Outback Odyssey - Mini Mawson 2 - Day 1 - Burra to Hallett

Pitchy and Contessa ready to roll

Up early (for us!) only to find that many of our fellow riders had already packed up and headed out! After having some breakfast we packed up our gear, put out name plates on the bikes and readied ourselves to head into the unknown. Rolling out, we (i think wisely) decided to avoid the muddy stretch and rode out along the highway. Along the way we rode past the ruin that is featured on Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust Album cover. After about 20km of riding on the highway we turned off onto the first of many unsealed roads. A further 5km and we had reached our morning tea destination at Mokota Conservation Area, a natural grassland environment. Things that had become apparent by now was that Pitchy was even more heavy and ungainly with a massive bag attached, and that this was going to be fairly slow going overall. 

See the trail down there.. guess where we're heading :)

A couple of minor bike adjustments by the support crew and we were off again. Nice fast downhill to get us back into the swing of things. There were a few undulations before short climb, where we stopped to take in the view. A couple of photos and we were off again, cruising into the valley in preparation for our big climb of the day up to the summit of Dares Hill. A fairly long climb to the summit of 16 km, including a stop for lunch by the roadside, and we continued on our way. By this point, the tiredness in the legs was starting to set in, but at the same time, the excitement was still overflowing. The countryside around there is stunning, and it felt like no time before we hit the summit. Stop for a few photos, and we were off downhill again. The trail deviates off the road for a bit heading along trails which could almost be described as single track. Short climb of a couple of kilometres and we arrive at our afternoon tea stop, located at the restored birthplace of Sir Hubert Wilkins. A nice chance for some sightseeing, a sit down and to take on some snacks and fluids before heading back out on the road. 

Ominous looking skies... clearing

With nearly 20km to go, not only were my legs starting to feel it, but worryingly my knees starting feeling less than ideal. Not really the kind of thing you want to feel on day one of a four day tour. The final 20km consisted of a number of short sharp uphills, followed by a equally short sharp downhill. I had to try to pace myself here because i could feel the knees getting progressively worse. 

Beautiful weather for most of this ride

Entering Hallett. This sign couldn't come soon enough.

We rolled into Hallett after nearly 8 1/2 hours on the road, covering a shade under 90km. Having found a spot on the football oval we put up our tent and tried to get a little bit of rest before dinner. Fortunately the day had minimal rain, so there wasn't much in the way of bike maintenance to do. Dinner consisted of Veggie Soup, Beef, chicken patties and sausages. The local community were awesome, and were pretty happy to have us stay there (usually the Odyssey stay at a homestead 10km out of town). They put on a raffle which Miss V won! :) lots of comments from everyone else that she should be made to ride the rest of the way with it on the bike, but she managed to talk to truck drivers to take care of it for her. 

Strava Data for Day 1