Outback Odyssey 2015 - Day 1

Mini Mawson 3 - Melrose to Quorn - 75km

Overnight we were treated to a spectacular light and sound show courtesy of mother nature. By the sounds of it very few in the camp got a decent sleep, Miss V and myself included. Unfortunately, this also meant a wet tent to pack up, which is not ideal. One thing that we learnt from last time was that once things got wet, they tended to stay wet.  A quick breakfast of cereal, fruit salad and a cup of tea and we were ready for the start of our adventure.

Lynskey and Maretta ready for action in Melrose.

With a bit of nervousness, we headed out from Melrose into the unknown. I say that I was nervous, since it was on day 1 that my knees went haywire last time. First stop was not far out of Melrose to visit the marker designating the Goyder line. It seem appropriate to stop here since both Miss V and myself work alongside the Goyder institute.

Plaque at Goyder's line.

Mud!

Not far into the ride we were greeted with a long stretch of mud. Cyclocross skills came to the fore as we made our way through. The mud was thick and clayey and quickly clogged up pretty much everything. In hindsight, riding on the partly grassed side of the road, or even walking this stretch may have been the better option, but hey, it was a whole lot of fun! We took a couple of opportunities to stop and clear out any mud along here. A few who weren't quite so careful found that they ripped off their derailleurs. There were a few water taps at morning tea in Wilmington, so most took the opportunity to rinse off the bulk of the mud, Miss V and myself included.

Flithy Lynskey

Flithy Lynskey

After morning tea we had a nice run along Gunyah road towards our lunch stop.  Generally open expanses along here, with the peaks of the Flinders Ranges temptingly in the distance. We arrived at the lunch stop, located near not one, but two, dead animals. Not really ideal, but we managed to find a place to sit that wasn't downwind of them.

Miss V looking happy with her new bike.

Detour

After lunch we were advised that the actual Mawson route was very muddy and it was suggested that we head along the road instead.  Maybe a bit disappointed, but it sounded like a reasonable option given the aches and pains both of us had by now. Fortunately we were (initially) treated to some lovely scenery over some easy undulating countryside. The last 15km however was a hard slog, and to be honest, not much fun. We had a terrible headwind and there wasn't much interesting to look at. On top of this, I could hear poor Lynskey groaning and grinding as the remnants of the mud circulated on her drive train. During this section I was having thoughts along the line of "why am I doing this?". I will confess that touring style riding is not really my favourite thing. I can't really put my finger on why, but this stretch of todays ride seemed to back up this point of view.  

To add insult to injury, we were hearing that those that chose to take on the unsealed route after lunch (ie the true Mawson route) encountered little in the way of mud, and were fairly shielded from any of the headwind.

Lynskey and Maretta arrive in Quorn.

Arriving at Quorn, our tent was put up and I made a decent effort to clean and lube the drive train ready for tomorrow. Hopefully having a nice smooth running bike in the morning will perk up my spirits.

Dinner at Quorn was nice vegetable soup, followed by a main course of roast chicken, roast potato, roast pumpkin, carrots and beans. All good stuff to fuel us up for epic ride we have in store tomorrow. Have to love the food put on by the local communities!

Strava data