The Cycling Adventurer

   Perth-Adelaide 1997

Day 18   

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Against the wind makes me tired and grumpy

"Tired and Grumpy" and "Against the Wind" were the names of two roadtrain prime-movers that passed me on their way to Perth today. How appropriate. That's exactly how I felt when I arrived in Mundrabilla.

It was a slog all the way from Madura as the south-easterly winds ranged in strength from 15 to 30km/h. There was no respite from the cold and gusty conditions, so I could not get into a rhythm. It also badly affected my legs, and caused muscle strains as I slowed almost to a halt with each gust.

I had a comfortable night, although some light rain woke me sometime early in the morning. The morning was windless when I emerged from the tent, lulling me into false optimism. I intended to wash one pair of my bike shorts, but I gave up the idea when I went to reception for the key to the laundry. I was told I needed to pay a $5.00 deposit. This was stretching things. I had already paid a $5.00 deposit for the ablutions block key, and for what amounted to 15 minutes of use, I could not be bothered going back to my tent to get my wallet and return to pay it.

Paul, the cyclist I met yesterday, told me the stretch on the coastal plain was straight and boring. He was right. The only "highlights" were the Moodini Bluff, a rise of about 30 metres, and a mob of half a dozen kangaroos at the junction of a road to the original Mundrabilla Station. The vegetation was green, but the landscape was still harsh. The number of roadtrains dropped off again, so they did not present any problems; most gave me a wide berth, too. The caravan traffic also seemed to decline. So in some respects, it was a lonely trip.

About 15km out of Madura, rain started, but I dodged it until I decided to put on my wet-weather gear just in case. There was one quite substantial shower about an hour later. Even so, I decided to keep on my "wets" because they helped to protect me from the wind.

I have met some nice people in Western Australia, but they are not very good weather forecasters. Many have said I could expect tailwinds on the Eyre Highway at this time of the year. I have had only a couple of days when I can say a tailwind has helped to lift my daily distance. The day before yesterday was one. Perhaps the scarcity of tailwinds makes the days when I get them seem very special.

I tried to keep up a good average speed for the first two hours. It was 17km/h in the first, but dropped steadily from there. I arrived in Mundrabilla at 5.50pm after leaving Madura at 8.50am. That is nine hours to do 118km, an average of 12.5km/h. The wind just seems to blow away my energy and my soul. Four times I let go a string of expletives; the wind didn't listen, but I did feel better.

Keeping on my wets meant I was almost swimming in sweat, especially when the sun finally did poke its rays through the clouds on the first of three or four occasions. My fluid intake was down to half of what it normally would be for the day, and I had to make special efforts to drink.

I ran out of muesli bars the day before yesterday, and I have taken to grazing on fruit-and-nut chocolate and sweets with glucose as an ingredient. I also seemed to bypass lunch today to try to maintain my schedule. This is not really a major problem because my eating habits have always been based on "grazing" and one major evening meal rather than three meals spread out during the day. Today, I would have arrived in Mundrabilla after dark if I stopped for lunch, and that was something I did not relish.

Occasionally, I moved into the large chainring and gear three on the rear, but towards the end of the day, I was down to the small ring and second on the back, compensating for my loss of leg strength. I felt a twinge in my left quadricep again, but tonight it is my knees that are giving the most trouble. I probably did more anaerobic work today than at any other time on the trip, and I expect some sore muscles tomorrow.

I also miscalculated on the distance to go to Mundrabilla, deducting 10km from what it should have been. My heart sank when I saw a distance marker to Mundrabilla late in the day. The first distance marker that showed something was amiss was demoralising. The second one was devastating. I eventually had to stop 15 official kilometres from the roadhouse to walk the bike and rest my legs for a while.

As the countryside has changed, so has the wildlife, subtly. The eagles are gone, and I have seen only one hawk recently. Sheep also seem to be the grazing animal here. Kangaroos are still the favoured roadkill targets. In fact, with the wind being on the nose all day, so was the roadkill. It was very simple to determine the whereabouts of a carcase, and the smell lasted such a long time!

All the way, the Hampton Range loomed tall on the left, and despite the isolation, the "wonders of modern technology" in the form of microwave radio towers every 10km served as a reminder of how much the communication industry has intruded into the world's wilderness.

The Mundrabilla roadhouse has a basic service station like most of the others, and a motel section, plus a caravan park out the back. The caravan park is open to the elements and tonight is occupied by only two vans. The roadhouse restaurant and bar are being renovated to make them more inviting, and the countermeal prices appear to be good value. A mini-zoo is out the back, and includes a camel, peacocks, emus and other birds.

I have pitched my tent right next to the ablutions block for easy access and for protection from the wind and rain. The shower was good, and I spent quite a bit of time under it while I washed my bike shorts from today. The shorts were loaded with sweat from the sauna I had under the wet-weather gear. I also treated myself to a rump steak and a couple of beers afterwards, and wrote this in the bar under a very warm and inviting strip heater on the wall. As with other roadhouses on the Eyre Highway, this one relies on electricity from a diesel generator.

The forecast says that I can expect more of the same weather tomorrow. At least the run will be only 65 to 70km, much shorter than today. That means I should be in Eucla or Border Village at a reasonable hour. I hope not to strain any other muscles!

The campsite has cost only $4.00 tonight with a $5.00 deposit for the ablutions block key. This is a tough part of the trip, and if I can see through the next four to five days, I think I will get right across. In fact there is no option out here. I have to do it because there is no other way out. I am about 260km from the head of the Great Australian Bight, just south of Nullarbor, and I consider that to be the turning point for the run to Adelaide and the Eastern States.

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