No rush to get away this morning, everyone was in a very relaxed mood. The winds, the steep hills and the distance (100 kms) did not seem to worry any of the riders. It will usually just take one person to talk about headwinds or 20% inclines or weather events to start off a chain reaction of mild panic. This group have the attitude of whatever the weather will be is with the Gods and nothing they can do about it. This morning there are no or very little wind when they leave camp and the group flies along without a worry in the world.
Morning tea was at 45 kms at Melrose. I went ahead to set up and Collis wanted me to set up outside the Blacksmiths Cafe. I went up and down the main street 3 times and couldn't find the cafe. Collis was out of range for the phone so I made the executive decision to set up at the park opposite the bike shop, a cafe and the pub. The only thing missing was the toilets. The reason I couldn't find that particular cafe was because it had closed down since we were in there last year. Everyone went to the bike shop and Jane bought a new seat and Kirsten bought a couple of tops and a new seat. Theo bought some cleat screws. Coffee was apparently better in the bike shop than the cafe.
Lunch was just down the road at Wilmington and the same sort of thing was happening here- the town is dying. The cafe that we usually went to and the IGA were both closed down. The only thing open in the town was the pub and the local op shop so we went to the park for lunch.
The climb over Horrocks Pass began straight after lunch. This had been talked up a bit by some over lunch but no-one seemed too concerned. Crossing from this side is apparently the easier approach with a sharper, shorter incline with intermittent downhills thrown in. Everyone did it even though the wind had picked up a bit. Jane even thought she had another 10 kms of uphill when she had reached the top. The downhill was enjoyed by all.
Once over the hill the scene is amazing. You go from lush trees (maybe brown grass due to lack of water) to wide open plains of brown grass/dirt with the town of Port Augusta and waterways in the background. Hardly a tree in sight. The road surface changed once they got on the highway and the traffic was pretty horrendous with lots of trucks (big ones) and city traffic. The road itself was good but the shoulder (where they had to ride mostly) was horrible.
Staying at the Big 4 and everyone is camping. Collis and I have taken a cabin as we must now prepare for a couple of bush camps. The camping area has lost all of it's grass and they are camping in sandy dirt. The facilities here are good but it is a real shame they lost the grass completely.
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