Renmark

Our last night in SA and here we are in lovely downtown Renmark. Another superb day at the office, weather wise, as a balmy 25C with slight easterly breeze. (I wish I had those 3/4 pants though).
The riders all made it into town about lunch time 12:30pm where a counter-meal was had by most or the bakery as the other option - both were very nice.
Riding today was not as pleasurable as the previous day as the rough road surface and slight head wind made it a bit tougher than usual. Then there was the traffic! We were lulled into a false sense of security when traveling on the north side of the Murray River from Morgan where there was little traffic to cause much concern. Then we heard the call on the radio "Car up" from Nick.
"No Nick, it is just a green sign with white writing on it" comes the response from both Tim (riding) and Darren (in the Pilot-guide car). Silence until 10 minutes later "Car up" says Frank!
"No Frank, same as Nick - it is a sign!" says Darren.
Next minute there was a car coming towards the riders and no-one made comment, all too afraid it was another 'moving' sign. (What they really were seeing were the cars coming in from a parallel road that we were shortly to join being the Sturt Highway - main road from Sydney to Adelaide and boy, was it busy)!
The 'shoulder' the riders had to ride on if not wanting to be mowed down by B-Doubles ("not allowed to have road trains on this road" as Paul was told in no uncertain terms by one Truckee), was treacherous with broken glass and rubble making life in the left awfully dangerous.

Thank you Nick Stray for our extra sign - arrived via Aust Post and pickup today.

Both Paul and Darren stayed as Pilot Guides in their respective vehicles trying to give some order to  our 'circus' as Doc (Robin) likes to call it warning both riders and other vehicles with UHF radios of the riders ahead. Some were polite; some were not about our little band of cyclists. Such is life!
Paul and I picked up a banner from the Post Office today, that Nick Stray had made-up and sent to us. We are trying to keep a handle on the various groups as they split and a bit more sign coverage as "Caution Cyclists" when we head onto the Sturt Hwy again tomorrow and into Mildura.
Well it's time for some photo uploads from previous days so hope you enjoy.
Psst! I have heard on the grapevine we will have an extra 3 riders joining us for the rest of the journey. Jesse, Col and 'Lande's mates from Inverlock so no doubt this will add another dimension to our epic journey. 
PS - 'Cowboy almost got KOed by a kangaroo today as it jumped right in front of him. As Robert likes to say "He nearly was kangarooed!"

Some of the wind farms we found on our trip yesterday

The blade of one of the wind turbines - 110 mt long

The ferry crossing the Murray River at Morgan

Found these 'dead ducks' in the park on my stroll around! a.k.a. Robin & David

My next holiday - pure relaxation. No 5:00am on the clocks!!!!!

Paul, Robin, 'Lande walking through the Arid Desert Park - Port Augusta

David and Sally's caravan with an identity crisis. Mack or Western Star??

Morning tea in Burra with some of the group. This is where the ride yesterday went pear-shaped!

Enjoying a meal at the pub -Renmark - 2 Pots in full glory!

Communication breakdown

When I worked in the school system on windy days you could usually be assured the kids would by chaotic and a little bit crazy in their behaviour, well so it was with our riders today.
When the 'cook' gets a little "peeved" with the troops you know things are not good.
It all started fine with a brisk northerly wind blowing at our backs, as we headed in a southernly direction for most of the day. The initial climb out of Jamestown split the riders apart and this was to be a major component in things going awry over the day.
Riders went every which way as they tried to ride the wind to their benefit. Some even achieving a staggering pace at 66kms down some hills. Tim even said at one stage he was going up a hill without peddling and still gaining speed, such were the conditions.
With the groups splintered into various components the trail became blurred around Burra as some front  runners went into Burra for a quick look around and cup of coffee, while other back runners missed the turnoff and bypassed Burra altogether. Poor Maureen and Sally had organised one thing then told another only to try and catch the main group by speeding to 110kms. "Not happy Jan"!
After all this confusion and frustration from various quarters we all made it into Morgan by 1:30pm.
Some of the boys then went off to the hotels to drink to their success or drown their sorrows( not sure which, maybe both), while others went for a walk around town, while Robert (Cowboy) had  a very long 'cat-nap' before tea tonight.
All was forgiven and everyone has settled again after the wind died down. No harm done and in the overall was a fun day on the road. Average speed was about 40kms for  most of the time. As Tail-end-Charlie we even made it into 4 gear!
Our last day in SA tomorrow as once again we head east along the mighty Murray River. Stay tuned for some more exciting adventures of these crazy bunch of people.

