Jeremy: One more day of desert to go, then corners!

I'd forgotten how nice it was for a motorcycle journey to involve corners, till later today. Granted, I still didn't have to slow down for these particular corners, but I had to actually lean the bike over a bit which is more than can be said for anywhere else we've been lately, and they reminded me how much they help you focus too. It's just been pack up, turn right onto stuart highway, get bike to 110kph, do that for 80kms, pull into rest stop (where there is just a bin and a table, if the table hasn't been burnt or the bin hasn't had a shotgun shell put through it) wait for ten minutes, pull out of rest stop, turn right onto stuart highway, get bike to 110kph, go for 80kms etc.. Most of the time on the way up into a head wind. It's tiring, and boring. Just in a straight line at 110, for as long as your head can take the wind, and your fuel lasts. Can't wait to have to slow down for a corner tomorrow!
I made a few mistakes today. I put it down to tiredness and sore hands, but I could just be a bit uncoordinated... I was filling up the jerry can with fuel for the run from coober pedy to glendambo (i didn't want to repeat our feat of running out of fuel again) and I slipped with the nozzle and poured a whole squirt of fuel over the bottle, which then ran down onto the sleeping mat and sleeping bag that it was strapped to. I rinsed it all with a bit of water as best I could, but here I am in the tent tonight writing this blog post and the tent has the rather strong aroma of petrol permeating it. Not only that, but the tent smells like stale milk for some reason. I think something must have got jammed in with it by accident 3 days ago when we slept in it last. I could go on about the food too (just truckers food everywhere (burgers, chips, dimsims, egg and bacon rolls)) but all I've done is whinge here so I better stop moaning, just get some sleep and cheer up a bit!
While we were in Alice Springs (which was roasting, as you can see from the pictures) I went and got the chain on Norman seen to. I seemed to be making a bit more noise than it had at the start, and remembering how often I used to lubricate the chain on my old bike which was every 300kms or so (i'd done 3000kms or something on Norman and hadn't even checked it) and also that new chains stretched a lot in the first couple of thousand kilometers, I thought it prudent to have someone who knew what they were about to have a look over it. I think I heard the word "floppy" a few times, so Norman got tightened up and lubed, ready to turn around and head back the way we came.
Cadney homestead was a wierd wee place, with a wierd wee cabin we stayed in, but we got a pretty good nights sleep and that's what matters really. There was an amazing rainbow after the storm we narrowly dodged, because of the really bright sunshine I think.
I'll let Bridget explain the last picture tomorrow...

Jeremy: adding up the distances...oh yeah, and we ran out of fuel.

Yep, it's a long way to go still, and I think we are tired today because we're sitting here looking for ways to make it all a bit shorter. Alice springs is first on the cut list, and we're still in discussion. I reckon uluru and kings canyon may just about do us, we've still got 17 or 18 days to go to see it all and get home, 20 with alice springs added. Camping has made it a little more difficult to stick it, just because as the campsites have got a littke more rough, so have the nights sleep. In glendambo last night we had a very picturesque camp spot but the ground where we pitched the tent was really hot from the sun all day so even though the night air got quite cold the heat from the ground radiated up through the ground sheet and the tent was boiling all night, and the ground was really, really hard. Needless to say, i've had better nights sleep. It was a beautiful spot though, and the pub was a nice place to relax in, so it was quite good really, I'm just whinging. I'm also tired.
The landscape has been breathtaking for most of the way, and we've only had to dodge the one little emu today. Clearly got a bit frazzled by the bike and didn't know which way to go, and chose too late and poorly. Lucky for him/her we were going about 20kph by the time we reached him, so no harm done, maybe scorched the tail feathers a little on the exhaust. I still haven't seen a live roo, plenty of dead ones (and cows) though.
So, we ran dry on fuel today too. A little embarrassing, but I always knew it was going to be close. I didn't factor in just how much drag the two of us and all our gear apparently make at 110kmh. 250.9kms is our range at that speed, and I won't be forgetting it. We'll have to get a wee fuel bottle for the way back, just a small top up and we'll be fine. The bike coughed and spluttered a whole lot to get going again too, (after the rac man came and topped it up) a very clear message from norman that "this behavior is not to be repeated, or my battery might not be so ready to run the starter motor for a whole minute and a half while the fuel slowly trickles back in to get you going again". Anyway, you live and you learn the hard way.
We had a look around an opal mine today which was interesting, although I think my highlight was a cool old film set of a crashed space ship out the front of one of the museums. Apparently lots of movies are filmed in the desert around here. The motel where we are staying is lovely, it's just called the "underground motel", and I can't wait for a night in a bed!

