Darwin
I spent four days in Katherine. It was a good chance to catch up with Mum and rest my weary legs. We checked out Katherine Gorge, where Mum saw her first freshwater croc (in the water we planned to swim in). Edith Falls were amazing. The water was perfect swimming temperature and we spent all day there swimming, and relaxing in the shade. I had generous serves of rest, good food and drink, and I felt ready for the last leg on the bike. There was 320km to go before Darwin. I planned to do around 140km on my first day but that never eventuated. Around 30km out of Katherine I was pedaling up a long hill and changing down gears to make it easier when something gave way and I became stuck in my highest gear. I pulled over to have a look at what had happened. I thought the cable must have slipped or snapped and I saw that it was really loose and hanging off the frame. I pulled on the cable and there was no resistance, which indicated that it had snapped. I was pretty frustrated as it was something I thought I couldn’t fix. The bike could still operate but I’d be stuck in a high gear for the last 290km, which would be difficult with the hills I had to cross. I had a spare cable in my toolbox but it was something I’d bought quickly for a few dollars before the start of the trip without really looking into whether it was compatible. I pulled the broken cable out from the bike in order to remove it so it wouldn’t get in the way while I was riding and found that it had snapped inside the shifter. I undid the plastic casing of the shifter and could see how the cable was fed through. It wasn’t as complex as I’d imagined. I got my spare cable out of my tool kit and it seemed like it was the right size and length. I thought I’d better have a crack at fixing it given the distance I still had to travel. It took me a little while to get the snapped end out of the shifter, and used tweezers in the end. I cut the end off my new cable to feed it through but my wire cutters weren’t great and the cable frayed. I tried twisting it back together and pushing it through but it was pretty clear that if the cut end of the cable didn’t stay together at roughly the same size as the rest of the cable then it wouldn’t fit through the narrow opening. I cut the cable again more carefully, which was a bit better but still too frayed so on my third attempt I decided to superglue the strands or wire together before cutting the cable. I had to squeeze the cutters a few times; add some glue, make a few more cuts, more glue, and repeat until I’d cut all the way through. It still didn’t fit so I started to shave off most of the excess glue, and just as I was about to give up the cable passed through the opening in the shifter. It was a triumph. I ran the cable through the outer sheathes, tied it off, and tensioned it so that it changed gears smoothly. I had to remove the pannier bag on the gear side to run the cable and as I did I noticed that one of the tubes on my rack was completely snapped through; reflecting exactly what had happened on the Gibb on the opposite side of the rack. It was probably caused by the bike falling over. This time I hardly even cared. I had smooth bitumen roads ahead of me and Mum had met me for lunch by that stage so I threw the rear pannier bags in the van. I only had two zip ties left and didn’t even attempt to fix it with them. I got back on the road and I left with the feeling that I’d be limping into Darwin rather than charging. We stayed at Pine Creek that night, a small historic town 90km north of Katherine, and well short of where I’d planned to be by the day’s end. There were lots of mango plantations leading up to Pine Creek, and some massive mango trees in front yards throughout the town. I couldn’t believe how many there were; and so easily accessible to anyone walking past. The squeeze tests weren’t productive though, they were still rock hard. That night around dusk we saw a cloud of bats flying overhead. They flew by for quite a few minutes and it seemed as though they were in their thousands. They didn’t seem to mind the under-ripe mangoes.
I looked at the map over breakfast and decided I’d aim for the Acacia roadhouse 165km from Pine Creek. With most of the weight off the bike, and with fair winds I thought it was achievable. Since leaving Kununurra the daily temperature was still reaching 40 degrees and it didn’t cool down much at night. I was so tired when I stopped for lunch that I had a small sleep before I got on the bike. It helped a lot and I pushed on into the afternoon. I noticed the landscape change, with ferns and palms becoming more frequent, and the foliage becoming a vivid green. I saw mum pull up in the van in the late afternoon and she told me Acacia had been shut down but there was a free roadside camp spot not far from it. Around that time the headwinds kicked up and It took a lot longer that I had expected to ride the last 15km for the day. Not far from the camp I saw my odometer click over to 6000km. It was a good feeling. I made it to the campsite just as it was starting to get dark. I was glad to get off the bike. I had done 160km over 8.5 hours and my legs were feeling exhausted.
I woke up before dawn for my last day on the road and ate my breakfast in the dark, as I had done so, so often on my travels. It was Day 134 since leaving Perth and I only had 70km to go. I pulled on my damp, sweaty cycling clothes for the last time. The sunrise was beautiful and the overcast morning kept the sun at bay for a couple of hours to make the cycling pleasant. About 20km out of Darwin the traffic dramatically increased and it became noisy and hectic to ride in, especially compared to what I’d been used to. I was forced to ride on a freeway for a couple of kilometers when I passed a sign that indicated bicycles could no longer proceed, however, there didn’t seem to be any cycle path to exit on. There was some intense moments in the last 10km with tight lanes and lots of traffic but I eventually made it onto a bicycle path that took me into the CBD and I finished on the lawns of the civic centre. It was super exciting and the sense of accomplishment began to sink in.
I’ll be in the Northern Territory for a couple more weeks to check out some of the amazing things and places on offer. I’ve only begun to reflect on my trip, however, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my friends and fam for helping me make journey possible and for the love and support I’ve continually received along the way. So many people, most of which I met along the way, have helped me out in some way or have simply made kind gestures and I'm very grateful to exist amongst such amazing human beings. I feel really lucky to have been able to see my country in the way that I have. I've lived it, I've loved it. The trip has allowed me to discover what’s really important in my life. I’ve found new self-confidence, experienced true solitude, endured hardship, had an absolute ball, and have developed an insatiable desire for further travel and adventure. There will be more in store in the future but for now I’ll be hanging up my helmet and enjoying some time off the bike for a while. Thanks for reading.