Long Ride - Day 2 - Hay to Bourke

Long Ride day 2 - Hay to Bourke

Wow, thank God last night was spent in a proper bed in a cabin. Waking this morning to a temperature of 2 degrees wasn't the nicest thing, a warm bed and a heater was just the thing. Unfortunately a hot shower seemed unlikely. The water temperature was fine however, the water came out at about 3 drops per hour. Oh well, better than nothing.
 

After packing the bikes the day was going to be one of the longest of the ride, almost 600 kilometres to Bourke, and under some pretty trying conditions. The weather was pretty cold although the sun was out, that was a great sign.
 

The first thing was to get some fuel for both the bikes and the riders. Breakfast was had at a small cafe called the Havachat in Hay. A simple bacon and egg sandwich, but it was good as was the coffee. The people of Hay were lovely.
 

Once we got directions we were off in the direction of Hillston. After about 50 kilometres I was starting to wonder whether we were going the right way, there were no signs except for one saying West Wyalong 250km (or something similar). I couldn't believe it, we were going to have to turn around and possible turn 600 kays into a lot more.
 

Hay, a pretty town, but very quiet.

Finally after around 100 kilometres there was a sign pointing us in the right direct, I can't tell you hopw happy I was.
 

The ride to Hillston was a strange one, the land becoming more like desert and cows everywhere, even more than yesterday. Once in Hillston we had to refuel, and also fill up the jerry cans with fuel. The next leg to Cobar was 255 kms, and possibly too far for some bikes especially if we had a headwind.
 

Pushing on to Cobar was a real suprise for me. I had thoughts of the landscape being pretty flat and devoid of life, I couldn't have been much further from the truth. The landscape was really beautiful and constantly changing, one minute the soil was rich red with gum trees everywhere then the next it was grey soil and very little vegetation.
 

Despite the landscape changing the ride was becoming boring.

The amazing thing was the amount of animals. We already knew about the cows wandering around the road but now we also had wild goats. They were absolutely everywhere, and thankfully seemed to have a pretty good road sense. As did the emu's which also seemed to be everywhere. Apart from the abundant birdlife there was also the occasional feral cat and pig. Again all seemed to have pretty good road sense. The same couldn't be said for the kangaroos ... no doubt about it, they were put on thgis earth to be stupid. The number of roadkill compared to anything else must confirm that.
 

The push to Cobar was a tough one, not only physically but also mentally having to concentrate on the animals and the road-trains that were starting to pick up in number. I'd really like to have had a look around Cobar and its mines, but times was against us, we only had enough time to refuel and have a quick bite to eat before headed to Bourke, still around 160 kilometres away, and it was getting late.
 

By now it was starting to get late in the afternoon and get dark, this meant more kangaroos on the roads. A few came close, but nothing compared to what we were told when we finally got to Bourke.
 

The ride to Bourke was starting to get dark & maybe a little
dangerous.

In Bourke we didn't have enough time to look around it was already late and we had to find the caravan park. When we finally did find it, we were told that one of the Tasmanian riders had been hit by an emu. The giant bird had run into his left had side, slamming into his leg, damaging some ligiments in his knee. Thankfully he was able to hold the bikle upright and both he and his wife (riding pillion) were able to continue. The same couldn't be said for the bird.
 

 

The thing that amazed me was despite how beautiful the landscape was Europeans had done a hell of a job to destroy it.  I have never seen so many wild animals in my entire life.  Bloody goats everywhere, more than what you would ever see rabbits and it was clear that they eat everything in sight.
 

Once settled into the caravan park, Kidman's Camp, quite a nice place, we joined a group who were listening to a local spin yarns and poems about the local area. It was amazing, the history of Bourke and Louth, it certainly made me want to come back and have a better look around. They also served us a great meal around the fire. Along with a few cold beers it was just the thing to unwind after a massive day in the saddle.
 

As everyone relaxed we learned that the night before, with a tin being passed around, over $300 had been raised by the patrons of the local pub and a bus load of footballers who had turned up. A great result by all.
 

Ok, time to settle down now and watch the MotoGP race in the cabin that feels more like a couple of shipping containers put together, while fighting off a giant moth that is flying around. My legs are killing me. I've been wearing a pair of Draggin' bike jeans and I don't know what it is, shit denim perhaps, but they have been flapping around wildly on the bike. My calves are red raw, feel like I've received a few lashes. The Draggin's are no way near as good as the Hornee's ... back to them tomorrow.

 

 

Tomorrow we head into Queensland and head for Charleville.
 

Day 2 - 585km, total kms 1000.

 

 

I've also just been told that a very generous personal donation has been made, now taking the total raised to over $12,000. The next milestone is $13,000. Thank you very much J&D, I really appreciate the generosity.