Day 5 Katherine to Victoria River 193 kms

Late start today but we still managed to reach most of them by morning tea. There was a bit of an upset this morning which had been coming for quite awhile. One of the riders was not happy with the tour. The whole issue came to a head this morning with Cycle Across Oz having to request her to leave the tour. The rider has decided to continue to use our itinerary and continue on her own. We wish her well and hope she completes her challenge safely. The rider had her own support vehicle.

Today is the longest day for the whole ride. The weather has been kind to them today. They have tail winds and cooler weather. They have been very lucky with the weather at most times throughout the first half around Australia. Collis has done well with his research. The group are now working well together and enjoying the constantly changing scenery. We informed the group of the departure of the other rider and our reasons why we had to ask her to leave and they are prepared to continue enjoying the ride. Collis and I felt alot better when we were supported by the group as a whole. The group seemed to take a big breath and got back down to the business of enjoying the riding and the journey.

 Lunch and afternoon tea today were both on the side of the road and there was an extra long gap between the front runners and the tail enders.

A few of the riders went through without any support from us today and were a little exhausted by the time they got into camp. Peter S arrived at Victoria River by 1.15 pm having ridden 193 kms unsupported. Roger was in by 2.15 pm unsupported and drinking water from the water tanks at the rest areas. Roger is quite experienced with this area and can usually judge when the water is safe to drink or not- we don't recommend this to inexperienced riders. All riders were in camp by 5 pm.
There was an aboriginal primary school from a place called Pidgeon Hole staying at the roadhouse and Collis spoke with the teachers to see if the kids wanted to have a chat with the riders. They were thrilled with the idea and it was arranged for the morning.

Dinner at the roadhouse tonight and it was very nice - I had chicken Kiev. Early to bed again tonight.