Left Madura nice and early (by my standard) on Sunday as it would be a good hike to make Mundrabilla before dark. Over 115km away, but there was a light tail wind that should help out. Aside from a couple of small ups and downs in the first few km, this was the flattest riding for the whole trip. The altimeter on the garmin barely moved more than a couple of meters the entire day. The riding was pleasant enough. There were great views of the tree-lined scarp all along my left, while on the right was the contrast of scrub and salt bush. Around the half way mark the wind shifted to the side, which in turn slowed the average speed. However, progress was still going well. All that changed 40km before Mundrabilla. Suddenly the bottom bracket started making all sorts of noises that reminded me of the 7 dwarves. Crunchy, Grindy, Gougey, Groany, Moany, Scrapey and Clunky. You could hear the bearing eating itself with each pedal stroke. I quickly stopped to see how bad it was to find the drive side bearing had all but disintegrated. There was a huge amount of play in the cranks and it was touch and go on how long it would last. A quick flooding of lube to try and limit further damage and it was time to set off again. The noises were still there along with the feeling transmitted through the cranks and pedals. Think fingernails down a chalkboard. It was so bad I put on some music just to try and drown out the noise, which was partially successful. Im not sure whether the emus I came across appreciated it quite so much. Eventually I arrived in Mundrabilla, hoping to contact someone and arrange a new one, but there was no reception (zero bars doesnt count). The only chance was to try to make it the 66km to Eucla, where they do have mobile coverage, and hope the BB lasted that long. I woke the next morning with a simple plan. Ride a nice casual pace and try not to put too much pressure on the cranks. Hopefully the BB would last the distance. The wind had other ideas, it had changed to an easterly overnight. Even so, I managed to plod along slowly for quite a while. As it would be slow going, I decided to try and ignore the wind and noise from the BB and just enjoy the scenery offered by the scarp, still to the north. That decision was soon rewarded as a wedge tailed eagle took flight and sailed along the edge of the scarp at the same pace as me. I stopped to just admire this beautiful bird as it gracefully soared along, riding the air currents. At least 5 more minutes passed and it still hadnt had to flap its wings. After a while the eagle circled overhead before sailing south and off into the barren countryside. An absolute highlight from the past few weeks. The day rolled on, as did I, and the wind slowly increased in strength. The closer to Eucla I rode, the stronger the wind. Steadily my speed decreased. While early in the day I could sit on about 14kph, by the time there were 10km to go it was a real struggle to even hit 10kph. Then the reason why appeared. First sand dunes and eventually the ocean. The end of the scarp was nearing and funnelling the wind with greater intensity. It wasnt far to Eucla, but that also meant climbing Eucla pass, the first real hill Id have to ascend in the past couple of weeks. However, once on the climb, the wind suddenly dropped (or was it behind me?) and what at first looked a daunting prospect became a relatively straightforward climb. Funny thing is, the climb was done at almost the same speed as the flat ride into the wind the previous few km. Eucla was a welcome sight at the top of the pass. While only tiny (population 8), there was still more here than anywhere else Id encountered on the Nullarbor. Looks like after making up time on the road, Im now stuck waiting again. The Eucla Motel management are great supporters of the RFDS and were very sympathetic to my situation with the bike. Theyve very generously offered use of a budget room until such time as a new BB arrives, which should be Saturday thanks to a bike shop in Adelaide and Mcevoy Transport. Very glad for the rest but not sure I can catch up all this time lost. Ah well, cant change that so may as well relax for a few days and enjoy the ocean views.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 04:52:38 +0000
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