Day 9
The day started leaving early from my Adelaide Princess Hotel and headed toward the Freeway that Frank , the Harley rider back at Gawler said i could ride my bike on. Well he was right , but for only the first 50 meters and then having to go up the bike track the same way  i'de been before . Up to Eagles Nest and on to Krafers. Swore i would never go up that hill again but here i am doing it again.

yes SIR

 Windy and hilly through Mt Barker and all these other Towns crossing back and forth over the Freeway. Ended up at Murray Bridge doing a lot more km than the Freeway distance . Only at Murray Bridge is where you can legally start to ride on the freeway. Booked into the local Hotel when i arrived and proceeded to carry my bike up the stairs to my room. Once in the room i lay down up against the head board  and  fell asleep soon after.

i can't really show you the rise in the background but the face says it all

The energy i used this day must of been a lot because when i woke a couple of hours latest the whole of my body was in a rigour mortis state. Showered and had a nice Pub meal  and went straight to sleep again.
Day 10.
Again started early and was greeted with a South Westerly wind all day and am now parked up at a nice place called Coonalpyn Hotel. Fantastic run friendly place which serves good meals.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

  Because i didn't go on the Nullabour and  Mildura was cancelled i have heaps of time to cruise so i'm finding it hard to get much out of this challenge now.  I only have 565km in approx. 10 days before i want to  get to Melbourne  and spend time with my good friend , Shane G, and then Joy arriving 8 days later for  the Cup.
 So without  boring  you guys , as if I'm on face book , and telling you when i went to the toilet last or show you a pic of the meal i'm about to eat. The blogg is now officially over apart from the Tracker :-)

Also before i  let you go let me thank those who did get involved for what it was worth , and as always , those who have my number feel free to ring me anytime and gasbag.

Day 8
Rode out of Clare valley feeling good. The Clare pub where i stayed was just what i needed to recharge my batteries. Great meals and good service with a smile.

The good old Clare Pub

Headed off in the direction of Gawler as quick as i could because i new the wind was going to change for the worse. And it did just before Gawler. When arriving i wasn't sure which way to go toward Horsham and i seem to have lost all contact with the person i could of asked. Never mind because , Frank on the Harley Davidson sorted me out and told me the best way to go is Adelaide. He suggested that way because the way google maps was saying would of been too mountainous. So off i went after giving him my address to stay next September when he rides over, i do that you know.
The country side was pleasant enough but compared to WA wine area it didn't quite get there for me but thats from a bike. Im sure there  must be really nice areas in there i imagine if you know where to look.

Still fantastic and a lot of work

Heading for Adelaide which didn't turn me on too much as i had been there on the bike too many times and here i go again heading against the wind. Miles and miles of that bloody North road was a real grind and the right knee didn't like it. The way i was peddling must of looked weird because i was pushing hard down on the left and going easy on the right. Sure enough i had thought someone had reported me and waiting up ahead was a vehicle parked ready.

False alarm i told them.

Arrived in Adelaide knackered and thought i better stop at a cheap Hotel , called Princess Hotel not far from the start of the Freeway heading toward Murray Bridge and onto Horsham. So here i am resting again after my Chinese Take Away meal.
Before i go let me tell you that i frequently get calls at night from Bruce, my Malaysian connection. He worries about me all the time and I get very excited when he rings . This is a shot of me tonight when he rang and as you can see I've lost a bit of weight riding around like a chook without a head in the  Barrosa Valley

Yes, its Bruce from Malaysia.

So until we talk again ,Thank you and sleep tight
GK

DAY 7      (you asked for it)
This day actually started early by leaving the comfort of my Railway Hotel room and wheeling the fully loaded bike only about 200m to the platform where my train was waiting (The Indian Pacific)

This train should be in a Museum.

Departure time was 1.40am. A few  passengers where there around stretching there legs as they all had been on the train already for 12hrs from only Perth. (600km)
Then a girl called Di approached me and said "are you the bike rider?". I said, i think so. Together we loaded the bike in the luggage carriage and I sadly parted from it 3 or 4 carriages away to my seat allocated seat in the cattle class.

