Day 118: Norseman to bush camp

September 22, 2022

Start: 5:55am
Distance: 140km
Ride time: 7:32hours
Average: 19km/hr
Max: 45km/hr
Finish: 3:30pm

I was up early ready to put in a big day. It is 190kms to the next roadhouse. I loaded up with 2 days worth of water.

Today there is a small crosswind and tomorrow will be a moderate headwind so I wanted to do a lot of kms today to save battling the headwind tomorrow.

There is a roadhouse on the edge of Norseman and I stopped there for juice and a salad rolls for lunch.

I saw this massive load with a police escort when I walked out of the shop.

I hopped on my bike and began crossing the Nullarbor for the second time.

(In 2013 I rode from Perth to Sydney. It was a direct route, not along the coast. So this ride is all new to me except for the Nullarbor. )

It was a bit rainy and a bit hilly.

After doing 11kms something didn't seem right. I still had reception and I checked google maps.

I had taken the wrong road out of Norseman. I can't believe I made such a silly mistake. So embarrassing! 🙄I think the big truck in Norseman must have distracted me.

When I returned to Norseman, I had wasted over an hour. I wasn't very happy. I had another drink in the roadhouse and composed myself before heading out in the right direction.

It's 1,100kms between Norseman and Ceduna.

When trucks have extra big loads, they have an escort or pilot vehicle with flasshing lights that travels in front of them to warn the traffic. This gives me time to stop and get my camera ready.

This truck is carrying a Miller Nitro 7380. I think it's a self propelled sprayer.

This truck is carrying a big boat or barge for Christmas Island.

Christmas Island is about 2,000kms off the coast of Perth. It is an external territory of Australia. The government of the island is a little complex. It is policed by the Australian Federal Police with Canberra officers. They use the Western Australian legislation. And the residents vote in the Northern Territory electorate.

Some of the vegetation had trees and no undergrowth.

The terrain had lots of gentle rises and dips. The rain had stopped and it was mostly overcast with a cool riding temperature.

I had frequent stops to rest briefly so I didn't get cold and then I would continue on. I rode pretty hard for me. I was trying to make up for lost time early this morning. And also maybe to punish myself for being so silly.

After a record 140kms I found an okay place to pitch the tent. I was tired.

There were a couple flowers near my campsite:

I'm not sure if this is a flower or a seed pod. It's a nice colour anyway.

Bill later identified this as a sticky hop bush. Thank you Bill!

Senna artemisioides.

Today's ride: 140 km (87 miles)
Total: 6,737 km (4,184 miles)

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Rita McCarthyVery impressive effort, Vince. Certainly would have been frustrating to take a wrong turn but you fought back which was great.
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2 years ago

Vince McCarthyThank you. If that's my worst navigation error, I'll be happy.
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2 years ago