2 Great Rivers Ride

This leg nothing seems to be going our way at all. First the roads stayed closed so we have had to travel the bitumen but then maybe that has worked out for the best. If anything could go wrong it will on this trip. This morning we have 3 riders who have tested positive for Covid and 3 who tested negative but have flu like symptoms. After much deliberation we have decided to complete the ride at Cobar. Unfortunately we do not feel it is in the riders best interest to continue with something like this hanging over their heads. All riders understand our decision and will start organising their transport home. Today has ended up very cold and what we hoped would be a tailwind turned overnight to be another headwind. Everybody is down due to the news and the decision. The mood is somber, and I feel so sorry for them as this is their holiday which most have been hanging out for since Covid started and following all the bloody drawn out lockdowns. Also Collis was very excited in taking them ...

Cold this morning. A few still with colds that are getting worse. Maureen was feeling better today and decided to ride. All sickies did RAT tests again this morning. We are making a few of them to mask up when they aren’t riding even if they are negative just to try and stop the cold from spreading. Handing out quite a few Panadol today. Jerry wasn’t at all well this morning as he didn’t sleep well overnight so he has agreed to ride in the car today. It was a hard day out on the road as they had a full on headwind all day until the last couple of kms. Morning tea and lunch was just on the side of the road. We arrived at Emmdale Roadhouse earlier than they had requested us to be. They were a bit put out that we wanted to stay the night and to have a meal. We had warned them our group was coming but we had the day wrong and she had a bus load of seniors coming for lunch and they were to take precedence over us youngies! If we could ride a bike then we aren’t seniors. The bus arrived la...

Maureen stayed in her tent last night and preferred to sleep through dinner as she was feeling unwell. She rode her best day ever yesterday but seems to have knocked herself out. We have a few now who have woken with a croaky voice this morning. John T, John F, Ahn Thu and Maureen. No high temperatures once I moved them all away from the fire. A couple of riders read 39.2C but a few minutes away from the heat and they all returned to normal. Maureen has decided to stay in the car again today as she is still feeling unwell with a bit of a cough. The ride was good again today with another tail wind and everyone enjoying the ride. 120kms and finished fairly early afternoon. Got into Wilcannia around lunchtime. Nice little community camp ground with free washing machines and huge grassed area for camping. We were right on the Darling which was right up. We all went to the Golf Club for Chinese dinner. Funny thing was we couldn’t see any golf course. The Chinese meals were huge and the...

Early start this morning. Gill informed us last night that she had decided to leave the ride due to her back issues. She didn’t feel her back could cope with riding for the rest of this leg. Everyone is aware that we are riding on the bitumen as far as Wilcannia and then the road situation will be reassessed. Jerry has a terrible cold that he can’t seem to shake. He has been encouraged to jump in the car but insists on riding. He has been doing a RAT test everyday and it has been negative so far. Peter L is not looking well and I have convinced him to have a day off the bike- not a mean feat as he likes to ride all the way. He has been a great help for Collis this morning as I am a bit limited in how much I can carry at the moment. We need Pete in the car everyday and he is great at getting Collis on track. The riding today was superb with sunshine, very little wind and some interesting scenery and that great red dirt. Wild animals are being spotted near the road but mostly goats. Mor...

Camped next to a dump point can be quite busy, especially in the early morning as vans are leaving and again in the evening as new vans arrive. The smell wasn't noticable but the toilet block was also across the road and not sure if smells were coming from there or the septic tank. Carried on the wind. Morning spent food shopping and cleaning up after the bush camp. Ahn Thu cooked us breakfast at their airbnb that I had organised for them. Very nice spot. Most riders did some sight seeing, some did a guided walk, others rode out to the sculpture park and others just hung around camp. Camp kitchen was a very busy place in the evening. We had a lovely time chatting with Petal and Sunshine from Echuca.

Everyone was up early this morning but no earlier than Collis and I. Collis had the fire going and the water on the boil before any riders appeared. I was on a fair bit of pain last night after I tickled up my ribs again when I tripped over something last night. So I couldn't do too much to help this morning so it was a slow pack up. Peter L and David stayed and helped. Carolyn has decided to stay with me until morning tea. Jerry is quite fluey this morning so we got him to do a RAT which has come back negative. Will get him to do another tomorrow. All riders beat us to the 45 km mark so they kept going until I caught them around 50 kms. Tailwind today and beautiful weather. Then lunch was 85 kms and some stopped at 115kms for a drink stop. Gills back is playing up on her and Peter J was feeling quite ill so they both came off at lunchtime. I dropped Gill off at a friends place and she will reassess how her back is tomorrow whether she will continue or not. Hopefully Pete will...