Some Conclusions
Conclusions Why did I ride 1800kms from Buderim to Shepparton? Was it a dare or challenge? I don’t think it was either, but whatever the reason I do know that it helped close my 8 year Balranald chapter and in hindsight probably helped set me up at an experiential level for the last day of [...]
Day 20 and 21 on the Road
The 30km ride to Finley included being passed by dozens of trucks at times where the side of the road was pretty rough, although there were some good stretches of road verge where I had good seal under me approximately 1.4m wide. However, I recall one truckie giving me a warning blast with his [...]
Day 19 to Jerilderie
Once more an early start saw me leaving in the dark. The weather forecast suggested a fine day with temperatures in the range of 7 – 18 degrees. So I dressed accordingly, but realised it was colder and I discovered, by the time I reached Darlington Point that the minimum was 1 degree and it [...]
Back to the…Griffith on Day 18
The luxury of another short ride, only 50kms from Goolgowi to Griffith, enabled me to arrive by lunch-time, but before leaving Goolgowi I visited the Carrathool Shire Council Offices where I had worked for three and a half years, for coffee and a chat. My Office used to be on the right (with screen door) [...]
To Goolgowi on Day 17
Travelling the 60kms from Hillston to Goolgowi at the junction of the Kidman Way and Mid-Western Highway you have to stop at Merriwagga and the Black Stump Hotel, as I did. Both Hillston and Merriwagga as well as Rankins Springs and Carrathool are a very familiar parts of the Carrathool Shire as I had worked [...]
On To Hillston on Day 16
A 9.20am start from Mt Hope on Saturday saw me arrive at the Hillston Motel at 3.15pm. The 90km ride included crossing the Indian Pacific railway line some 30kms south of Mt Hope. A little later I encountered Mrs Chris Sobey from Wagga. Chris, a demure 70+ year old lady was sitting on a low [...]
Day Fifteen: 160km from Cobar to Mt Hope
As a result of an early 6.00am start, in near freezing conditions, I cycled passed the Peko Gold Mine in the dark. All the cars that had passed me during the previous 30 or so minutes must have been the early morning shift at the mine. My headlight was working again and I appeared to [...]
Day Thirteen and Fourteen
‘Cobar’ sounds like ‘crowbar’ and the town reminds me of something hard and enduring, even on this, probably my 20th visit to this great Outback NSW town. Cobar is located on the cross roads of the North-South Kidman Way and East-West Barrier Highway that takes you west to Wilcannia and Broken Hill and to Nyngan in [...]
Day Twelve To Cobar and a Couple of Shakes
Being aware that the westerly from the day before was turning into a south, south westerly during this ride an early start 6.30am saw me leave the comfort of my Darling River Motel where the small room with en-suite had only cost $60 for the night. Now I was on the Kidman Way proper past [...]
Auspicious Time of Arrival in Bourke
The headwinds of day 10 increased on on day 11 west to Bourke and the 98kms took almost nine hours to complete. There were some minor rises in the landscape but they were no obstacle compared to the constant 15-20kms per hour or more westerly that slowed my riding speed to probably less than 15kms per [...]