David's Journal Entry

Today was a shorter day, which seems a little strange as it was still comfortably more than 100kms. Worryingly, Mike is still sub-par, as evidenced by the fact that it took him nearly two hours from getting up to being ready to push the blacktop back. It is fair to say I am concerned, although I do wonder how much is physical and how much is mental. He is obviously run-down, ticcing with greater frequency and increasingly vacant in conversation (a clear sign, in his case, that he is fatigued). Patience is the best response, not least because I know he already feels guilty about slowing us. Although true, it is objectively not an issue. We are 14 days in and have covered a third of the route, what's more, we have faced many of the hardest challenges already, including the majority of elevation gains, the most undulating terrain, the strongest headwinds (one hopes), my lack of conditioning and the inevitable learning curve of just how we want to do things this time around. 

Despite all this, we have still covered 1300km. Of course, an extra day in lieu would be good so we do need to press on. Nevertheless, I do wonder if Mike was mentally prepared for the tedium and hardship (although that does sound far too dramatic), by which I mean the limited food options, poor sleep, monotony and most challenging of all (for me at least) the cold. 40ish days on the road can feel overwhelming.

After a good feed, we are both in our tents by 8pm and have no alarms set for the morning. I hope Mike is feeling more rested tomorrow.  On the plus side, we reached our £5000 target today and have raised it to an inconceivable £7630 (£1 per person per km). Mike should receive his surprise gift of a WBR jersey in Alice Springs before too long...which I am sure will perk him up.