Day 109: Bush camp to Hell's Gate

May 30, 2021

Start: 8:20am
Distance: 77kms
Ride time: 3:56hrs
Average: 20km/hr
Max: 29km/hr
Finish: 12:05pm

I slept soundly as it was quite cool at 15C. I'm sure I was a bit tired from yesterday's big day too.

All this made me lazy to get up and I left camp at 8:15am.

I saw 3 pretty flowers today. They were all few in number and the cars rushing passed wouldn't have seen them.

The grevillea flower stems were about 30cm long.

After about 60kms I hit dirt for about 10kms.

It was very dusty when cars went past. Most cars slowed down to reduce the dust. I saw 31 vehicles today.

I was very happy to arrive at Hell's Gate Roadhouse. There is no town here. The roadhouse has a campground out the back.

And an airstrip out the front. I saw 3 planes land.

The next town will take a few days to get to.

There are no shops or water taps between here and Borroloola. I will have to source water from creeks.

The road is all dirt and was described 2 days ago by someone on Wikicamps as horrendous.

I've heard they have started to grade it so there should be some good sections.

The nice lady working in the roadhouse said her brother rode around Australia in a few stages 5 years ago.

I will stay here two nights as Mondays are my usual rest day.

The shop here sells burgers and cakes. They don't sell any groceries.

I will have to plan my food for the next few days until I get to Borroloola. I'm fortunate that I bought lots of food in Normanton.

I haven't had a shower in 5 days. I'm not too smelly. I've cleaned myself every night with about 750ml of water. I wet a rag and wipe all the filth off with it.

Nevertheless I was very excited to have a shower this afternoon. It was a good shower with lots of pressure.

I had a shave and shaved my head. I shave my head about once a week when on tour as it keeps me cooler and it's easier to clean.

I feel like a new man.

My top was okay because I washed that in Burketown. My shorts had lots of salt stains on them. My wool socks were filthy but not smelly.

I think wool clothes are the best material to cycle with. I gave everything a good hand wash with soap. Lots of dirt came out of them.

Today's ride: 77 km (48 miles)
Total: 5,128 km (3,184 miles)

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Rita McCarthySounds like the next leg of the journey is going to be very challenging. Still I’m super impressed how well you organise yourself and your determination. Good luck with the next leg of your journey.
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3 years ago

Vince McCarthyThank you Rita. Yes it was very challenging. I'll update the blog later today.
Cheers
Vince
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3 years ago