Chased By The Storm

We didn't get to blog yesterday since we stayed in the first place on thus trip so far that we didn't have mobile coverage. So, to keep our parents at ease we gave them a quick call on the pay phone. I hope no one else thought we'd fallen off due to our absence yesterday!

We have just done two very big rides. Yesterday, up at 5.30, still very hot, we drove from Alice Springs to Cadney Homestead. About 530 kms. Along the way we were very aware of big black clouds forming behind us. A storm has has been forecast for days and finally it was coming, on our tail. We were stopped at Erldunda for breakfast when we first saw it, we were pretty quick grabbing our stuff and getting going again and we managed to stay ahead of it by the time we rode the 250km to our lunch stop in Marla. The thing was though, even though it was good that we were riding faster than the storm so we didn't get wet, the cusp of the storm was cooler. As we drove on ahead of it the temperature rose again to an uncomfortable level.

Once again after lunch we peeked outside and saw the darkening sky and the blur of falling rain in the distance. We jumped back on Norman and flew off again, me craning my head round to see for how much longer we could keep dry. As the road unfurled it started turning to the right and into the front of grey that was hitherto starting to run parallel with us. We could smell the dampness in the air and the wind was becoming gusty, blowing sidelong. Crows and hawks were scattering looking agitated. The first big splats of rain hit our helmets and I thought ok here it is and prepared myself for the onslaught. But it never came. The road seemed to intersect the weather at a shallow diagonal and crossed at a thinned out cloud, so although we had the splats the sun never stopped beating down on our backs. It was strange. There was still a lot more storm behind us but we were going to make it to our destination in time before it really gave its all. The last stretch of road before we turned into Cadney Homestead had been thoroughly rained on and as we rode along it we could feel the sauna like steam rising from the hot tarmac.

We decided to spend the money on a cabin last night, not fancying a night in a wet tent, that, with the now strong wind, would have felt like sleeping in a kite. Who knows where we could have woken in the morning and Norman on his own in the middle of the desert! The cabin, though far from being anything more than a hot box with a bed in it, turned out to be our best nights sleep so far. By evening the temperature had dropped dramatically and everything felt lovely and normal again.

This morning we woke and outside it was actually chilly. The wind had abated and the sky was clear. If we were in a car weather really wouldn't matter so much. I like this closeness with your surroundings, it sort of makes you experience the places more.

Tomorrow is our last day of desert riding. I think I'll miss it. It has been tiresome, but beautiful. After tomorrow there will be decisions to make about routes to take. For the last week it's only been up or down the road, stopping for cold drinks at the only places available hundreds of kilometers apart. I guess it's always difficult going back to tameness after the wilds.