Aug 25, 2012
I did some tourist stuff. Actually really wanted to see the rockets.
And I found some. There is also other military gear on display also, like this missile.
Once was the time when Australia built and launched its own..
This was in front of a fenced off area of all the bits of recovered from the Simpson Desert. Other than the tourist stuff, lots of hanging about doing not a real lot. The usual stuff - eating, washing, repairs, and of course: baking!
Still feeling really excited about bread. Especially flat breads. Something about mixing the dough up, that is so simple, yet has lots of room for variation. Also like the hands on moving the bread about the plate and flipping over to cook the other side. Haven't geeked out the process at all. Still not using any measures, just eyeballing the amounts in the mixing pot, and judging the cooking time on the amount of heat off the stove. This kitchen stove was not as hot as my MSR. Sometimes I get it wrong, but learning...
Comments:
Date: 2012-12-19 08:25
Author: M
Hi Megan, I am really enjoying your cycling about adventures, now to become cycling/vanning about? Ha ha. In a way that is what I would like to do too as in I've been challenging my self to unplug and just leave (Melbourne)..... So your blog was found at a perfect time and it is very inspiring.
And so is this bread making adventure. So much so that I would love a recipe/hints on how to start getting into a rough ballpark with it. The photo above looks very tasty indeed.
Take care for now
Miro
Date: 2012-12-19 08:29
Author: M
Hi again Megan, just another thought came up regarding your bread... what are you cooking it on? I have a little gas stove and it is excellent but have come across this stove http://www.solostove.com/ recently and it makes a lot of sense in as much I would have endless fuel with no cost and importantly no gas cartridges to waste/recycle (which is difficult on the road). I'd love to know your thoughts.
Best wishes
Miro
Date: 2012-12-19 19:43
Author: Megan Lee Webb
Hi Miro, I cooked on a MSR Whisperlite International stove. On the last photo, there is that aluminium plate under the bread - that is what I use on top of the MSR. The aluminium plate is nothing special - its actually the cover plate of a solar hot water system. It looked useful, so I carried it for 18 months, before I started using it as the cooking plate for flat bread :)
For the solostove: I used MSR Whisperlite Internation as I run it on Shellite, but could run it on Petrol if needed. Fuel for the MSR is always available.
With the Solostove, depending where you travel, you may not find twigs, only grass, or nothing at all that burns. How does it go when its raining and all the twigs are wet? If your thinking of stealth camping, the smoke and smell of burning wood might be a give away. It may not be legal on total fire ban days either. Think of how you'd use it on all occasions, and how you'd carry after its out, and if it works for you...
Aug 23, 2012
Bailed on Coober Pedy, and lucky day I did too. Left town at 10am with a roaring tail wind. 120km done before I knew it. The first 100km was very barren. Nothing higher than ankle high. Would have been slow going in a headwind. Was so happy to see the bushs and trees start again. Almost got off and hugged them.
Actually I did hug a tree when I stopped for the day.. Yep, I'm a confirmed tree hugger. Met another bicycle rider on the road. Kerry on his holiday, cycling up the Highway to Darwin. He was in a hurry, so didn't stop long. I wished him always a tailwind. While he had it that day, the next was a different story.. Lots of caravans on the road. A few wide loads heading north. Wonder if this is for Coober Pedy...
Yesterday was a tail wind! I averaged just over 30km/hr. Rode 170km before calling it quits. It looked like rain. Lucky I stopped then. I just got the tent up in a dip in some sand dunes when it did start showering. Even better, as I found this morning, 4km up the road, the landscape returned to barren. Nothing higher than ankle hight again. Would have been a bad place to stop and put up the tent. A crook night was had. Something upset my stomach. It played bongo drums all night, and periodically wanted out. That really affected the sleeping. Energy levels this morning were not high.. Fortunately the tail wind continued until i was 6km from Woomera when it strengthened and moved. Slowest ride into a wind I'd ever had - just above walking speed. From the side was getting blown about the road. Luckily no trafffic. So taking shelter today. The weather station observations has it down as 50km winds at the moment. Even standing outside is unpleasant. Lucky for me, I'm standing in a camp kitchen, clean, warm and dry. Will have to rest here another day til the winds die down a bit before moving it. Time to check out the history of the place..
Aug 19, 2012
Thomas sent me the photo he took on the great central road of my first damper. I was so excited, I didn't get my camera out.
Comments:
Date: 2012-08-25 16:16
Author: jennifer
That's a nice looking bit of bread!
Date: 2012-09-10 15:00
Author: Moz
I love the way you're all rugged up... except the thongs. And damper. mmm.
Date: 2012-09-19 20:37
Author: Megan Lee Webb
I did have cold feet...
Date: 2015-07-29 14:19
Author: Anonymous
That looks great Megan.
Aug 19, 2012
Marla was a nice stop. There is a little shop on the roadhouse. Lucky for me, I got a group having a party near my tent. So when i wandered into the shop at 11pm for something to do, I found them stocking the fresh fruit and veg section. The truck had just come in. After that it was pedal down the road..
Quiet and peaceful. Not that much traffic. No one stops to talk, like on the dirt roads. Just watching the landscape change. Spotted this old coral in a bunch of bushes..
When there were more trees about. And no so much steel.. Lots of sky out here.
Also lots of small flowers can be found. But you have to get off the road to look for them...
Close to Coober Pedy, the landscape changes. Barren is the word that springs to mind. There are also signs up warning about tresspassing and the danger of falling down mine shafts. I'm finding that I'm not like the bare landscape. I want some trees, or at least bushes. Coober Pedy is not like I imagined it would be. I'm not sure what I was expecting really. Its a major tourist center by the feel of it. I'll not be staying long. Actually, only until early tomorrow morning.
Aug 15, 2012
Well, some people noticed the lack of photos of the Olgas, and the Rock. Reason for that is I didn't take any pictures of the Olgas, called Kata Juta as its other name. I also forgot to take pictures of the rock, until leaving.
There. Done. I did hang about for a bit. And then headed out the highway. It was to have been another dirt road, but some people thought i really needed a permit to be there. I didn't think so, but after thinking about it a bit, decided that I wasn't welded to riding that particular dirt road, so turned back and rode on the highway. This was a mountain on the way that I would have passed closer to.
One thing about the highway, lots of good stuff to pick up. Useful stuff. My bike is loaded up even more than before now. Found a foam bed roll, rolls of duct tape, spoons, forks, knifes, towels, plates, pots, pans, money, and a useful half a meter of underground high voltage cable. It weighs a fair bit, actually, but I have plans for the copper in it. So the highway is pretty good at the moment. And to make it more exciting, I've had a tail wind. Yah.. Managed just over 100km today with that. Made a change from the 60km days into a head wind. Been stopping early to get some baking in before it gets dark. Bought wholemeal flour in Yulara, and been having some type of bread for snacks each day. The last few days been experimenting with thinner bread, cooked on top of the stove on a plate. I like the baked bread, but haven't tried it on the stove yet, and lighting a fire and getting the coals right each day takes a lot of time. The wind doesn't always play its part - sometimes it doesn't die down till late. Sooner or later fire bans will start, so stove use is a must. The thin breads seem to cook faster, well, they seem cooked for me.. Was looking forward to the border crossing today. Was thinking the bins at the checkpoint would be a good source of fruit and veges. But..
Had to stop and read that again.. So for now, just plugging along down the Stuart Highway towards Coober Pedy. I'm thinking the bins might not be so full when I get to them...