A quick slab and highway run today to get me to the start of the Tenere Tragics River to Ranges Run. I had sent Clubby and Tanya an email to let them know I was leaving Newcastle at 4am and would arrive at the checkin in Mildura “at 3.50pm give or take 2 minutes”. I left a touch late so if I wasn’t to be exposed to ridicule I needed to step up the efficiency.
So out onto the M1, through Pennant Hills Road, M2, M7 and onto the Hume. First stop at Marulan where it was 13 degrees. When I stopped at the Dog on the Tuckerbox (~500kms) for a stretch the temp was 29 when I stopped, 30 when I got back on.
I’ve said before, I don’t get bored on the Hume. The seasons change the way the scenery looks and I enjoy kicking back and rolling through k’s. Next stop Gumly Gumly for fuel. Riveting stuff isn’t it?
Left at Gillenbah and on to the Hay Plains with the temperature reaching the high 30’s. There were a few cows about, seeming a more common feature of my rides out here.
Next stop was Hay South for fuel. For the first time ever I’d emptied my camel back in a day, it was a scorcher and while I have ridden in hotter temps there was something about today that just sapped energy. I refilled the camelback with cold water and tipped the remaining 500mls or so inside the Klim Suit to cool down somewhat.
Around Hay there was a guy on a Triumph off his bike and looking the worse for wear. All OK, he was having a breather and a drink. I’ll never ride past someone who might be in need and things can go very wrong in heat like this.
And then my first pic at Hells Gate. Kimmie, a friend of mine, has something going on with this location and a few of our long distance friends have started collecting photos of it as we pass. It was 43 degrees when I took this pic.
Stopping in this sort of heat is never really a good thing so all the stops were at an absolute minimum and efficiency was up. So I made it to the location in Mildura at 3.42pm, eight minutes early with 1180 or so kms travelled.
As Tenere Tragics do, I was still subjected to ridicule for being earlier than I said I’d arrive!
The transport leg was done. Some offroad fun is about to start!