The Cycling Adventurer

   Perth-Adelaide 1997

Day 36   

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A day dedicated to buses and a job interview

This indeed has been a strange day, but almost everything went to plan. I was up early enough so I did not have to rush to catch the bus into Adelaide.

The people at the service station were kind enough to let me put my bike and gear away in a safe place.

The bus was 10 minutes late into Port Wakefield, but made Adelaide about 10.00am, well ahead of my personal schedule. I walked the city's CBD, and had a coffee before fronting up at the designated office at the designated time for the interview.

The only thing that did not go to my schedule was the departure time of the return bus to Port Wakefield. I had hoped it would be earlier than 5.30pm, but it wasn't, so I finally arrived back in Port Wakefield at 7.00pm. I had no opportunity to put my bicycle on the road in daylight. I am not feeling inclined to do battle with the ever-present cold headwind along with darkness, even though the road is divided into separate north-south carriageways almost all the way into Adelaide.

The interview went as well as interviews go for me. I suppose my most recent experience as a tourist helped put a few things in perspective for the position, which is in the tourism sector. I called my father to let him know how it progressed, and said that if I was successful, he would receive a telephone call. I have been through this interview process so many times in Perth without a great deal of success. I think I can continue the remainder of my trip back to Hobart at my leisure.

I had a lot of time after the interview to explore the centre of Adelaide. I initially looked for the accommodation where my children are staying, but went in the wrong direction. I kept going in that direction, though, to find the Adelaide Back Packers Inn. It seemed friendly enough, and when I told the people that they had been recommended by Paul the cyclist, they knew exactly whom I meant. We had a chat about the whys and wherefores of doing such a trip as the Nullarbor and I told them I probably would be back again tomorrow night. I will decide whether to stay there or at the Kirvans from Kimba when I look at my bank balance tomorrow afternoon.

I had time to walk back from the Carrington St hostel and continue along Gouger St to find the hotel where my children are staying. They were at the hockey grounds. I left a note to let them know what my movements were. I dropped into the Central Markets where I gobbled down mangoes and bananas and some cabana sausage. The markets are amazing for their diverse smorgasbord and eclectic atmosphere. I had heard about the markets during a segment on ABC Regional Radio while pedalling towards Ceduna last week, but did not connect the the segment with them until I was well inside. The delights on offer range from simple, traditional fare through to the exotic and new gourmet. I just sat in the middle of the markets with my big folding bush knife and demolished the food I bought. I then sauntered back to the bus station for a few catnaps, to listen to the radio, and watch people while I waited for the bus.

The way I had gone about this exercise may seem clumsy, and that I should have brought the bike to Adelaide with me. I had some strange looks when I told people, such as those at the backpacker hostel, that I was going back to Port Wakefield to collect my bike and to ride it to Adelaide. The round trip has cost me $24.40 in bus fares, but it means I can say I pedalled all the way from Perth to Adelaide without missing a kilometre. I made the same commitment at Bookabie.

Except for the northern suburbs entry to the city, I am quite looking forward to returning and pottering around the city on my bike over the next couple of days, investigating the Torrens River and other features. I feel far more comfortable now than I have over the past couple of days about what is in store.

I am back in my tent in the caravan park at Port Wakefield, probably the best park I have been in for cleanliness, organisation, facilities, and ambience. That has also made it very popular with both transient and permanent residents.

When I got off the bus, one of the service station girls was waiting for me, and let me know a note was sitting on the bike. It said my father had called, although it was not an urgent matter. I called him immediately, and he informed me that the head of the interview panel wanted to meet me in person, and could I make the appropriate arrangements.

I asked at one of the two hotels here about accommodation, but it did not offer beds. The manager told me the other hotel did, but his body language suggested it was not the best. I satisfied myself by finding the caravan park first, then pedalled to the other hotel, where I was told the tariff was $25 with shared facilities. I soon found the other publican's body language was justified. The second pub just did not have the right feel about it, and I returned to the caravan park where a tent site was only $6.00 a night... a good thing for my depleted cash reserves.

I grabbed some cans of beer at the first hotel to celebrate a good day and one I hope will lead to a new development in my professional career. I used the park's barbecue table and seats to set up my gas burner to cook a meal of chicken and vegetable soup with spaghettini, and ate it with some bread I bought at the service station. This was all to get my carbohydrate levels up for tomorrow's triumphant ride into Adelaide.

I found a spot for the tent in the lee of some shrubs. The wind did not abate during the day, judging from the movement of the grass and trees I saw from the bus, but right now, it has died and there is almost no movement in the walls of the tent. This bodes well for tomorrow. The long-range forecast a couple of days ago said the temperatures would rise and the wind turn north-easterly about now, so maybe everything is turning around for me.

I ditched the idea of riding into Adelaide tonight because of the wind, but when I took a ride to get bread, the weather was pleasant. If a full moon had been out, I might have started the trip tonight, but the last full moon finished a week ago. I am entering my seventh week on the journey, and really there is nothing to review other than the events surrounding the rear hub failure and the lessons I have learned from that experience. Extra spare parts should include front and rear bearings, a spare chain and maybe a rear axle. They all would go with the spare derailleur shifter cable I bought in Esperance.

In addition to the spares, I would avoid almost at any cost impediments what would put critical pressure on me to be in a particular place at a nominated time. The past four to five days lost their enjoyment because of the physical and mental effort to be in Adelaide today. If I had had a choice, I would have taken a route over the Flinders Ranges through Clare. While the climb might have been constant initially, I think the wind might not have been so bad, along with the condition of the roads and the density of the traffic.

The route from Port Augusta so far does not have much to recommend it as I observed over the past couple of days. Port Wakefield, judged on the caravan park, though, is an attractive spot and has some impressive colonial architecture as a feature. I noticed from the bus that the shoulders on the highway to Adelaide were almost non-existent in some places. The bus route leaves the highway five times to pass through towns such as Dublin, Lower Light, Virginia and Two Wells.

As I sit back in the tent, I am almost rejoicing in the lack of wind. I feel I would be devastated if I get up tomorrow morning to conditions similar to those I experienced yesterday and the day before. Only time will tell.

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