1st stop second time

Well after a very deserved catch-up with all the ladies we finally left on our once again outback adventure although we are no closer to the out back then we were 3 months ago when we left for the first time and we have to once again stay close to home as we are due back in 2 weeks for a very important 40th I mean 50th – thanks Marita.

Well our first stop on this fine trip was a request from Tony Parker (our retired vet neighbour) who at our farewell brought Glen Davis as a suggestion on the “So_we_to now” list. This was a quiet little suburb on a long dirt road with an amazing sandstone backdrop in an incredibly beautiful valley. The town only has 30 people – sorry 29 since Jim and Debbie separated and she went back to her mother. It has a free camping site with hot showers and a community hall/info centre which is only manned on weekends and sells chocolates, ice creams, and crisps (literarily) It could not even give us a map of the area, anyway the ladies who faithfully give up there weekends to sit and chatter all day are a wealth of information on who is doing who....but that was it.

In true Rod style he suggests we take our bicycles to check out the area and maybe collect some wood as there is no wood at the camping area not even for sale which could have been more useful then the chocolates and ice creams – no let’s just say ice creams. I did happen to mention that I have no back brakes on my left side of the bike as it has not been ridden for ........ well let’s just say a long time. We both collect 2 x 3m logs and placed them on our shoulder, mine on my right as I am right handed. We proceed to go hurtling down the hill back towards the camping area and I realise that I have no brakes under my left hand which happens to be the only one on the handle bars. I manage to dislodge one of the 5m logs while the other is about to pole vault me and my bicycle over itself. I finally get my right hand to the only brake that works and slam it on which does pole vault my bicycle over itself – needless to say I only ended up with a broken toe as I was only wearing my Crocs and I have no idea where it ended up to actually be in the way. (True Angela style)
We did however manage to ask someone if the walk to Newens (over the mountain through the gap) was do-able on a mountain bike and he said that he had never seen it done before. (MMMMmmmm never seen it done before).............Do you think that sounded any alarm bells in Rods ears, Oh No No. Out of the 13 km to the top of the mountain range and back we rode about 1.5 the rest we pushed or carried our bike. The track had barely been walked before never mind ridden. In the process however I have devised the best method for all you avid mountain bike adventure racers, on the do’s and don’ts when it comes to carrying a mountain bike. I will demonstrate in the attached pics...

We did learn that Glen Davis was a once bustling town with around 2500 people. It had a bowls club, 2 rugby teams, 2 soccer teams, a 9 hole golf course, just to mention a few. It started producing petroleum in the turn of the nineteenth century. The cost of producing 1 gallon of fuel true ozzie style was 5 shillings and the cost to import it from overseas was only 1 shilling plus some thruppence or whatever they were. Hence it did not last and was closed in 1952. It now has an excellent tour at 2pm every Saturday at the old petrol plant conducted by “Bill the pommy tour guide” who was amazingly passionate and who had a wealth of history and information. Thanks Bill and the quiet sleepy town of Glen Davis – off to Warrumbungles.