Beasts in Jungle

June 19th: Nelia to Richmond – 101 km

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Day 249

For the first time in 2 weeks we had a virtually wind-free day. It’s 100 km between Nelia and Richmond and we were determined to do it in one day, so Cher can enjoy a peddling free day on her birthday. However, we carried enough water for two days just in case.

We woke up early enough that even at a crawl we could make it in before dusk. Our fingers were numb when we started and it couldn’t have been more than 8 degrees C. A light headwind made it a few degrees cooler but we made up for it by pressing into and not dropping below 15 kph.

By the afternoon the wind stopped completely and the long straight road was no longer a boring stretch of brown grass and shrubs to be endured by a runway to take off from. Our speed increased steadily and before lunch we were a steady 16 kph. We did 70 by noon and after lunch we had a little tail wind and some slight downhills. Our speed increased to a steady 20 kph and didn’t drop until we were within 2 km of town. With our tunes playing and very little traffic we were both ecstatic. I actually shed a few tears of joy. Battling the wind is demoralizing but the opposite is also true. There can be pleasure without pain but it’s not as acute.

Happy lunch break – finally no wind!

Cher’s birthday is tomorrow and we plan to take a rest day to celebrate. Lake View Van Park is a great place to do so. They have grassy sites overlooking the lake but the view out over the trees tops is even better. We cooked a birthday dinner and had steak from the local butcher, a salad, a pot of couscous and a bottle of wine I’ve kept stashed since we left Mount Isa. Our spirits are rejuvenated and with only 400 km left we are looking forward to a change of pace and a change of scenery. We’ve heard rumors that after Hughenden, 115 km away we will have hills and trees along the roadside. I don’t know exactly what Cher wished for for her birthday, it was probably a van, but a break in the wind probably gave us both more than either of could have asked for.

June 18th: Julia Creek to Nelia – 50.2 km

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Day 248

More wind and open fields. Another slog, barely reached 10km per hour and felt like we had gone over 100 km when we only went 50 km. On the bright side the weather was cool and pleasant.

When we saw the sign for Nelia it was surprising that there was anything there. Just before you get to the railroad tracks turn left and 2km in, you are there. There aren’t any signs, just a lot of free range animals and a sign for a gallery and a post office.

Corella Country Stay is a work in progress, but the charm of the place, the animals and the owners makes up for any shortcomings. Inherited from his mother, Eric the owner decided to give tourism a try and has been renovating for the last 3 years. They also have a number of fowl, goats and sheep. We only met Sebastian, who do to his unique personality and subsequent naming has been spared the chopping block. Raised from a kid, Sebastian is more like a domesticated lawn mower. In between nibbling and nosing into anywhere he might find food he nozzles, and paws to be pet. We were told that he like to give “hugs” and that if he did we should spray him with water. After he was nosing around in my bag I gave him a shower, and he fled with his head averted and braced against a potential squirt. Goats hold grudges and later when I tried to rub him he warded me off with sweep of his horns.

Meeting Sebastian suggested goats as a potential pet and Cher getting to feed one ensured it. Eric, our host, prepared a bottle of milk and Cher simply held it while the kid sucked it down, only taking breaks to breath. When the little goat finished she snuggled up against Cher’s legs and enjoyed a good petting, before falling asleep by Cher’s feet. She was both cute and delicious. I did think about throwing her on the fire and wondered if we would be able to raise it as a pet and eat it later. Cher claims she would just send it off to a butcher, so she wouldn’t have to do it. I wondered if I would feel guilty cooking it up. Maybe we should worry about our cycling for now and less about the possibility of having delicious pets.

June 17th: Rest Day in Julia Creek

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Day 247

We ate well and slept even better. Julia Creek turned out to be a perfect place for a rest. With a large clean well equipped kitchen and free internet we could catch up on calories and the blog. Our rest days are only physical rest days and we typed and uploaded from sunrise to sunset and In between we eat well and cook nice big hot meals. It seems that with enough time, and food, we really could cycle through almost anything. It’s amazing what a few good meals can do for moral and patience. Fighting against the wind and distances because your food is running short is an easy way to burn out.

I often think about Nansen the leader of an expedition to the North pole. He prepared his ship to be locked in the ice for 5 years. Much of his early journal is filled with the meals they enjoyed and later the exercise regiments he had to incorporate to help his men shed the excess pounds. They were locked in the ice for 3 years, and came back just as healthy, if not a little rounder than when they left. We may not come back rounder but we are certainly feeling healthy. Western food is calorie and protein rich and makes for some great cycling fuel.

