Fellow Cyclists

After Mt. Isa we went to Camoweal on the border of the Norther Territories. Whilst sitting in the shade to cool down a guy came over saying he was a cyclist too. Turns out he and his son have been on the road for 2 months going from Canberra towards Darwin. We were invited for a drink and didn’t need to be asked twice thats for sure.

They have a really sweet setup, towing B.O.B. trailers instead of panniers. It’s easier to ride and that way they can take more stuff like extra water and food. I was thinking about getting one and putting a esky cooler on it to keep milk and fruit cool and fresh Dai and I were all set to ride the remaining 13km to the Northern Territories but they insisted that we stay and chat and even paid for a campsite. So we sat down to dinner and tea with them, traded war stories and boasted about whose scars were bigger and which injuries hurt more

They ride at night and early morning when the wind is almest and the temperature is lower. As there are never any clouds in the sky the moon provide all the light you need to ride safely and to avoid wildlife most of the very little traffic thats is on the roads stops too. Apparently we became an inspiration for them, the spirits were getting low after a few months on the road. Seeing us riding long distances in the middle of the day gave them a renewed sense of vigour for the final push to Darwin. I’m not sure that our way is best – I like to see stuff during the day – but it was cool to be seen as an inspiration.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 6th, 2006 at 2:19 pm by Ross and is filed under Australia, Cyclists, Queensland, Savannah Way. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.