Julie and I were supposed to be hiking the 5,000km Continental Divide Trail in the US in 2020, but COVID-19 derailed that plan. Instead, we will have an adventure in Australia, circumnavigating the country on our bikes, a distance of about 16,500km taking approximately five and a half months. We will use minor roads where possible and occasionally catch ferries across rivers and inlets to avoid busier inland routes. We will camp some of the time and stay in motels, hotels, etc, at others. There will be stretches of up to five days with no accommodation or resupply available, so we will need to be self-sufficient.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 075 - Alice Springs

Day:  075

Date: Monday, 14 September 2020

Start:  Alice Springs

Finish:  Alice Springs

Daily Kilometres:  0

Total Kilometres:  7843

Weather:  Warm, sunny and breezy

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs on toast & hash browns

  Lunch:  Chicken & bacon melt sub

  Dinner:  Nachos, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  Lazy day in Alice Springs attending to chores under no time pressure

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a slow start to the day and breakfasted in a cafe attached to the motel (using the $20 voucher that came with our room) before setting out to walk around town to tick off a number of shopping needs that have accumulated over the last month - second handlebar bag for Julie so more weight can be carried on the front of her bike, new headphones for Julie, new radio for Dave, new bike shorts for Julie (ordered and express mailed from Brisbane), new water bottles for Dave, five days food to see us through the next section, and so on.

Walking around town to find these things was a good orientation for Julie, who hasn't been to Alice Springs before.  The warm sunny weather showed off the attractive desert town at its best with its well-cared for parks and streetscapes, and red rocky outcrops and hills nearby.

After lunch at a nearby Subway, we finished our shopping in the early afternoon and returned to our room where we sorted and repacked gear and food.  Dinner followed later, at the attached tavern again, and then we took a short walk down to, and along, the Todd Mall, one of the venues lit up for the Parrtjima Festival which is on for ten days.  It was pretty, but not well-attended.  There's another venue at the Desert Park, 8km out of town, and we might try to get out there tomorrow night.

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