Thursday, July 03, 2008

DAY 249: Rest area to Victoria River




Sun 29th June 2008
95 km @ 17.4 km/hr
Sunny, 31 deg C
Elevation of /destination 50 m
Distance to date 14817 km (9261 miles)

The curse struck again last night when a party of 6 young people from Merseyside arrived at the rest area at 2100, got the beers out and started making lots of row. This lasted until around midnight and whereas I had been ready for sleep just before they arrived, it didn’t come so easily then. On top of that someone was snoring very loudly nearby and I couldn’t drown it out. I eventually got to sleep around 1 I think, but felt pretty washed out in the morning.
After breakfast with Alistair we set off for the second leg between Katherine and Kununurra. The scenery became more interesting today with mountains and gorges either side of the road, and although Alistair was enjoying it it was rather lost on me as I was feeling somewhat negative. I’m going through a bad patch at the moment, partly due to lack of sleep, and partly due to the return of a sore bum. The road is pretty uninteresting at times too which I knew would be the case but have largely taken in my stride so far.
There was nowehere to stop for a ‘treat’ today so we had to make do with (eventually) finding a shady spot to have lunch, where we lingered chatting for more than an hour. I am enjoying the company; certainly the conversation and intreraction, and Al is a great guy, but I’m not so keen on riding with someone else for long periods - the dynamics just don’t feel right and I can’t focus properly. Most cyclists will understand this I think.
On arrival at Victoria River Roadhouse we decided to check into the caravan park since it seemed quiet and spacious, whereas after the row last night we had thought it best to camp in the bush. It is nice and relaxing actually, and I expect I’ll sleep OK tonight.

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