Day 16 – 190 km – An Incredible Day

Friday, September 26, 200 (8.49 pm….campsite at Oodla Wirra, SA)

What an amazing night and day.

We set up camp at the Shoreline Caravan Park in Port Augusta last night.  A 200 m stroll to the West Augusta Football Club for dinner and we were set.

At dinner, Jo mentioned to the cook that Jack was riding across Australia for charity.

Within minutes the President of the Club was putting a microphone in Brendon’s hand and away he went – speaking to the 60 or so people in the dining area about the ride and the charity.

$213.40 Donated

Mel and Jo then passed the hat around and the wonderful people at dinner donated $213.40.

Plus the food was fantastic and the drinks cold, so we were very happy!

The Day’s Ride

We started off at 7.30 am from the caravan park and had a lovely tailwind behind us for 25 kms.  A left turn as we headed to the base of the Flinders Ranges meant we had a bit of a cross-wind for a while.

Our view of the Flinders Ranges as we approached

Then we hit the Flinders Ranges – our first real climb since Perth was a welcome relief.

The climb lasted about 40 minutes and gave way to a beautiful downhill that went for 6 kms – that got us to the gorgeous town of Wilmington, where the team passed us icy poles as we passed.

Chris & David Kept The Pace Up

Chris van Hoof of Chisel Fitness (Chris trained us on the Gold Coast) and David White (Executive Director of Big Brother Big Sisters of Australia) joined us for riding today and kept the pace up.

The team attack the flats!

Another 14 kms cycling along the flat with the wind at our back got us to morning tea.  We set up camp on the side of the road for a bite to eat.

The local farmer came along for a chat, with his 3 legged dog hopping along behind him.

The dog wanted to let us know who was in charge and promptly came up to our bag of goodies at our feet and did a wee.

The dog then turned around, hopped over to the ute and jumped back in – job done and message given!

Funnily enough, no one wanted anything else to eat

The farmer was a great old guy (82 years old) and stopped for a chat.  Farming 9,000 acres, he was 82 years old and had seen it all.

Jack and our farmer mate

Lunch At Orroroo

After the break we were joined by Maree (David’s wife) and we headed off into another nice slow climb that led into a 5 kms descent, leading to Orroroo – where we stopped for lunch at a beautiful park.

Another stint by Maree after lunch was slowed a bit with some crank trouble, but she still managed a fast 75 kms for the day.

We passed through the lovely town of Peterborough.

The team at Peterborough

As we passed the Peterborough pub, David mentioned his mum grew up in the hotel 90 years ago when her parents owned it.  So another quick photo opportunity was had!

Jack & David outside the Peterborough Hotel

30 Kms Ahead Of Schedule

The boys cranked the pace up for the afternoon section, hitting 45 km/hr for long stretches.

Jack & Chris raise the tempo

We got to Oodla Wirra with some time to spare and decided to keep going to reduce the ride for tomorrow.  David and Chris bailed after 15 kms and got a lift back to camp with Laura driving.  Jack and I pushed on to finish 30 kms ahead of schedule after a wonderful 190 km ride.

We finished a wonderful day of riding and incredible scenery with the sun setting behind us over the ranges, with the hills ahead bathed in sunlight.

Jack, 30 Kms east of Oodla Wirra, 6.10 pm

A magical end to a beautiful day of riding.

Feeling good, we headed back to camp.  A quick freshen up and we headed across the road from the bush camp to the Ooodla Wirra Hotel – 120 years old and still going.  A brilliant old bush pub where we enjoyed a couple of drinks.

Jack, Laura & Harry ham it up!

We’ve just finished the chocolate around the campfire and everyone is heading to bed.

Thanks for the comments and keep them coming please – we love them!

Thanks.

Brendon