Waiting for the quick exit

The train was packed and the lights where out but i could smell that stale  human odour as i sat down. I decided to quicken the process of adapting by taking in a few deep whiffs. I nearly fainted but managed just to stay conscious.

The  Dinning  carriage

My carriage

 We then had to wait for the first class passengers to return from bus tours of Kalgoolie before we could depart.
On their arrival in two tour buses i was shocked to see the different shapes and sizes of people and the different couple combinations. I was trying to work out how some of these couples where going to live in a confined sardine can type space together  for the next 24hrs to Adelaide or worse Sydney. Even to watch them twist and contort along the platform with walking aids to there carriages was a scary look. Maybe , they just knock themselves out with drugs  and wake up at there destinations. Can't wait to get to that stage in my life which is just around the corner.
The cattle class was just like the movie "One who flew over the cookoo's nest" and i felt like Jack Nicholson.lol. Lets face it, why would anybody put themselves through this torture, unless they had a student or disability card , Back packers train pass concession maybe..Then throw in some Tax sucking Pensioners   for good measure and that would make up the 200 on the train Or maybe it is a sort of character building challenge that you take on. I paid 400 bucks to go from Kal to Portagutter but i think the rest of the cattle train passengers only paid 400 collectively. I did find a normal guy thou , Doug, who was travelling for the experience and he had his car on board for 600 bucks so thats not bad.  Doug and i jelled because we had  something in common that we both had been caught out while doing number two's by people opening the door while busy. Doug was lucky because he was in a small toilet where he could just stop the door immediately by putting his arm up and stopping them. Me not so lucky. The toilet i was in was huge and had a button to open the door like a lift which was too far for quick action. That poor Japanese student standing there eyes wide open motionless as the door opened quickly and closed slowly, is probably going to be scarred for the rest of his lfe. I think it was the longest 6 seconds of his life. I felt bad for him and went and apologised to him but when i went to say sorry, i came out with a quote from the ccokoo's nest movie."is that crazy enough for ya? want me to shit on the floor"

The only time we where allowed to get off the train even though it stopped a million times for freight trains was at a place called Cook.This is where they change the Driver , refuel the diesel tanks and water tanks. I thought i might do a runner  but it was 38 degrees and strong Northerly winds. We where only strictly meant to stay 10minutes off the train but the cattle soon wandered and it was a heck of a job to round them up which took 30 minutes

Nullabour plain from train

Stretching my legs at Cook

Here we go again

I spent a lot of time in the dining carriage as the air was cleaner and the guys running of the train mingled in there too  because i think for the same reason. They where always talking about the schedule time and what  there where going to do next as though it's it first run. Hearing that their
disgust in having to stop in Port Augutter for a crazy bike rider made me feel real welcome. The main guys plan was set, to  get him ,and his bike off quick smart and out of there , as he slaps his hands together in excitement.
Sure enough the time came and  was told  10 minutes before my stop to weave my way back to the luggage carriage and untie my bike  and be ready when the doors open to get out. Before i knew it , I'm out , told I'm crazy , and left standing at 4am alone as the old girl rattled off .

DAY 8
4AM  (1AM Perth time) was too early really to start riding but what else could i do. I found a phone box and changed into my riding gear and headed off out of Town straight away. Not long after that i was having trouble concentrating to steer the bike and couldn't understand why because i had at least 4 hours sleep on the train over 24 hrs. I ended up riding up a track off the road for about 100m and just throw my sleeping bag down and went to sleep for a couple of hours. No tent needed, too tired.

When i saw this and thought it was real, time for a sleep

 Woke up feeling pretty good and off i went focused on my first destination, Mildura in about 4 days.

