REST DAY AT NORSEMAN - DAY 6

Today, Saturday 22nd August has been a ‘rest day’, but for many of the team, it has been a day of getting ready for the week to follow. Every day will be a big day on the bike and distances will be close to 200km on each day. Most of the riders have done a service on their bicycles, especially chains, sprockets and wheels. The rain and road grime of the last few days have changed the well oiled machines into growling beasts!

The food team have been working hard as well. There were many items stored in the bus and these have been sorted and added to the items in the food trailer where necessary – and some that were in the food trailer have gone to the bus! We have filled all our water containers – something like 180 litres worth – and most of this is aboard the bus. The riders will be able to fill their water bottles with desalinated water at the roadhouses where we are staying the night but otherwise, we need to make our water last the distance. The first place we will be able to replenish our stocks will be at Ceduna.

Vehicles have been refuelled and are hopefully ready are for the week ahead. Petrol and diesel fuels are very expensive on the Nullarbor crossing and some vehicles are more expensive to run at slow speeds because they need to run in lower gears. The bus is very good in this situation because it can tolerate running in top gear at 28 + km/ph on flat roadway. I do not anticipate needing to buy more fuel until Ceduna or beyond as I am carrying a 200 litre drum of fuel additional to the bus tanks. This fuel was purchased at Perth prices, not inflated country prices.

Almost everyone has done their washing. Clothes lines have been strung up and bicycle clothing and all manner of other clothing has been through the wash and hung out to dry.

This will probably be the last blog entry until the 29th August (Ceduna) as I do not anticipate being able to get internet access until then. I know there is internet access at Border Village (the WA/SA border ‘town’) but it is via an internet café type situation and I don’t know if I can make that do what I want it to do! Maybe! I do intend to keep producing an account of each day’s events so it will be available in due course – you will just have to be patient!