Esperance

Arrived today Mon 20 July at Esperance ( pop 14,000) a port and regional centre on WA's far South East. Cracked the second century of the trip (115 miles) from Ravensthorpe- due to a powerful all day tail wind. The chill factor brought the temps down to 6 C. Plan to take tomorrow off to shop and post some non essentials back home. Have to make room for a 4 litre water bag for the next two weeks across the Nullarbor. Still 1/2 days from Norseman due north for the start of the crossing. Early today had a race with a kangaroo bounding along a field beside me on Highway 1. He gave up when I hit 31 kph- don't think he/she was really trying. Two have bounded across the road just in front of me. They really are graceful creatures in motion. Since leaving Freo on JUly 11 have clocked up 1000 kms plus- a short distance in this vast continent. Have been given a good wetting a couple of times but not too foul to stop. Have survived two more nights in my tent, First at Gairdnor was a triumph. The local farmer of 10,000 acres ( modest for Oz) invited me in for a beer, a hot shower and a look of the Tour de France live. Next night in the tent was horrendous. Winds gusted to 50 mph scaring the witrs out of me and then the rain lashed down for two hours. Amazingly the tent did its job. And the sleeping bag looks cozy enough to keep me warm at night with the temps dropping to freezing on the Nullarbor. The bike is going well but it's a hard grind on the long climbs. Found I'm always over-estimating how quickly I get to the next destination.