I think I can, I think I can..... Horrock's Pass and beyond.

Firstly I have a complaint. Yes I know I'm supposed to be the ever patient wife but seriously... Here I am on the phone to a government dept and my dear husband informs me that "Robin wants to go and get a 'coffee' with him - he'll be back soon!"
A) My husband doesn't drink coffee
B) As I was on hold to my 'govt.dept.' what was he doing all the time.

The little house that Jenny built!

When I finished on the phone I find the camper is not set up - nothing has been done. What is going on?
Needless to say I put the camper together all by myself, without any help and it's still standing (so far).
I think I'm going to have to put the foot down when Robin suggests 'coffee' at end of day or perhaps he needs to go 'Tail-end-Charlie' for once instead of having so much time on his hands in camp, instead of 'dragging' my hubby away all the time!
Anyway, this is not about me really - just had to voice my injustice. 
Today, although the weather was once again wonderful, the scenery magnificent the riding was quite hard with climbing all day. 21kms into the ride and we came upon Horrock's pass - a climb up and through the Flinders Ranges that even cars and trucks have trouble navigating let alone 11 people on push-bikes. By the time they reached the summit to say they were fairly 'stuffed' is an understatement.  The last little pinch was a killer, but all riders made it albeit Darren having to retire a little later due to his reoccurring back injury. David once again rode his 50 + kms into Jamestown where we have settled for the night.
We did have a bit of a stopover in Melrose where we had to be tourists of 1/2 hour or so, having our photo taken with 'Donna' owner of one of the cafe's there - (Muffins were delicious)! And again at the quirky little truck/motorhomes behind the local Pub. The scenery as I said was spectacular with the Flinders Ranges on our right, many paddocks of various crops surrounding us and quaint little towns with a very slow and easy pace.  Not hard to take at all!
Well its is happy hour, so I'd better not be anti-social so ta,ta for now.

Leaving Port Augusta at 7:15 am

Horrock's Pass - let the climb begin.

Mandy couldn't manage a smile but she still made it - closely followed by Frank

Melrose and its quirky little motor homes

Donna and her muffin  place - Melrose

One big tractor with rollers in a paddock on our way.

