AS LONG AS IT TAKES............: 12/30/16

   My alarm woke me up at 5am and it was hard to get out of my sleeping bag.I could quite easily have rolled over and gone to sleep but I was keen to get to Moree and check into a motel for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.The main reason I wanted to get going was that even though it was only 80 kilometres to get to town,I wanted to make sure that I had time to check in to my motel and then find the local supermarkets and buy enough supplies for the next few days before the stores closed for Christmas.It was a little after sunrise when I rolled out onto the highway and was pedalling my way toward another new town.

   The morning ride was a pretty easy one as it was pretty flat but I had to constantly remind myself to slow down as I kept unconsciously trying to push the pace beyond my fitness level.It was weird as I kept having to talk to myself out loud to slow down before I blew up but there was an underlying anxiety in my head that was messing with me.I can't explain it but after about 40 kilometres I pulled over to a rest area and lay down on the top of a picnic table in the shade and forced myself to tale some deep breaths and calm the hell down.I lay there napping for about an hour before my heart rate dropped and my little anxiety attack was over.That was a first and I didn't like it.

The heat of the day arrived early and combined with the remnants of the previous weeks floodwaters still covering the land on the side of the road,the humidity rose as well.It actually became quite oppressive,making the day seem much hotter than it actually was.I started to feel a little ill as I approached town and realised that I hadn't eaten at all that morning so I guess it was no surprise that I started to struggle.About six kilometres out of town I found a rest area and pulled in to get out of the sun and saw just how quickly a person can go downhill once the heat and dehydration set in.A couple at the rest area told me that it wasn't far to go and were surprised when I told them at the rate I was going it would take me another hour to get to town.I had consumed the last of my fluids and that six kilometres seemed like twenty as I finally rolled out of the rest area and into the outskirts of Moree.

I made the turn off the highway and slowly rolled toward the downtown core before the touring cyclists oasis appeared before me,a gas station!I parked my rig and walked into the cool of the air-conditioning and went immediately for the rescue remedy of many a "bonked" cyclist,a can of Coke and a Mars Bar.Within minutes of consuming both I felt great and set about finding my motel.

   I had actually forgotten the name of the motel where I had made a booking but I knew the name of the street it was on and how to get there so when I rode past the huge Moree Aquatic Centre and Thermal Baths I knew I was close.The only thing to do was try my luck at each of the four motel on the street until I found my one.As luck would have it the first one I tried turned out to be the correct one and I checked into the Baths Motel,put all my gear away,had a shower and then set about walking through the towns parks about a mile to the "Mall" in town where Coles Supermarket was.

   I noticed that many of the stores in town had already closed for Christmas and as is so common in country towns in Australia these days,only the Chinese Restaurants,take away food stores and Subway were open.The rest of town was deserted and it was strange to walk the near empty streets of the three block downtown area accompanied by the sound of Christmas Carols blaring out of loudspeakers attached to the City Council building.Cole and the rest of the small mall were busy though and I bought enough supplies for three days,Guinness included.

   After loading up it was off to the taxi rank for the short trip back to my motel.My driver was a young Indian guy and I asked him how long he had been in Moree and he said he and his whole family had moved here two years before and that they loved it because it was a great community and so much cheaper than the big cities on the coast.It dawned on me then that this town.like so many others within a days drive of the coast had really changed.They were no longer iconic Australian towns anymore and were starting to look like the generic towns of the east coast where nothing really distinguishes one from the other.Chain stores,McDonalds,Subway,fancy coffee shops all have replaced the small family stores and Milk Bars and in our ever increasing immigration expansion this town.like so many others, is starting to look like every other.

Restocking for the road ahead

The owners of the Baths Motel were Serbian immigrants who had moved west to join the thousands of others who had moved from Europe to work on the farms of inland New South Wales.There are many towns which have a distinct modern European history,some are predominately Italian ,some Greek and this one seemed to be Serbian as every room in the motel except mine was occupied for Christmas by Serbian families who were visiting for the holidays.They all seemed very nice and all seemed to be here,in part,to soak up the minerals in the Artesian Spas that Moree is apparently famous for.Quite frankly,the thought of soaking in a thermal pool on a 38 Celcius day wasn't my idea of a great way to relax so I turned down the air-conditioning and moved inside for the rest of the day.

The rest of my stay in Moree was very relaxing and my Christmas very quiet,I didn't do anything really and kept to myself while catching up with folks all over the world online,distibuting what Christmas cheer that I could from my little room far removed from my and everyone else's life.I stayed a bit longer than I expected,part because of the stupid heat and part because I was kind of enjoying writing in my blog and hiding from the world in my room.I did wander around a fair bit and was impressed with just how much infrastructure there was in town for the people here.They have great parks with all kinds of awesome playgrounds for the kids,lots of sporting facilities and the Aquatic Centre and Thermal Baths were first class and quite the focal point of all the tourists in town.

