Day 33 Musgrave Roadhouse to Coen
Distance: 108.23km
Av speed: 12.2km/h
Total Elevation: 871m
Calories: 3374 per person
Weather: Mild start (mid 20s) before warming up later in the day (mid 30s)
Fortunately today we had the opportunity to kick start the day’s carbo loading with a hearty breakfast at the Roadhouse – weetbix, cornflakes, toast and drinks.
We were soon reacquainted with our old friend ‘the Great Dividing Range’. This time it was again kinder to us than our three previous meetings, having only one 3km climb of 8%, before spending the day on undulating roads.
It was also our first encounter with the deep corrugated sand weve been warned about and to our surprise we found we were generally able to ride through it by dropping the gearing and maintaining a straight steering line. We only hope this holds out over the coming 5 days, as we have heard mixed reviews of the roads which await us... some saying its the worst its ever been, others saying its better than usual... given they appear to be such subjective opinions and none of these people have done it on a mountain bike, who really knows!
Our only problem for the day was Jon’s chain getting stuck between his granny and middle ring, fortunately applying a Macgyver technique of a rock and brute force, Chris was able to get it loose.
As the day progressed the weather warmed and we were pleased when we finally arrived at Coen shortly after 330pm.
Weve spent the afternoon buying groceries for the coming days and servicing the bikes, before heading to the Exchange Hotel (where Cornelia Rau was found fyi Aussies) for a feed.
We’ve changed plans for tomorrow and will not be attempting the 189km to Moreton Telegraph Station. Rather we’ll split that day in two and camp by the roadside, catching the day back up later in the week by doing Gunshot Creek to Seisia in the one day.
We’re unsure when we’ll next have reception, but stay tuned for the daily 160 digit satellite phone updates!
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