Day 74: Leeman to Cervantes - A happy ride around Australia (third attempt) - CycleBlaze

August 9, 2022

Day 74: Leeman to Cervantes

Start: 6:35 am
Distance: 77 km
Ride time: 5:27 hours
Average:  14km/hr 
Max: 27 km/hr
Finish: 2:20pm

It was very windy and rainy throughout the night.

It was dry when I got up which was great. The bottom of my sleeping bag was still wet from the rain.

My tent is pathetic. I called Perth a few days ago and ordered a new tent.

Morning road pic.
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What you can't see in this photo is the relentless headwind. At times it gusted to 74km/hr according to the Bureau of Meteorology. It persisted all day.

Normally this would sadden me greatly. I just plodded along. It reminded me how vulnerable I am to the weather. Usually it's the heat. Today it was the wind. Today rates as one of the toughest days of the trip.

There were also frequent rain storms. I would madly rush to put on my rain pants, rain jacket and waterproof gloves. These short storms were torrential and included hail. Usually sideways. I would put my head down to avoid getting blasted in the face and just plough on through. Keeping moving helped to keep me warm.

Often there were breaks in the wet weather and this raised my spirits a lot.

I was happy to see a few new flowers:

This had banksia leaves while the flower looked different to the usual banksia.
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Rita McCarthyYou certainly have had quite a few challenges. Must be made of tough stuff.💕😃
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1 year ago

Banksia sessilis.

This is a wild violet.
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Hybanthus calycinus.

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Some bright orange fungi.
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I think this is Clematis microphylla.

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Swainsona.

After a tough day I made it to Cervantes.
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A big rusty fish.
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Random zebras in the main street?
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The beach with another rain storm.
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Beach artwork.
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For dinner I went to the Lobster Shack. I was too late, they only do lunch. They sent me to The Club. They don't do dinner tonight. They would have sent me to The Tavern but they are closed today.

I ended up at the local takeaway place and had average pizza for dinner.

$35.
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Today's ride: 77 km (48 miles)
Total: 4,394 km (2,729 miles)

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