Steve's Cycling Blog

The wind continued to blow through the night – I was awake shortly after midnight and it was as strong as it had been at any point until then, but by the time we woke at 0515 it was thankfully calm.

Up, ablutions, bag packed, tent down, bag into the van, breakfast, and on the road – pretty much all in 45 min, starting from 0530. Despite this being only our second night camping I’ve figured a routine which seems to get things done with the minimum of wasted effort and standing round in the cold. And it was cold, -1ºC according to my bike computer!

The six of us who had ridden together yesterday had intended to do so today again, but with one thing and another it ended up being just Dan, Will and I who were together as we set off. Though generally calm we fell into a 2km rotating lead which really helped to keep the momentum going and us moving forward – again we were concerned about the distance we had to cover and the potential for wind in the afternoon.

Stage 10 rider notes

As we ticked off the km there was plenty around to keep us entertained, particularly with the ever-changing landscape. The further north we go the more dirt and vegetation there is – rather than just sand and gravel as we’d been travelling through over the last couple of days. It’s also amazing how there are towns seemingly in the middle of nowhere – you’ll crest a small hill, or round a bend and there before you will be a decent sized place, but with no obvious reason for existing!

A town for no apparent reason to exist

At around 75km as we were getting ready for lunch the wind arrived. Much like the sandstorm last night, it came totally from nowhere – one minute we’re cruising along in calm conditions, next minute it’s like being hit by a truck as a wall of wind smacks into you.

Lunch (at 83km) was a bit of a challenging affair – one of the two vans which should have been at the lunch stop had headed back to the previous town for fuel, with both local drivers going along. When they left it was flat calm, by the time we got there the wind was howling, and there was no shelter for the lunch table making getting things (other than sand) into your sandwich somewhat tricky.

We didn’t linger long at lunch once we’d eaten and got back on the road – this time taking 1km turns to lead as conditions were much tougher than they had been.

For the next three hours we battled on – taking a break after a further 20km, then 40km, before we saw one of the support vehicles coming towards us. Will (crew Will, not rider Will who was already with us) flagged us over to refill water bottles and deliver some excellent news – because of the conditions they had moved the camp 7km closer to us, so we would be doing only 144km today.

Even so – by now we were down to about 14km/h so we still had over an hour and a half to go. But on we went. Toward the end Will was pretty tired so Dan and I were swapping the lead between us to keep everyone moving forward.

Not only had the campsite been brought forward but we were staying in the compound behind a ‘road house’ (it’s the only thing I can think of to call it – a 24 hour diner / truckstop (though not fuel) mostly used by truckers) – and for those who didn’t want to put up their tents there was an option for sleeping mats on the floor ‘upstairs’ in the building. Given I’ve still got this bloody cold, and am coughing more at present, I opted to sleep in my tent for the sake of others.

In the end only about half of the riders made it through under their own steam. The person I feel most for is Ruth – she worked so hard yesterday to actually get through the day (nearly 14 hours riding), but because she travels relatively slowly by the time the wind arrived today she simply wasn’t going to make it to camp by dark so had to climb in the lunch van for the trip into camp. She’s subsequently renamed the E in EFI to ‘enough’!

Once again dinner was excellent – with fresh coleslaw to add to the rice and meat dishes. We’re not asking too many questions about what type of meat it is – better not to know I suspect!

Though the wind was less in the compound sitting outside chatting was still a dusty affair, and with tired bodies and another early start tomorrow most of us are heading to bed by 2000.

Riding data