Distance: 685km
Dep: 7:00am
Arr: 3:30pm
Temperature: 21°C - 33°C
Total distance to date: 8431km
Route:
- Port Hedland
- Pardoo
- Sandfire
- Broome
Caption: The colour of the soil reflects how hot it can get in this state. Not scientifically of course, but I always seem to associate red dirt with a sweaty bumcrack. I'm airing it out here.
Over the course of the last 10 years, I have built up a tolerance - actually, make that a preference - for warmer weather. I'd much prefer to be sweating and slathered with sunscreen in the desert instead of shivering somewhere in the snow. That being said, Australia is the land of extremes, and I feel like the mercury lied today when it said it was only a high of 35°C. It was not, it was the devil's armpit after a run in Thailand.
Steph and I have ridden in very hot weather before, and for some reason, this region of Australia just hits different. It's not even particularly humid, but it feels like the sun is cuddling you from behind and kissing the back of your neck at all times.
Caption: Steph also airing out. But ATGATT life (all the gear, all the time) means fully decked out in protective gear in any weather. It does help that we're wearing excellent summer gear.
We were pretty organised in starting our ride today. I checked the tyre pressure and hadn't lost anything overnight, so the plug held - at least while static in a parking lot. The real test would be the next 600km. I poked the slimy, squishy, slightly raised nub on my tyre. It looked like someone stuck a piece of gum on it, but this lump will be the thing that'll take us to Broome and beyond.
Caption: The gummy, sticky mound from the plug seemed to have migrated off to the side a bit, but the plug remains intact.
A surprisingly fulfilling complementary hotel breakfast was exactly what was needed to put us in a good position for the rest of the morning. The first two stints are short, and the 3rd and last leg will be the longest one of this entire ride. We knew all along this day was coming, so we made sure to appreciate the cool and all too temporary air temperature of the outback morning.
And it was a breeze. Getting to Pardoo was the equivalent of dissociating whilst on a bus, and then coming back to reality just when you reached your bus stop. The scenery was quite average compared to the previous 24 days of travelling. A bit unremarkable, but easy and predictable. Exactly what a newly plugged tyre needed. The 149km ride felt like nothing compared to legs that were each 100km longer.
Caption: The few kilometres just after Pardoo presented a super short opportunity to take pics next to some desert flowers. There weren't many (ie these were the only ones we found the whole day) so we had to make the most of it.
Caption: Flowers!
Pardoo to the iconic Sandfire Roadhouse was an even shorter 139km ride, unfortunately with the exact same scenery. Slightly grassy ridges with sparse looking trees on both sides - symmetrical, and nothing to write home about. Eighty Mile Beach is a massive, beautiful, white sandy beach just on the other side of the ridge, but the road to get there is unkind to those with sportbike tyres. We carried on the National Highway 1 without every seeing this beach, all the way to Sandfire Roadhouse.
Of the entire full lap of Australia along the coast, the longest distance between two petrol stations is between Sandfire Roadhouse and Roebuck Plains Roadhouse (30km east of Broome). We hopped off our bikes and noticed 2 adventure bikes parked near the bowsers but we couldn't see the riders. As it turns out, a pair of Canadians were visiting for 3 months and it was also their 2nd lap around. They left their BMW GS in Perth with a friend and plan to visit time and time again to repeat the lap. What a life.
Caption: It only took 8000km, but we found our first female rider outside of a major city!
Inside, I scoped out the fridge and saw that they really haven't updated their sandwich selection; a Chicken and Mayo sandwich sat there, lonely and hopeful, and disappointingly still without any colour whatsoever. Therefore, lunch was a small variety of deep fried items that seemed pretty safe.
Caption: There was little to no shade for vehicles here at Sandfire, and everything on this bike was untouchable after being left in the sun for half an hour.
Now content with our cholesterol-filled bodies, we went to the bathroom to drench our tops and neck gaiters in water, and check on the plug again. Any part of the bike that was sitting in the sunlight could now fry an egg. I had to wear gloves to push my bike forward to check on the plug. I lightly grazed my hand against the brake disc and lightly seared the back of my hand. We wished the Canadian riders well and thought ice cold Canadian thoughts as I put all my sweaty gear back on.
Caption: The locals at Sandfire had much to say about the clucky neighbours in the vicinity (chickens) but they got along quite well.
The first 100km after Sandfire was... alright. We were already hot before we started riding, and somehow it became hotter while riding. It was as though we stood nude in front of a furnace and let the hot air blast against our skin. The UV was extremely high today and our faces cooked inside our visors. The scenery was still very similar to the last 300km we've done, though the fatigue from the heat at Sandfire was starting to bake into our souls. On top of all this, a neck injury I sustained while reaching for the laundry (of all things) really started to set in. My body decided I no longer needed the ability to turn my head to the left, but at least I could continue riding.
Caption: Completely drenched with tank water and ready to tackle the longest leg (between fuel stops) of the entire trip.
"Persistence refers to how long you are able and willing to stick to a task, even when it is challenging."
It wasn't even a particularly long day, nor was there a lot of traffic, but the heat was coming at us from all sides and from within our bikes. Drowsiness set in several times, and we pulled over to take a few breaks to rehydrate and refuel. Stopping sometimes made it worse, because the local fly population seems to go into a frenzy when any living being with a moist (sweaty) face comes by. And we were those beings. Australian flies love to linger around eyeballs and lips, so we very much looked like sweaty little beekeepers on the side of the road.
Caption: Refuelling the bikes and ourselves on the side of the road, whilst trying to keep the flies away. If you understand my hat, we can be friends!
Our final sprint to Broome was indeed a sprint just to get ourselves into some form of air conditioning. The last 30km detour off the main highway and into Broome felt like 100km. We had to remove our phones from our Quadlocks because iPhone was refusing to function in the heat (note to self: next phone should be an Android) so we went on without maps to the accoms. A breathtaking, Asian-style home with warm mood lighting throughout. Every item of clothing was dripping wet, so we swapped to summer clothing and walked to Matso's Brewery for a delightful dinner. Time to live up Broome in style for the next 36 hours!
Caption: Doing touristy things in Broome, why not?
[Day 26: We enjoyed a very effective massage and a Vietnamese lunch in town. E-scooters were in abundance and were asking to be played with, so we took advantage of them to get back to our accoms. Camel rides at Cable Beach were a must-do, and a delicious dinner at Cable Beach Resort was the cherry on top.]
Caption: Catching a Broome sunset while riding a vehicle of the dromedary variety.
