Day 20 Bush Camp to Pimba 86 K / 53 Miles

Today had to be my worst day of the trip so far. Not for the ride, but definitely for my head. Last night was very cold. I crawled into my sleeping bag last night with cold feet and that never changed. I have 2 sleeping bags, one a 30-degree bag and another 60-degree bag that I put together for occasions like this. My body and head stayed warm, but my cold feet made my sleep restless.   At time road trains on the Stuart Highway sounded as if they were running right thru camp, and traffic on the rail line another 200 meters beyond the Stuart added to the disruption.

I was up and out of the tent somewhere around 6:30 – 7:00. I put water on the stove for coffee and started preparing for the day. All of our tents were covered with condensation from dew as well as our breath condensing on the inside. They would take time to dry before packing them away. It seemed a slow exhausting process to break down camp, and indeed it was just before 10 AM before we were back on the road. I am again starting to look at our timeline and count the days we have left to make Darwin a reality by August 8. With the lack of sleep and the nagging issues of the timeline I was not in my best mood from the start.

We actually had a light tailwind for the start and we made good time stopping for the first time just short of 50 K. I should have stopped earlier and shed some clothing, but was lagging way behind David and Joe, and anticipated them stopping sooner as we had earlier in the trip. Needless to say by the time we stopped I was overheated and completely frustrated.

The rest of the day’s ride I spent dispirited, questioning the trip as a whole especially the next 26 days ahead….