Betten On Bike: DAY 19 - CAMOOWEAL - BARCLAYS CROSSING (260 KM

Day 19 - Camooweal to Barclays Crossing

(Note: I started the day with a note in my little notebook "Camooweal to wherever" (as Walter had indicated he was keen to try to combine 2 days should the tail winds once again be favourable BUT this distance seemed way to optimistic so the 'whatever' was written in)

Cycling Stats: 260 kms (true !!!)
Cycling Average Speed: 35.4 kms per hour

We were both up early at 5.30am & Walter left at 6.15am and I left a little later than I anticipated as I wanted to catch up on emails etc as I didn't think we would have any internet or phone for a few days.

A headwind for the first 50 km of Walter's ride and then once again luckily the wind turned around to a strong helpful tailwind. I caught Walter at the 100km mark and by that time we were both a bit anxious - he had seen a few rolled cars on the side of the road and, because I usually catch him between 60 and 80 km and was a little late, he was getting a little concerned. I was worried that I had missed him at a rest area at the 80 km mark that I had passed without looking too closely at. All good though - we had a nice cup of coffee and Walter had some sandwiches and he was back on the road within around 5 minutes as he prefers to stop for very short nutrition breaks.

About 15 km past Camooweal we crossed the border into Northern Territory. The stark flat whitish grasslands with red, red dirt expanses made for a dramatic landscape - endless and stretching as far as the eye could see.

Later the landscape changed to more shrubs and low trees and more termite nests - much much larger now. Lots of colours - the shiny white grasses, the dark green low shrubs and the amazing red red soil as well as lighter shades of green in the low trees and black stick like shrubs. I spotted a dingo prowling along the edge of a fence at the side of the road and he looked at me curiously before ambling back away from the road. I was actually surprised to come across about a half a dozen fit looking horses who also watched me carefully when I slowed down to watch them for a few minutes. Interesting also was the fact that there was little or no road kill today and the birds were mainly small species and not the huge kites we have seen for the past week or so.

Very little traffic on this long stretch of The Barclay Highway - The sign at the beginning told me that there was no fuel for 260 km so I had filled up to a full tank to be safe before leaving Camooweal - the price was $1.99 per litre which is I think the most I have ever paid. Luckily I only needed to buy a quarter of a tank.

For the last 100 km of Walter's ride I stopped every 15 - 20 kms to give him refilled water bottles and fruit. I drove quite slowly and as I waited for him had to make the big decision - Do I open the car window to feel some of the breeze but then get attacked by the hundreds and hundreds of flies which seem more intent on trying to get into your nose, ears, behind your sunglasses and into your mouth than the Queensland variety. OR do I just sit in the heat - I opted for sitting in the heat.

Another thing I am learning is to squat by the side of the road and not be timid about it - my knees are holding up just fine - there are no loos on this road so I have adapted well to this new practice - I have found it is important though to position yourself correctly in the sometimes strong windy conditions (I'll leave you to work out the rationale behind this)

I am sitting here under a shady tree writing this blog with I must admit a fly net on - Walter & I couldn't put up with the pesky attacking flies so have succumbed to purchasing the fly nets and let me tell you - they are great !!