Tamworth to Gunnedah – 50 miles

I would have liked to have been on the road by 7am but given the broken spoke I waited until the bike shop, Spoke and Throttle opened at 9am. The owner arrived at about 8.45am (on his push bike) and said it was no problem to replace my spoke immediately. Tony became a very happy boy. Phew. I was back on the road at about 9.30am. The owner apologised twice for the delay! I was certainly not unhappy but after he opened the store there were a deluge of punters around him he had to handle.

For the bicyclists reading this I had already taken the back wheel off the bike and so when repaired he just handed back a wheel. I enquired as to what psi he’d blown the tyre up to? He said he didn’t need to remove the tyre off the rim but had managed to use the existing nipple through the rim. Having studied YouTube videos the night before, as I contemplated doing this myself, this approach wasn’t mentioned.

Quietly thrilled I set off. I had been carrying my extra hat/rim that fitted to my helmet that would preclude my having to apply sunscreen except to my bald patch through the top of the helmet!

The route was broadly flat with a few gentle gradients up and downs. About time I found some easy going.

Just note that ‘High’ is only the third of four levels of concern on this board! Call a spade a spade with ‘Catastrophic’.

The ride despite being easy was dreary but the temperature was up to 40°C or 104°F and I had lots of water on the bike but I longed for some taste to cut through and I then remembered a peach I had bought.

The ‘girls’ found a little shade to hang out. We put our cows, in the UK, in byres or barns during our winter ie. during temperature extremes. Here the cattle stay out in temperatures that are quite amazing considering they’re all wearing a leather coat.

I’m always perplexed by these signs about flooding. These signs aren’t in valleys or areas where the water might be contained. They can be found in places where there are wide open spaces warning of a flood at 2 metres high! At the moment the locals all want rain as things are a bit parched. As I cycled I saw cattle but also there were a few fields that had been harvested and now with stubble were getting baked. Clearly arable is important.

In NSW coal mining provides 35,000 jobs. I well recollect the blizzard of young folk in hi-viz in Singleton. In addition the industry calculates that it puts about £5 billion into the community and an extra £1 billion to the Australian government in taxes and licences. However, it has its opponents and the industry has its own persistent campaign with billboards and newspapers reinforcing its contribution.

I weakened in Gunnedah and took a hotel. It was too hot to camp. I could get the tent up etc. but it was early afternoon and was I to lurk outside getting toasted until the heat fell off? For this project I looked at Booking.com and Google and found a cheap but reasonably rated motel. As the motel will give the agents around 18% commission (?) then I may get it cheaper going direct? So with the best internet price of AUD 120 I bowled up to Reception. ‘Do you have a room and what’s the price?’ ‘Yes, $130’. I was tempted to use the line that my friend Peter had once used in Carcassonne when faced with such a situation. He asked if the Receptionist would wait whilst he went outside and booked the room over the internet on his phone at the lower price! Anyway my Receptionist relented and matched the $120 but didn’t win me over as a friend.

So a good day on the bike and a comfy bed in prospect. All good here.