the short distance (80 km) to Border Village, firstly to get out of Western Australia, & secondly to give the knees a break. I've done on average, over 100 miles each day, for the last three days and they're starting to feel the big miles. 

This morning the wind was already coming from the Nor 'east before I'd even hit the road. 

And so starts another day of headwinds. 

20km out seemed like a nice stop to rest the knees, they're feeling ok, just residual tiredness. 

The view into the DIRECT headwind ...

& the view t'other way ..

Gotta luv the colours !! :-)

More headwind & at 40km .. Rest again with T&L for morning tea..

DAMN THIS BLOODY HEADWIND!

It's gettin' a bit much... Even the trees don't grow vertical the wind is that constant. 

This lone tree is growing at an angle of 30deg. thanks to the wind. 

I'm starting to feel that way too. LOL 

Finally the climb up Eucla Pass, well, the wind is now a crosswind lol. 

The road builders monument at the crest..

One happy Velonaut!

Which way now?

Time to start my next rest day. With a trip out to the Old Telegraph Station. 

Then a walk through the dunes to the Old Supply Pier & the Southern Ocean. 

Then in the days ahead The Great Australian Bight. (as seen from the old Eucla pier) barely visible in the distance behind me. 

April 18, 2014. Day 12. 50km W Madura to Mundrabilla.

Damn wind!!! 165km from campsite to campsite, with what felt like a 15-20kmh headwind from the Sou'east "commin' in off ye starboard  bow, Cap'n".  

The day started calm at dawn, 6am...but only lasted til I got mobile at 7.30 ...hmmm where's that breeze coming from??

I did ask nicely for the weather gods to keep the breeze down... No luck. 

The sou'easter kept blowing for the full 50km to Madura. Just as well there's a downhill run to the roadhouse, the wind wasn't doing my morale much good. Even with aerodynamics!

The view from the lookout at the top of Madura Pass IS spectacular! Looking out over the Roe Plains. It did appear rather flat in the distance. 

The run into the roadhouse is good, as is the actual driveway in as well. 

There in lies the catch... downhill in = uphill out!! 

After the demoralising headwind so far today, the short sharp climb back to the highway felt particularly steep..especially as they had NO chocolate milk!! DAMN!! :-(

On the bright side, I did get a pic of the "bottle tree" LOL :-) just before our lunch stop today. 

On arriving there I had the thought of "why am I doing this ?" The damn headwind was really kicking up and the 100km so far had been a pretty tough effort. 

Cheered up by "Thelma & Louise" at lunch, & a cold soft drink, I set off to tackle the last 65km to Mundrabilla. 

I had the support crew stop every 20km as we moved on, their support (& a can if soft drink) at each 20km kept my morale up as I forged on against the wind. 

It seemed that with every bend in the road, the wind was always ready to keep changing direction and stay as a headwind. 

The last 20km into Mundrabilla were a real effort, as the sun was now getting very low on the horizon, ready to set at any minute. 

The final rest area is 12km out from the roadhouse. By this time the battery on my rear flasher light had died... It had lasted 6.5hrs to this point. 

The "T&L Wagon" was now running shotgun behind me, keeping the road trains at bay. 

We finally pulled in to Mundrabilla with about 15mins of daylight in order to set up camp. 

Showered & watered...nose bag time!!!

...and finally that chocolate milk !!! :-D

April 17, 2014. Day 11. Caiguna to 50km W of Madura.

This morning has started early, bright & cool. It looks like a nice days ride coming up. The breeze has drifted and is coming from the North, it's going to be a headwind Captain, off the Port Bow. 

My, the weather is changing! 7am and the fog has rolled in from the north west ! That was quick. We could see it rolling in to meet us. 

We'll let it clear through breakfast, then get the day under way. 

1st road sign out of Caiguna warns of unfenced roads ... and loose wildlife for 350km. At this point it's only me and the crow on the sign enjoying the day's start.

2km east of Caiguna is the start of the Central Australian Time Zone... There goes 45mins of the day...move clocks forward. 

45km from Caiguna, I had to stop and enjoy the isolation. The same view in every direction. 

MAGIC! is an understatement 

No traffic, no people, just me & the breeze. 

Cocklebiddy Roadhouse for morning tea,  after battling the headwind for the last 30km, is a welcome stop. Iced coffee & finger bun, calorific refuel. ;-) ready for another run. 

The track to the Eyre Bird Observatory is 35km of "4WD only" dirt 'n gravel. 

Not really a track to tackle in the RV. 

At 3pm, with 115km in the legs, and after yesterday's 194km, it was time to have an early day. With still another 50km to Madura, a campsite beckoned. 

Breakky anyone?

Ready for day 12. 

April 16, 2014. Day 10. The 90 mile straight.

Balladonia to Caiguna. 

The day stared nice & early, crow calls at 5.30am, "the bushman's alarm". The view outside the tent was of a light foggy mist, quite eerie.. sort of, with the accompanying sound of a refrigerated road train that had had its cooler running ALL night.  The damn generator of the roadhouse was quieter!!

The fog had cleared by 6.30, & fed and watered I was ready to tackle the longest straight road in Australia. All 146km. (90 miles) of it. Hoping to get to Caiguna by dusk. 

"Thelma & Louise", the support crew, were waiting for me at the start of The Straight, to take the mandatory photos. 

Then it was off we go!!

Huey, the weather God was smiling, a gentle WSW wind over my right shoulder had me powering along at faster than 30km/h for well over the first 75km from Balladonia. 

We decided that at 120km we'd pull up at the nearest rest area to "strap on the nose bag" for a lunch stop. 

Nice & shady, the WSWester still blowing gently, a pleasant stop indeed. R. 

With a further 70km to Caiguna, I had to get back into the RV & get pedalling...average speed to this point was close to 31km /h. Excellent !!

