3 Jan 2024
I put in a solid distance today, somewhere around 115kms. That is actually the most I've ever ridden in a single day as well! I was aiming for Swan Reach but I had more faith in the quality of this campsite here in Nildottie, called Greenway's landing. It also surprised me by having a toilet with a tap and soap. Which is great because I got my period yesterday and decided that for my first time trying the camping with a period thing I would use a menstrual cup, so I'm a bit concerned about keeping it sanitary.
Early in the day I did struggle to unclip in time when coming to a stop once, so I fell and cut my hand a little. So for the first time on one of these trips, I used my first aid kit. It was still cool, so I was wearing my trackies, which meant my legs didn't get scratched up luckily.
I took a couple of detours off the main road around Pompoota and Ponde, and they were very nice detours so highly recommend. I also took the side road that hugs the river between Mannum and Younghusband, East Front Road. That one was particularly lovely as well.
In the mid afternoon I rejoined the main road and actually the traffic wasn't too bad for this section. I noticed my toes on my left foot were getting very sore, which I noticed a bit on my rest day but wasn't sure what it would be from. I realised this afternoon that the cleat on my left shoe was more forward than the one in my right foot. So I had to stop again and get my tools out to adjust my shoe, which took a while because I had to dig out all the dirt that was stuck around the bolts with my Swiss army knife first. I was on the side of the road for about 20 minutes and as I was almost finished, someone who passed me did a loop back to check I was ok! I must have looked like my bike had broken down. I told him I was fine and he chucked another u-ey to go back on his way.
The campsite in Nildottie actually had heaps of sites, there is a long dirt road that goes past all of them. Most are next to old crumbling shacks/ruins. Not sure what happened to those buildings, maybe they were ruined in the floods a year ago?
I was feeling very tired after today's ride so feeling like I might finally get a solid night's sleep. I think this campsite does fall into the International Dark Sky Reserve, but even if I wanted to stay up to look at the stars, I wouldn't have been able to because it was full cloud cover that night.
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