June 16th: Overlanders Way Rest Area to Julia Creek – 68.8 km

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Day 246

We waited till the sun came up today to roll out of the tent – it was windy as usual, and cold. Spending the past 8 months in tropical weather, we found ourselves shivering in 7 degree weather.

Cold and windy. End of our summer time.

It was another beautiful day. Seven hours of cycling into a constant 25 kph wind is hard on the legs.

We passed several open fields with nary a tree in sight. It was immediately decided that for our own sanity we would take a rest day in Julia Creek. Our legs are now quite resilient but such a slow pace over a landscaped the changes very little is a bit like waiting in traffic, on your way home from work. You’re tired, the sky is blue, the birds are singing, but you don’t care, you just want to get home and the more you watch the odometer, the less it moves. Right now you would leave your car on the highway, if it meant you could instantly be at home.

We both have had such fantasies. I fantasized about leaving my trike on the side of the road, grabbing my camping equipment, and hopping on the back of one of the passing trains. I even went as far as to tell Cher that the train was probably slow enough that we could jump on. She wasn’t amused by my unrealistic fantasy when she was trying not to quit. We normally keep these daydreams to ourselves when we are pedaling. They aren’t great for morale and the can also be contagious.

June 15th: Cloncurry to Overlander’s Way Rest Stop – 67.3 km

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Day 245

Winter is here and the cool temperatures make it unnecessary to get an early start. I got up before sun rise and made a small fire in an ancient cast iron stove and put the kettle on.

I invited our neighbor for a cup of tea. He’s 68, living out of a tent and travelling to billabongs and deserts to photograph the birds of Australia. I told him it was an interesting hobby but he corrected me and told me that it was “a passion.” He later showed Cher and I some pictures and they were professionally done, with every minute detail in focus, well-lit, and in poses that suggested something about each bird’s personality. When I mentioned that the Ravens here sound like American Ravens until the end when they made a noise like they’re being strangled. He knew exactly what I was talking about and called it the choking baby noise, and told me that birds have different accents depending on the region they inhabit in Australia. Bob left and Cher and we both agreed that we never could have imagined that we would meet so many generous, kind and inspiring people.

Our long slow morning put us on the road by 10am. It was still only about 15 degrees out. With more rolling hills and a little bit of a tail wind from time to time, we cruised at 18 kph. Although the roads are winding and hilly we now have a shoulder to retreat to when the road trains pass.

A sedan with three men stopped in front of us and like maniacs twice, each time they were kneeling in the street with large lense cameras snapping photos of us. Eventually we stopped and got to talk to our paparazzi. Who were these crazed men? All in their 70’s they were from Italy on a one month tour. We are by far the youngest travelers in Australia.

June 14th: Mary Kathleen to Cloncurry – 67.3 km

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Day 244

More lovely hills, but now with a shoulder and a tail wind! All morning we battled a head wind and suddenly it shifted and our speed went from 10 to 15 kph. We were under no illusion that this was the tailwind that contributed to the increase of speed, and not a miraculous feat of will power or strength. A lot of cyclists have ridden a seasonal tailwind and do a lot of bragging about their distance without giving the tailwind it’s due credit. I suspect that this made the wind jealous and he’s been taking it out on us.

There is also a new hazard which we hadn’t encountered yet, grass with thorns. If it weren’t for the puncture protection we would each have 7 or 8 holes in each tire. After pulling off for a bathroom break, I noticed 15 to 20 seed pods with 3-5 mm thorns sticking out of our tires. We took the time to pull them out lest they get driven in deep enough to reach our tubes. With only this last concern the day was perfect.

We arrived in Cloncurry, grocery shopped and set up camp at Wal’s. There isn’t really a camp kitchen, just a barbecue, a wood stove and a covered picnic table.

We made ourselves at home and prepared for an early night when one our Caravan neighbor Martin invited us to the local fair. He promised whip cracking, a demolition derby and fireworks. We declined and he insisted, even promising to pay for our tickets. In the end we agreed to go and insisted that we would pay. When it came time to leave Martin had borrowed two of his neighbors wrist bands and taped on our wrists, so we wouldn’t have to pay.

It was worth it. It had all of the rides and carnival games I knew as a teen but of course now 5 times the cost. Everyone in town turned out, even the local hotels closed early because all the staff would be going to the carnival. Crowds of locals in cowboy hats, blue jeans and pointy boots came to town for the show. Cher and I had been to rural Texas and other than the way the men creased their hats and the style of the boots, everything else was the same.

