Done and Dusted

The Dirt n Dust Festival 2017 is now done and dusted for another year.  This was Philip's 20th year competing in the Triathlon and I am pleased to let everyone know that he came second in his age group (61-65 year olds) so I am very proud of him. HERE are his splits if anybody is interested.
It was a gruelling race with a water temperature of 11 degrees celsius for the swim leg, a 40 knot headwind for the bike ride and just to top it all nicely, a temperature of 36 degrees celsius for the run leg!
We took ten friends with us to Julia Creek and for four of them it was their second Dirt n Dust.  It really is a great weekend but it is a long way to travel so I thank those that made the effort.  You know who you are!
We arrived into Julia Creek the day before the triathlon after spending the previous week at Innot Hot Springs, Undara Lava Tubes, Cobbold Gorge and Karumba.  (I will post about these places over the coming days).  We checked into the Julia Creek Caravan Park at site 6 - our site for the past three years and it wasn't long before our friends arrived.  Friday night is usually a quiet one for us as Philip mentally prepares for the triathlon the next day.  We had a few drinks and cooked up lamb chops and pasta and were tucked up into bed by 9am.
The next day Philip was up at 5.00am because he had decided to ride his bike out to the waterhole for the start of the race - a 25km ride that is a stroll in the park when the wind is at your back!  At 8.30am the the rest of us drove out to watch the beginning of the race that almost 400 triathletes where competing in.

Triathletes lining up to retrieve their bikes from the cattle truck that transports them to to the waterhole.  A unique form of transport!

Philip heading into the water for a warmup swim.

Eastern Creek waterhole where the 800m swim is completed

Our friends

The race started at 9.30am and we watched the first wave of swimmers commence the swim leg.  Straight after the start there is a mass exodus of spectators as everybody has to drive back into town before the road closes for the bike leg.  Once back in town we found a comfortable position to watch the first of the riders enter town and start their run leg.
The winner - Matt Hutchinson - finished with a time of 1:12:42.

A comfortable spot to sit and watch the triathlon

Philip on the bike leg and looking comfortable

Competitor 208 has competed in every triathlon since its inception in 1994.  He is now well into his 80's!

Philip giving cheek to our friends or is it just the victory sign round the wrong way....

Philip crossing the finish line

After the triathlon we made our way back to our camp to quickly dress for the Julia Creek Races that were due to start at 1.00pm.  We had pre-booked a table for the Country Tastes Luncheon that is always worthwhile.  Not only do you get a comfortable place to sit and watch the races but you get to enjoy delicious food and bubbles!

Ladies looking lovely at the Country Tastes Luncheon

A fantastic feast

The races ended around 5.00pm and then it was another trip back to our camp to change into jeans for the Bullride and Concert at DirtnDust Central.  This year James Blundell headlined the concert but unfortunately we never got to see him as the bull ride went on till 10.30pm and by that stage the day had caught up with us and we were all looking for bed!

The PBR Bull Ride

Lucky for us though we were close enough to DirtnDust Central to be able to lay in bed and listen to his voice as we drifted off to sleep. It was a lovely way to end the DirtnDust Festival 2017.