The Cycling Adventurer

   Perth-Adelaide 1997

Day 3   

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A day of dieting makes me feel so much better

I felt refreshed and enthusiastic again after a good night's sleep indoors. A passing train woke me sometime after midnight, but otherwise the town was quiet. Certainly there were no trucks and cars speeding past, and Brookton was well off the flight path of commercial aircraft. The Club Hotel room was basic, a single bed, a wardrobe, a chair and a dresser.

I didn't need much else, and before departing, I sorted through my stuff again ready for the post office. The day's finish was in contrast to the casual start. I was greeted with a steep 1.25km climb from the centre of Narrogin to the town's caravan park. It was just as well no-one listened from the houses on the road as I went past and let forth some curses.

Still, I made it to the caravan park without the need to stop and push. The park manager told me he tried four times before he could ride to the top without stopping. He got as far as the school near the bottom on his first attempt, and the Narrogin Hospital on the second try. When he did reach the top, he thought that was enough, and "gave it away".

The distance today is about the same as yesterday, but I feel much better. "Crofty" did not lead me astray. Yes, the roads were flatter, at least until about seven kilometres out of Narrogin when they started to steepen again. I'm using more often the aerobars that I fitted three weeks before leaving Perth, but my left arm is still in pain. I also now seem to recall that in one of my low-speed falls, I hit the arm heavily just below the elbow, and the sore spot corresponds exactly to the forearm pad on the aerobars. I cannot find a really comfortable position for more than a few minutes. Even so, the fingers on my left hand are not as numb at the end of today's ride.

My on-bike weight loss certainly helped. Last night I separated out mainly clothes, including a heavy woollen jumper, and an old rally jacket. When I prepared my equipment list, it was raining in Perth. The temperature forecasts for the east did not look promising, either. But after my first night out, I figured the sleeping bag and cotton liner were good enough for cold nights. Other items included a portfolio wallet with cheque books and other documents that I really did not need to carry with me. A shaving brush was tossed into the postal bag after I decided to grow a beard to help protect me from sunburn; I'm surprised, however, to see how grey I have become since I last had a beard about seven years ago.

I took the excess gear to the post office at Brookton when it opened at 9.00am, and posted it all to my father. The cost was about $18, but I was able to get rid of it all, and I will still have access to it when I get back to Hobart; it would cost more than $18 to replace the contents of the package had I decided to toss them in the garbage.

I disposed also of coffee powder, sugar and 250 grams of rice. I am passing through towns frequently on this route, and I can buy my food as I go. The most interesting aspect of the post office visit was that the scales tipped in at 4.8kg. Take off around 100 grams for the jumbo envelope, and the loss of weight from the bike was about 4.7kg. By taking into account 300 grams for the food, the total weight-saving was 5kg. That does not sound much, but when my legs are pumping away for six or seven hours up and down hills, 5kg can make a difference. Get 5kg of groceries, put them in a bag and lug them around on foot for a while to see what I mean!

Most of the weight-loss came in clothes that were in the front panniers. This had an immediate impact on the handling of the bike. The steering was much easier, and I used the aerobars more often and for longer periods. The constant effort on my arms was reduced, and that helped my left arm and hand. I don't think I can reduce the weight any further, although I have considered cutting the bath and tea towels in half. I also might have too many spares, such as two spare inner tubes, But I think that as soon as I get rid of any of them, something is guaranteed to go wrong.

Sunburn is something that I need to avoid. I had a hair cut before leaving Perth, and the newly bare skin on the back of my neck was touchy at the end of yesterday. I traded some of the weight I've sent on to Hobart for a bottle of sun-screen. Ears, nose, nape of the neck and throat are the priority areas. Arms and legs also get some attention. I have already got a "sandwich" tan, though, thanks to bike shorts, and I should try to even it out when I get to Esperance and spend a few days there.

Another positive trade-off from my reduced weight has been my fluid management. Today was much better. I stopped at Yornaning for a coffee, but the water from the dam was as atrocious as from the stream yesterday. A display board indicated that Yornaning was badly affected by salination.

