Ride Day 7 - Spalding to Laura - Blinman or Bust by Bike

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A one-tree hill near Spalding

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Pages Hill Road, east of Spalding. Over the whole Trail, this was part of only one small detour taken in order to avoid riding along a stretch of Bundaleer Aquaduct, one of three bits of the Mawson near Spalding known to have large amounts of the dreaded caltrop (aka three corner jack or bindii weed), a very strong/sharp seed thorn that easily punctures tires and tubes. I'd read that they are especially prevalent following summer rains (it was only spring and it hadn't rained), but no one said they weren't a danger at other times of the year. A little farther up this hill a 50-ish farmer in a ute (pickup truck) stopped to chat. He had spent his entire life in the Spalding area and it turns out he is caltrop-averse, too, and uses a tube sealant to avoid flats on his ride-on mower. He assured me that although caltrop typically starts to become a problem in October/November, they are dependent on there having been summer rains (or late spring rains?) and this year there hadn't yet been any seasonal rain. On the basis of this advise, along with the suggestion that there would be nice views, I shortly reverted to the official Trail route so that I would ride through the Bundaleer Forest, another spot known for large amounts of caltrop.

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Early in a stretch of Trail through private farmland, in which, due to lack of tire tracks in places, the exact location of the trail wasn't always apparent.

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