Ride on.

Luckily, Lily turned her bike over before starting the ride.

Day 31. 10/10/11: Warren Gorge to Quorn

Tim's bit:

I was keen to see if I could run the whole way to Quorn, about 26kms, but unsure if that would be pushing it after doing 80-odd kms in the last four days. And that was just thinking about me; Lily was down and frustrated about being injured. We spoke about options and came up with the plan: I run the first half with her as support crew, then she rides the second half with me as support crew for her. This would at least get her back out onto the trail and get some wind in her hair, even if it wasn't running. I was also keen that she get to ride at her own pace. I know riding with me can be a pain in the arse: I'm patient, but not so good at being patient that it's not obvious that I'm being patient, and this has to put a bit of pressure and stress on her. I'd been loving trying to find my own running rhythm, and hoped she'd like the chance to cruise or push or zoom or whatever at her own pace.

Look, Mum, one hand!

The run was really lovely: about 13.8kms out of Warren Gorge up through a pass called Yarrah Gorge then right onto a good dirt road towards Quorn. Since we got off at a reasonable time, the Rock Wallabies were still down in the valley grazing and bounded off the path and up the sides of the gorge as I passed: a priceless way to start a run. No headphones today, but just the chance to run and enjoy that sort of spectacle and the sunshine. About 6kms down the road, the solid climb up to Yarrah Gorge reminded me of all the Clunes kids, and Lily, who'd done all the training to run up Mt Beckworth. This part of the run provided lovely views across the fields south towards Quorn. Running along one of those roads that cuts around the edge of a hill makes climbing really rewarding, and again I was really enjoying the running and feeling good. Lily was just past the highpoint and I was having a good time, so I hardly stopped, just slowed enough to grab a quick drink, a bite to eat, a big smile, a thumbs up, and kept going.

Coming down from the hills, I kept looking forward. I was turning to the right, towards Quorn, so kept looking across this dry field of dark brown stalks. It seemed a reminder of how dry and desolate this area can be. After a kilometre or two, I finally looked left, and there, starting from a few feet away from where I was running, was a long field of velvety green, lit by a golden sunlight, rolling its way towards the ramp leading up to the red stone cliffs that form the outside of the gorge I'd just come out of. Spectacular! It reminded me how even going as slowly as my running pace, I can still miss things.. Here's to the power of Slow Travel! Of course, the flipside is that the long straight road towards Quorn got a little boring, and even a little day like this one seemed a bit longer than I'd expected. However, the van soon popped into view and it was time to get Lily on the road!

It was GREAT to see her ride into the campsite, big grin on, fist in the air and blowing kisses. She was so happy to have finally got out and done some exercise again! And seen a snake! It seemed like a promising moment.

I saw a SNAKE!

Lil's bit:

I saw a snake! My first snake without anything but air between us! I was about half an hour into my ride and wasn't watching where I was going. Looking at the amazing mountains ahead of me, beyond Quorn, and at the horses trotting about in the field on my left. If it hadn't been moving, it might not have caught my eye.  It was long - 2 metres maybe - and a dark reddy-brown colour. It had just come out of the grass on my right, about 5 metres ahead. I stopped my bike to watch and wait to see where it was heading off to. It felt like I was watching it slither across my path for about 5 minutes but it was probably 30 seconds. I'm not sure I'd agree with Tim's assessment of them as beautiful. Amazing, yes, but I can't quite bring myself to call a deadly snake beautiful! Well, it snaked (as they do) across the road and finally slithered into the grass on my left. I gave it a wide berth and rode as far to the right of the road as I could until I was well past where I'd last seen it. The funny thing was, it must have known I was there. It must have heard or felt me coming, heard me stop, unclip from my pedals and put my feet on the ground, but it didn't seem to be concerned. I didn't see it raise its head towards me or stop its journey across the road. As soon as I'd passed by my heart started pounding in my chest. That eventual realisation that I've just been very, very close to something that could kill me. That lasted for the remainder of the ride, I think. They really are frightening creatures. Especially when you think how it could have been different: if I'd not seen it, or pedalled a bit faster, I could have ridden right over it. Urgh, it gives me the shivers!

It was so good to be out though. Really lovely to be back on the trail. I was pretty chuffed to make good time, too. Cycling into a headwind (which seems to be the norm!) but mostly downhilll, it was a pretty nice ride. And it was lovely to get back to Tim. He met me at the gate with a bottle of powerade and a big smile.

We spent the afternoon in Port Augusta, which is a massive port about 40k from Quorn. It has a Safeway! So we did a massive shop, ate lots of baaaaad chocolatey and crispy food. And my ankle got worse. Hobble hobble! Bah!

The support crew's view.
Not too shabby.

Run

Time (hr:min:sec): 1:15:11

Speed (kph):

Distance (km): 13.8