This beats the Nullabour

More train people

After about 140km in the Mildy direction and i got a phone call and its the Pensioners from Mildura. They tell me their going away tomorrow to a Conference and won't be back for a week. Holy shit Batman. I applied the brakes gently back still leaving a black leather mark for 30meters and the smoke took a while to clear. It was Jude who broke the news to me as i think Linds had been tired up with gaffe tape on a chair with a ball in his mouth as i'm sure he had nothing to do with it. I did ask Jude what that whimpering noise in the background was but she just said it was the cat wanting her feed. Those two guys, you got to hand it to them, retired Pensioners out saving the World. You know, similar to  that other movie" Les Patterson saves the world"
Now I've had to put this down on the blogg to stop people keep ringing me and saying" your going the wrong way". And also to explain what was going on to stop any confusion with vicious rumours that might come out of this. In saying all this as  I'm now in Clare  S.A. for two nights rest and a look around. Then I'm heading to Horsham, so  please could you please not tell Marty and Auntie Peg that I'm heading there way as i need a place to stay. It would be such an inconvenience for those guys to move out before i get there.


DAY 9
Woke up here in the Clare Pub wondering how i got here. Yesterday was a long day and hard day but a very funny enjoyable experience as its not everyday you get thrown off a train and then ride like hell 170km  to then get told to turn the other way and take the next  30km into a head wind for good measure. Still in saying all this in jest, i am doing what i want to do and lifes good . Sure beats the hell out of being still stuck on the nullabour with hot Easterlies.lol

Oh before i go, one more for you Doc…………
                                                   

DEAR GOD

TODAY I WOKE UP

I AM HEALTHY

I AM ALIVE 

THANK YOU

Bye for now :-)

DAY 6

Work up this morning and felt good and went exploring this great Town of Kalgoolie for breakfast and was immediately approached by the police with this Wanted Dead or Alive poster. Apparently he chopped his Mother up and is on the loose. I looked at it and said to myself, "Ive seen that guy somewhere"Anyway there where happy to talk to me and I'm on the Channel 7 news at 6pm so have a look :-)

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Last seen heading toward Kalgoorlie on
2O10 Cannondale bike

Normal

In disguise

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Had breaky and walked the streets and was asked if i had a ciggy  or loose change about a hundred times. Then i came across a guy i had met a long time ago and i sat on his knee and he told me a story.

What a guy

I walked around a bit more and realised how wonderful this place really is. Recently i visited Europe. Places like Paris ,Prague and Budapest and this place leaves those places for dead. Couldn't understand why anybody would want to live anywhere else. Well i better get back to the safety of my room now as i might get mugged and my thongs are starting to melt into the bitumen.

Also tonights the start of the big train ride. A lot of people can't get with the 400 bucks for the ticket. Hey, there wanted 1300 bucks for the sleeper but thats not my style. Plus because they want the bike to be wheeled on i'm thinking of strapping myself to the bike and when they put the brakes on to open the doors and propel myself  to Lindsays because at 1.40am what else is there to do other than ride

Let me finish by apologising and  explaining the no replies to all the comments this trip. The reason is I've had hell with the Internet connections. The Telstra stick i bought back in Perth is i found out today is not compatible with Mac so I've been relying on Virgin Mobile with unbelievable frustration at the slowness. Lets hope it gets better over on the East side. 

Take care …and may the Lord be with you.

Day 5. Part Two
I left  Coolgardie Caravan Park late in the morning with the wind coming at me  strongly from the North East. As i rode down the main street i could see the sign toward Norseman and for brief moment i  contemplated on turning with the wind , but I knew it was only a trap. I took a photo of the famous Pepper Tree if not one of its off spring and rode off wondering.

This is the tree 40years ago Jim and I left our bags and went to the road house for  a meal when we hitched over to Melbourne and back. Unfortunately when we returned it was pitch black and we crawled around on our knees for hours till we found them. The turn off is just further on in the horizon. O.K it doesn't mean much maybe to you but you had to be there. Our sleeping bags where a  towel each and I've never seen a human being curl itself up as much as the old boy on all fours. The way i kept warm was by sprinting up and down the road fully clothed for hours till the sun came up.

I arrived in Kalgoolie around 2pm and booked into a nice Hotel but very expensive one because they have a couple of girls doing the cleaning continuously. They told me its 700 a night so i thought i would spoil myself as i needed cleaning

 The front facade I thought was very classy, it got me going.

No ,thats not true, I'm staying at the Railway Hotel across from my new 300 wheel bike and pulling out Thursday 1.40am and arriving at 1.40am Port Augusta. The price for the trip is $400 which is about the equivalent of what i spend at one roadhouse visit.

