Just an easy 11 km run this morning, although I did make a spontaneous decision to stretch out over the final kilometre, covering it in 4:42. Once again, not fast, but it did feel easy.

After last week’s 140 km, this week will be lighter. That’s because I’m heading off today for the Tour de Bois annual mini tour. It will comprise a few days of cycling around the Mudgee region. I’ll still be reporting in, however.

The other day I was looking at Serge Girard’s web site and clicked on a link about crossings of Australia by foot. Up came a Wikipedia page titled “List of people who have run across Australia“. Despite the site listing people who have run across the continent between 1973 and 2015, I was not on the list. Neither was Tony Mangan or Kevin Carr. I know Wikipedia is a site on which individuals from the public do the updating and editing. I assume those who are on the list have friends who are familiar with the Wikipedia process and have added them to the list. But, if no-one bothers to add you, you don’t make it on to that list. Not that it matters to me, but if anyone out there is au fait with adding things to Wikipedia, feel free to add me. It requires some stats, which are: 97 days from June 10 to Sept 13, 2013, covering 5,000 km. This is the site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_run_across_Australia#

Here’s another photo from the world run with a difference. This is me, having fallen asleep while writing my daily post-run blog. I guess I must have been particularly tired that day.

On This Day

Mar 9, 2012

Distance today = 41.76 km; Total distance = 3213.59 km; Location = Blythe, California – 33 36.596′ N, 114 36.441′ W; Start time = 0859, Finish time = 1450

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/156305378

Another lovely day of running in the desert, although it did get quite hot by the time I finished. The dry cloudless conditions each morning make me really feel like getting out on the road.

It was also my flattest day so far, with a total ascent for the day of just 15 metres, most of which would have been when I crossed the freeway on an overpass.

In recent days there has been nothing to eat along the way, so I’ve just had a banana that I take with me, and then eat when I finish. I’ve found it to be better than the daily burger I was having for lunch around LA. Today, however, I had my first burrito for lunch. A small shop was selling burritos in the town of Ripley, so I had one with beans and enjoyed it immensely. I just might make it a habit.

When I finished today, I did something a bit different. But first, some background. About 40 years ago (when I was a kid, for those who might not be aware) I read a Hardy Boys book called Mystery of the Desert Giant. It was set in and around Blythe and focused on the ancient geoglyphs (huge drawings scraped into the rocky soil) in the desert nearby. Some of these are estimated to be as much as 12,000 years old. The reason I remember so much about it is (I think) because it was the very first Hardy Boys mystery I read.

So today I headed out to the see the desert giants after finishing running. They weren’t as big as I had expected, but still well worth the visit. It was also interesting to see Blythe. I’m sure that when the Hardy Boys were here, there wasn’t the saturation of fast food outlets, not that Chet Morton would mind. Will I ever find Bayport?

Mar 9, 2013

Distance today = 54.14 km; Total distance = 17,672.75 km; Location = Le Serre de Turc, France – 44 30.555′ N, 05 05.818′ E; Start time = 0843, Finish time = 1733

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/282738259

Today’s run would have made for an interesting stage of the Tour de France. It was mostly flat, but the long and gradual uphill toward the end would have taken the sting out of the sprinters. It wore me down a little.

Mid-morning I passed through the town of Vaison la Romaine, with its Roman bridge and medieval fortifications. This, coupled with its modern restaurant and shopping culture, makes it a town worth visiting (not that the shopping interests me, but the restaurants and history do).

I made my way north through Provence, on a similar route to that I’ve cycled before in the reverse direction. That was in summer, with lavender and sunflowers in bloom. At the moment, it’s all cut back and looking very bare.

For much of the day I could see Mont Ventoux behind me – the Giant of Provence. It was shrouded in clouds, but they did lift on occasions to reveal a snow-capped peak.

The last part of the day was up through a gorge. Just before I reached it, I passed through a small village that had a sign indicating it had been occupied by the Nazis on Hitler’s orders. I’m not sure what they did to warrant such individual attention. I finished at the top of the climb in the cute little town of Le Serre de Turc.

PS I have subtracted 60 metres from the Garmin data, due to me missing a turn and backtracking. I know it’s not much, but I’d rather be precise and not be credited with any distance that is not strictly “by the rules”.

PPS At this stage, we are having internet problems. I am doing all this on the hotel’s French keyboard. There may be no photos or Garmin link until tomorrow. The tracker will not update either.