INTO THE "DEATH STRETCH"

You know that you are getting used to being on the road when you no longer think that the trucks are loud at night.I realsed ths little fact when Eduardo and I were having coffee the next morning.He was commenting on how noisy our camping spot was and I agreed that the scrub turkeys had kept me awake most of the night as they scratched around in the leaf litter under the trees near us.He said that he wasn't talking about the birds but the noisy trucks.I hadn't even noticed them.That is wierd.

The start to the days ride was delayed by a foggy morning and the fact that Eduardo and I had so much to talk about.It was great to have a fellow cyclist to talk to as everyone else that I had met on the trip had no idea just what it was all about.Talking with a like minded traveller put a lot of enthusiasm into the days ride for me and when I eventually got going it was renewed vigour which was only helped by the massive tailwind that had sprung up.Poor Eduardo was going to have a tough day but I learned that he was a much more patient cyclist and only riding 50k or so a day was quite acceptable to him.The stupid triathlete in me did not allow for such small distances without a great deal of guilt involved.I'll have to get over that.

My first chore of the day was to get through my first traffic jam of my trip and that was the ride through the outskirts of Mackay.It had been a fast and easy 35k to the northern appraoches of the booming little city but the only thing booming for me that morning was the traffic.I hated it and was thankful that I didn't have to ride through the center of town and could just bypass most of it on the highway.Still,I did have some hair-raising moments and was happy to be through the mayhem and on the hot road to Sarina some 37k away.

I hit Sarina just before lunch and made straight for the local supermarket to buy some supplies for the next isolated leg of my ride.The only problem with that was once I was inside the air-conditioned store I didn't want to leave.I sat in the mall bakery for an hour trying to summon the enthusiasm to ride in the 40C heat for the afternoon and eventually I dragged my lazy butt out the door and back on the road into what used to be known as "the death stretch".

During the '80s this 300k stretch of highway was totally isolated with only a very small village or two hidden away off the narrow,bumpy old highway.It was said that more than a few travellers went missing during those years and it was not deemed a safe road until major upgrades and a few truckstops were put in.These days it is an easy ride from village to village and carrying three days of water is not needed.I was lad of that fact as during tat long hot afternoon ride I began to fade really badly and I went through so much water that I was starting to get a little concerned,that was until I stumbled upon an old truckstop that I had completely forgotten about. I had stopped at the Ilbilbie Caltex truck stop on a couple of previous trips and after 108 very hot kilometers it seemed like an oasis as I rolled into the carpark.

I went inside and asked one of the ladies behind the counter if it would be okay for me to camp somewhere on the grounds and after a little conference with the other employees on shift she agreed and just told me not to get in the way of the trucks.She also told me that I could have a shower and use all the truckies facilities as well as allowing me to plug in my laptop in the cafe area.That was a relief as I really didn't want to ride on any longer and the thought of actually cleaning myself up and sitting in the cafe with a meal that actually came on a plate was just too good to decribe.An hour later camp was set,I was clean and my laptop was logging on to the net while waiting for my dinner to arrive.It was a great evening as I got a chance to talk to some truckers and catch up on the news of the day on the t.v,all in air-conditioned comfort.

The night in my tent wasn't all comfort with the crazy amount of trucks coming and going and the trains which seemed to pass through my tent at regular intervals.I did manage to get some rest and was up before the dawn packing all my stuff and heading to the cafe for a coffee while I waited yet again for the fog to lift.It was so dark that morning that the cars still had thier headlights on two and a half hours after sunrise.I did manage to get away at about 8:30am and headed off into the unknown.

I again was blessed with a tailwind that blew me along the highway and through some really dry farmland.I thought of the people who lived out here and wondered just what thier life must be like.Hard I would imagine.The road did swing back toward the coast from time to time and I spied a few little coastal hamlets all with rest areas attached.I couldn't help but be totally surprised that these little seaside places ever became inhabited,I mean,there was just nothing there.Maybe that was the attraction.I couldn't even bring myself to stop at any of them and opted for short breaks on the highway instead.

By early afternoon I was still trucking along when I came across a rest area that just blew me away.For a part of the state that is supposed to be deserted here was certainly a lot of places to stay.This place had huge camping areas,covered picnic areas and best of all, drinking water.I decided that the 91k I had done that day was enough and I could use the rest of the afternoon to do some washing and dry out all my stuff in the intense afternoon heat.

It was while I was drying all my stuff that a guy from a trailer parked nearby asked if I would mind keeping an eye on his trailer and especially the solar panels that he had sitting outside soaking up the suns rays.It seemed that his campervan had shed a wheel the day before and had caused some damage to his trailer and the wheel itself.They were now stuck in the Waverley Creek rest area for the weekend as they could not get a new wheel sent to them until the Monday three days away.He and his wife wanted to go to the nearest town,St Lawrence,to get some supplies for the next couple of days.

While I was keeping guard I did manage to get all my chores done and met a few of the other travellers as they came and went over the next couple of hours.When to owners of the trailer came back they asked if I had eaten and if I would like to join them for dinner.Nothing special,just some vegetables and whatever else that could be found.That nothing special turned out to be some lamb roast with vegetables,beer,coffee and dark chocolate.Man was I spoiled.

I sat there with Paul and Judy for hours and chatted about all kinds of things and had a truly wonderful night with two very generous people.Eventually our eyes started to close of thier own accord and it was time for bed.I wasn't sure if I would see them as I had planned to leave very early so I said my goodbyes and snuck into my tent to what ended up being a very deep and satisfying sleep.

In the end I did see Paul and Judy again as yet another thick fog blanketed the area and as soon as they saw me the coffee was on and some toast was provided.I was really touched by the warmth and class of these two lovely people from Port Stephens on the New South Wales central coast.I vowed that if my ride took me close to thier home town then I wold drop in for a visit.Finding them would not be a problem as their surname is a famous one here in Oz .Paul is the uncle of one of Australias most famous female athletes, racewalker Kerry Saxby.There is no doubt in my mind that they would be easy to find.