Sunday, November 11, 2007

DAY 37: Day off in Ceduna




Sun 11th Nov
hot and sunny, blue sky all day again

Felt a bit at a loose end this morning - wasn’t too sure what to do but I really just need to rest and recover, if I can manage that! Tried to ring Lyn but no go so I’ll try later. Spent another hour at the TIC on the internet, checking bank stuff etc. - pleased to find that I hadn’t been much overbudget in October as expected, not bad considering I made quite a few ‘gear’ purchases that I won’t need to make every month.
Took a leisurely ride down the coast 3km to Thevenet - a small port now almost totally dedicated to grain and gypsum exportation from a railhead and port with huge silos on the quayside. It was going to be another hot and sunny day by the looks of it.
Did a little supermarket shopping then checked the bike over. Oil is still leaking from the rear hub gear assembly which is a little worrying, although Thorn and Rohloff don’t seem too concerned about it. If it was caused by the effects of the plane journey as they suspected I don’t understand why it’s still happening. I thought it might be a gasket that was leaking so as I had a spare I replaced it, not before some trauma with putting the assembly back together - I was unable to get all 14 gears again and still can’t - just 12! I need to get in touch with Thorn again for advice. It’s possible that the gear posiotion was not set correctly when I replaced the change mechanism possibly. I went for Rohloff gears becasue I thought they would be more trouble-free than derailleur but I’m starting to wonder.
The first couple riding the same way as me and whom were behind me arrived here today - Walther and Annette from Holland - and camped near to me. We swopped notes on how we found the Nullabor - they had headwinds the same as I did. They are very experienced cycling tourers, having ridden China, India, Nepal, USA and many other places over many years. They are both nurses and like me have been gtiven time off to do these trips - many times! They will spend new year in Sydney and then fly to Dallas to cycle from there to Las Vegas - a city which seems to be a favourite of theirs as this will bne the seventh time they have been there!
Had a nice barbie of lamb chops and veg cooked on the electric barbecue in the camper’s kitchen - it’s a large electric hotplate about 2 feet square and you just chuck everything on at once and keep turning it - in my case lamb chops, with roughly chopped mushrooms, tomatoes, zuchini and a whole onoin.
Not much else to report really, just a quiet day recouperating.
Couldn’t get to sleep very easily due to quite a bit of noise on the site - everyone is a bit close really.
Street scene Ceduna (left)