July 2016

Day 27 Marla to Bush Camp #3 121 K / 75 Miles

Last evening at dinner we met Phil, and this morning as we were just getting on our bikes, we met Anthony. Phil and Anthony had been cycling the Oodnadatta Track, a popular off road route that follows the route of the now abandoned Ghan Railway...

Day 26 Cadney Homestead Park to Marla 82 K / 51 Miles

Prior to the second year running of the Illinois Marathon the weather had been cool. I had trained throughout the winter and felt good about doing the half-marathon. All I was going for was a personal best. Might be easy to do because the previous...

Day 24 Rest Day – Coober Pedy

If I didn’t know better I would have thought I was in some hard scrabble town in the southwestern U.S., maybe in Arizona or New Mexico. Instead of a population of displace native Americans, there are the displaced Aboriginals . The parallels of white settlement...

Day 23 Bush Camp #2 to Coober Pedy 132 K / 82 Miles

It seemed rather pleasant standing around the campfire last evening. The stars were brilliant. The Southern Cross is nearly overhead, with Mars, Jupiter and Saturn standing out brilliantly. It must have been around 3 AM when the temperature seemed to drop. I had taken time...

Day 22 Glendambo to Bush Camp #2 121 K / 75 Miles

Once we headed out of Port Augusta we added significant load to our pack out. Water weighs in at 1Kg per liter. From Port Augusta onward we will be carrying an additional 6 liters of water each, or calculated into pounds, an extra 13.2 lbs...

Day 21 Pimba to Glendambo 119 K / 73 Miles

The roadhouse at Pimba has a few very basic rooms. A hot shower and heat does a wealth of good for a night’s sleep and a good night’s sleep helps with getting one’s mind straight. I woke this morning well rested and ready to go...

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...

Day 19 Port Augusta – Bush Camp 87 K / 54 Miles

This is probably the part of the trip that has instilled more anxiousness in me than any other. The Stuart Highway is a two -lane track that extends across one of the most hostile and remote areas of the planet, Australia’s “Great Red Center.” There...

Day 17 – Port Pirie to Port Augusta 96 K / 60 Miles

Joe has been keeping a road-kill count: 6 Emus 3 Wombats 19 Kangaroos/Wallabies 4 Foxes 1 Dingo 3 Magpie Larks 1 Eclectus Parrot (Male) 1 Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo 1 Falcon 1 Deer 1 Brown Snake 1 House Cat 2 Seagulls 15 unidentifiable piles of fur and...