|
Day: |
021 |
|
Date: |
Thursday, 17 August 2006 |
|
Summary |
Riding from 138km north of Hughenden to The
Lynd Junction. |
|
Start: |
138km north of Hughenden |
|
Finish: |
The Lynd Junction |
|
Daily
Kilometres: |
106 |
|
Total
Kilometres: |
2762 |
|
Weather: |
Mild early but warm to hot and partly
cloudy for the rest of the day with variable winds. |
|
Accommodation: |
Room at the Oasis Roadhouse, The Lynd
Junction, Queensland . |
|
Nutrition: |
Muesli and apple for breakfast, peanut
butter roll for lunch, and sausages, eggs and chips for dinner. |
|
Encounters: |
Saw a large herd of wild hogs cross the
road in front of me. There must have been about 20 babies in the
group. When I got to the point where they had crossed the road they
were still rooting around in the vegetation at the side of the
road. As I passed, one of the adults spotted me and started chasing
me. Thanks to a huge surge of adrenalin I cranked up the pace and
the hog stopped chasing after 20 metres. |
|
Highlights: |
I was very happy to find that the Oasis
Roadhouse was open and had accommodation when I finally reached it. |
|
Lowlights: |
I fear the very rough roads are taking
their toll on my gear. The bike is going OK but a plastic bolt on
one of the panniers has broken and I discovered a screw on the same
pannier which was about to come free. Also, the map kilometres were
about 20km short for this section, meaning I had to ride 20km
further than expected. |
|
Journal: |
I got up at 6:30am after a fitful sleep
(there was an uncomfortable bump under the floor of the tent) on a
windy night. By the time I packed up and left it was 8:45am. The
road conditions were tough with patches of soft red sand, chewed up
by road-trains, alternating with corrugations, and just plain rocky
roads. I was glad I had bought the premium tyres for this trip,
because they are taking some punishment, and I haven’t even had to
put any air into them so far. However, the bike, gear, and me are
getting very shaken up. To offset the tough riding conditions, the
scenery was attractive timbered razing land with small mountains
here and there, and some pretty streams. The road was undulating
and was forever dipping down into floodways. By the time the
afternoon came around these constant small climbs were beginning to
take their toll and I was feeling very tired. I think the extra
concentration required to ride on the rough road is also wearing me
out. From originally thinking I might get a bit past The Lynd
Junction, I began to hope that the roadhouse there would have
accommodation. The long afternoon wasn’t helped by the fact that
the map underestimated the distance by about 20km (which is a lot
when you are tired!).
I finally arrived at the roadhouse,
which seemed to be run by two women, and they did have basic rooms
and let me have one. I must have looked quite a sight, covered with
red dust and sweat. I had a welcome shower and checked over my bike
and gear for any problems before having an early dinner. At one
point a helicopter flew in to pick up a few things. This place is
very remote. I might try a very early start tomorrow and see if I
can get to Ravenshoe (201km) so that I have a shorter day
into Cairns on Saturday. The road is sealed from here to Cairns . |
|
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|