Luckily, I had brought fresh water with me for the coffee. I am beginning to feel there is something much more wrong with rural salination than authorities let on. State and Federal Government efforts appear relatively half-hearted in cleaning up the rivers, creeks, streams and lakes. Fortunately, the shorter distances between towns on this route mean drinkable water should not be difficult to find. I have started to stock up on plastic bottles for the stage across the Nullarbor.

I continued to enjoy the wildlife, although the magpies here seem to be very aggressive. I was dive-bombed twice within 5km. I saw more parrots with brilliant green bodies and dark blue necks.

I was disconcerted to find memorials like this
on the road verges in this part of the country.
They mark the deaths of car crash victims.
Horrifically, many were on straight roads.

The Narrogin caravan park is a run by the local council, and likely explains why the cost per person to camp is only $4. The ablutions block was clean, and the laundry free to use, although I had only a shirt and one pair of socks to put through.

The bike shorts were among the last items I bought before setting out from Perth, and they have been marvellous. They still have not prevented a little bit of chafe between my buttocks. The chafe may not be the fault of the shorts, of course, which definitely have done their job in preventing any problems between the tops of my thighs; I experienced problems in this area when I wore jeans or fairly loose ordinary shorts leading up to the trip.

I applied Elastoplast strips to the affected area today, and they helped to ease the discomfort. I will look at the height and angle of the seat tomorrow morning. The seat was adjusted after I wore jeans and found use of the aerobars to be particularly uncomfortable. It also may need to go up another centimetre to help reduce the pain that persists above both knees. Its horizontal setting could be flatter, rather than angled down towards the front wheel. The added seat height may straighten my legs on the downstroke and the more horizontal line should increase the surface area where the pubic area rests.

Narrogin appears to be quite a large and busy town that services the surrounding rural areas. Some of the houses are impressive in their traditional Australian architecture that includes verandahs, high rooflines, and timber-and-brick walls. They are set on large blocks of land. The centre of town has narrow streets, and was very active when I arrived.

My own home, the tent, has impressed me so far. I bought it for only $70 from Midland Disposals in Perth. I modified the fibreglass poles by cutting them in half and fitting brass ferules so they could break down and fit in a pannier. The outfit has been serviceable and easy to put up. I can arrive and be ensconced in the tent in less than 10 minutes. If the tent has a weakness, the pegs are small and easy to bend. The ground on the first night and tonight has been hard, so hard on the first night that I did not use the pegs at all. The wind, which slowed my progress from the early afternoon today, is persisting this evening. It is not too bad, but I have taken the precaution of using the pegs so that if the wind picks up, the tent cannot fly away with me inside.

I am unable to judge gradients very well, especially the camber on corners. When I think I should change down to a lower gear while up an incline, I suddenly find pedalling becomes easier. I enjoy the mistake in my perception on those occasions. However, there were times the bike felt as though the brakes or hub bearings were binding. I have checked both by spinning the wheels, and nothing appears to be astray.

I did forget to say yesterday that I broke my speed record with 51.5km/h on the downhill into Brookton. I now have some idea how fast the Tour de France guys go most of the time... half as fast again as that! I didn't do any speed checks today mainly because the roads were so flat. Even the downhill into Narrogin did not enthuse me. The headwind was strong, and I chose to sit upright rather than be down on the aerobars.

The other road travellers in cars going the same away as me today were good, but those going in the opposite direction were not quite so friendly. Many of them were seemed to be from the "Big City" on business, and therefore stressed and unfriendly.

On the whole, though, this was a satisfactory ride. The daily distances could be better, but I am happy at this stage with an average between 70 and 90km. My fitness is building, and I don't feel stressed. The averages are also affected by my more frequent breaks after lunch. If I can drag myself out of bed earlier and get on the road by 7.30am or 8.00am, instead of 9.00am, I might go further, but I would end up between towns and having to free-camp. No, I'm happy so far. I will keep on like this until Esperance, then look at what is ahead.

Aha! Rain has just started, so my tent faces its next test. The fly should do a good job and I don't expect any leaks. It is 8.50pm, and I'm about ready for sleep. Roll on tomorrow and Wagin.

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