On the road to Mt Gambier

Last night we all went out to the Royal Mail Hotel in Kingston SE for a traditional Sunday roast dinner.  The owners, Mark and Bronwyn, were great hosts by not only having us for dinner, but also donating $150 and encouraging other patrons of the hotel to donate.  Apart from enjoying the atmosphere of the hotel, we had Helen from the Coastal Leader newspaper join us for an interview.

Last night we had continual pitter/patter on the campervan roof from rain.  The temperature seems to have dropped.  I was out and on the road at 4.30 again this morning and heading south east 155 kilometres to Mount Gambier.  The first part of the journey was very flat with low lying water plains on each side of the roadway.  We had the occasional kangaroo on the side of the road.  Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that we had two deer come out in front in the Coorong National Park area.

I stopped around 7.30am for a second breakfast at Millicent, which is surrounded by radiata pine forests.  It was evident that logging was a big part of this community, with trucks carrying freshly cut trees passing frequently.  As I cycled between Millicent and Mount Gambier, the forests seemed a lot bigger and thicker in the region of Mount Burr.  Obviously, in this area, the flat plains turned into undulating hills.  The changing landscape, along with a head wind, added to the challenge of reaching Mount Gambier by mid-morning for media commitments and a quick talk to children from McDonald Park Primary School.  The winds seem to be common in this area, as a section past Millicent had kilometres of wind turbines which are used to generate power.

Tonight we are staying a Blue Lake Big 4 Caravan Park and I will be speaking at a function in the Mount Gambier Hotel.  I have done two other interviews on local radio and WIN TV are broadcasting the event on the sports section of the nightly news.

Fingers are crossed for a wind change and finer conditions.  Well done to all those who have either joined or help us reach the 10,000 members for facebook!

Craig

 

Early Morning Start!

 

Thanks to the Royal Mail Hotel, Kingston

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