Easy riding mostly. I was heading to Coonabarrabran, but the flat plains and head wind did me in. I turned for a tail wind and flew.
Small towns, slowly dying. Shops closing, buildings for sale. Won't be long before there will be nothing left but a locality sign.
Camping in the bushes I walk through a spiders web. Just were did the spider go?
Another easy day. The sun come out. Time to clean up and dry off. Five days of wet. Been a while since I've had that many in a row I think.
I also wanted to get off the main road. I'll stay a night in the Quirindi Caravan Park. A hot shower. Been a long time since the last one.
Talked with a lady about horses. She was telling me I should ride a horse rather than pedal. Besides knowing nothing about caring for a horse, I doubt they would make it between water points these days. I was assurred they would as "there's water everywhere". It amazes me what people believe.
With the clear sky's, the night temperatures have dropped. Riding past the cotton fields, it looked like snow.
I woke to the steady sound of rain on the tent. Then patched a rare puncture: steel wire just punctured the rear tube. Loaded up and cycled off. My clothes haven't been drying and my skin is softening. After I warm up, I ride without my rain jacket, hoping the water will wash me off. All that happens is that I feel cold and wet. Days like today, I find no takers for my life outdoors.
I'd wondered if I could have gone to Bylong without extra food. But today I know the answer; I would have suffered badly if I did. I'm tired, hungry and not feeling very energetic. I call a short day and stop at Burning Mountain.
Lucky for me, I have the whole rest area too myself.
The best made plans, soon go out the window. I rode the back way into Denman from Jerrys Plains. Longer, and less traffic than the more direct route. Unfortunately for me the yearly festival was on, and the IGA was closed for the day. I was planning to go to Bylong to escape the rain, but needed food. The caravan park in Denman was $25 a night. Way to much in my opinion. So I turned towards Muswellbrook and then north towards Scone.
After 80km, I called it a day, and cooked up the last of my food for dinner. Another day and night of rain. Tomorrow, shopping in Scone.
Awaking and packing up, I've legs of steel. Though, it's not strength that I'm thinking of. They' feel heavy, unbending and dense.
I have a free breakfast, when some volunteers wave me into their "breakfast for shift workers" stand. They run the stand to help the miners get home. After a 12 hour shift, some are driving a couple hours to the coast. Sometimes they don't make it. But if they stop, they might wake up a bit.
More land around Bulga is being prepared for mining. Scrapped back to bare earth. Then the digging will start. The bush I'd seen in previous years is all gone.
Sadly I ride on into the rain.