STREAKY BAY TO WUDINNA – DAY 16

Today, 1st September, has been a pleasant day on the bike and in the bus. There has probably been a bit more traffic that we might have hoped for, but all but one of the drivers have been well mannered and we arrived at our destination without being too stressed! Thick fog filled the air at 6.15am and remained for around two hours. At times, we were struggling as roadies, to tell each other if the road ahead was safe or unsafe for cars to overtake the cyclists. But, as fog generally does, it lifted and a brilliant day followed. The air was still initially, but as the hours passed, there arose a gentle breeze which was at the backs of the riders – and there were smiles on their faces that stretched from ear to ear! The average speed for the day was 26.9km/hr.

We arrived into Wudinna early enough to be able to have showers and head to the shops for a coffee. It made a pleasant day of it by comparison to crossing the Nullarbor where all the days were long days (because they had to be) and there was little time for socialising. Tomorrow we will be riding to Kimba and this will be an even shorter day than today. Unfortunately, there are conflicts with our accommodation – other people normally use the venue at the same time as we want to use it – and we need to leave it super early on Thursday morning because still more people are already booked to use it!

We had dinner provided for us tonight by the Lutheran and Uniting Churches of Wudinna. It was a case of we ate everything the ladies put on the table and they did not get anything at all to eat. I guess they just didn’t realise the amount of food cyclists can put away. We of course thanked them for their effort and kindness and left them with a nice thankyou plaque and some literature describing what we are seeking to do and why we are doing it. Nobody has complained of being hungry so the needs of the inner man and woman must have been met.

Trevor L still has at least a couple of days before can get back onto the bike – and even when he does ride again, it will be for part days only. The medical people at both Eucla and Ceduna have warned him of permanent heart damage that can come from too much exercise/exertion too soon after Swine ’Flu. He is intending to heed the warning. Jim B was back on the bike today and rode as normal. Trevor H had a brief spell off his bike due to knee pain. He has had similar pain previously and has learned to heed the warning his body is giving him.