Journal: |
I woke up at 3am and was on the road by 3:30am, feeling like I
was still riding from yesterday. By 5:30am I was weaving all
over the road and too tired to continue. I found a sandy spot
off the road, put down my tent as a groundsheet, and instantly went
to sleep, not waking until the sun rose around 7am. I was
still very tired but knew I had to get going. Thirty minutes later I
reached the very small settlement of Mount Surprise, just as
everything was opening up and got a big brekky at the quaint
roadhouse café. I was still very tired, my right Achilles
was very painful and my mood was low as I headed west across the
savannah towards Georgetown, 91km away. I worked out that if I
continued on from Georgetown to Croydon (another 148km) I would
probably get there too late to buy food, including for the next day,
when I would pass no stores. I was extremely tempted to stay
in Georgetown and get a good nights sleep. Staying there would
have put me exactly a day behind schedule, but still on target to
equal or beat the new record of 51 days. However, a nice
hamburger and chips for lunch along with the chatter and admiration
of some tourists, decided me to continue on to Croydon. I
called the pub there to book a room and set off. The rest of
the afternoon was a real test. I was exhausted, my Achilles
hurt a lot, and I couldn’t deal with the thought of another very
short night’s sleep followed by another very early start and another
long day. The country continued to be brown-grassed,
lightly-timbered savannah with some low mountain ranges to cross.
I now don’t think I have any chance of maintaining a 300km per
day schedule. It’s just beyond me, especially after losing
time with the punctures. I will stay in Croydon until the
shops open in the morning, and get breakfast and supplied for the
next 24 hours. That will give me a reasonable night’s sleep
tonight and hopefully my mood will be better tomorrow.
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