Warren to Coonamble - The Long Paddock

Ah – well – perhaps we are not quite free from the tentacles of the southern weather -  she made one last grasp at us last night – the night cold but tolerable – the morning a little chilly - chilly enough to drive Tom inside to undertake the consumption of his morning fortifications – also chilly enough for him to go in search of the leggings that he had unwisely packed away over the rest day!

He is revitalised from the rest day – he comments with great delight that the wind has changed direction and will be at his back – he is so enthused that for the first time he is prepared and ready to hit the road before 8:00am.

Off he heads – the bike is carried – he has a justified worry about the absolute abundance of cats-heads that lie ready to inflict fatal damage upon the tyres of any bicycle that has the mis-fortune to transit their hiding place.

Out on the Oxley Highway – I wonder what young John Oxley would have thought of having a highway named after him – I suspect he would have thought that as Surveyor-General of the Colony of NSW he deserved nothing less and indeed considerably more – he sounds like he may have been a bit of a manipulator to me – let’s get off his highway as soon as we can.

Tom does so almost immediately he clears the environs of Warren – On the MarthaGuy Road

Onwards - the caravan is a little excited - the sign a little early pointed to Haddon-Rig Merino Stud - perhaps we will pass one of the nation's greatest contributors to the quality of the ovine gene pool - alas it is not to be! - turn towards Coonamble

Straight smooth roads – the road only partially fenced – it feels like he is truly riding “the long paddock” – sun on his face and the wind at his back – barely a car in sight - he is off – the average speeds a little surprising for the poor old caravan following behind – it starts to worry – it calculates it should catch him at 10:00am – 10:00am comes and goes – still not sign of Tom – surely we haven’t past him – three huge cattle road trains come in opposite direction – the campervan sees them coming and heads for the safety of the verge – the trucks passing buffets even the van itself – it worries that Tom may have encountered a similar convoy and suffered some unfortunate consequence – it puts the thought aside and pushes on in pursuit of the energised rider – at last – at last - find a spot for lunch – Tom arrives -  “this is the best ride I have had so far” says an obviously delighted Tom.

We look around – some signs catch our attention – love this property owner’s sense of fun “Kindamine” is a name a lot of us should apply to our property portfolio –

Ah this sigh just cannot be ignored – there has been nothing – I mean nothing other than pleasant scenes dominated by open rangelands and pretty woodlands for 45 kilometres – we ponder the sign – why does it just say “Historical Site – 6.5 kilometres” – seems strange to me – why not say what is it – furthermore why say how far it is to nearest tenth of a kilometre.

After Tom is sent on his way the van heads off to investigate this historical point of interest – a point crossed by John Oxley in 1818 – nothing there – just a crossing – if the sign had been truly forthcoming then no one who have bothered to take the diversion – if the distance wasn’t specified with such accuracy the location itself would not have been found.

Back in pursuit of Tom -  he continues to fly along – the sun still on his face and wind at his back – the roads remain smooth and quiet – the caravan again starts to worry – at this rate Tom will be in Coonamble before it is even set up.

Tom has decided to divert along Back Gully Road for the last 20 kilometres of the day’s ride rather than battling the grey nomads on the Castlereagh Highway into Coonamble – the van decides to check out this gravel by-way – all good – an appropriate text is forwarded to Tom.

The van passes the enormous grain handling and holding facilities on the approach into Coonamble – 

We reach the caravan park – “cash only” says the caretaker – it seemed strangely appropriate for it does look at little like a “cash only” park.

The caravan felt a little sorry for the caretaker since the paucity of receipt books and ink based writing equipment could only mean that the park was struggling to make ends meet – why else thought the caravan would someone only take cash, forget to write a receipt and enter the booking into the park diary with a lead pencil – the van itself is bright enough but not that bright – the copious supply of erasers on the desk did not seem to register with it as being significant.

The van looked around at its neighbours – it is still early in the day but there is a distinct absence of sparkling new caravans typical of the grey nomad brigade – rather, the park seems to be populated with old and tired examples that appear to have been stationary for some time.

Settled into its abode for the day, the van anxiously awaits the arrival of its friend, the bike. When the bike does not arrive the  urges that a text be sent to check if Tom is Ok – “sorry” comes the reply “had a puncture on Back Gully Road – all OK – be there in an hour” – the van frowns and settles back to wait for its mate – an hour comes and goes – still not sign of the bike – another text – “another back wheel puncture – walking into town” says Tom.

The car is dispatched – Tom has already walked 4 kilometres into town – only two more kilometres to the van – “the bike will fit into the back of the car” says I – “no way” says Tom – “it is either the bike or shank’s pony for this challenge” says Tom – I am dispatched to buy Tom a milk shake as he and the bike trudge on to the meet the van – “that has played merry hell with my average speed” says Tom.

He relaxes - then attends to his steed -  the bike still glowing form all the love and attention showered on it on the rest day enjoys the attention given to it as tyres are changed and tubes are patched.

The bike still glowing form all the love and attention showered on it on the rest day enjoys the attention given to it as tyres are changed and tubes are patched.