Adelaide to Perth:
Total:
Today was a hard ride at times, mostly due to the heat. I packed all my gear up and left relatively early maybe 8:45am, from Port Wakefield which made it a lot easier getting to my destination before it got too late in the day. During my ride my knee was flaring up again, making it quite difficult to push out a descent speed. I must admit that the pain has somewhat decreased after a heavy night of stretching and foam roller exercise on my inner thigh. To my advantage I did have a slight tail wind, or at least no headwind, so I was able to maintain a descent speed throughout the day.
I stopped in a small town and had a break maybe 55km in. The town was called Snowtown and in it was a straight strip of basic shops. Sort of like what you'd picture an old western town to be, they had a butchers, bakery, post office and mechanics. Luckily they had an IGA grocer so I was able to get a cheaper snack.
As I was having a breather I was positioned close to a couple of locals having a chat. This has happened quite a bit in my trip, where I've had a breather at the front of the local grocer in a small country town and locals start conversation in front of me. I have noticed that it is in these rare situations and by the chance of bumping into each other, the locals have an opportunity to liaise and catch up on what seems to be local goss. The stuff the country people talk about always seems to be along the same lines. The main topic of this conversation was about farm equipment and sourcing a cheap buy. I was quite surprised as one of the farmers spoke about finding a bargain on eBay for some parts for his tractor. For one I was surprised this guy had Internet connection on his farm and secondly the old bloke was technologically savvy. Certainly shows the day and age we're in, when a farmer in outback Aus is on eBay..
After this I pushed out a consistent 80km to get into Port Pirie. Port Pirie is a fairly large town that has many and if not all the consumer items necessary. In town I was fortunate enough to get some natural anti-inflammatory tablets. I was searching in Adelaide but didn't look too hard and only found heavy ibuprofen tablets. I explained in the chemist that it's not pain I'm trying to eliminate but the actual swelling. Although this pain is heavy it's not my concern, she had trouble comprehending this. I am just concerned about the swelling and consistent wear and tear. Hopefully the swelling now decreases and with further stretching the pain and tension can be mitigated.
I jumped in for a swim in the local bay. This was a great way to cool down after a hot and long day. When I was in the bay I saw a few aboriginal kids swimming around. I was tempted to go start conversation and find out what mob they were from, yet thought I'd let the kids enjoy there time. I saw the mum but she was further away. I asked some young footy players who were having a rehab session if there was a big aboriginal presence around town. They told me not really and that the ones out swimming were a bit unusual for them. The feed back they gave contained undertones of prejudice, without being so direct. The response on this issue definitely wasn't in same vain as the rest of our conversation and the tone of the two shifted heavily to say the least.
I sussed out a cheap camp site as I was told big fines occurred for bush camping in the area. The cheapest place I found was $20, still what I consider to be excessively over priced. Whenever I speak with a caravan park and investigate the prices I tackle the situation the same way. I instantly ask for the cheapest spot and indicate straight away I don't care about power, services or any feature of the campgrounds. I then ask through conversation if they can reduce the general price as I am solo, on a bike and in a one man tent, explaining the room I take up is very small. What I really hope is they offer me to sleep in a car spot or somewhere out the back for half the price. When the conversation continues and I realise they don't have anywhere else I insinuate it is crazy they have nothing cheaper for a solo bike rider. When asked I explain that if they knew anywhere I could camp for free I would. In this situation the lady was very kind and reduced the price by $5. Might not seem like a lot but will definitely help. As you can see I can only really do this solo, or only with travellers in the same position like my friend Hong.
I don't mention this in these situations, as I'm not good in trying to sell my self off, but any money I have left at the end of my trip will go completely into the charity. And any person can trust me I am trying as hard as possible to finish under my budget, hence the reason for being extremely tight. I was fortunate to have good work before the trip and save enough money. This makes this trip a lot more appreciated knowing every cent gets you one more luxury. This is one of the reasons I become annoyed when people around me, who don't actually know me as a person, assume I receive some type of handouts or funding to pay for my trip. All the parts and everything so far has been funded by my savings, so this is another objective I have to finish under and put back into to my cause.
After a big lentil dinner, mixed with fresh lemon mint, broccoli and coconut milk I'm ready for bed. I nmust also mention it is torture here from all the Mosquitos and ants in my tent!!! Luckily these are small ones, but still annoying when trying to sleep!!
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