Australia

My road : Darwin, Adelaide River, Hayes Creek, Pine Creek, Katherine, Mataranka, Larrimah, Daly Waters, Dunmarra, Newcastle Waters, Elliott, Renner Springs, Three Ways, Barkly Homestead, Camooweal, Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek, Richmond , Hughenden, Charters Towers, Townsville, from 9 to 2009/09/16.

On Wednesday september 9, is't therefore the departure, this time everything is ready. Wake up at 6 am to load my bike, then it is Peter who stands up. Together we took breakfast and a last coffee. Around 7.30 am I am going to my bike with Peter, making a last picture, then it is embraced to say goodbye, hoping one day to see again.
The adventure is relaunched, dashing in front of my friend to leave Darwin. The first pedal strokes are good, reminding me so much. I'm going through an important axis, but Peter inform me with a bike route to take, making me leave the road and go in the beginning of the bush. After 35 kilometers, I leave the road to Kakadu and pursue it to the south, reported finding of the Stuart highway and its distance with Alice Springs in the heart of the country to 1464 kilometers, Australia does not laugh with distance. Another indication is the fire risk, the latter being very hard to this day, no wonder with the fact that hot. In this way, they are straight lines that appear, discovering its own nature and many birds. Unfortunately there are also the victims clashed with kangaroos at night. I make my lunch break after 65 kilometers, but it is time to stop, stopping at a road house, a relay route finding a fuel station and a shop selling a minimum supply. Returning, the weather is now very hot, the end stage becoming more difficult, but eventually reached Adelaide River after 115km. The shower and the rest are welcome, finding company for a couple of Israelis and an Australian who fell seated when I told him my mileage. But the next day is more difficult, not that it hurts my legs, but I have no energy. Furthermore the road is made all the time flat, even small climbs. I try to catch a car, then a lady in a car stops, telling me that I'm near with a relay. I'm in Hayes Creek and remained there, rising my tent and taking a rest. But just like on the road, I am constantly with flies on the face, it's a horror, must to buy on the spot a fly, I earn at least that. In the evening, I have a funny surprise at seeing a snake show his head under my tent and prance before returning here. I appeal to my neighbor who helps me to hunt the animal flees toward the top of a tree. These people in the person of Richard and Rose are talking to me, inviting me to go see them in Wollongong, south of Sydney.
My third day of cycling is not better than the second, struggling to reach Pine Creek. At a supply that I do, the manager says I'm crazy about seeing me on a bike, but this ruling has no effect, I have no more strength in the legs. But I must finish. I remain on the highway up to the locality, while trying to make me bring up until Katherine which is at 90 kilometers without supplies to buy, seeing me unable to do. Seeking shade under a sign route, I'll spend 3 hours there for nothing, except having very hot. It is a cyclist who will appear, crossing the road when he saw me. This is a Japanese named Yusuke. He is burnt by the sun, left him only 2 white circles around the eyes left by his glasses. He stay a moment to speak with me, never stopping to take pictures of me or my bike. Then I'm going with him to the village to drink 2 cold chocolate, seeing a bus arrived and told me that this could be the solution to go to Katherine, but tonight it is complete. The manager of the shop told me that I can take it tomorrow, priced at 61$, but that tomorrow it's saturday and that many people go to Katherine for shopping. I go around the bars and at the first met a musician who told me that tomorrow he can take me with him, giving me appointment at 8.30 am. I found Yusuke to tell him the new, then go away to camp where he is staying, spending the evening together.
The next day I found Gavin who travel with a big 4x4 and towing a caravan. Heput all my equipment inside and we take the road. He is with his son and his dog. He is from west and goes east. To Katherine he leaves me at the address given to me by Yusuke, he doesn't take me any money, so he had not previously announced. On site I found Coco's, the manager where I stay and who has a soft spot for cyclists, so I saw well. I told him my story and the difficulties that I have to ride. He advises me time and rest before continuing. I wonder then on what to do and how to leave this area not really dedicated to cycling. But today the luck is with me, because come 2 guys who are French and most of my area, living on la Chappelle/Erdre. They want to go on the East Coast and Townsville and seek people to bring with them to share their petrol of their own vehicle. After a discussion with them I told them they can count me with them. In the evening they come back to see me and tell me that the departure is tomorrow.
