I was up at 5am, and riding out at 5:45. I got to the Augathella roadhouse before it was open, and decided to go to the next town for fuel, as I had plenty. Usually I'd hit reserve around 220km – 240km, and I'd never run it completely dry but from knowing how much was in reserve, I should be able to make it 280-300km before running dry. I was on 120km, with about 95km to go, so I wouldn't even hit reserve before the next time. So, I figure, plenty.
It turns out, I did not have plenty, and the bike stopped, completely out of fuel at 210km. For some reason my fuel efficiency had dropped sharply.
So there I am, by the deserted roadside, at 7am. I've seen maybe one car since I set out. I unstrap my auxiliary fuel can and get ready to walk into Roma, which should be about 6km away, not too far.
Just as I get set to walk, I see a SUV coming my way and I wave it down. I can see him wondering about stopping, then deciding to. He is a cattle trader from Victoria. He says he doesn't normally pick up people, but he had seen me arriving in Augathella last night... he must have been the sole person I saw on the footpath! I guess it meant to him I wasn't a stray or a local, looking to cause trouble. He gave me some advice on where to look out for long stretches without fuel.
I fill my auxiliary fuel can with petrol, and head out, walking back to the bike. After 30 minutes of walking I get a lift the rest of the way, from some opal miners on their way home to Lightning Ridge.
I refuel the bike, and with some effort, the bike roars to life. With a triumphant yawp I am back in the game.
Besides fuel stops, I stop in a couple of places to see tourist attractions.
At Blackall, I see the original Black Stump, of "Beyond the black stump" fame. One small town has an impressive array of bush machinery, vehicles, and WW2 weapons and memorabilia, both Australian and captured from Nazi and Imperial Japanese forces. At Longreach I see the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, which is quite interesting. Longreach was where Qantas first started, as two men giving joyrides in a plane they bought together.
In the afternoon, I pull in to fill up at McKinlay, and noticed some feathers on the bike. It turns out I had hit a bird at wheel height, cracking the front mudguard and exploding once it hit the bike underneath the front cowling. The smell was quite fowl.
I hose it off as best I can at McKinlay. I hope I don't smell like road kill for the rest of this trip.
The plan had been to reach Mount Isa today, but due to running out of fuel and stopping to see the sights, I am one stop short, in Cloncurry, at a roadhouse inn instead.
Cloncurry boasts of the hottest recorded temperature in Australia, 53.1 degrees Celsius. It's okay this evening though.
Once I start unpacking for the night I realise the bird hadn't just exploded over the front of the bike... there are blood splashes on my jeans, jacket, backpack, down the side of the bike, even on my helmet. How I didn't notice it when it happened, I'll never know. I wash it all off as best I could, and call an early night, exhausted.
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