( just over 1000 kms ridden now )

Had an early departure, 5:30 am from Lyndhurst in the chill of the pitch black, with every bit of warm clothing I possessed . Roos startled by my bright light were plentiful but with my conservative pace in little danger as they crossed and double backed over the road . Passed a keen group of three guys flying motorised parachutes as dawn broke . The sides of the road are littered with white bones of long ago road kills and plenty of odiferous more recent fatalities.

Copley was my first objective and the attraction the famous Quandong pies from the bakery. While not really “ Keto “ they are a rare local delicacy that is worth bending the rules for. I arrived at the Copley bakery at about 8 ish and was pleasantly surprised to find this special culinary treat available , and great coffee to boot

Santalum acuminatum, the desert quandong, is a hemiparasitic plant in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae, which is widely dispersed throughout the central deserts and southern areas of Australia. Copley Bakery have a name for their version of the Quandong pie , distinctively sweet and very moorish .

Botanical name Santalum acuminatum

Visited Leigh Creek and availed myself of the strong Telstra signal and good data , finally managed to call Barb for a phone call catch up . Visited the food lands super market and purchased way too much supplies which took some time to find space in my overloaded kit. Plunging south again with a great road surface and now rolling country compared to the desert. The average speed improved to up to 20 km per hour for a while , but then the headwinds became limiting again. Now one can see hills again , the Northern end of the Flinders Range.

Rolled into Parachilna at 2:30 pm , still in time to order lunch. With an extensive list of so called “ feral “ foods to choose from ( Emu , Camel , Roo ) Parachilna pub has specialised in great food and gets a steady trickle of customers from tourists and others heading north. I splashed out on the Roo burger.

The sunset was again another stunner with a distant pattern of light cloud giving a certain texture to the scene as the sun disappeared over the horizon .

Stayed at the pub the night and enjoyed the company of a couple of couples who very kindly included me in their group . The fine dining and interesting folk made for a great night . The owner also joined the table for a while , and she has promised to sell me some special cream based on extract of Rosemary and something or other – secret ingredient . You apply it , dab in on the face , and the flys don’t land . Labelled ” fuck Off ” if I heard her correctly

purchased my jar – should be handy