Distance today 110.29km at 20.8km/hr average
Total distance 4005km. Donations $6162.09. Deserts 4/10. Days remaining 82
Note to new readers: I am travelling with my bike who’s name is Banjo. I often refer to ‘we’ meaning Banjo and I. ‘We’ have an amazing support team of family, friends, sponsors and folk we meet each day. But it’s still up to ‘us’ to face the challenge and tackle each day one peddle at a time.
It’s 545pm on Sunday 27 June 2021.
We clocked over our 4000km today wooohooo!!! That was our goal today making tomorrow’s ride about 50km into Tjukayirla by lunchtime all going well.
We woke this morning to the moon still shining handsome on the horizon and the morning light was glowing on our great camp!!!
We also woke to our first frost!! Oh my goodness. I am so tucked away cosy in the tent with lots of layers inside the sleeping bag. So it was a real surprise this morning to see that it had got down to 0 degrees overnight. The awning on the tent was frosted over as was Banjos panniers. The early sun had a warmth so we popped the awning on the stony ground in the sun to defrost while I packed up camp.
We were ready to get underway at about 830am when the north easterly that was forecast kicked in with attitude. I was super pleased to be riding with that gust up our tail although the chill factor makes our breaks very short. 🤣 Banjos panniers are like a sail in the wind so it really impacts on our ride no matter which way it’s blowing. Today was bonus and we savoured the helping hand of a tail wind.
The flowers on the upside down plants were glowing red on the trackside back to the main road. They’re my favourite plant and so odd not like anything I’ve seen. They’re a unique feature on the great central road.
Fields of flowering spinafex has also made an appearance. It’s an enigma of a plant. It looks so fluffy with its top knot of soft flowering grass. But underneath its shades of green spikes are super sharp. Banjo has already taken a strong disliking to spinafex and calls it all sorts of names and gives them a wide birth. It’s a distance equals tyre safety thing for me and the boy!!!!
We passed a section of road cut through a red sand dune and the heads of the spinafex were blowing sideways in their clumps.
The colours are red, green and wheat like a paint chart. The contrasts are a natural family of heritage colours and a beautiful feature in the desert landscape.
The countryside in this area is such an expanse of plains, undulating across sand hills and floodways. I’m loving it on the bike and particularly so on the downhills that are always big fun and energising.
There was another section of sealed road today for about 30km and with the tail wind and downhills we were all smiles hitting speeds over 30km at times.
We did our first 50km in under 3 hours which set us up for some descent kms for the days ride.
I’m expecting there to be dingos tonight So we made dinner early but so far it’s all very quiet.
We passed lots of camel an dingo prints during the second half of the ride. The vegetation has become more dense with Mulga trees. Despite the number of fresh tracks, we didn’t spot any camels today but are on the look out. Other travellers have mentioned they can be seen in large herds and with babies. We’re on the look out again tomorrow. I know Dylan would love a picky of a baby camel.
I was thinking today about family and what a core value it is for me. It very much impacts on my wellbeing amd groundedness. The landscape really exposes the body, mind and soul to what matters most. I love this aspect of desert country. It seems to cut through the chaos and puts a spotlight on what counts.
I just turned my head torch off with a passing car and noticed how bright the stars are in numbers. With the moon rising later, the night sky is able to show off its Milky Way in all its brilliance of light and dust. ‘Old Man Emu’ can be seen in the negative dark space amongst the cluster. This was featured during the Astronomy film I saw as part of the free activities at Uluru Resort. it’s an impressive sight in the real. It’s one of those phenomena that once you notice the emu shape it’s so apparent. I can’t wait to share it with my family during our outback holiday at the end of the challenge.
I’m loving the time difference and being able to enjoy my routine of posting and dinner before the chill night air kicks in. On that note I’m going to enjoy dinner and a cuppa and the rest of the evening before tucking into bed. Night and talk soon. Xx
The 10 desert challenge 