Training Log Archive: blairtrewinIn the 1 days ending Aug 3, 2016:
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Wednesday Aug 3, 2016 #
8 AM
Run 41:00 [3] 7.5 km (5:28 / km)
The cold wind was still with us this morning but the sun was shining. Being in no desperate hurry to get away - would have been a good opportunity for something longer had I been in better shape - I headed out across the Bulloo River crossing (carrying a decent amount of water for this time of year but the flood has passed) and out on the Hungerford road. Felt like hard work in the sections into the wind but, as is often the way, the pace was no different.
Today was a day when I didn't need to be in a hurry; being a day ahead of schedule but then possibly needing to hold myself back to give the Cooper crossing at Windorah time to become passable (it turned out that it had reopened on Monday), I didn't plan to go any further than Quilpie today. On the direct route that's about 200km but there were a couple of interesting-sounding diversions via Eulo and Yowah which doubled that.
Yowah is an opal-mining settlement I hadn't previously heard of - I think it's relatively new (1990s) but still mostly looks to have the rough-and-ready air that other such places have. However, it also has hot artesian baths, which I thought would do me some good (and were worth the hour's wait for the attendant to get back from lunch).
(Queensland gem-mining settlements have a bit of a reputation for people getting away from things. Some years ago, two of our field inspectors went out to check sites in central Queensland, turned up at one of these places and found no-one would talk to them. Eventually they did find someone who was willing to converse, asked why everyone had been so unfriendly, and got the reply "Meteorology? That's fine. We saw your government plates and thought you were Tax").
Completed the journey to Quilpie in the afternoon via a stop at the Toompine pub, a pub built in the late 19th century in anticipation of a town which was never built. Quilpie definitely feels like the big smoke. It's got a newsagency! a chemist! a bank! an industrial estate! (or at least something signposted as such).
Felt significantly better driving today than yesterday - the spa must have done me some good - and may try something longer in the running department tomorrow. The lookout at Baldy Top, 7km away, is a tempting target.
Today was a day when I didn't need to be in a hurry; being a day ahead of schedule but then possibly needing to hold myself back to give the Cooper crossing at Windorah time to become passable (it turned out that it had reopened on Monday), I didn't plan to go any further than Quilpie today. On the direct route that's about 200km but there were a couple of interesting-sounding diversions via Eulo and Yowah which doubled that.
Yowah is an opal-mining settlement I hadn't previously heard of - I think it's relatively new (1990s) but still mostly looks to have the rough-and-ready air that other such places have. However, it also has hot artesian baths, which I thought would do me some good (and were worth the hour's wait for the attendant to get back from lunch).
(Queensland gem-mining settlements have a bit of a reputation for people getting away from things. Some years ago, two of our field inspectors went out to check sites in central Queensland, turned up at one of these places and found no-one would talk to them. Eventually they did find someone who was willing to converse, asked why everyone had been so unfriendly, and got the reply "Meteorology? That's fine. We saw your government plates and thought you were Tax").
Completed the journey to Quilpie in the afternoon via a stop at the Toompine pub, a pub built in the late 19th century in anticipation of a town which was never built. Quilpie definitely feels like the big smoke. It's got a newsagency! a chemist! a bank! an industrial estate! (or at least something signposted as such).
Felt significantly better driving today than yesterday - the spa must have done me some good - and may try something longer in the running department tomorrow. The lookout at Baldy Top, 7km away, is a tempting target.