The end of the Crisis, well sort of

Day 25 Geraldton to Perth

We got bugger all sleep that night. Backpackesr like to stomp to the toilet and do their laundry at 2am. Still all of gear (including the bikes!) were all accounted for so we packed up and headed off on the final stretch of our epic trip. The weather report said a strong front would cross the coast from that morning so we wanted to get home as quickly as we could. We were 35km south of Geraldton and I was following Rod when I saw his chain snap, I though the chain would flick off but it didn't, not good. We pulled up and Rod pulled tried to free the chain. It had jammed up around his front sprocket. After five minutes of unsuccessful tinkering Rod was about to loose it when the chain fell free. It had broken around the master link Rod had installed in Broome and he had a spare so we thought no dramas.

Bugger

We then noticed a small oil leak where the chain had knocked a small hole in the engine block. My heart sank a bit but Rod reckoned he'd still be ok. He then laid out the chain to fit it back on and oh no it was bent, Rod was stranded with 370km to go. We got on the phone and called Rod's wife to be in Perth. She took off straight away to grab a trailer and come pick Rod and bike but she would be at least four hours away and we could see the weather rolling in. Luckily there was a roadhouse 500m up the road and Rod decided to wait it out there. I was torn, I didn't want to leave Rod, I wanted to ride in to Perth with him and finish the trip on a high. We both realised though that if I hung around I'd be riding home in the rain and the dark so I had to go. My last view of Rod was him pushing the CRF down the road while I took off in the opposite direction.

The last photo, love the bum fluff aye

So I took off for the Perth in a bit of down mood. I could travel a bit faster now but after three and a bit weeks it felt strange not riding beside Rod. The weather got progressively worse, I managed to dodge most of the rain but the wind was horrible. The traffic had built up as well which was a pain after being so long out of the rat race. I made it home around 2pm, tired, smelly but happy to see the wife and kids. I rang Rod straight away but he was still holed up in the Roadhouse. Thankfully they made it home safely but not until 11pm that night after driving through horrible weather and having a few car dramas.

So we're home safe and well. I'm sorry it took me a few days to finish the blog but there's been a lot of catching up to do as well as unpacking and cleaning all the gear. The bikes a both running a little worse for wear but hey they've just completed a marathon what do you expect. I need to service the KLR but I'll let it rest in the shed for a week or to, it's earned it.

All in all this trip has been awesome. It's tested both of us in many ways but I've personally loved the highs and the lows. That's why I planned this trip, I knew it would be a challenge and I'm proud of the way we meet it. Would I do it again, hell yes but not for a few years. I hope you've enjoyed the blog and I'm hoping to get Rod to update the posts from his perspective, should be fun.