stragglingstu – Page 5 – Straggling Stu – Slow bicycle trips across Australia

LEJOG DAY 31 PORTMAHANOCK TO ALTNAGAR LODGE (LAIRG) 48 km, 358m

Day dawned sunny enough to get my laundry onto the line to dry a bit before setting off. Check Penman-Monteith transpiration equation to see why putting laundry out is still worthwhile even at low temperature and high (not saturating) humidity. …

LEJOG DAY 30 INVERNESS TO PORTMAHOMACK

Interesting sleeping arrangements again but in a nice out of town BnB. A day of light winds and rain, gentle slopes, and generally warmish temperatures (12-14C) providing you were out of the wind. So said we were freezing at Cromarty …

Day -2 Tanami Tootle The road ahead

Stage 1 – Uluru to Alice Springs via West Mac Donnell Ranges

Stage 2 – Alice Springs to Halls Creek

Stage 3 – Halls Creek to Broome

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Day -1 Tanami Tootle Weird weather ahead

Next week forecast looking wet for the interior. Main risk for the Tanami Tootlers may be getting bogged rather than perishing of thirst

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Day -1 Preparation Perth

Wouldn’t it?

Charged up the Delorme InReach SE with its new battery but won’t connect to the satellites. Its only 9 years old! Nothing for it, down to Anaconda to get a new, much smaller, much faster software Garmin InReach …

LEJOG DAY 29 INVERNESS REST DAY

The first day that Hillary hasn’t been up at 6am! In fact I distinctly heard soft sussurations of a gentle rumbling nature from the direction of her bed close to 6:30am.

Finally got our act together and caught the train …

LEJOG DAY 28 FORT AUGUSTUS TO INVERNESS 53km, 680 m

John informs me the average temperature while riding today was 10C. Almost no rain or wind. So easy.

OK, the 400m in 5 k climb, with 2 km of 1:10, out of Fort Augustus wasn’t the greatest start but the …

LEJOG DAY 27 OINCH TO FORT AUGUSTUS 70 km, 497 m.

What a doddle! Short, flattish, light winds, no rain, warmish.

Big thrill was seeing boats speed through the hydraulically operated locks and swing bridges of the Caledonian Canal. So much faster than the manually operated, older, smaller locks further south. …

LEJOG DAY 26 CRIANLARICH TO OINCH 70.7 km, 603 m.

Beautiful day. (Relatively) warm especially as I’ve now started riding with a T-shirt under my jersey for warmth. Only a few minor showers.

Wind below 7 knots from every direction in different minutes.

Traffic heavy mix of tourist self-drives, trucks, …

LEJOG DAY 25 GLASGOW TO CRIANLARICH 69 km, 603 m.

How many times can one get lost getting out of Clydebank? Lost count, big chunks of Clydebank, Patick have been demolished and rebuilt in various ways. Throw in the motorway and not quite linked bike paths and it is a …