By late morning, Jacques, one of the guys who I'm going on the road come to take me, charging everything in his mini bus and then joining others who ride with 3 other vehicles. I then know the team with Jacques and Florent staying with them, then Manuel, Aurelien, Jeremy, William, Thomas, Amandine, Gregory and Aline. The road is launched on a long journey. A first stop is for a swim and lunch at Bitter Springs, a spring of clear water. But the heat hurts our vehicle with a smell that alerts us. We discover a hose in the cooling system of a breakthrough, is already repaired in 2 places. We must rebuild a bandage over, giving to Florent a piece of old inner tube that I'm with me, the winding and fixing the damaged area. It must then refill with water because everything is on the road. We return with fear, reaching at the night Daly Waters for a break in a very special bar where a lot of things are hanging on the walls or to the ceiling, such as notes, pants, bras, tee shirts, sandals, and many other relics that must date to long for some. There a good beer is welcome. We take the road to find a parking for the night, the guys making a fire and a barbecue. The night is far advanced and I press to go to sleep.
The next morning I get up before the team, taking my breakfast with George, who comes to see me and talk to me, he is a guy originally from Cyprus and living in southern Australia. He said he had met cyclists but never able to talk with them. I even let some nutritional tips, his wife invited me to go see them in Victoria. Leaving him, I take the road by bike for 2 hours until the team caught up me to put the bike in the minibus. The weather continues to be very hot with 37 degrees in the vehicle, that is burning out, like the wind. The road remains the same with the bush that scrolls, made of dry grass, brush, vegetation to suffer from this lack of water and the heat. And then there's these huge trucks called road trains, dragging most often 3 trailers, tractors with sumptuous and impressive that I want to photograph. They travel at sustained pace to cross Australia and swallow thousands of kilometers. Put them off, few people on this road. Passing Three Ways, then we take the eastbound and Townsville, the road passing even more deserted, the vehicles are easy to count. But again we must stop our car, the needle temperature approaching 100 degrees. One of the guys following us just to ask us if we have lost nothing, saying he saw something rolling on the road. It's a disaster, we lost the radiator cap and water with. After a long search we come to find, from time to fix it to avoid it happening again. With Jacques and Florent, the decision is taken, it will have to drive at night. We continue quite late, stopping for dinner, the other vehicles left there overnight. Having suggested to Jacques, it's me who takes the steering wheel and the road to take turns. Jacques asleep in the back and Florent is on the front with me. The road is other than straight, uncrowded, and the night dark, must to do attention to any kangaroo, seeing them several times. You enter early morning in Queensland, making pictures. I continued my drive until Mount Isa to be there just before the sunrise , with a strange feeling seeing a city suddenly appear after crossing so many blank space. It is the fuel and coffee break, Florent taking over. The road that follows becomes more pleasant and scenic through small hills.
At 10.30 am we are to Julia Creek, each of us made by fatigue and the vehicle by the heat. It is a new stop, start by getting a toilet and eat something. Then each of us trying to sleep, but by this hot temperature and this wind, we do not know where to go. Even the butcher comes out of his house complained of the time. Around 17 pm, I say myself it would be time to leave, but my 2 companions seem to sleep in the furnace bus. I have to wake Florent saying that I am ready to drive. Before leaving they refueled the tank with jerrycans that are transported, and restarts the road. The sun was soon to fall with a sky becoming red. The region has changed in appearance, crossing the vast expanses of parched pasture, no trees, nothing on the horizon if not infinite, always straight lines and the road that crosses it. Late in the evening, while Florent sleeps, with Jacques we made a stop for dinner is cooking a big ration of spaghetti that is sprinkled with various sauces. The night seems to both of us, marking the moment with a photo. This time I go to the back to sleep, Jacques took the steering wheel and stay alone in front. Very early in the morning, Florent takes over and then we parked just before Townsville and end our night. In the morning we reached the city, the east coast is reached after 2171 kms. Once it is enjoyable and fun, finding a park with public showers and places arranged for lunch, having barbecues available. At 2 steps ahead of us, the ocean is there, from dreaming of where we are. We expect to see the rest of the team, but a call from them telling us they will be there tomorrow. The next day late morning they are found, the whole team up north to Cairns and I am preparing to make route to the south. Now I'm going toward Melbourne.