Monday, April 6, 2015

Rain!

Not a very exciting post, I'm afraid.

I did find a nice caravan park my last night in Dubbo, but it was out in the sprawl zone and felt a bit like a concentration camp with the massive security fence and gates which closed at night.  At least there wasn't much chance of someone carrying my bike over the fence.

From Dubbo, I rode to the tiny town of Mendooran.  It was the day before the start of the big Easter weekend holiday, and already there was plenty of traffic on the roads. Mendooran has a nice, free campsite by the river, with some good shelters.  The hotel was serving food, and, after some negotiations, let me use their WiFi.  It was a nice spot, so I decided to stay the next day.

The second night in Mendooran, it started to rain, and continued until about 3 PM the next day.  It never rained hard, but they really needed the rain here.  The shelter at the campsite was the perfect spot to wait out the rain, so I stayed another day.

The rain finally let up Easter Sunday, so I rode on to Gilgandra, a town of about 3,000. Before leaving Mendooran, I fixed the second puncture of the trip, another thorn.  The next day, just as I was debating whether to ride on, a serious thunderstorm arrived.  I found a caravan park with a room for just $40, so I stayed.  (The first time I've rented a room on this trip!)   The room was especially useful, as I searched the entire town without finding a decent oboe spot.  Yesterday morning, as I was packing up, another storm arrived, so I stayed another night, too.

Back in 2001, at the very end of my trip, while I was fixing a flat tire near here, a woman stopped to see if I needed help. That's how I met Kate the windmill fixer.  When I got to Gilgandra, I was immediately approached by a local farmer, Ross Stockings.  (My heavily laden bike attracts a lot of attention.)  I asked Ross if he knew of Kate, and indeed he did.  (He also knows Alf in Yeoval.) Ross got her phone number for me, so I called her last night.  She's married now, with three young children, living on a farm in southeast Queensland.  It's not too far off my route, so I may be able to visit.

Winter is catching up with me.  It's cool and cloudy today, with a little drizzle, but good enough to ride on to Gulargambone after lunch.  I won't need much water today.

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