We missed the whip cracking having a couple of cheap beers, but made sure to see the highlight of night, the demolition derby. Cher had never seen one before and asked, why do people like to watch other people smash cars? I didn’t have a good answer. It has to to be something in our primitive brain that people in the country and children aren’t expected to suppress. I saw my first demolition in rural Pennsylvania when I was 5, and it’s one of the few things I remember. I was 5 again and things went boom and crash. Cher enjoyed it but being Chinese she enjoyed the fireworks more. Not because of the explosions, but because of the pretty lights. Myself and the cowboys watching it are probably more romantic than most Eastern cultures give us credit for. There were some great chest thumping detonations but the timing, colours and gradual build up were artfully executed.

June 13th: Mount Isa to Mary Kathleen the Ghost Town – 69.9 km

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Day 243

There would be a few nice hills east of Mount Isa, we were told. This was an understatement. They turned out to be otherworldly martian buttresses and outcroppings. Our road threaded through and around the hills and although it was a beautiful ride, it was quite dangerous. At many points there were no shoulders and road trains were unable to see around the bends or over the hills, so they stuck to their lane, which put us off the road. Cher was vigilant and saved me several times. I just couldn’t stop daydreaming.

Eventually we came out of the hills where our average speed was around 15 kph and we were back in the plains. We crept to our next rest stop, Mary Kathleen, an abandoned mining town. Wiki Camps still lists all the street names and the locations of the public buildings, though they were nowhere to be found after the town was actioned off and turned into an active cattle ranch. The owner is kind enough to let people camp there.

As we drove in, we could get an eerie feel of what was there, only a short time ago. In 1985 mining stopped and the town was razed. Only the roads and the concrete slabs remain. As there are no facilities, be prepared to bury or carry anything solid you evacuate. While we set up the wind howled around us and we made the tent fast with several large stones. We did our best to enjoy the beautiful sunset and to ignore the conditions the winds predicted for the morrow.

June 12th: Rest Day

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Day 242

It was humid, hot, windy, and dusty with some sprinkles to finish off the day.

The wind picked up and we met several caravaners who told us they were spending double on fuel driving into the wind. It was between 20 to 30 kph for the last week. It was a perfect day for a break. We took advantage of the cheap internet at Sunset Caravan Park and spent the day in the shady camp kitchen, typing and updating.

We received word that we will be able to pick up 4 new tires from a bike shop in Townsville, “The Bicycle Pedlar” and even a place to stay and a warm shower. We will be replacing our front tires, Schwalbe Marathon Plus’s, with the Marathon Supreme. It’s not as hardy but has less rolling resistance. My two front tires are worn through, and Cher’s left tire is worn from being on the rough shoulder. I will use her one good tire as my rear and her rear tire still looks like new. So far we have put about 12,000 km on our tires, mine a little more since I was able to commute to work.

I broke off from Cher, my Siamese cycling twin, and managed to do a little birthday gift shopping. I managed to score a cozy hooded fleece at one of the local shops and a couple bottles of wine. I also grocery shopped, and exchanged USD for AUD. Oh how nice it is to have some convenience. It’s colder than we imagined and we haven’t really acclimated yet, and it’s due to get chillier as we move south into the Australian winter. I’m literally about 2 degrees F. warmer than Cher so she gets cold quite quickly. If I can keep her warm than we will both be a lot happier. So I guess the gifts are for me too.

June 11th: Rancher’s Gate on West Side of the Road to Mount Isa – 83 km

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Day 241

Our spot by the rancher’s gate proved to be perfect. Flat, smooth, and we both slept well. I woke at around 3 am and the moon was bright enough to cast a shadow. I was up early, getting my journal typing done before Cher woke up. After a high-powered breakfast, we were ready for our trip to the big city.

As usual, the terrain was flat and smooth with a few small rises. With very little traffic, we found a stick bug sunning himself on the highway and we stopped to rescue him. I tried to prod it but it didn’t want to move. The thing was more like a branch and despite loving the outdoors we are still very much city people, in short I was scared of it. So it took a few minutes before I had the courage to pick the thing up and move it. It proved to be docile and allowed me to put in a tree without biting stinging or pinching.

When the wind whips across the open fields, it is amplified by the passing road trains. When they pass towing 3 or more trailers the wind hits you in the chest, and you stop. When it comes from behind it sends you off is a jolt like being pushed on a swing by a professional wrestler. If the road train passing you happens to hold cattle you are sprayed with a shower of urine and liquid excrement. If you’re lucky it’s dry and just a few hard pieces pelt you.

At the end of the day when we had enough of the wind, we entered the hills. We’ve never been so happy to have some ascents with the corresponding rest on the opposite side. As a bonus the road cut through the tops of the hills, and dove into troughs where we were sheltered from the wind. Our last several kilometers were downhill and we coasted into town.

