Week 20

Day 134

Saturday 9th November 2019

Coolgarie to middle of nowhere.

Set off from Coolgarie with lots of water prepared for an overnight wild camp but hoping to get to Norseman about 100 miles away.

The wind was kind to us and for the first time since arriving in Australia we had a bit of down hill. We were feeling good and moving well in spite of the weight on the bike. We met a biker who had heard us on the radio who said hi.

We stopped at the only roadhouse between Coolgarie and Norseman and ate pizza. The day was good. Raz said we should make it to Norseman, the start of the Nullabore desert, at which point the timing chain fell off.

Normally we can tighten the chain by moving a mechanism near the bottom bracket - but it wouldn’t move. A lovely man called Robert (gold prospector) stopped and got his tool kit out. We still couldn’t shift it. We decided to shorten the chain. We shortened it too much. We added a link back but it was a problem as the spares we had were not compatible with our new chain (which we got in Perth). It was taking hours and the flies where a nightmare.

It was starting to get dark as we got the adjusted chain back on. We camped sandwiched between the road and railway track. We were exhausted. I had also broken the chain tool. We ate some food and went to bed having looked up at the stars which were beautiful. We had spent about 4 hours trying to fix Alice - but I was still concerned about the chain and whether it would stay on.

Day 135

Sunday 10th November 2019

Middle of Nowhere to Norseman.

Woke early as the weather forecast was predicting a mini heat wave with temperatures more than 40.

We set off - the chain came off again. Finally we managed to adjust it - having broken the pliers but it fell off again. It was getting hot as we sat at the side of the road trying to fix the bike - absolutely covered in flies.

We noticed that one of the cogs on the chain wheel was bent. We set to work with a nail file and a mallet. The lovely Gavin stopped and gave us a file - finally we fixed it and managed to extract the bent Allen key from the bottom bracket.

I thought we were going to have to head back to Perth (the nearest bike shop) so it was such a relief to finally after about 7 hours fix the bike.

By this time it was hot and we rode onto Norseman. It is definitely the hottest day of cycling so far. I felt sick with it - we stopped and tried to cool down - then carry on.

We met Angus as we came into Norseman crossing a massive salt flat. Angus a fellow Brit is on his way to Sydney.

We finally arrived in Norseman, had a cool drink at the BP garage. We heard that the road ahead is closed because of fire.

Found a hotel and are eating pizza. Fingers crossed we can ride tomorrow.

Day 136

Monday 11th November 2019

Norseman to Balladonia.

Set off from the quirky Railway Hotel which apparently had, (past tense), a reputation for playing dodgy films on Saturday nights. The posters on the wall where of past Hollywood blockbuster- including the magnificent 7! We felt a bit like we were riding out into the desert (- which of course, we were). After a hearty breakfast we set off heading for Balladonia which was 121 miles away.

The early morning was cool. However we soon took off our jackets as the day started to warm up. The bush fire from the day before, had been put out. We could see the smoke in the distance. If we hadn’t have had the mechanical problems the day before- we may have been turned back. The road stretched out ahead.

Florian and Julie from Switzerland stopped to give us water and cookies. Peter and Heidi flagged us down shouting “stop” and asked us about our ride - but didn’t offer us a drink. We stood in the sun answering questions and eventually said we needed to get going to get some lunch!

We cycled to Fraser Range slightly off the road, where we saw Emu and a camel! We met up with Angus and set off for the last 60 mile into Balladonia.

The views were amazing - bush land as far as we could see. The last 20 miles were hard. We had a massive headwind. Even on the downhill we were only travelling about 10mph. We arrived in Balladonia in the dark. Managed to persuade the cafe to sell us food (even though we were 5 mins after last orders according to them (it was 7.25 and last orders were 7.30)) and stayed in a “budget room” made out of a shipping crate.

Day 137

Tuesday 12th November 2019

Balladonia to Caiguna.

Today we road the longest straightest road in the world (or in Australia). It was very long and very straight and very windy. Unfortunately the wind was a headwind - rather than a tail wind.

The straight bit started about 20 miles into the ride. We stopped at the iconic sign where we ran into the lovely Sasha from Switzerland who had given us water during the “mechanical nightmare”. He gave us water again - we owe him a beer.

After the obligatory photos we set off. It was hard going into the wind which was around 20-25 mph with massive gusts as the Road Trains thundered by.

The scenery was amazing- bush as far as we could see. We also got to see Australian wildlife - kangaroos, dingoes, deer and eagle - all dead at the side of the road - it was like a macabre horror film - with smelly vision.

We did however see some live kangaroos hoping along which was lovely. No one stopped today. We pulled off at about 90 miles as there was a sign for water but the tank was empty.

We carried on watching the miles as we went over the 100 mark. The moon came out and the sun set. It was beautiful. Finally made it to a road house in the dark. Just heading off to put the tent up in the dark having ridden 112 miles. At least we didn’t get lost .

Day 138

Wednesday 13th November 2019

Caiguna to Madura