Day 34 –Threeways Roadhouse to Renner Springs Roadhouse 137K / 85 Miles

This is the Ride for Water. We carried only one extra 3-liter bladder with us today. Our destination was 85 miles away, but the winds were favorable, and it was relatively cool. We have had a mixed bag of water on this trip. Some very good and other that had a salinity that left me feeling thirsty. The sources of the water have varied, municipal systems, borehole wells, reservoirs, rain barrels, and springs have all provided for us. There have been a few stops where bottled water was the only option. The worst water came from borehole wells along the coast, the best from rain barrels. The contrast between them has been both subtle and dramatic. Back in the States we often take our water for granted. In central Illinois we live over the Mahomet aquifer that provides pristine clean water. In Australia, especially in the outback, water is a precious commodity. They use every resource and method available to obtain and store it. Fortunately Australia has an economy that allows them to employ a variety of method.  

In Malawi people also use a variety of methods to capture and store water. The unfortunate thing is that in Malawi they are heavily reliant on outside sources to afford those methods. Sometimes the government, many time non-governmental organizations or NGO’s. Malawi is an extremely poor country with few natural resources on which to build an economy. Subsistence farming is relied on for most of the population. Many raise just enough to survive. Safe water sources provide a means for life in Malawi. Improved health for everyone, and for women, access to a local well means that school aged girls can attend school rather than spending their days fetching water as is their traditional role. This is what this ride is about. Building the 3-way partnership of our financial support, training a cadre of skilled Malawian well workers, and working with villages who provide their investment of labor and materials to build a village well.

The weather front that chased us into Alice Springs on Saturday rolled in the favorable winds. With rest days on Sunday and Monday Joe and I only got a taste for them yesterday from Tennet Creek to The Threeways Roadhouse. We were blessed today from our 8 AM start as we rolled onto the Stuart Highway north bound. About 10 K north of Threeways we me cyclist David Ward heading south. His immediate destination was Tennet Creek in route to Adelaide. We talked roadside for about 20 minutes before setting off again. Our first break at 30 K was a little over an hour into the ride and the Attack Creek rest area at 50 K was reached before lunch time, but we stopped anyway. The roadway was excellent except for a few stretches with a very coarse surface. We rolled into the Renner Springs Roadhouse at 3:15. This kind of ride puts me in a very good frame of mind. We checked into a room at the roadhouse, took showers, and relaxed the rest of the afternoon.