Leg 3: Day 1: Uluru to Curtin Springs

First day of a new ride, a new adventure. We lost Theo and Annie from the last leg and we have gained Jerry, Jeanette and Ingrid. Jerry has done a couple of rides with us before but this is Jeanette's and Ingrid's first ride with us.

Our break at Uluru was enjoyed by everyone and all riders made the most of their time there. Collis and I had a lovely time with our daughter, Adele and grand daughter Brooke. They flew into Uluru to spend 5 days with us- fantastic.

This morning riders were gone by 7.45 am with lots of directions and advice on road etiquette and safety precautions. So it was goodbye to Ayers Rock and the Olgas and hello to NO reception and headwinds before we hit the Stuart Hwy. The water at Ayers Rock was lovely to drink so we have grabbed as much as possible to take with us. Soon it will be bore water only- no more cups of tea for me then- YUK.

The scenery around Ayers Rock to Curtin Springs is really quite special. It looks like a forest in places with tall Desert Oaks, numerous in numbers with scrub grass as a carpet in between. These trees have a straight trunk and fluffy looking foliage- a bit like giant dandelions. Lots of camel dung along the side of the road but I still haven't sighted any.

The wind kicks in around 8.30 am and it is a full on headwind. Morning tea is planned at 30 kms at a rest area. All riders except the two new girls are there waiting for us. So far the wind isn't too bad. We had iced vo-vos and a pecan danish bun for morning tea.

Collis changed the next stop shorter again at 25 kms down the road and then we would assess how everyone is managing. Gareth is already telling me, "It's pretty tough out there." Slow progress for the first day. The weather has warmed up a little after a cold start to the day but now all the riders are stripping off their jackets. Traffic is quite busy.

By midday they had only done 60 kms with 25 to go. Mark is struggling today with leg cramps. He remains strong with his riding but has to stop for magnesium powder, water and a banana. He has 10 kms to go.

All riders in at Curtin Springs by 2.15 pm. Very few complaints about the wind and we pre-warned them about the poor camping conditions. All was forgiven when Collis shouted them all a meal of Rump steak with chap potatoes and cauliflower cheese followed by sticky fruit cake with ice cream and then followed by a port.