Long Ride 2016 - Day 4

April 11, 2016

Port Augusta, SA to Ceduna, SA - 628km (1,970km)

The day started with a run along the waterfront of Port Augusta, quite a pretty little 'city' at the northern end of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia.  Many of the buildings are of the traditional South Australian type, sandstone blocks provide thick walls and a unique look that is unmistakeably South Australian.

 

Once on the road the plan was to get something to eat in the town centre, it was here that we saw the best and worst in people.  The best came from an aboriginal man who approached and asked where we had come from, when we told him his response was classic, "Bullshit, that's far".

 

We laughed together and then he congratulated us and wished us safe travels, the whole time with the most beautiful of smiles.

 

The worst came from another aboriginal, this time a man in his early twenties.  He was loading balloons, adorned with a football teams logo, in his utility.  One of our group made a joke about supporting the football club.  The young man didn't take kindly to the joke, and although he was clearly agitated and quite angry, he told our group to stop being so "bloody disrespectful, like all white people."  It turns out the balloons were for a funeral.

 

It was such a shame he reacted the way he did, although, I do understand the emotions - it clearly demonstrated that a clash of cultures often goes very much both ways.

HMAS Whyalla

 

With this behind us our group broke in two as three of us had decided to add a few additional kilometres and head south towards Whyalla.  Not long after we had started the rain began to come down, it looked like it would be here for quite some time.  Under the watchful eye of the HMAS Whyalla we got into out wet-weather gear and then head off towards the road to Kimba.

 

By now we had been joined by a few other riders, it looked like a good day however, I hadn't even given another thought to the fact that the road would be turning to dirt quite soon.

 

Approaching the road it became clear that a number of the riders, on cruisers and sportsbikes, would not be willing to take to the dirt, despite it being a very well maintained country road.  For me anyone who refuses to challenge themselves a little on dirt is missing a whole new world of motorcycle discovery.

 

One of the grand buildings in Cowell

We now had to find another route and eventually settled on one that would add another 200 kilometres (3 hours) to the ride.

 

We headed towards a town called Cowell which would see us continue on down the coast towards the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula.  The ride was quite good, on quality bitumen roads with enough corners to keep things interesting.  We passed a number of open cut mines, the shear size of these things was impressive, but I kept wondering what happens to the land when the mine ceases operation?

 

Once in Cowell, the beauty of the little town  
was striking.  Again there were plenty of the unmistakable South Australian buildings, the community also seemed to have a sense of pride.  I needed to use the toilets and when I did I was surprised to see a handwritten sign proclaiming "Welcome To The Cowell Crap Art Gallery".  Great, did this mean someone has gone berserk and destroyed the toilets?

 



Crap Art

It was far from the case. The toilets were adorned with many paintings and drawings, all by local artists, and very cheaply priced.  I would loved to have bought one, but was a little concerned about what else  would come with the artwork.  I'm sure you know what I mean.

 

From Cowell we were off for Lock, where we pulled up next to a deli.  The town which, was just one street, was deserted.  We stretched and had a quick bite to eat when a lady, probably around 70, approached us and handed over $50 as a donation for the Long Ride 2016.  We still have no idea she knew what we were doing, as the route we were on, was nowhere near the official one.  It was a beautiful gesture, we have no idea what her story was, just the fact that she was extremely generous and seemed very pleased that we had stopped in her town. 

 

We continued on and picked up the main highway towards Ceduna, the Long Rides next overnight stop.

 

By now the light was starting to fade and in the Australian outback or bush this time of the day is always a very serious threat.  We spread out to give ourselves space to react should something step out in front of us, thankfully nothing did.  We pulled into Ceduna at around 7:30pm, just under 11 hours of being on the road.

 

I was knackered, not physically, just mentally.  This was quickly fixed with a cold beer and great roast dinner.  Once in bed sleep came quickly, I don't remember dreaming although, I am sure I would've dreamt of the next days riding, the Nullarbor Plain and the challenges it would bring ...