Update on Port Augusta

Just a quick update of the goings on at PA. Firstly if you haven't read Robert (Cowboy) Rowley's page do yourself a favour ( as Molly Meldrum once said) and check it out. It took some time for Cowboy to write and upload his pictures but I'm sure you will agree he has a certain flare for the dramatic and makes fun reading! He did tell me this was "the best thing he did all day", so I'm glad to help out a fellow writer wherever I can.
Last night we walked down the road to the local hotel for a delicious meal, some great company and conversation. We also, as you do, have the occasionally wine or beer. ( Remember we are representing 2 Pots!) Alas poor old Ray may have had a few too many ( at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it), as when stepping from footpath to road slipped, crashing in a heap on the road. He says he is okay, but don't tell him any jokes to make him laugh as the ribs are a touch tender.
Another incident from the hotel ( what I reputation we will have as we are going back there again tonight) is after finishing our lovely meal we were walking out when the waitress called out " have you people paid?" Ah, well no we hadn't actually, but apparently neither had David and Sally. Seems their day off did help in the 'relaxation' stakes as they walked out oblivious to not having paid the bill. These hotels shouldn't except older people to remember these things - why can't we pay on ordering? It's too much to remember!
The other bit of controversy is that 'Lande went with Robin, Paul, Maureen and myself out of the Arid Desert Botanical Garden for a look around. Very pretty place with some wonderful species of eucalypts, acacias etc to be found here - even the expensive Sandalwood tree.
Now the controversy is that 'Lande had a phone call ( I presume from Col or Jesse) as she said where we were - correct, but didn't add she was having a delightful lunch in the cafe, with us tasting a smorgasbord of native food - kangaroo sausage, different cheeses, local duka, etc. add to this a nice Shiraz and...well you get the picture. I'm not sure what the boys had, but I'm sure it wasn't as nice as ours!
Maureen stated it was the first time she actually could relax as all the shopping she and Ray had completed in the morning was packed and put away in record time with Robin, Frank, Jesse, Sally, David, Paul, 'Lande and myself throwing it in all directions. I hope Maureen can find everything as  I'm not sure if she noticed where things actually went!
Till tomorrow when we climb the Flinders Ranges I'll say auvoir.

Port Augusta: rest day and then heading south!

Here we are in sunny Port Augusta, yes the weather gods once again have prevailed and a sunny 20C is our day. I wish I had packed some 3/4 trousers, it gets too hot in long ones all the time!
Our day once again was a big one with 155kms traveled. (Ray told me a statistic today: the riders have averaged 150 kms per day, over the past 5 days. Not bad for some novice riders). The other thing I found out from our riders was to never mention "only" or "just" when telling them how long they have to ride. They are just nasty words that appear to be swearing at them!

Halfway home!

 Most riders were back in their seats today completing the full day, although I did hear poor old Simone had a 'psychedelic yawn' about 14kms from home after 'borrowing' some Hydralite from Darren. Seems what works for one, certainly doesn't work for the other. David and Sally decided to take the day off as the hectic pace of the days were taking their toll. Getting out of bed at a 'normal' time this morning seems to have paid off as both David and Sally now looked quite refreshed. An extra day of doing 'nothing' (whatever that entails) will no doubt also work wonders for their health.
People ask "aren't you bored going so slow?" I assure you boring is not a word that enters our vocabulary, because if you do mention it you will be given a task by someone. By the time 11 - 12 riders and 7 support staff are fed and watered several times a day, it leaves little time for much else.
I once again became Pilot-guide for part of the trip trying to keep everyone safe and out of truck wheels! It's never an easy job to keep 2 road-trains, coming in opposite directions, away from a pack of 8 riders, usually it is "get off the bikes" until all is clear! We had more wide-loads to contend with again today, but nothing has topped yesterdays load or 8MT wide! Both lanes of the highway were used with 2 police car escorts, plus a pilot car. The money to move machinery around this country must be staggering! The big load was a dump-truck body going to or from a mine site.
Paul is bitterly disappointed as the SA roads have very little 'treasures' to pick-up: he even resorted to a badly beaten up padlock that even Darren told Ray to "throw it as far as you can, so Paul can't find it!"
The biggest news is that we have a budding writer/blogger on our hands who wants to tell you his story. He is very keen and because I would like this page to be the 'formal' side of our trip I will set up a special page for Robert 'Cowboy' Rowley to do his thing. Believe me folks you will want to read this page as this quirky individual tells yarns like no other.

Robert 'Cowboy' Rowley - your new correspondent.

The other thing is, once again I will post some pictures on the "Photos" page, not related to the bikes, but just some tid-bits that I have seen along the way. Have fun - the sun is smiling!

Our 'Pin-up' girl in disguise - Simone. Hope she checked for spiders in there?

Our game of Finska - Robin won this game.

Jesse trying his hand at Finska.

With a captive audience around the campfire at Poochera.

Some of the many wheat paddocks that go on for ever out here near Kimba.

