It has been a strange and crazy adventure so far. There was rage, hate, laughter, tears (well it could have been sweat as well) and a massive amount of pain. The headwind we had was in no way fun, the places we slept in resembled Jurassic Park scenarios some of the times and sometimes we just camped out on the beaches of paradise to be woken up by flocks of colorful parrots that greeted the morning sun.
Six o'clock should be our start to ride each morning and for the most part we kept on riding out that time to get the first 90-100 km under our belt before the super sun hits you.
Our burnt hands are proof of what a missing ozone layer does to your skin. With our mates Kelle and Rene driving the support vehicle we can be sure that between the 30-50 km marker we always can refuel on water and some little snacks to keep us going. Sometimes we ride alone, sometimes we ride as a group but the "god of good legs" is not always with everyone on the same day.
The bikes NeilPryde gave us to ride this tour are undergoing one of the most extreme tests I have seen. I think, since the road is most of the time a hardcore gravel / cheese grater kind of surface that never gives the feeling of an even rolling and would most certainly raise the one or other eyebrow at the people with the UCI.
The Diablo rides as stiff as if it was made from a solid block of aluminum and I trust it on heavy descents as well as on a road train draft wind. It is an amazing bike. The components on the ultra version are working like a charm although we would need a drop of oil here and there to make the squeaking stop. But hey, its desert and sand, what can you do right?
Andrea most probably will never let go of his Alize and will participate in a Triathlon when we come to Melbourne, a crazy Italian that is for sure.
Today, as I write this, we made it already into Adelaide. We are sore from some over 200 km stages, from the never ending headwind, from sleeping six adults in a campervan, from the early wake up calls and the chill in the morning but one thing will always make us get up again, the thumbs up from people that pass by in cars in the desert, the road train drivers that wave at you and buy you a water at the gas stop and mumble " good on ya!". This is an experience beyond anything and once we will have finished this thing we will have done "epic"!