June 23, 2015
Is that a long way?: Nearing the end of the Nullarbor
The next morning I was still a bit confused about whether I really had been hit by a kangaroo or if, perhaps, I’d just been so tired by the exertion of cycling 250 kilometres that I’d fallen asleep at the handlebars, briefly had a dream about a kangaroo, and then tumbled off. As if to help me clear up the confusion as I was packing up the tent I looked up at the same spot where the incident had occurred and saw a kangaroo hopping across the road. And maybe it was just my imagination, but it appeared to have a bit of a limp. I chased after it, shouting something about the moral and legal issues of leaving the scene of an accident, but it was gone again into the bush as quickly as the night before.
Well it didn’t really matter. Both myself and my bike rather fortuitously appeared to have escaped the incident unscathed, and I was able to continue my journey. Pretty soon I came to Nundroo roadhouse, where I was disappointed to be told by the attendant that the tap water wasn’t potable, and that expensive bottled water was my only option. But as luck would have it I’d fallen into conversation with a Grey Nomad couple who kindly offered me the chance to fill up my bottles from the large supply of water that they were carrying, thus avoiding me having to sell a kidney.
They were a nice couple, and I was happy to make conversation with them for a while, although I was so tired from the previous day that I could hardly talk. I felt obliged to apologise for my fatigued persona, and, at the same time maybe I wanted to boast of my achievements just a little bit:
“Sorry,” I said, “I’m very tired. I cycled 250 kilometres yesterday.”
“Oh, is that a long way?” the woman asked, entirely unimpressed.
“Yes. I think so,” I said, a little disappointed, “I usually cycle about 100 or 120 kilometres.”
“Oh that can’t take long. What does it take? Four hours, five hours?”
“Erm… well…” she’d thrown me, “it usually takes me a bit longer than that.”
“We went cycling once. Did 50 kilometres in a couple of hours. Didn’t we dear? 50 kilometres wasn’t it? Didn’t take long.”
I decided not to mention the kangaroo.
My tailwind had sadly gone AWOL and most of the rest of the day remained generally unremarkable in the way that most days on the Nullarbor did, other than seeing my first dead wombat at the side of the road. It was an extraordinary animal, much bigger than I had ever expected, a chunky thing lying upside down with legs outstretched and bucked teeth pointed skyward. This, sadly, was what passed for excitement.
In the afternoon conditions changed and it began to rain very heavily. Soon it was a downpour, a real deluge, and I was soaked to the skin, but somehow still grateful for something different. The village of Penong, the first settlement larger than a roadhouse since Norseman, lay ahead, and I pedalled fast to get there in order to seek shelter. Unfortunately this took some time, and I was wet through by the time I did eventually roll into it. I headed straight for a covered picnic area where I found a young couple already hiding. Jacob, from Germany, and Liis, from Estonia, were travelling around the country in a van that was parked up next to us, and they met me with great friendliness.
It had become quite a miserable affair, those last few kilometres, but now my day was to turn around. There were some public toilets where I was able to change into dry clothes, and I emerged to find Jacob and Liis preparing a delicious pasta dinner for the three of us. We then had a very pleasant hour or two together, talking and joking and exchanging stories. They were really very nice people, and the experience lifted my tired and soaking wet spirits enormously. As dusk approached the skies cleared and I was able to cycle just out of town and set up the tent, (no longer so enthused by the idea of cycling in the dark,) but now less than a day from Ceduna, and the long-awaited end of the Nullarbor.
Distance completed: 2018km
Distance to go: 1792km
Days to go: 15.5
Average distance required: 115.6km/day
Today's ride: 107 km (66 miles)
Total: 42,899 km (26,640 miles)
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