DAY 121 - MOUNT GAMBIER SA

MOUNT GAMBIER SA

DAY 121

BEACHPORT – MOUNT GAMBIER

94.05 km

Total Time: 10.00 – 17.30 (7h 30m)

Time on Bike: 5h 49m 44s

Max. Speed: 42.2 km/h

Av. Speed: 16.1 km/h


Mount Gambier is my final stop in South Australia.

The Mount is one of SA’s bigger and better known towns with some quite special features that I will be exploring tomorrow for the benefit of a future posting.

It is also one of Australia’s coldest places right at the moment although I’d be reckoning it’s just the beginning of more to come over the final 2 weeks of the journey.

Wheeling out of Beachport at 10 am this morning, my mood was strong with the weather having cleared to my satisfaction and the prevailing wind a lame shadow of its own self from yesterday.

I would stop short of describing conditions as warm, but the going was still good.

Millicent is only 35 kilometres onward from Beachport but at least 5ºC colder.

15º in Beachport is 10º in Millicent and there was still 50 km to Mount Gambier.

A couple of royal drenchings between Millicent and the Mount as well as a dramatic increase in the hilliness of the terrain made for some unhappy riding this afternoon.

I spent most of it either wet or cold and mainly both.

Oh, and there was the small issue of one of my trailer tyres blowing out 10 km from Mount Gambier.

Rather than commit to a running repair by the side of a fairly dangerous section of highway, the decision to push through in cold, wet and darkening conditions was absolutely the right one.

It was still cold and wet and almost dark by the time I found a camp this evening and I can confirm that if it weren’t for that wicked, freakish day about 3 weeks ago between Orroroo and Jamestown, then today would be in pole position by some distance.

And unfortunately, it just isn’t likely to improve from here, so I will be investing some warming type devices at some stage tomorrow.

This and a thorough look around the Mount should keep me occupied for the duration.