Our cabin was literally infested with mosquitos last night. It was so bad that both Andrew and I slept in our sleeping bags on top of the beds wearing our headneats!! We had to crank the AC in order to be able to sleep and to hopefully slow down the bugs... bear in mind the room was smaller than a fish house.
I woke up at 5am, and tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 5.45am. Inspite of this it took me forever to get on the road... I would pay for the delay later. As soon as the sun was up we got hit with a strong headwind... and slowed the pace to a crawl at 7-8mph!
Around 1pm I arrived at the Sir Charles Todd monument, commemorating the completion of the overland telegraph line. As I fumbled in my panniers, a couple from a caravan approached and an very delicately asked if I was "ok"...did I need "help"? Apparently I looked to be "in trouble" physically. I told them I was fine, and indeed I did feel fine. However, yet another couple approached and offered me a cold liter of water. I did drink the entire liter, and felt noticably improved... It was hotter than I thought!
I checked my thermometer and it was well on its way to 100f I confirmed this with the the caravaners Eileen and Ted, when they were showing me their fancy ride. Ted checked his gauges and it was 33C inside the caravan and 39C outside! A special thank you to both of the Tasmanians for their kindness and the lovely COLD water!
I sat in the shade of the monument and had can of pineapple slices, and I was off and riding again. At 2pm I was stopped by a pickup (ute) about 10km out of Dunmarra. The driver handed me an iced coffee sent out by Andrew- excellent!! Fueled with caffine I rolled into Dunmarra about 3pm to find that Andrew had secured a room for 2 days.... HE needed a day off, so I was quick to agree - If a 24-year old Iraq war vet needed a break, I'm sure I did too!!
We did the 64-miles today in about 6 hours, into the wind with temperatures reaching over 100f...not to bad all in all... and not as unpleasant as it sounds!
I woke up at 5am, and tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 5.45am. Inspite of this it took me forever to get on the road... I would pay for the delay later. As soon as the sun was up we got hit with a strong headwind... and slowed the pace to a crawl at 7-8mph!
Around 1pm I arrived at the Sir Charles Todd monument, commemorating the completion of the overland telegraph line. As I fumbled in my panniers, a couple from a caravan approached and an very delicately asked if I was "ok"...did I need "help"? Apparently I looked to be "in trouble" physically. I told them I was fine, and indeed I did feel fine. However, yet another couple approached and offered me a cold liter of water. I did drink the entire liter, and felt noticably improved... It was hotter than I thought!
I checked my thermometer and it was well on its way to 100f I confirmed this with the the caravaners Eileen and Ted, when they were showing me their fancy ride. Ted checked his gauges and it was 33C inside the caravan and 39C outside! A special thank you to both of the Tasmanians for their kindness and the lovely COLD water!
I sat in the shade of the monument and had can of pineapple slices, and I was off and riding again. At 2pm I was stopped by a pickup (ute) about 10km out of Dunmarra. The driver handed me an iced coffee sent out by Andrew- excellent!! Fueled with caffine I rolled into Dunmarra about 3pm to find that Andrew had secured a room for 2 days.... HE needed a day off, so I was quick to agree - If a 24-year old Iraq war vet needed a break, I'm sure I did too!!
We did the 64-miles today in about 6 hours, into the wind with temperatures reaching over 100f...not to bad all in all... and not as unpleasant as it sounds!
