I woke to gale force winds and a bit of rain. Real kite flying weather but at ground level which if course made it really difficult to pack up. I had to totally repack poor old Gerty as I just ripped the stuff off her last night and chucked it to one side when she got blown over. But I still managed to get away by about 0900.
It was cold though and I had not one but two jumpers on and all my vents done up. Very different from the temps yesterday.
I rode to Streaky Bay where a pharmacist said to keep on taking anti histamine and keep hydrated, more or less what I was doing. Had the usual chats with passers by about bikes, this part of Australia, weather patterns, grey nomads, aboriginals and what I was up to.
It's surprising what you learn from people without meaning to, just through casual conversations and passing the time of day. Bits about their lives, how they came to be living there, how they make their living, where else they've been in the world, what they dream about, what they hope for etc. It's pretty cool and every time it happens, I come away with a sense of ' wow' because it's never planned nor solicited, it just happens.
Years ago, I did a photographic project on old ladies, ladies who had been girls during WW2 and who had taken over the jobs men vacated when they went to war. It was fantastic and I travelled the UK chatting to some really sparkey and inspirational, yet ordinary people - and I mean ordinary in a complimentary way, just regular people living their lives who happened to be doing so at an exceptional time. Anyway, one of the most frequent things they'd say to me was ' it's been lovely talking to you dear. My children just aren't interested' or ' I've never told anybody this before you know; never thought about it really, never thought I'd done anything different to anybody else or anything interesting'. But of course they had, albeit interest may have developed later when it was not common place.
And it's the same with the people I meet along the road; they are just doing what they do, thinking what they think, but privately, they dream and wonder what it's like over the horizon or round the corner, yet for whatever reason, they don't actively move to find out. Yet when a stranger comes along, it somehow triggers things and they come up and chat and tell me the most extraordinary things about themselves.
Maybe it's the safety of knowing that I'm just passing through therefore unlikely to threaten their status quo or spill the beans, but at the same time, the recognition of shared curiosity kicks in, and they just do it. The bike definitely helps; she's a conversation starter and something for them to test the water on and gauge response before they tell me little snippets about themselves. And it's always that way round; they always approach me, sometimes before I've even got off. And I love it. It is such a compelling thing to be engaged in conversation by a total stranger just because they recognise common ground. Me! I'm no different to them yet they take time to come find out more. It's great.
I also smashed my camera today. The wind ripped it from around my neck and sent it cartwheeling across the highway. Luckily I felt it happen and retrieved it. It looked totalled and wouldn't switch on but after a bit if fiddling, I think I've got it going again.
My bigger camera broke earlier in the week too. The back ring of the lens came loose ( it's plastic not metal) and I temp fixed it with gaffer tape. But it's now fixed ( I think) with the aid if superglue.
Well, I reached Penong ok, intending to refuel ready to start the Nullarbor but my eye had swelled to the point that I couldn't see out of it at all and my face continued to sting. A cross between stinging nettle stings, sunburn and going to the dentist.
So I stopped and got a room at the pub and went to sleep. It's a bit basic but luxurious in comparison to my usual accommodation.
I needed to be sure it wouldn't get worse. As it is, the nearest doctor is 70 kms back in Ceduna but that of course means riding which I don't want to do. And they'll only give me more anti histamine. I'm going to stay tonight too, which means I can catch up
on some jobs, like the overdue oil change, spoke ringing and a possible tyre change. One eyed mechanicing here we go.
I've also discovered that although I can get 3G out here, my dongle has no coverage so I'll try and blog as usual but photos will be phone photos only. I'll upload others when I get to Perth. It's a bit remote.
No comments:
Post a Comment