David's Journal Entry

We set out with a plan to cover partial legs, taking bites out of the distance to see how far we could get. The wind and rain were now moving westwards in bands, so we just needed to pick our moment and hope that the BOM live feed would be accurate enough to thread the needle. Having broken the day into sections we figured we were only ever likely to be a short run to the next safe haven, it was all about timing. 

The first destination was Tailem Bend a mere 20 km away, which we reached without issue. The next stop, 'The Bends Racetrack', only 10km further on. We made it. Just. The rain and wind picked up as we slid under the canopy of the servo, where we were forced to hunker down for 90 minutes. The rest of the day was much the same, stop-start, stop-start, hiding from the worst of the weather in whatever shelter we could find as we faltered our way to Coonalpyn. 

When we finally made it to the 'Coonalpyn Hotel' I was more mentally than physically tired, but a night tucked up by a wood-burning stove in an authentic backcountry pub was most welcome. The bar contained an eclectic mix, from two grey nomads and their blue heeler to a Dutch pothead and a wasted sheep shearer. I guess two middle-aged and mucky bike tourists were the cherry on top.