Posts Tagged ‘Moonscape’

Day 452. 37km. Moonscape – Coober Pedy

Posted: September 11, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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Today I passed 40000km proper, and to celebrate we ate a LOT of Violet Crumbles – used to write 40000.

40000 km in Violet Crumbles

40000 km in Violet Crumbles

40000km on the road

40000km on the road

We also met a young British girl who is cycling from Sydney to Darwin. It was nice to share some time with another cyclist. We also spent some time seeing the sights of Coober Pedy before considering our best options for the next leg of the trip. Tomorrow it is off to Willam Creek. We hope to see Alex and Alaine there too.

Underground church in Coober Pedy

Underground church in Coober Pedy

Day 451. 45km. Moonscape – Moonscape

Posted: September 10, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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Today I cycled naked for 8 hours through an amazing moonscape. While naked I cycled through the soft clay against a strong headwind, I pushed my bike through the mud, removed the clay from the wheels and carried out a river crossing carrying the bike above the flowing water. My 40000km challenge from Clement only required that I was naked for 6 hours, but I was enjoying it so much I continued on until evening.

The start of the challenge

The start of the challenge

Clement likes doing and giving challenges, and for my 40000km he gave me one that he knew would appeal to me. Six hours cycling completely naked. By completely naked he meant wearing absolutely nothing – no shoes, no hat, no sunglasses. The lack of shoes may have been the most challenging part, but the mud stuck to the bottom of my feet cushioning them from the rocks on the road.

The road to Coober Pedy

The road to Coober Pedy

Before I left on this bike trip, I used to watch lots of videos of world bicycle touring. The video that inspired me the most was ‘The Road to Karakol’. This video starts with a river crossing with a text that is similar to mine.
‘Hi! I’m Matthew and I’m naked here in Central Australia. You might ask – Matthew, why are you carrying your bike? Well, I don’t want to get the bottom bracket wet, so I’m naked, and here we go! This is river crossing in Central Australia.’

River crossing

River crossing

Taking a photo of Clement crossing the river

Taking a photo of Clement crossing the river

River crossing

River crossing

The road got more and more desolate.

The road to Coober Pedy

The road to Coober Pedy

The road to Coober Pedy

The road to Coober Pedy

Flowers at sunset

Flowers at sunset

Silhouette at sunset

Silhouette at sunset

We’re camping in the middle of absolutely nothing. A flat expanse of nothing – extending from horizon to horizon. It is so, so beautiful.

Day 450a. 0km. Moonscape

Posted: September 9, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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The day was always going to be an indoor day. It had pissed down all night and the roads were very very boggy. In fact, it was an achievement to even reach the road from the caravan without sinking down into the mud.

Camping spot

Camping spot

We had many games of rummy-cup and asshole (a card game), ate a lot, and waited for the road to dry. We were joined by a New Zealand couple that materialised out of nothing. They were also stranded for the day in the mud. It was quite surreal being trapped due to the rain in the driest place in Australia. Surreal and a lot of fun!

Day 450. 70km. Bush – Moonscape

Posted: September 8, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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It was getting darker and darker as the clouds loomed heavy above me. The wind was blowing a gale from behind, the first spots of rain had started and it was cold. I was in the middle of a bleak moon landscape – flat, covered in pebbles and no vegetation other than the odd blade of grass. I was 100km from Oodnadatta and 100km from Coober Pedy. Clement was way behind and Alex and Alaine were nowhere to be seen. I was alone and it was about to piss down and make the clay road impassable. I rode on. Stopping would not get me out of this now.

Moonscape campspot

Moonscape campspot

I looked behind and in the distance I saw some headlights. I stopped as the car approached. It was Alex and Alaine.
‘When do you want to stop?’ Alex asked.
‘Right now, it’s about to start – the rain.’
They drove to the top of a slight rise and we set up camp. We were in the middle of absolutely nothing. The rain started just as the caravan and side tent were completed. Clement arrived drenched with the clay clogging his wheels.

It rained and rained and blew and blew all evening and night. We got out of bed several times during the night to rearrange the side panels of the verandah to prevent them from taking off in the wind. The rain has made this spot our home for the next few days.

We had left early in the morning. The road was firm once more and the tailwind was strong, but the dark clouds were gathering and even looking threatening when we left. We didn’t have long, and we wanted to cover as many kilometres as possible before the rain made us prisoner in this flat expanse of exposed nothingness. On went the music and the kilometres flew by as the weather closed in.

Road to Coober Pedy

Road to Coober Pedy

Huddled in the campervan house we talked and listened to the wind and rain as we played games until late into the night.