Kimba

A big day of riding saw our group climb over 600 mts during the day as we wound our way into Kimba. Once again the terrain was undulating making coordinating oncoming and back traffic quite hard at times. Two incidents today had some expletives coming from people - one we didn't know, but one was our very own 'Lande. 'Lande was only voicing her opinion on some 'DH'  who was trying to tell 'Lande what the road rules on bikes was. ( 'Lande was a bike educator in a past life, so I ask you who knew what?????)
I have it on good authority that Ray was so startled with her language ( he was riding with Paul at this time, while I was in with 'Lande), he woke up from a little nap he was having immediately reprimanding  'Lande for her language, telling her she was to be demoted next stop. Don't worry people it was a planned swap over, so 'Lande wasn't really that banished!
The second incident was when a narrow, double lined stretch of road came up. All riders were told to "get off as road train coming", which all duly did, but unfortunately the Truckee went a bit wide only to find a Toyota coming around the other side of the double lines! The Toyota did make a swerve for the gravel on the shoulder and when he passed us, gave everyone a 'spray' about "f^%#*** idiots, get off the road". Or something like that. Nasty business all around, but we continued on without incident for the remainder of the day.
As you see life on the road is never dull as one Truckee going west asked where we were traveling to? When we said Bairnsdale he asked if " a Darren from Maffra was with us?" Paul responded he was the last person in the group so Darren and the Truckee then struck up a conversation. It appears Darren knew him and was half expecting to catch up with him somewhere on the road. The Truckee farewelled us and said he would catch us on the way back - I wonder where that might be?
Simone and 'Lande were the casualties for the day: Simone with a cold, 'Lande with her back. All other riders made the ride today. The rest did give Simone a good opportunity to do some photography with her Go-Pro, so hopefully she will publish a few good pics of the riders in action.
Into Port Augusta tomorrow where we all get well earned rest again before we start on our southern assault, heading home. Stay tuned.

Breaker, Breaker we have a 'Pin-up' girl in our team!

The old song " Riding along on my push bike honey, then  I noticed you..." Seemed appropriate with what came over the UHF radio today as one Truckee went passed and made comment about " the beautiful blonde number with the big 'a#*%' ! Our Simone has become the pin-up girl for one fellow and Barry had better watch out as truckers talk and who knows where it will end!
The ride today out of Ceduna was a very undulating one making life on the road a little more challenging as wide loads (5mts wide), road trains and the normal cars and vans came through at regular intervals. Sometimes they would disappear below crests only to reappear 100 mths behind you. There was quite a bit of "off the bikes" today as we didn't want to risk anyone's life - ours or theirs. The road itself didn't help either with no shoulder for passing.
The group did another 140 kms today. It seems a regular schedule these days, getting into camp about 2:00 pm. Tomorrow is a longer day again with 170 kms, so no doubt we will be up early, even if the forecast is for fog tomorrow. Just hope it doesn't impact too greatly or it will make it a very long day.
The other bit of adventurous news is I actually got to be drive the Pilot Car today! Whoohoo! Simone gave me 100% for instructions and driving - ( thanks Simmo, I'll pay you after for that)! I must admit though that Ray was my side-kick for this part of the drive and very helpful he was. For someone who wasn't going to talk on the UHF radio for anybody, he sure has come along way! Including cracking jokes as well.
Robin yesterday had time to himself and spent almost 3/4 hour waiting for a Crow, yes a Crow, to come back to the nest and feed their chicks. I must admit the photos I saw were most impressive and even though it was a Crow, I'll hand it to him, his patience paid off.
Well I'm now going off to discover the sights and sounds of Poochera - a whole 20 person town! But yes it does have a pub and being of the '2 Pots' club these days, no doubt we will have venture in there as well. Bye for now.
Oh, Paul has just brought out the Finska, so this could be interesting! Finska is a game like skittles and bocce all rolled into one. We will see who the competitive ones are here!