Narrabri to Moree – 68 miles

I must start with last night’s dinner at the RSL. Lamb shank with proper vegetables! Most restaurant menus I see are generic for rural Australia (and the USA.) Lots of fried food and sugary drinks. I must admit in the pursuit of sustenance and calories I’ve indulged but proper food was a welcome change.

Breakfast the next morning included fruit!

Outside of the cafe I applied sunscreen. That meant removing various things to get to my arms. I temporarily rested my Apple Watch on my rear panniers, finished applying the lotion and then cycled off a mile up the busy road with morning rush hour traffic before I looked at my bare left wrist and thought bad thoughts!

Retracing my steps I found it lying on the road near a high kerb I bumped over. I was very happy

The A39 is the main artery heading north or south between the few larger settlements. It is a direct and fast route which does a passable impression of being completely flat. The shoulder fluctuates all the time: wide, narrow, rumble strip, no rumble strip, beautiful flat asphalt or that gloopy stuff they drop small bits of rock into (like Scotland.) The latter road surface was the main reality and whilst you could make progress it was not the preferred surface. The traffic was reasonable with trucks moving over, if they could, to reduce the ‘draft’ and a few even tooted. It was safe. I listened to music and podcasts.

Compression brakes are fitted to US trucks. Australia uses US trucks. It is a feature where the truck can be slowed by suppressing the performance of the engine and obviating the need to touch the regular brakes that, by friction, stop the wheels turning so fast. Apparently this adds longevity to the regular truck brakes and prevents fade. These trucks are seldom without one or two trailers and the weight of the load is only matched by the high speed they roll along. If you use compression braking it can affect the exhaust and make a considerable racket. They are banned in Europe as they contravene noise laws.

Never camp at the bottom of a long hill that’s a main highway is my advice! Most built up areas request truck drivers desist, hence the sign.

On the long dreary ride I often had company. They descend in numbers and land on your sweaty face. I felt like one of those poor beasts you see in the corner of a field in summer spending their time swishing away with their tails at the plague of flies.l

I started with a tailwind and had it for most of the ride but ground into Moree in a headwind? I hadn’t booked any accommodation but I was starting to come to the conclusion that camping was too uncomfortable with high temperatures until late in the night and maybe motels would be the way forward. I darted into a McDonalds to research options where my only thoughts were an ice cold drink and ice cream. It seems McDonalds is my social hub. Vicky asked me if I needed advice. She was another farmer popping into get some lunch whilst a tyre was being changed. She had concerns about my safety. I put her mind at rest.

The temperature was 38°C (100°F) and I simply felt I needed 30 minutes to cool down. Remember I’m cycling for 6 hours solid, despite the sunscreen, big hat and a lot of water on board I start to fry.

Data:

I once, as a young manager, went to the Manager’s Canteen at work for lunch. I sat down at a communal setting with my plate and declared, expecting hero status, that I had run 11 miles last night and was quite weary today. A colleague called Graham Salmon looked up from his pie and gravy and with a profundity that still affects me today asked ‘why didn’t you get a bus?’ With that reality check that this was my choice to embark on this tour I have listed some New Zealand statistics for the various followers. Especially the Strava Anchors. I must point out there were no buses on any of my routes.

I actually cycled for 10 days between Carole and Paul. That (shamefully) included a rest day in the very nice town of New Plymouth. I cycled a total of 518 miles but more tellingly I climbed 7,927 metres (26,000 feet.) Given the bike had about 25kg (55 lbs) of luggage and another 2 kg in water on it to have averaged 790 metres climbing per day is quite an ask. Only on one day did I hit an average speed of 11.5mph (18.5kph). Given the challenges of gravel roads and climbing then sadly one day saw me post an average speed of 7.3mph (12kph), that is slow even by any measure but reflects the severity. My maximum distance on a day was 82 miles along with 1,579 metres of climbing: Raglan will always be my special place. Weather wise NZ was very variable during the day. If the sun came out it was like standing under a tanning lamp, however, that wasn’t often or long in duration. At the start of the day it could be cold, especially in the tent, but usually warmed up to around 20°C (around 68 to 70°F) but would fluctuate up or mainly down. Perfect cycling temperatures frankly.

Australia will follow, contain your excitement.