Day 19 - Lawn Hill to Elizabeth Creek - 76kms
Last night I was chatting to an old guy who had cycled across the Nullarbor when he retired 15 years ago. He had driven the way I am heading and mentioned there is another cyclist approximately 300km ahead who is also cycling from Cairns to Darwin. I don't think I'll catch up with him!
This morning, just when I was about to ride out, the old guy come over to see me off. Really nice guy and a good start for the morning. The first 25kms I followed the same road out until I get to the T junction. Whilst I was riding out a caravan pulled up along side and said the road I was going to take is closed, due to water over it. I thought this was strange as I had been talking to some drivers who had used the road yesterday and the only water they mentioned was at the creek crossings. When I got to the T junction there were no signs indicating any problem ahead so I continued heading towards Doomadgee. I was very happy I did. The road passed through cattle country and generally was clay based, so very smooth. I had to ford across a couple of creeks next to each other. Besides getting my feet wet (which was very cooling) it wasn't a problem getting the bike across. With a good road, gentle tailwind and some hills on my left it was a lovely ride. As it is recommended for 4WD vehicles only there were no caravans. Which meant I could cycle for an hour before I saw another car. In total I saw 5 cars today. The last couple of kilometres before my camp spot the road became a little rougher. But I was still doing good for time and got to Elizabeth Creek at about 2pm. The creek still has a bit of water in it and there was plenty of shade under the gum trees. Very happy I ignored what the caravan person said re the road. I guess it might had been a bit tough taking their van through the ankle deep water! |
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Day 20 - Elizabeth Creek to Walford Creek- 109kms
Last night I enjoyed a campfire in a lovely little spot. The road was generally okay. There were a few spots of bad corrugation and rocky sections.
I arrived at Doomadgee just after 11.30am. Doomadgee is an aboriginal community of approximately 1200 people. I stopped at the roadhouse first and headed into town to restock my provisions at the general store. When I rode through town I went past the school and the kids were shouting “Hi". A very friendly welcome. The store at Doomadgee was fantastic. It was big and modern with all the provisions I will need for the next few days. So I stocked and then called into the bakery. The bakery as well was great. I grabbed some lunch there before leaving town. Unfortunately Doomadgee does not allow you to camp in town. I headed for a bush camp about 40kms out of town. They are currently sealing a dirt section of the road. So slowly the road is becoming more sealed and less dirt. But it is a slow process. I arrived at my bush camp at about 3pm. I am staying at Walford Creek. There isn't much water here, but there was a nice bit of shade. When I parked up the bike I noticed one of my rear spokes had broken. Of course it had to be on the drive side! I carry a Kevlar temporary spoke. I had to remove the rear wheel and tyre. Took about 40 minutes to complete the operation. I adjusted the tension on the adjoining spokes and also reduced the pressure of the tyres, as that was what most likely caused the spoke to break on one of the rougher sections today. Once I finished being the bush bike mechanic I setup camp and enjoyed sunset. Tomorrow is a short ride to Hells Gate roadhouse. |
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Day 21 -Walford Creek to Hell's Gate Roadhouse - 36kms
Well today I got to break something else, this time my chair. Thankfully I had my duct tape which was able to fix it. Hopefully that will be the end of breaking things now.
The wind was blowing and I had a good tailwind blowing me to Hell's Gate. I arrived by 10am. Hell's Gate roadhouse is the last Queensland place for services before crossing over to the Northern Territory. The next services are 300+kms away. About four days riding. With today being a short ride day it allowed me to clean up and get ready for my next section of the ride. The road is mainly unsealed until I get to the next township, Borroloola. |
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