The owners of the motel were a lovely family and looked after me very well,even reducing the nightly rate by quite a lot after I extended my stay by two nights.I thought though that I had to make a move and so packed all my gear and was ready to roll out after three great days recovering from the heat and exploring the town.The next morning though my mind started playing its usual tricks with me and I struggled to get into my bike gear and roll my bike out the door.I had started to slump into the not unusual situation of feeling too comfortable and safe, hidden away from the world and so to get myself out of it I put on my "day clothes" and went to McDonalds for breakfast and to use their internet. It is this feeling that I need to hide away that has been the root cause of so much of why I have failed at pretty much everything I have tried over the last ten years.Day after day I can waste time by finding a safe haven from my imaginary demons and that time doesn't even register with me.I can, and have, gone for weeks without doing anything constructive at all and generally once the haze passes the harsh reality hits me that I have run out of time to do what I wanted to do.That is why it was so easy for me to do absolutely nothing over the last half of this year and totally blow out.That is why I forced myself out on the road.If I hadn't then heaven knows how bad a place I would be in right now.This ride is good for me.I might not complete the original plan, but I need to stay out here no matter how hard it is,no matter how much I want to stop.

The river running through Moree

It was just after 6am and I sat there for about two hours chatting to some folks on Facebook and checking out weather websites and online maps of the road ahead.I really didn't want to ride anymore and wandered slowly back to the motel thinking that I would be here another night and to be honest,also thinking that my ride might be over. At around 9:15am I went out to talk to the motel manager and he told me that they were full that night and that made my decision for me.I had to leave. I got changed,put my bike and trailer together and slowly rolled through the motel car park where the managers son stopped me and asked if I wanted to stay another night as his dad could fit me in.I was so,so,so tempted and wanted to so much but instead I said no,thanked hin and his family for all their help and rode out into the street.

As I rode through downtown to hook up with my particular highway I was really struggling .I just didn't want to be on the road and not only that I was pissed off with myself because I had now given up the three and a half hours of riding that I would have put in if I had left when I was supposed to.Even the strong tailwind that hit me once I was out on the road didn't lift my spirits and I fought hard not to turn around and end my ride right there.I didn't though and rode on into the blazing heat and nothingness of western New South Wales..

My issues with running low on water on the rode into Moree were sorted my adding a few litres the the amount I carried on my trailer and that meant I was carrying over 10 litres of water with me,which was to last the 93kilometers to that nights planned stop and then on to the next town a further 48 kilometres the next morning.That extra weight on the trailer could be felt as it bounced around on the rough road and I was very thankful for both the tailwind and the flat terrain.I was also glad that the highway was quiet as that allowed me to spend a lot of time riding in the middle of the lane while keeping an eye on my mirror for traffic coming up from behind.

Heading off on the wide roads of town

It was a pretty good first two hours and things got better when,out of the blue a sign saying "Café Ahead" came within eyesight.I couldn't believe it as there was no mention of anything between Moree and Collarenebri,an mostly Aboriginal community 140 kilometres away.I rode on around the bend in the highway and there it was,a great big barn that had been convereted into a café for travellers .I couldn't resist.

I parked my bike against the fence in front of the huge building and went inside to be met by two young German backpackers having lunch and a very cheerful couple who were the owners of the café.I got myself a can of coke and a coffee and set about chatting to the Germans about their travels and the owners about the local district.It was just the thing I needed to lift my spirits and put me back in traveller mode.It is funny how things can change so quickly and after about an hour I left feeling much about things and rode on for almost another two hours to the planned nights pit-stop,a rest area 93 kilometres from Moree.

Even with my late start I had made good time and I had lots of time to set up my camp,dry my clothes out and cook myself some dinner,twice.As I mentioned in a previous post,the mental benefits of being able to clean yourself out on the road are quite substantial and so instead of wasting precious water in washing myself like I did outside of Boggabilla I decided a different approach was needed and I had bought a pack of baby-wipes in Moree.Just the ability to wipe the days grime off my face,head, neck and especially crotch made carrying them more than worth it.Before long I was feeling squeaky clean and staring over a boiling billy ready to that nights pasta creation.

The dry highway west

The only company I had for the rest of the day was a truckie who pulled his road train into the rest area to take a break from driving and to walk his little Jack Russell.When the dog was let out of the truck he came racing over to greet my before busying himself with licking as much salt off my legs as he could.His owner came over and asked me about my trip and we chatted for a while before he said he needed to be on his way as he had a long night on the road in front of him.before he left though he insisted of giving me a supply of water.At first I told him that I was fine as I figured I had enough to get me to the next town in the morning but he just said "You can never have enough water out here".With that he filled up two of my big water bottles giving me a extra two and a half litres for the night,which I did indeed end up drinking.

After his departure,things on the highway got very quiet and after watching yet another amazing sunset it was off to bed to reflect on a great afternoon to a day that had started so badly.I was hoping that trend would continue from here on.