Distance: 116.35 km
Ridetime: 06:37:03
Average: 17.5 km/h
Total distance: 13853 km
It is interesting what difference a day can make. While yesterday’s ride might have felt like meditation, there was not much left of that feeling today. The constant head wind and the long stretches of nothingness is starting to get to me. In theory the wind barely means I’m moving a bit slower than usual, and since I’m not in a hurry to get anywhere it shouldn’t be such a big deal. In reality, it is just a pain in the ass!
Next I discovered a crack in the rim of my back wheel. Not the most convenient place to discover this since there is still 700 km to Alice Springs and the nearest bike shop. I’m quite confident the wheel will make it to Alice, but the discovery was another mental hit on a day where I needed a push.
Tennant Creek is the only real town between Katherine and Alice Springs. Yet, I didn’t see any compelling reason to stop there and pay for accommodation at a backpacker’s or a camp site. Instead I stopped 5 km before town, pulled the bike to the side of the road and set up my own camp.