Now a lot of people are probably wondering how my state of mind is, not doing the Nullabour stretch.

Well if you are, or not ,let me tell you that I am completely at rest with it as i thought long and hard about the decision. It is a disappointment which i created myself by putting a time limit on the trip and should of known better. But  imagine, it would be catastrophic to miss the Melbourne Cup and spoil other peoples holiday plans for the sake of my selfishness in wanting to do it for the fourth time. 

After talking with Shane K tonight with his concerns of my mental state(lol) we discussed another attempt together as a bonding brotherly thing and he actually got a chubby so you can never say no.

So tomorrow is another day in Paradise, downtown Kal  and i will probably just hang  under some shady tree with my friends who i waved to as i came into town.

Take care and God Bless you

Day 5
Dear followers,
As much as your enthusiasm drives me on there is only so much one can take. I'm not getting anything out of this trip like the others. Arriving at these places after riding all day and thinking , haven't i been here before is not doing it for me. Even a night in a Deluxe Shithouse couldn't  do it for me.
Also with the holiday idea of visiting relatives and friends by going to Melbourne via Mildura,  Horsham, Ballarat and Bachuss Marsh i maybe cutting it a bit fine to be coherent when i arrive. So after much tossing and turning in bed last night trying to decide what to do, having come to that  great fork in the road. That fork is the famous turn off to Norseman where Jim K. and i slept 40 years ago under a pepper tree and nearly froze to death. The question is, will it be  right to Norseman or straight to Kalgoorlie for the train?

Well the answer is I've booked and I'm off to  Kalgoorlie to catch the train to Port Augusta. Hey , don't turn your computers off yet, hear me out. This will cut the total Kms down by half to 1800Kms and enable me to adventure into different areas with more time and energy. I think they call that some sort of a Holiday. You know the one, The Bike, Train and Fly one.

Now I'm going to leave it there and wait for everyones response. Now listen , I DONT WANT ANYONE HOLDING BACK NOW . I know Dumb and Dumber are going to have a field day. Bruce will be crying. Linds will change the locks.  Monica will understand.  Shane G. in Melbourne won't even know anyway . So this is it folks, let it rip.  P.S. I think my Laptop is gonna smoke

The blog will continue only after summarising all the feedback.

Regards

GK 

DAY 3
Day three i left Merridan Caravan Park  early to maximise my riding time but that turned out a bit of a disaster because 10 km out i started to wonder if i had packed my Apple phone charger. I had taken the cord from it to plug the phone into the computor and left the small adaptor in the wall. I rang the Park ……….im not even going to go into how hard it was to check if it was there first , then give it to someone heading East. The park is on the main road. After much begging  from me and excuses from them , i hide the bike and ring her to say I'm hitching my way back. No cars for ten minutes then she rings me to say she's got it and a caravan guy is  heading my way. I think she thought i might blow my top when i saw her. But really , how bloody hard was that. She wanted to post it to Coolgardie. Life's simple but some people want to make it difficult. Wasted about an hour , but hey, my fault.
While  the charger arrived a couple in there 60s rolled up on bikes and we talked for awhile. Forgot to do the standard photo shoot because i had wasted too much time already. There off to Brisbane from Perth at around 70 to 80km a day. Lets hope they go O.K through the long sections.
Cycled my way with a strong wind at my tail but it was still a grind. Arrived in Southern Cross after many rest stops along the way and thought i better make some ground because I've got a big stretch to Coolgardie. Off i went and ended up getting soaked by a sudden storm. Then it got dark and cold and i needed to stop but where. Luckily i found a 24hr caravan free parking spot with a toilet big enough for my sleeping bag and bike. The wind was horrific and the ground was muddy but the Shithouse was perfect. Clean concrete floor and room to move. I could lock it and everybody who pulled up tested my door and then raced to the other.   Slept like a baby.

No shitting in my bedroom,use the other one

Deluxe

Ron and Maria made me a nice coffee in there caravan after finding me in the shithouse and felt sorry for me.

DAY 4
I completed the ride to Coolgardie and now heading down the Pub for a meal very tired.