1st October 2004 (Warren, NSW) STOP NO: 71

TOTAL RAISED TODAY: $302.95

Final Collection Total: $107,159.85 - Days on the Road: 566 - Total KM travelled: 67,219 - Number of towns visited: 408 - NSW Total: $42,763.40 - QLD Total: $32,560.70 - NT Total: $1,345.15 - WA Total: $5,479.95 - SA Total: $4,612.80 - VIC Total: $10,283.00 - ACT Total: $10,089.90 - Todays fundraising total $302.95 Total raised to date $23,917.40 Total km travelled since Official Start in Canberra 5281 We were woken by very heavy rain this morning and were hoping that by the time we were ready to leave that it would ease a little. Not to be unfortunately, so wet weather gear was the go for the day. We organised ourselves and went down to the office to say our goodbyes to Anne, Jack and Bob and sadly moved on to Warren. It poured with rain all the way and as we moved closer to Warren the wind blew a gale and almost blew us off the road a couple of times. Cross winds when they are really strong like today make riding a bit difficult but no doubt cars on the road also have the same problem. We arrived in Warren and parked across the road from the council building as there were no parking spaces available outside the building. We had only just stepped off the trike when we were greeted by a reporter from the local newspaper. She was very pleased to see us early as she was trying to figure out how to fit in meeting us a 11.30am with the Mayor as well as attending a funeral shorty afterwards. The rain had eased slightly and she looked around for some children to sit on Arthur for a photo for the paper. Not too many people walking around because of the rain but she did manage to find a couple of children waiting in a car close by with their mother so invited them to sit on the trike. Just as she started to take the photo the rain became heavier again so it was a quick shot and then everyone ran back to the shelter of the footpath. We then retreated into a coffee shop for a quick cuppa while we waited for the clock to tick over to 11.30am and to get out of the rain for a while. By the time we had finished our coffee the rain had stopped so we removed our wet weather gear which Garry then promptly dropped in a puddle while he was trying to place them in the trailer. Shortly afterwards the Mayor Councillor Rex Wilson and another councillor came over to greet us. Another photographer then joined us and took photos of the Mayor signing the visitors book and the trailer. By this time the rain was coming down again and unfortunately although we have a graffiti pen to sign the trailer the rain was washing the signature off as Mayor Wilson was signing. It was agreed that we would try again later when the rain stopped and the photographer would come back to take the official photo at the same time. After inviting us over to council chambers to collect some badges the conversation changed to what we will do after we finish this event. The Mayor and councillor were interested in our plans for the future and as it was still raining asked if we would like a tour of the local facilities being the show grounds and the entertainment centre. We may be able to utilise these facilities in our future plans. It was a bit strange being in a car for a change but at least we were dry. The facilities for a small town were fantastic and we could certainly visualise using them for our future plans and they also gave us lots of other ideas. The church was right in the middle of town and as the funeral was now in progress we delayed fundraising until it was all over and everyone had left, out of respect for the deceased and the community. Council had suggested that Garry park Arthur near the supermarket in town which he did and then Doreen set off on her fundraising trek while Garry occupied the locals. Warren was another very friendly town with heaps of the locals very interested in what we were doing and why we decided to so it for Arthritis. We are really hoping that our conversations with these people will be remembered and that it will encourage people to support Arthritis in the future as well as on the day the meet us. The community supported us generously today and we were quite surprised at the level of interest. Doreens pink hair was also a bit hit with a couple of the local teenage girls wanting a photo of her hair so they could colour their own. Not sure how their parents will fell about that! We had made arrangements with Narromine to fundraise tomorrow instead of Monday as Monday is a public holiday in NSW so there wouldnt be too many people around. It was raining again by now so on went the wet weather gear again and we went on our way. The council in Narromine had sponsored our accommodation for tomorrow night at the Peppercorn Motel so when we arrived in Narromine we called in to see if by any chance they had a vacancy for tonight as well. We were very lucky as they only had one room left with many people stranded in Narromine as they were unable to fly any further due to the weather. We paid for the night and went to settle in to the room. The rain had eased somewhat but it was still windy and quite cool so it was back to using heating in the motel room. We are at the point of not knowing whether we are hot or cold, where we are or what day of the week it is. The itinerary this week has also been a bit messed up with us moving on to the next town early due to various things which has confused our poor little brains quite a bit. To give you some idea how confused we are neither of us can recall whether we even had dinner tonight or not and if we did we dont have a clue what it was!! The days and weeks now seem to roll over very quickly and we figure that this will only get worse as we travel not better. Such is life!

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