Mount Isa is the largest town we’ve been in since we left Darwin almost a month ago. For us it’s the second to last major way station before we reach Townsville and we’re starting to feel that our first major destination which seemed quite far is now within reach.

June 10th: Camooweal to Rancher’s Gate on West Side of the Road – 103.8 km

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Day 240

It was a long day and we pedaled from 8am until 6pm, just before the sun went down. We have left the open spaces behind and now are seeing more and more trees. On our way we stopped to have a chat with Ludo from Belgium, who is cycling around the world. We could complain but he has one leg and even though we didn’t say it, we both acknowledged that our mobility is a blessing and not curse.

Even though the wind kept blowing in our face we pushed our speed up to 15 kph, and hoped the wind would die down the following day.

Perhaps it’s too early to tell but already the wind is dieing down. If that’s the case we will have an easy day with only 84 km until we get a hot shower.

Setting up in the dusk

June 9th: Rest Day in Camooweal

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Day 239

Our rest days always start with a monstrous breakfast. Eggs, bacon, coffee, toast, and fried tomatoes. We gathered some last-minute supplies and inventoried our water. From Camooweal to Mount Isa there is 188 km of nothing. One thing I should mention is that we pass a number of areas where streams are marked on the map but they are all dry. This is a desert. With the lovely cool weather it’s easy to forget but lack of water will kill you.

We are going to try to cross in 2 days but we are carrying 23 liters of water just in case. With the current temperatures, 26 Celsius during the day and around 7 or 8 at night it’s very pleasant fall weather and we only drink about 4 liters per day. Three days will be a bit of stretch as far as the water is concerned but it will be enough. Just in case we will start early and try to put in over a 100 km tomorrow, if the wind lets us.

23 liters of water

Planning for the future I began locating the next towns and noting their distances and types of grocery store. We didn’t do this at first and were lucky that we had enough oatmeal to cover a couple of lunches. We are now only about 1,120 km from Townsville, and we have traveled 1,380 km from Darwin to Camooweal, not including the extra 25 km to and from Tennant Creek. Breaking it down into these little chunks makes the distances easier to swallow.

We both agree that as long as we are fed and have the occasional shower the long distances aren’t so bad. We’re also learning to make ourselves at home, which is much easier when, on days like today, the bush flies are nowhere to be seen and we can lay in the grass or the tent with the doors open and read.

Our rest days always involve a little maintenance and we checked our tire pressure, added air, and oiled the chains. This kills that sneaking suspicion that something is low or rubbing when you’re pushing into the wind. I also made Cher a personalized Battlestar Galactica reflector, for her trike by the same name from some electrical tape and a cardboard road work sign I found in the rubbish bin, and Cher sewed some extra-large flags onto our old flags. We should be highly visible. I’ve begun to notice that we disappear into the landscape and are nothing more than tiny black dots and our improvements should help us not to become tiny black smudges.

June 8th: Avon Downs Rest Area to Camooweal – 68 km

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Day 238

Our tent creaked and groaned and was buffeted by the wind all night. This morning I woke up at 5:30am and the wind had died down. I took the opportunity to do a little typing. Bundled up in my down jacket and rain pants, I made a cup of coffee and typed until the sun came up. It’s wonderful to have one’s circadian rhythm in tune with sunsets and sunrises. We are in bed every night by 7 and asleep by 8. Even if I wake at 5am, which I usually do, I’ve already slept 9 hours. Cher sleeps 10 to 11 hours and it shows, she rarely looks deeply tired. No more blue pouches or red eyes, which is good because we would need our rest today.

With open fields as far as you can see the wind just whips across them. Although today we received only a glancing blow as we traveled northeast and the wind blew from the southeast. We didn’t travel much faster than yesterday but we didn’t have to work as hard either. We were also motivated by the knowledge that we would have a shower, fresh food, and a rest day.

We chose to stay at the Camooweal Roadhouse because they have a nice corrugated steel fence that blocks the wind. After 3 days of rough camping and high winds we were prepared to pay the extra 4 bucks for the luxury caravan park.

We found that the combination post office, grocery store was closed but there happened to be a mini mart next store. The prices were reasonable and we went on a protein binge, eggs, lamb chops, and bacon. We were once again treated to 2 cold beers by a grey nomad in his 70’s who goes by the name of Crow. Everywhere we go we are children compared to the campers around us and they treat us so. His wife gave us 2 fresh tomatoes and we feasted. Traveling in Australia is simultaneously the most difficult and easiest depending on the time of day. We are punished all day and then forget all about it as we are rewarded at night. I think this is how people are brainwashed. If the Australian outback is our captor than we may be suffering from Stockholm syndrome because sometimes we really love it.