The wind had other ideas, deciding to become more of a southerly, & thus a somewhat stiffer breeze in the bargain. 

This made the "wind wash" of the approaching road trains "EXCITING"" to say the least. A large wash of wind would give the RV a push to the left, then as that dissipated, it would move back to the right. Nothing that was too scary, just enough to keep me VERY aware of it. 

The last 40km were starting to take their toll on my legs & concentration. From the pilot's seat, every vista of the road seemed to be uphill. I was still managing to motor along at a constant 24 - 28 km/h. 

The final 10km seemed to go directly uphill. 

At last the Caiguna 2km ahead sign greeted me, & after a pic of the sign at the end of The Straight, I was pretty much spent. 

My odometer for the day recorded 194 km, the longest distance I'd ever cycled. Happy, sore, 'n tired,  & after a well earned shower, a huge mixed grill from the Caiguna Roadhouse Restaurant, was just what the body needed. 

April 15, 2014. Day 9. Into Balladonia to wait for back-up?

Snap!! 

Last gear change for the 8th day, & the rear derailleur cable lets go.... I've got over 1000km out of it, I've pushed it hard, it had one frayed strand a week before I left Sydney, so I'm happy with its service... I'm carrying 2 spares, so I'm well prepared for this. 

Camp set, dinner served, too dark to worry about now.. It'll be first order of business for day 9. 

Cable repaired, decamped & on the road by 7.30. All good. Happy smiles. :-)

I've had an uneventful ride through to Balladonia. More " undulations" have kept the average speed at 30km/h on the flats, a light wind change gas it blowing on over my left shoulder. No complaints. 

I received a cordial invite to have morning tea with Rhonda, Brian, Sandy & John in the  "Graff-Inn", a well appointed mobile home (converted bus). A yarn over coffee 'n cake.. (a typical touring cyclist's fare).. & a morning well spent. 

My support crew, of my sister and her friend, arrived around 4pm local time. They want to support me from here  through to Ceduna,

It could be quite comfortable , wild camping over the next few days .. big tent, fresh food, company on the road. My sis wants to cycle some of the Nullabor as well, not the full distance like her stupid Big Bro though, lol

Tonight's dinner of pumpkin soup n chicken stir fry is a "little" bit better (Lot Better ) than the dehydrated fare of late lol. 

Should be a good few days ahead!!

April 14, 2014. Day 8. Norseman to 50km west of Balladonia.

Someone should register these bloody emus!!

All started out as a great days riding... 'til 40km from Norseman. Oh look Mum!!, there's an emu running beside us on our left!!

That was coo...l 'til it decided to cross the damn road 10 meters in front of a Rotovelo doing 30km/h!! 

#%}>!! @&€#!! @$/%!! Insert favourite piece of colourful language !!!

BOOM! CRASH! Close eyes..SWERVE!! SKID!! SLIDE!! Open eyes.. 1/2ROLL!  SWERVE! Yell!!...DUCK!! Etc., 

WTF!!!!

Damn stupid animal!! 

I think it barrell-rolled over the nose of the RV. Collected the roof & rolled again as it hit the road behind me!!

All the while time had slooowed ... 

Fortunately no other vehicles were within Cooee of us !!

"Cue Underwear Change!!" LOL

Adrenalin Overload !!  I'm alive!! 

So's the bloody emu, I saw the damn thing headed for the scrub!!  & thought that's where both the RV & I were going to end up...upside down in the table drain !! 

Just as well the RV is plastic! It copped a massive dent to the nose cone & left front, a dent in the front above my legs, & flattened the windscreen into my face!

BLOODY HELL!!  I'm not dead!! 

Thoughts of this, being how my trip ends crossed my mind.......

Not bad after bush panel beating..

Once I'd calmed down, evaluated that the damage is superficial, no structural impact made. A few hefty kicks and foot pushing from inside the RV had me mobile in just over 1/2 hour. I continued on very wary of EVERYTHING!!

The next 45km were back to daily ride mode, :-) thankfully,  slow grinds up the rises & enjoyable 5k runs of undulations ... keeping my speed strictly under control ...just in case some other type of fauna tried to commit murder/suicide under the wheels of the RV. ;-)

A nice, well maintained, rest area 25km west of Fraser Range Station made for a pleasant lunch stop. Table/chairs, 'n  long drop dunnies. (These accoutrements are the norm at the better rest stops. ... most are just a drive in area with a couple of bins)

After 110km, & still feeling good in body & mind,(doubtful by some..lol) Fraser Range Station was a nice arvo tea stop .. icecream 'n flavoured milk.. comfort stop 'n water top-up..

Feeling overall pretty good, 'n the nice head-"breeze" ( not strong enough for  head-"wind") keeping me cool & refreshed, I decided to crack on for a while yet. 

50km more made up 160km today, (100 miles in the old money) or an "Imperial Century" in cycle-speak. 

Tonight exclusive campsite....

Will probably be invaded by the grey nomads...

Let's see....??

April 13, 2014. Day 7. Norseman. Rest day

Today is just a small 30km ride into Norseman.  It's time for a rest day, though I am feeling pretty good. I think that after 800km out of the legs, they're due for a breather. 

Maybe my legs are saying...

We're knackered ! LOL :-)

Railway Motel, Norseman,WA. 

Time for a breather. 

I think there's space for a barfly, ;-)

Grabbed a few items from the local IGA, before being hosed out at 12 midday...(Sunday Quittin' Time) lol

Showered, laundered, and a decent feed at the BP roadhouse... off to the land of zzzzzz by 8pm. 

PS..

Someone has to tell these bloody grey nomads that 4.30am might be a good time to start the day .... Do it bloody QUIETLY!!! FFS!! :-/