June 8th, 2011
Esperance to 33km East of Ravensthorpe
Distance: 161km
Total distance: 5234km
Today I begin the 500km journey to Albany. Felt like I’m crossing another (mini) Nullarbor here. There are two sizeable townships along the way and nothing else in between. Importantly, this is the final remote area I’ll encounter for this tour. After Albany, there’ll be a town or two in every 100km. Must fully appreciate every bit of wilderness before returning to full blown civilisation!
My morning began with a stressful exit out of Esperance with no shoulders on the road and dozens of road trains. Already feeling quite miserable for having to leave such a beautiful coastal town, I must also deal with an uphill gradient. But then my mood flipped soon after when I recall what I saw from the weather forecast yesterday, strong tailwind ALL THE WAY to Albany! There wasn’t any wind for most of the morning, but the thought of a forthcoming tailwind later today made an excellent mental boost.
The road becomes fairly flat after the first 15km of ascent, with occasional dips into river bridges which only made the scenery more pleasant. The problem with riding in strong tailwind condition is that I seldom stop long enough to take photos and allow myself to enjoy the scenery more. Every time I stopped, my inner speed demon yelled “What the hell are you doing!?!? You’re missing precious time on this tailwind!!”. It almost feels like a crime for stopping in this windy condition.
Despite the strong tailwind, I couldn’t reach Ravensthorpe before the sun goes down. About 35km to Ravensthorpe I began looking for a suitable camp ground. I noticed a lot of the dirt tracks lead to mining sites and were still actively used at this hour, hence not a good option for camping. Saw a telecommunication building about 50m from the highway and figured “Why not?”. Flat and clear ground, unseen from the highway. The mining site can be seen from where I camp though, brightly lit up like a city itself. Hmmm, I’m starting to miss the city.
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