Day 23 – Coolgardie to Southern Cross (188km)
This morning was one of the warmest mornings we have had so far and the first where we haven’t needed to wear any cold weather gear for the first section for quite some time.
As we set off in the dark there were hundreds of bugs flying into our faces for several kilometers which wasn’t very pleasant but thankfully, they disappeared before too long.
Again the roads were predominantly without shoulders and as the traffic built up following our early morning start we were very conscious of our vulnerability, particularly when vehicles (often trucks/road trains) were crossing on both sides of the road. There were several occasions where we had to ride over onto the gravel to let trucks pass us.
For the first section through to morning tea we were blessed with a slight tail wind (which made us all a little reluctant to stop in case the conditions changed). As the temperature was significantly warmer than other mornings, we decided to keep the break short to try and avoid riding for too long in the heat of the day.
In the next section through to lunch the temperature continued to rise and the wind gradually turned into a cross/head wind making the ride significantly more challenging. Again, we kept the lunch break short so we could try and knock off the last 60km as soon as possible.
The last 60km was particularly challenging with the temperature rising to around 40 degrees, the traffic building up and the wind staying mild but constant. We arranged for Anita to meet us on the side of the road half way so we could fill our bottles (which we seemed to go through very quickly) and throw water on us to cool us down.
Anita cooling the riders down...
We have a big day set tomorrow (213 km to Cunderdin) and the forecast doesn’t look pretty! Gulp.
