Got going about 7:30am. Had to stop and look for things a few times. 2 or three stops, probably lost ¾ hr. Set up small solar panels which came with new power pack which I got in Roma. Because of these few breaks I pushed on till about 11:50, when I’d done 13km before I had my 1 hr break with my feet up. Got intermittent reception as I was going, mostly on hill tops, so when I had some, I rang the pub at Injune and booked a room for Sat & Sunday nights. So now I’ve got a time frame. At my break could send some texts.
Starting off at 1pm, as I was coming on to the road the trolley stopped following me and was twice as hard to pull. I looked down and the steering wheels were heading in different directions. The steel bar steering arm, that is half of what the trolley is pulled by, had snapped in half where it pivoted, & now the front wheels just did their own thing. My heart sank. How could I get to Injune Sat night now.
Well, I’ve learned, or more truthfully, I am learning to do what I can and trust creative love with the outcome. So…. What could I do? I still had a very small shifter in case I needed to do up or undo and nuts or bolts. So I unpacked the trolley, got it, and realised I had not brought my fold up pliers this time, so how could I undo the nut when the bolt just turns. I had a go, and realized that if I bent it on an angle, there was enough slop to catch the bolt on the bar, and I could undo the lock nuts. So worked at it, & got one off. Then it started to happen… Gail, stopped and asked if I was ok. I looked up and ran to her with one half of the steering arm in my hands. I said I was broken down, and needed to find a welder to weld this bar together, would she be able to take me back to the quarry a few Km back towards Roma, to see if maybe they had one? She said she’d be willing. I had to get the other but of, and shut up the trolley and hide it off the road a bit more in the trees, then ran to jump into her car and explain. I met Annie the dog. And we started moving… then I realised that I didn’t have my shifter (spanner). If I lost that I couldn't even put the steering bar back on if I got it fixed. We stopped again. I looked through the car…and said I’d have to see if I could find it in case I dropped it on the way to the car. That kept us there just long enough for a tradie’s van to pass, and see the car starting & stopping, so the tradie did a U’ey and asked if we were ok? I explained. Ryan the tiler got a feel for what was needed and said though he couldn’t weld it, he could bolt another piece of steel on either side or both of the break and get it going… I thanked him, went back and told a glad Gail,
thanked her for stopping and offering to help, and waved good bye. As Ryan drove up to near the trolley I noticed that his rear drivers’side tyre was just about flat. He hadn't noticed it but was glad that he’d stopped. Ryan the tiler, & Jet the carpenter apprentice loaned to him for a few days, to help as an offsider, set to.
Ryan loves dirt bikes so he said he’s used to doing this in the bottom of a gully somewhere. He used his battery powered drills, and a few tools for taking off grinder wheels as the extra bracing steel, ground them down bolted them together over the original, drilled the hole again at the midpoint bolted it all back together, using lock-tite where appropriate.
Then we changed his tyre. Ryan had been staying at Injune, and he gave me the rundown that The cafe in Injune does a mean Eggs Benedict.
Ryan gave my his little folding set of pliers to take on my journey, and a beer coaster with his business on it, to remember him by, and contact him if I’m in the area.
And two hours later at 3pm we were heading in different directions again. A big thank you to both of you.
. And I felt honoured to be around & to be able to help (a tiny bit) those blokes change their tyre. They still had a 5 hr job to do in Roma, and Ryan had to drive home, half way to Toowoomba. I told him how I felt he’d been sent as an angel, it was so helpful. They also gave me water to save calling in on the stock routes this Arvo, just to save time. I still might make Injune by Sat night 5-7pm. He said he’d been called a lot of things, but never that before. Amazing.
On the road again at 3pm from this spot:
I made pretty good time, and near Eumamurrin a ute slowed down and Brodie was keen to find out what he could before footy training.
And he was keen to shout me a beer at the Injune Pub when I get there. He won’t be going through there for another week, but he told me what to do. How amazing. Thanks Brodie.
Before Brodie had left, another ute pulled up after him. Brodie drove off and James popped out. He suggested I stay at the Eumamurrin hall ( so I did) If he got time he would come up for a cuppa, but he had cows and goats to feed etc. He had done a similar walk around and about Australia when he was about 23(?) & it changed his life, and he found God, or more like he was found. If we don’t catch up tonight it might be in Injune.
Thanks for the heads up, James. Lovely tank water at the Hall and a slab under cover to put the tent on.
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