Day 73

Today was a leisurely 155km ride from Lake Albert to Kingston in the south eastern corner of South Australia. The Princess Highway runs along the northern side of the Coorong National Park and, apart from a few undulations, it was pretty much flat. The road surface was very bumpy, but it was better than corrugated dirt roads. I was fortunate to get up at 4.30am this morning when conditions were just slightly overcast, as at the time we finished it started raining and hasn’t stopped all afternoon. I was going to push on a few more kilometres, but have decided that, since it is Sunday and we have a media obligation at 5pm in Kingston, it is time to stop.

After 73 days on tour my body is still holding out fairly well. I have about six blisters from yesterday’s paddle and a small twinge in the lower left back which should disappear once I have my daily scan. One thing I do each day is start preparing my body for the next day before it is upon me. I make sure that I eat within 20 minutes of finishing each day to maximise muscle recovery, and then pump in the right ingredients to replace the energy storage used for the day. I generally let my body tell me what I need for each day as my taste changes according to what I have done on the day and how much I have been depleted.

Waking up each morning on this trip hasn’t been a problem. The last two ultra-marathons I have completed have been different and on many occasions I just wanted to lie in bed and have a day off. I believe that knowing this is my last ultra-marathon, I want to make the most of every day. Believe it or not, I don’t want to have a rest day as the body goes into shut down mode. Anyway, looking forward to heading off in the morning and hoping the rain will pass to have a fine day tomorrow. I hope you have all had a fantastic weekend.

Craig

Kingston

Winnie and the Hummer

Lake Albert

Sunset Lake Albert

Bright Night

It’s good to be back on the water!

How good was it to take the mighty Epic ski off the roof this morning and wipe off the Western Australia red dust. The only problem was that when we took it off at a boat ramp on Hindmarsh, it was only 3 degrees. The new crew took no time to get used to all the equipment, and in no time we were in the water and paddling towards the mouth of the Murray River. At the mouth of the Murray River we saw about a dozen seals frolicking around in the morning sun. I saw one other lonely seal further east of the mouth as I paddled through some shallow water.

Today was all about paddling, with the new Cannondale bike being left in the campervan supplied by Sydney RV Centre. I paddled in a south easterly direction along the Coorong National Park waterway that stretches for about 80 kilometres and runs parallel to the coast. There was no getting lost as all I had to do was keep the massive sand dunes to my right. The sand dunes are part of the National Park and lie between the surf and the Coorong inlet.

I have spent about 7 hours on the water today and covered approximately 50 kilometres, with morning head winds and then a stronger breeze on the side. The paddling conditions were slightly uncomfortable, but still a pleasant change from the bike. I had my trusty friend Brian Friend and my sister-in-law Jenn as support crew – they thoroughly enjoyed their time on the Coorong. The body is feeling a little sore and I have again got a number of blisters on the hands, which is expected. We have just set up camp for the night at Lake Albert Caravan Park and I look forward to a good night’s sleep after a seafood dinner.

Craig

Jenn the Boatie

The Newest Member of the Crew