Meet Dave. Dave is the first member of the Ulysses bike club I’ve met who doesn’t have a trailer in tow. (But he has one at home). They had their AGM in Alice Springs a few weeks ago and they haven’t all gone to ground yet.

Dave was headed the other way, but we still managed to spend too much time taking and sharing tips. He’d got the same back tyre as me. It was nice to be reminded what the tread looked like when it had some!!

Sorry the photo is a bit misty. I think my camera got a bit sentimental. Dave reckons there’s a bridge about to close on the road of bones, putting an end to all trips across Russia. Everyone’s got their own story of doom haven’t they? Well, I’ll tell you if that’s true when I get there!

What happens if you can’t find two trees? That’s the usual question I get when people are asking about my hammock. I tell them I just put my tent up instead. They always look disappointed with they answer.

While I’m not quite ready to ditch the tent just yet, I’ve only had one night where I had to use it – and that was only because the lady at the camp site was precious about her trees! (Poor trees!).

The other night I bush camped and there was only one tree. I got a bit inventive with the straps and had a very good nights sleep. I really am enjoying sleeping under the stars at the moment, it won’t be the same when I have to start pitching the fly.

Sophie
Latitude:-28.07393
Longitude:114.47067
GPS location Date/Time:06/04/2014 19:25:22 PDT

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Sophie

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Meet Paul. I saw a loaded up dirt bike pull into Coles at Tom Price. It looked well setup and I wondered who was on it and where they were headed.

I met the rider on the way in, a nice bloke called Paul. We got chatting and it turns out he’s been on the road touring Oz for a year! Good effort.

The day was getting on and neither of us had a camp spot in mind. We got some supplies and checked out a likely bush camp spot about 10 km out of town. Perfect.

It was good to meet a kindred spirit and talk about road trips and the practicalities of travel by bike. Paul has a target of living on $30 a day. I have a long way to go to achieve that one!

But not one like this! What a totally useless sign this is. Is the Warlu way left or right then?

I’ve seen quite a few different signs along the way, from different states and shires. Some good and some not so. This definitely takes the prize for most useless!

You’ve played spot the ball, we’ll here’s a new one for you. Spot the bike! She’s in there somewhere I promise you.

I walked for 20 minutes up a big hill to get this photo, in 34 degrees with all my bike gear on. The scenery was stunning (as usual), and again something that a photo can never fully capture.

Suffice to say that if you ever get the chance, ride a bike to Tom Price in Western Australia. It’s a real treat!

I parked up to fiddle with my helmet. (My bike helmet, sheesh – your dirty mind!). Anyway, a road train pulled in so I took the opportunity to get a photo, with my bike in there for a sense of scale.

You can get a good idea of the size of these things from this picture. Big aren’t they? Can you imagine one of these in the narrow streets if Cornwall? Nope, me neither.

Not really. The bike is doing great, averaging around 750 to 800 kms per tank full. I’ve realised that if I fill her up in the morning, I can’t ride far enough to empty the tank in one day!! (Unless I ride at night).

I had an extra day in Broome, to rest up myself – and also to give the bike some TLC. New headlight bulb and an oil change. I also gave it a wash at the local jet wash. It looks pretty good at the moment. (Well for what it is anyway).

Meet Sebastian and Susie. A great couple from Germany currently working in Broome, part of their tour of Australia. They took great interest in my trip and would like to do the south Americas sometime. (So would I!).

But what makes them special is that they’re Hong Kong Phooey fans! Fanrific! Thanks for the royal salute on my departure.

I also meet another pair of English and German couples who’s names I didn’t get. Keen fishers who cooked a huge fish they’d caught the first night I was there.

I’m living on the road so don’t have 24/7 news coverage, a TV or radio. I don’t make a habit of reading the papers either. When I have a signal I do a quick look on Facebook, but that’s about all.

Despite this, I couldn’t fall to note the passing of Stephen Sutton. A courageous young man who captured the heart of a nation. Stephen was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but still managed to raise over four million pounds for the teenage cancer charity. £4,000,000!!!!

His journey was blogged like mine, but what different journeys we have had! You can read all about real courage, bravery and inspiration for a nation at http://www.stephensstory.co.uk

His trademark was the “Thumbs Up” picture. I don’t think I really do it justice, but here’s my version. We really are the lucky ones.