Day 40 - Burrell Creek to Burrell Creek - 40 metres!
I had a great sleep last night and was up early. There were plenty of birds singing around the creek.
I got the bike all ready and began the ride just before 7am. I had travelled no further than 40 metres down the road when I heard a horrible crunching noise. I stopped the bike and saw that the rear derailleur had made contact with the rear wheel. It had ripped out about 6 spokes. I tied up the broken spokes, but the bike was not rideable. When checking the bike I also noticed a cracked jockey wheel, not sure if this is what caused the incident.
I was still 30km from Adelaide River. I needed to get a ride. So I unloaded the bike and waited for a car. Amazingly, with it being a quiet road, I only had to wait 10 minutes when a ute came along. I flagged him down and explained the situation. Five minutes later the bike was in the back and I was on my way to Adelaide River.
I got to Adelaide River and booked a bus ticket to Darwin for tomorrow afternoon (which is only about 100km away). I spent the rest of the day packing up the bike. I also went for a walk to the war cemetery later on in the afternoon. This part of Australia was bombed during the Second World War. There are still some old airstrips, as a lot of Americans and Australians were based here. The cemetery was immaculate and there was some fantastic information on what happened during WWII.
I then checked out the old narrow gauge rail line. There are a number of old items here. It was quite informative. On the way back to the roadhouse you can cross the river on the original road bridge. This bridge used to be cutoff frequently during the wet season. The new bridge is along side and is about 13 metres higher. So the wet season no longer cuts off the road.
This trip I certainly broke a few things;
This was certainly not how I planned to end the trip. But overall the tour has been fantastic. Great scenery, some amazing people and fantastic campsites along the way. Tomorrow I will be in Darwin. I will still get to visit Litchfield National Park, as my lovely wifey will be joining me in a few days. Instead of riding it we'll be hiring a small campervan. I will now have a couple of extra days to explore and enjoy Darwin.
I got the bike all ready and began the ride just before 7am. I had travelled no further than 40 metres down the road when I heard a horrible crunching noise. I stopped the bike and saw that the rear derailleur had made contact with the rear wheel. It had ripped out about 6 spokes. I tied up the broken spokes, but the bike was not rideable. When checking the bike I also noticed a cracked jockey wheel, not sure if this is what caused the incident.
I was still 30km from Adelaide River. I needed to get a ride. So I unloaded the bike and waited for a car. Amazingly, with it being a quiet road, I only had to wait 10 minutes when a ute came along. I flagged him down and explained the situation. Five minutes later the bike was in the back and I was on my way to Adelaide River.
I got to Adelaide River and booked a bus ticket to Darwin for tomorrow afternoon (which is only about 100km away). I spent the rest of the day packing up the bike. I also went for a walk to the war cemetery later on in the afternoon. This part of Australia was bombed during the Second World War. There are still some old airstrips, as a lot of Americans and Australians were based here. The cemetery was immaculate and there was some fantastic information on what happened during WWII.
I then checked out the old narrow gauge rail line. There are a number of old items here. It was quite informative. On the way back to the roadhouse you can cross the river on the original road bridge. This bridge used to be cutoff frequently during the wet season. The new bridge is along side and is about 13 metres higher. So the wet season no longer cuts off the road.
This trip I certainly broke a few things;
- 1 broken spoke coming out of Lawn Hill
- Two water bladders sprung a leak. One was repairable
- My camping chair. One of the feet snapped. Spoke with the maker of the chair he has already sent a replacement frame. So chair will be fixed at home
- Handle bar bracket cable snapped. Duct tape fixed it but can only store light stuff in it. Will fix when home
- Touchscreen on Garmin 510 has been playing up. Tried resetting which fixes it for a time. Not sure if it is due to the heat
- My bank card stopped working due to a damaged chip. Thankfully I carry a spare card
- One defunct rear derailleur and broken wheel. Replacement derailleur already at home. Will need to get the wheel rebuilt
- One of the sections of the click stand has bent. Should be able to fix when home
- And I lost my spoon! A grey nomad took pity and gave me a replacement when she saw me eat my breakfast with a fork.
This was certainly not how I planned to end the trip. But overall the tour has been fantastic. Great scenery, some amazing people and fantastic campsites along the way. Tomorrow I will be in Darwin. I will still get to visit Litchfield National Park, as my lovely wifey will be joining me in a few days. Instead of riding it we'll be hiring a small campervan. I will now have a couple of extra days to explore and enjoy Darwin.
A couple of days in Darwin
Well after I arrived in Darwin my host was happy to lend me a bike trip get around and see the sights. So I had a couple of fun days cycling around Darwin.
Highlights included visiting the war museum at East Point. They have an impressive display and have also put together a video of the day Darwin was bombed during WWII. On the way out to East Point you get to enjoy some nice views along the coast. The other main museum in town, Museum and Art Gallery Collection, has a great collection of indigenous art. They also have a well put together Cyclone Tracey exhibit. Cyclone Tracey pretty much devastated Darwin over Christmas in 1974. It caused the biggest peace time evacuation of people ever seen in Australia. I also caught the ferry across to Mandorah. This was to be how I was originally going to arrive in Darwin. The ferry ride only takes 10 or so minutes. Mandorah is a very small township. Felt like a ghost town when I was there. There are pretty beaches over there. Sadly the pub which looked across the bay to Darwin was demolished a couple of years ago. So I caught the boat back for some lunch in Darwin. And of course when in Darwin you have to go to Mindi Beach markets (Thursday and Sunday nights). It is like an Asian night market with plenty of food for sale. The best bit is that once you have got your food you can find a spot on the beach to enjoy sunset. A nice end to a couple of days riding around Darwin. |
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