Wilsons Promontory to Cape York by bike - Barcaldine to Muttaburra

Day: 017
Date: Sunday, 13 August 2006
Summary: Riding from Barcaldine to Muttaburra.
Start: Barcaldine
Finish: Muttaburra
Daily Kilometres: 150
Total Kilometres: 2313
Weather: Cool early but warm and sunny for the rest of the day with variable winds.
Accommodation: Hotel in Muttaburra , Queensland .
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  The “Big Breakfast” from the roadhouse opposite the motel
  Lunch:  Two pies
  Dinner:  Chicken Kiev (which I only bought on the recommendation of the barmaid and regretted later) for dinner.
Encounters: I saw quite a few emus during the day.
Highlights: Getting to some real Australian outback towns (Aramac and Muttaburra) which are well away from any main travel routes.  They are little oases (that may be overstating it a bit!) in the vast dry grass and scrub plains that roll away to the horizon in all directions.  The towns themselves are pretty dry with Queenslander-type houses and/or broad verandahs, some in poor condition, dry dusty and wide streets, and lots of vacant lots and junk.  Each town has a pub which looks a bit worse for wear and a couple of little stores
Lowlights: The morning started in a relaxed way, when I got up an hour later and treated myself to breakfast at the roadhouse across the road, before setting off at 8:00am.  My plan was to have an easy 66km ride to Aramac where I would have lunch.  But the best laid plans…..  As I left town and struck north onto the treeless grassy plains, the north-east wind sprang up and I was soon struggling to make headway.  It took four hours to get to Aramac, hard work all of the way, and I barely averaged 18kph.

Journal:
By the time I had a late breakfast and left Barcaldine at 8:00am, it was already warm enough to wear just a T-shirt.  Hopefully the cold mornings are behind me now.  The countryside quickly became prairie-like rolling dry grass-covered hills with scarcely a tree in sight and the wind blew steadily from the north-east, making it very tough riding.  Tumbleweeds were rolling down the road towards me on occasions as if to emphasize the wind.  Aramac and Muttaburra are off the main travel routes and the road narrowed to a thin strip of bitumen although there was virtually no traffic.

I eventually struggled into Aramac around noon and rode around town a bit trying to find the pub and shopping centre.  The bowling club was a hive of activity, with serious competition taking place, but the rest of the town, including the main street which I eventually found, was dead.  The only place open was the pub and the only food available was burgers or pies, so I chose pies.  There were a couple of regulars in the pub watching, and betting on, the races but, otherwise, not much happening.

Fortunately the road to Muttaburra was more to the north-east and the wind now became following or cross for the remainder of the afternoon and I made good time to Muttaburra, although it got quite hot riding.  I got a basic ($22) room at the rambling but quaint pub, had a shower and bought some supplies at the adjacent store/service station.  I bought a pack of frozen bread rolls (all bread is sold frozen in this part of the world) to do for dinner and maybe lunch in the next two days.  It is 205km to Hughenden on unsealed roads and I have allowed myself two days for the trip.  However, I will get going early and see how far I can get tomorrow.  If things go well, and conditions are favourable, I might even make it all of the way to Hughenden.