13 Jan 2024
Today was predicted to be a top of 38 degrees. so once again very hot. I started riding at 6am since I didn’t sleep at all last night. I was quite tired and yawning a bit, and aimed to get to Wemen, which I greatly miscalculated my distance from. I thought it was around 45kms for some reason, but it was actually 70.
I rode through Hattah-Kulkyne National Park at the recommendation of a local at the pub yesterday. It was very nice, but the road wasn't great quality so it took me between 6am and 12pm to do 40kms. At this point I could have turned east and continued in the park for more scenery and no traffic, or get to the highway. I took the highway to be faster since I was feeling very hot and. But after about 20 minutes, including a few breaks in the shade, I decided I couldn't do the last 30kms to Wemen in this heat. It was already 34 degrees! So although I am apprehensive to the thought of hitchhiking and had never done it before, I decided it would be the safest way for me to get to the next camp.
I waited about 15 minutes and saw a ute coming my way. I flagged it down and when the driver got out, he and I talked for 10 seconds for me to explain I needed a lift and why, and he seemed like a chill and normal guy so I trusted my gut to get into the car. He drove me to Wemen, and he was very nice and concerned about me and gave me extra water so I didn't need to filter as much out of the river. Very pleasant experience actually.
Once in Wemen I checked out the campsite options and decided to go with the ‘big rig’ campsite that is a lot further away from the main rd. I waited out the worst of the heat in the shade outside the general store, which wasn't open due to it being a Saturday.
To be completely honest, I'm having a pretty bad time right now. The weather is absolutely kicking my arse and I feel really slow because I can't ride for much of the day in this heat. I started going a bit loopy on the boring day coming into Red Cliffs. The next day to Nangiloc was meh because it had some more interesting trails, but I was still recovering rom the boredom of the previous day and still feeling socially isolated. But then I had the hot rest day and this hot day with no sleep, so I'm just feeling really crap and I want to go home!
I've been thinking about what the highlights of the rest of the trip are to decide where to leave early from, and I would really like to do Gunbower National Park between Swan Hill and Echuca. I'm not really that concerned about going all the way to Wodonga, and the next couple of days to Swan Hill were going to be mostly highway anyway. So I'm going to try to get the bus to Swan Hill from near here. I have already recharged and reached the point where I’m excited to get back into my regular life again, which was the main purpose of this trip, apart from the cycling itself. So I’m pretty happy with that.
I rinsed my jersey and my camp tshirt and shorts in the river to help it smell a bit better before I get on a bus tomorrow, and putting the wet jersey back on actually helped me feel a lot fresher too. No one else was at the campsite tonight so i had it all to myself. I sang some of the songs I've been listening to on repeat this trip a bit to feel a bit less homesick (I'm a musician and sound engineer in my Melbourne everyday life), putting on a show to the empty forest and Murray river. I fell asleep while the sun was still out because I was so tired after my all-nighter, and I slept like a baby. I reckon this was the best night of my trip so far and after the stress of the previous night, I am definitely warming up to solo camping in an empty campsite.
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