Balladonia or Bust! Bush Camp 2 to Balladonia - 63kms

Had a warm night and slept like a log!
What a difference a day/night makes.
We awoke to a tail wind!!!! Yay!! 
Nothing could stop us getting to Balladonia now - or could it!

We sailed along for the first 10kms.
Del was concerned about an unusual sound coming from his back tyre and stopped to investigate.
Several of the spokes had worked loose.  He found the necessary tool to tighten them amongst his tools. After doing a quick check of my spokes, too, we were off again.

We were pulling off the road to retrieve some bottles of water that were passed to us from a passing truck, when Del's front wheel skidded and he fell into the gravel. He skinned his knee and ankle which needed to be attended to. More delay!

Hands up those people who think that a plain is flat!!  Not this one!
The highway is like a switchback railway!
Up and down!
Funny thing is, the trailer weight is getting less as we use the water, but the 'hills' are just as challenging.
At last we reached Balladonia. Hallelujah!
We booked for 2 days, which excited the roadhouse receptionist!
We'll get everything washed, catch up on the blog and have a good shower!


 



Comments

  1. Simon HenleyAugust 27, 2022 at 2:49 AM

    Great, you made it! I was a bit worried about those heavy trailers, but it seems like things have gone without a hitch over the last few days - apart from your leg Dad, I hope it's not too bad. Enjoy the rest day tomorrow! xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Plan My PlayAugust 27, 2022 at 10:40 AM

    So glad to hear you made it to the roadhouse...civilization (or at least a bed for a change)! Warming to hear the support you are getting along the way by passing motorists. Hope you heal soon dad. Keep up your awesome spirits xx J&J

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last Day in Mundaring! (Fingers crossed!)

Image
The weather forcast is starting to improve a little, so we're making plans to head off tomorrow. Melbourne and Sydney are now preparing for the Super Storm's havoc. Meanwhile we've been enjoying the warmth of our unit and keeping track of the Commonwealth Games events on TV. You have to admire the Australian athletes and all their gold medals! Mind you, NZ  athletes never get a mention, even if they do win a medal! We battled an icy wind on our daily walk into town, arriving with thunder, lightning and more rain. Won't hold our breath re tomorrow's plans! The local woods are full of mountain bike trails - a veritable Mecca for bikers!  The Kep Track is 76kms long and runs from Mundaring to Northam following the water pipeline from Mundaring Weir. We're heading towards Northam but unfortunately we don't have the same degree of suspension as mountain bikes and, with the weight we're carrying and the uneven ground, we'd soon be suffering bro
Read more

Time to be Realistic!

Well folks, we've been reviewing our plans! What an experience this has been! We've cycled over 2000kms, crossed 2 time zones and have survived some very challenging conditions. We're just not doing the daily mileage that we expected to do - hills, head winds, trailer weight and age being the main factors. This has meant more bush camps (over 25 so far) which in turn has meant carrying more heavy water supplies and food, which most certainly contributed to Del's broken spokes. With the hills of the Flinders Ranges, Broken Hill terrain and crossing the Great Dividing Range (some 1740kms), we realise that, at our age and with Del's bike problems, it is a challenge that would be lengthy, gruelling, potentially dangerous and probably beyond our ability. (We've cycled Coffs Harbour to Coolangatta on a previous trip.) We have decided to continue to Iron Knob then turn south to Whyalla, a major town with an airport. From there, we'll prepare to fly to Adelaide, the
Read more

A Few Statistics! Perth to Whyalla - 2022

Our cycle trip is over and my blog posts conclude today. We have successfully crossed the Nullarbor Plains - for the second time - which is exhilarating and very satisfying! It's been quite a challenge but we've survived! After 2 years of COVID isolation, we're so thankful that we had the opportunity to cycle again in amazing Australia, even though we had to change plans at the end. Hope you enjoyed travelling along with us via our blog. Here are a few Statistics: *Began Cycle: 1 August 2022 *Duration: 60 days *Cycle Days: 42 *Rest Days: 18 *Distance Cycled: 2388kms *Average Daily Cycle: 56kms *Days Cycling Over 100kms: 1 *Most kms in One Day: 118kms *Least kms in One Day:  21kms *Punctures: 1 (Del's thorn proofing worked!) *Broken Spokes: 2 (all Del's) *Accidents: 0 *Average kms an hour:  9 - 15 kph *Last Cycle Day: 29 September 2022 Thank you to everyone who posted comments and encouraged us on.  We couldn't reply but appreciated every single one! Note to Self
Read more