June 2nd: Rest Day and a Triumph is Born!

Day 232

We met up in the morning unloaded, and Pierre demonstrated some trike tricks like riding on two wheels and then we tried each other’s rides.

Cat Trikes feel more like a sports car, a bit stiffer and you can really feel the power transfer with each stroke of the pedal. Our ICE trikes are more like a Cadillac, a bit softer and not as fast, but more comfortable, depending on who you ask.

After a photo session to mark this unprecedented random gathering, these were the first trikes either of our groups had run into on our various tours, we rode into town for a cup of coffee.

When we walked into town, no one even acknowledged us, unless we were in each other’s path and then only a polite excuse me as we walked by. When we rode into town, we received hellos, waves, and smiles. Trikes are ambassadors of good will.

Having our coffee Brian asked, what do we call a group of trikes? A group of crows is a murder, a group of dolphins is a pod and now a group of trikes is a triumph. Our new friends insisted on paying for our coffee and we agreed to have a trikers meal that evening. We met later that evening, utilizing the camp kitchen we made enough food to make the table sag. Not wanting to miss the opportunity for a group ride, Pierre urged us to join them until Threeways. Cher and I were hesitant, since they were much faster and we feared we would hold them up. But they insisted and we agreed to an early start at 7:30am.

That night Cher and I packed and had to come up with a creative way to store the eight days of groceries we had bought as well as the 23 liters of water total we planned on carrying. I garbage picked several used plastic water bottles from the recycling bin and we washed and filled them. We would need to carry water for 2 days at a time, including breakfast and dinner. We calculated that we consume about 11 liters per day and this includes oatmeal, and coffee in the morning and pasta for dinner. We have found that if we bring pasta to a boil in our 1 liter pot and then let it sit for 7 or 8 minutes, it cooks and absorbs most of the water. It’s not always al dente but it saves fuel and water. We considered buying freeze-dried camping meals but found that for one meal they were 10 to 15 AUD each, whereas a bag of pasta cost a dollar or less, and with sauce, some hard-boiled eggs, or canned fish, we can have a good meal for quite cheap. Packed and prepared we were confident that we could cross the outback without dehydration, hunger or going broke.