Training Log Archive: jennycas

Not sure what possessed me to wake up at daybreak but it was lovely to watch the sky lightening over the salt lake and then to eat baked potatoes hot from the ashes of the campfire. Packing up seemed to take a long time, as condensation settles on both the inside and the outside of the tent and it needs a lot of wiping down. The next 80km of dunes took about 3 hours, then Blair & I were dropped off at the Mt Finke turnoff to stretch our legs before lunch. I ran out of legs at almost exactly the 30 min mark, but by then the camping area (not nearly as nice as at Goog's Lake) was only 2 min away, and George boiled the billy for me :)

Still took another hour to get to the railway line and after we stopped in the thriving metropolis of Tarcoola so Blair could find a weather station, it was already towards evening and at Kingoonya we made the decision that if we could ring up and get a motel room in Coober Pedy (which we could) then we'd drive straight through from Glendambo. The highway was uneventful but the sheet of water on the road which we hit in the darkness before getting to the highway was...interesting. Glad to have a professional driver in charge of the Hilux!

C • profesional driver 2

Along the foreshore path from Ceduna jetty to Thevenard and back. Starting point gave us the opportunity to admire the top floor of the pub, which wasn't there until Geoff delivered its components a year or two back. Then we 3 headed north into the wilderness on Goog's track. I was impressed by the emphaticness of the dingo-proof fence. 50km and about 100 sand dune ridges later we camped for the night near Goog's lake, which was just lovely.

Today we trotted out to Pildappa Rock, which is about 15km NE of town, and got George to pick us up :) It was a fairly straight road with long gradual ups and downs and I managed better than expected although my calf didn't like the last 3km. The guy driving the road grader must have thought we were weird! Anyway, Pildappa Rock is very cool, like Wave Rock only better. Afterwards we all went to Polda Rock which is the best example in the district of runoff being collected for the town's water supply by a channel around the base of the rock, and to Mt Wudinna where the granite dome rises about 60m above the surrounding farmland, and then into the Gawler Ranges to see the Organ Pipes (hexagonal crystalline volcanic columns) .

C • Good effort 3

From the highwayside campground (of which we 3 were the only residents) in Minnipa out to Tcharkulda Rock and back with Blair. It has a trig on top but is otherwise less imposing than some of the other local granite monoliths. On the way back something went a bit nasty in my calf so I had to stop and stretch it. We did a lap of the town at the end but didn't find much sign of life. Found more vitality in Streaky Bay, which appears to be a thriving community, and where I talked the guys into lunch at a nice waterfront cafe before we did a scenic coastal drive.

Once it stopped pouring I went for a quick trot around my favourite parts of Whyalla from the caravan park on the foreshore - Ada Ryan Gardens, Hummock Hill, and the Flinders & Freycinet lookout. Nice to get some fresh air and some time to myself :) Gawler Ranges may be a wee bit soggy today so we're heading for granite country -Wudinna or Minnipa.

Somewhat steeper than Sat and with more changes of direction, often across rocky hillsides, which the blisters under my arches from yesterday didn't like much. Had a few vague moments because of other stuff on my mind but dragged myself back into focus just in time without any disasters. Didn't officially lose any time but the others had better runs than me today. Still, was happy to just sneak in front on cumulative times for the weekend.

Thought I'd see whether I could manage to have a totally clean run, because this area suits me - no nasty undergrowth and contours which I can read well. This achievement took a fair bit of effort though because the vegetation has changed a little with yellow having become green and green white, so it was essential to stick to a bearing while reading the aforementioned contours. This even worked for me on the 2.5km long leg :) I knew I wouldn't be very fast so figured I couldn't afford to lose any time. Nearly had a brain fade on the way to 8, where I passed Belinda. From there it wasn't exactly home free, but nearly all downhill, and I thought I got up a pretty good pace. Ended up 3.5 min ahead of Bridget.