Day two started off a little slow - Damian felt ordinary and was a little sick. It seemed like he may have gone too hard the first day and also may have eaten and drunk a little too much. He needed to find a balance - this was the aim of this second day.
The team was met first thing in the morning by the CAPS Aboriginal School community from Coolgardie - this was a school that friends Anne & Charles Green had taught in. The school community was gracious and even presented a cheque for $300 towards the race effort and Hopebuilders.
Damian set-off around 7.30am (WA time) and managed to maintain 30 kms/hr for most of the way. The support riders managed to find a balance over the day, with individual riders working out which times suited them most to ride with Damian - some coped with the heat better than others. Young Joel Richmond also put in a few kilometres with his Dad - he did really well. In spite of a head wind Damian rode strong and stayed on target - the team pulled into BALLADONIA ROADHOUSE around 9.15pm (WA time) and Damian rode upto 12.30am (WA time) which would mean a sleep break just before CAIGUNA. Many of the team members showered and freshened up at the roadhouse.
It was also good to chat to one truck driver who advised the team that they were picking up their communications on "channel 40" and even gave some tips to the crew. This generous driver even dipped into his own pocket and contributed to the cause. Being in this communications loop proved invaluable when the team needed to communicate to trucks to keep an eye out for Damain on a fairly rough section of road - which could have been somewhat dangerous with dirt and rocks been thrown up - but thanks to channel 40 all the trucks and road-trains heard about it and passed by quite slowly.
Lynette's arm is doing much better and at the end of the day it seemed like Damian and the team had found the rhythm they were looking for and the balance. This will be needed over the next couple of days as they cross the Nullarbor. The target for day 3 is just pass Eucla - Border Village - and then we will be on SA time!
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