Getting ready for the big push...

I think we proved to ourselves today that we can just do a big hit without too much hassle, and without thinking about it too hard. We'd had a lovely day just looking at museums and Bridget had got some drawing done, but all of a sudden it was 5 o'clock and we were still hundreds of k's from clare, which was where we'd decided to stay the night so that the next day we could go to port augusta in readiness for the longer days to come after that. So, we just did it anyway. We got in a little late but we got here and the drive was beautiful. The sun setting, huge lovely golden wheat fields waving in the breeze, countless vineyards all the way. Bridget and I have decided that we really love the adelaide hills, and we'll definitely be back sometime soon, for a little more wine tasting maybe. The clare valley is especially beautiful, I've a lovely photo there of our camp with norman and the setting sun behind.
We stopped in hahndorf this morning, very interesting museum there about the first waves of german settlers to colonise the hills around mount barker, then to birdswood to the national motor museum. I don't think Bridget was as excited as I was, but she did her best and managed to find a few cars she liked, mostly Austins of various shapes and sizes (a30, a40, a50, 7...) And morris's. Morrisi? I'm not sure on the plural. I loved the motorbike section. Amazing! And what a ride through the hills, lots of twisty roads to negotiate, but all in good condition, no worrying about potholes!
Then we managed to squeeze in a visit to the giant rocking horse before it closed. I think bridget got a couple of photos of that.
Anyway, Norman chugs along, as.per usual. I think I may have to get someone to check the chain soon, I'm pretty sure they stretch quite a lot in the first little while after they're new so I'll get the tension checked out once we've done another 1000kms or so. Anywho, a quick bonus of bridget at the pink lakes from the other day too, and what also bridget posing next to a lovely fj holden ute at the motor museum, what a sight! I think she has to work on her draped across the bonnet pose a little more.

Jeremy: Pennies make pounds. Apparently.

We seem to be doing very short days at the moment, a product of having numb bottoms and there being so much to see I think. We keep telling each other about how soon we're going to be having to break into the big days, no more of this 150kms business! It seems crazy, but I guess when there's just nowhere to stop and nothing to see it will be much easier, and we won't be feeling like we're passing by things we should be seeing. It's very hard to work out what's worth seeing and what's not worth the time (or money) but you can't do it all I guess! And all your short distances add up to a big trip in the end anyway.
I've been having problems with my damn sleeping bag, it seems to drop more feathers than it holds in! It is a very nice warm bag, but it is quite old now (25 years or so I think) and I think its having trouble keeping it together. Consequently every night in the tent has been an itchy-eyed, runny-nose-sneezy-blocked-face nightmare until I relented and started taking tablets. Last night's sleep was bliss, breathing through one unblocked nostril! Maybe tonight I'll get two? It seems to be starting to irritate my skin now though too, all these little feathers poking me in the night. Beware all of you the curse of the ageing old (sleeping) bag!
We met a nice bloke at the cinema in beachport last night who gave us some tips on distances and places to stop on the way up to alice springs. It seems like the bike's fuel range should be fine for pretty well all the distances between stops except one which should be very close which is glendambo to coober pedy, a distance of 254kms. As I said, this will be close, but we got 247km out of it a few days ago and part of that was up the huge hill from skene's creek to colac so we should be fine. Good old norman! I'm finding it very hard to fault our 1997 honda shadow ace at the moment, it just hauls along wiyh no complaints. I think 2 people and all our gear is pushing it's limits, but's handling the task at the moment beautifully. 110 kph? Bring it on.
Our careful money counting goes on,  and we seem to be doing very well actually! The odd treat here and there, but mostly we've been sensible. Here's quick pictire of btidget and I on the 772 meter long pier at beachport, (the longest in south australia) what a lovely town!