HOME HILL AND EVICTION

I had a pretty good sleep in the next morning and rose well after sunrise which was quite a luxury for me.I had only 40-odd kilometers to ride to Home Hill that day so I was able to let the sun dry the heavy dew off my tarp before I packed it away.It seemed that every day was started with me folding a very soggy tarp and soaking my shoes by walking through wet grass.No such worries this morning but the late start left me riding into a very stiff wind for the entire 38k to Home Hill.Now that would not normally be a problem but the road surface was heavy chip-seal with lots of potholes and very little shoulder.Add to that the wind and it was a really tough morning and one that I really didn't enjoy.

The little town of Ayr was a non-event and given that it is the home of champion golfer Karrie Webb I would have thought that there would be some kind of recognition of her in or around the town somewhere,but no.I don't really know why it was issue for me but I guess I am comparing Ayr to Mirriwinni just south of Cairns where world series triathlon champion Brad Beven is celebrated by a big sign on both side of his home town.

Once through Ayr and there was the huge bridge over the Burdekin River to negotiate.I hate bridges at the best of times but this one required me to get off the road,unhitch my trailer,carry the bike and trailer down a bunch of stairs to a metal,mesh walkway and ride on to the end some 400meters away.The problem was the workmen in the middle of the bridge who were not happy with my request that they raise the platform they were working on so I could get my bike through.After some cursing on their part they raised the platform just enough for me to squeeze under and I was on my way again.The old,rusted mesh walkway did nothing to give me any sort of confidence and I was pretty happy to have made it to the end.Thankfully,Home Hill was only about 5k past the bridge and it was a happy little Nick that reached the comfort stop in the middle of town. I parked my bike in the shelter of the huge rest area and set about having the first hot shower(or any cleansing process)of my trip.It was bliss!!!

After a quick trip to a local Cafe for some real food I was set to plug in the old laptop and start documenting my adventure.It felt great to be clean,fed and in touch with the world again.One thing I really wanted to find out about was the results of the Ultraman Canada Triathon which had been run and won during the first week of my trip.It was the first year in the history of the event that I wasn't present and I felt more than a little sad about that fact.I missed my friends in Penticton and really wished I was there but there was more than one reason that I was on this epic journey and one of them was to get myself back into the kind of shape that won me two Ultraman Canada Championships.My last two efforts were not spectacular and I had a lot of work to do to undo the damage I had done during the last few depressed years.

I sat in the rest area for about eight hours working on my blog and chatting with all the travellers who were parked in their vans nearby.It was a fun night spent mainly with a multitude of French backpackers who were in the area to help pick the local harvest.The travelling backpackers really do a world of good for our economy as they do the work that most Aussies just will not do.Sadly they are looked down upon as road scum and I really think that is not fair.Little did I know during that night of wine charged chatter that the next day I would find out just what to felt like to be cast out of a town as an undesirable.

Dring the afternoon I met up with two really,really,sweet,young and naive German girls who asked if they could plug their phones into my electrical adaptors for recharging.Or course I let them and then knew I was a soft touch when they plugged their I-Pods into my computer for recharging as well.There I was with all this crap plugged in and recharching while half a dozen people were giving me evil stares for using one of the two communal power-points available.The two girls were living out of a station wagon that they had bought and they just left all of their stuff with me and wandered around town doing whatever two young German backpacker babes do.The funny thing was that parked next to the them were an old Spanish/Australian couple,Tony and Carmella who took it upon theselves to act as surrogate parents for the two wayward Germs.It seems that the girls had left the back of the station wagon open with their handbags on full show.It was pretty funny to see Tony tell them off like an old grandad.I guess they realised just how stupid they had been and thanked me profusely for looking after all their electronic equipment.I just laughed it off but did manage to give them a stern warning of my own before they went off to bed that night

After what was a very late(11pm) night for me I went off to my little tent in the train station garden and slept long and well,emerging at around 8am the following morning.As usual it was time to brew some coffee and have a little bite to eat before logging on again to continue my contact with the real world.It was a very peacfull morning until one cranky local started giving some of the backpackers a hard time.He had his portable fridge and other assorted appliances plugged into one power point and refused to let any of the van dwelling youth plug into the spare spots on his powerboard.He was a real dick about it and when I offered to share my multi adapter with a young French couple he gave me a hard time as well.I was in no mood for this dickhead and gave him a serious piece of my mind which made him pack up all his stuff and storm off in a huff.
While the assembled cast of charcters thought that I was pretty cool for standing up for them the gods of Karma descended and hit me right between the eyes.At around 10am I was approached my an offficial from the local council and was told that camping was not allowed in that rest area and my tent would have to be pulled down.WTF!!!!Living in a car or camper was okay it seems but not in a tent.Sometimes I just don't get the world. Anyway I told him that I would take my tent down in a little while to which he told me to either rent a bed in a local motel or leave town as there were no campgrounds in Home Hill..nice!!!

I stayed and chatted to a bunch of people as they got ready for the days work in the fields and had a awesome chat with a young Asian couple(he Korean,she Japanese)about all kinds of topics before I was reminded yet again by a council worker that I could not stay the night.I got mad at him and bluntly told him that if he wanted me out of town then he could go and get the cops first and they cold escort me out,Otherwise he could just fuck-the-hell-off and watch me leave when I was good and ready.What a dick!!!!!!!

I stayed at the comfort stop until around 3pm before I headed out of town in search of a campsite and was pleasantly surprised when I came across a roadside truck parking area 27k out of town.It was perfect and I set my tent up on the only grassy area in site right next to a tree which I figured would act as a kind of barrier just in case a weary truck driver pulled in for a sleep at 1am.I really didn't fancy getting run over while I slept.So after a spot of dinner and a nice sunset I was back into my sleeping bag and ready for a long sleep and another long day on the road.I was starting to get used to this whole idea of life on the road and my sleeping bag had fast become my best friend in the world