Friday, July 6, 2012

Leonora, Kalgoorlie

Second day out of Leinster was one of those magical days. It wasn't too cold overnight, so an early start was possible. The day topped out at 18C, but even better, there was a tailwind! The first in weeks. I flew along. 75km in three hours. A quick food stop in Lenora and back on the road again. Had to use that tail wind while it was happening. Then, at 90km a ute had stopped on the side of the road.
"Want a lift to Kalgoorlie?"
"You bet!".
Couple hours of interesting conversation later, I'm loading my bike up 25km from Kal, when the farmer that owned the land on both sides of the road drove up. Not only did he give me his dentists number, he also let me camp on his land overnight. Bonus!
Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a lot of dentists. But there is large waiting lists for all of them. That dentist didn't have any appointments in the next two weeks, but next morning when I arrived in Kal, I found Smile Dental Clinic that did. And even better, they had one that day. Case of being there at the right time.
I decided to find somewhere close to stay for the night and Di at Weslan Accommodation was very very helpful. If your ever in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and need accommodation, check with Weslan.
The dentists, there were two who looked at my gob and x-rays, couldn't find any obvious problem. In the end they ground a filling down a bit as they thought it was a bit high, and suggested trying a nasal decongestant in case it was a sinus infection. The nerves for the teeth are close to the sinus, so infection in the sinus cavity can show up as tooth pain. Was my nose running? Of course, its been so cold and dry my nose runs constantly! They did find other work that could be done, (Doesn't that always happen?) but with no new appointments for three weeks, I've decided not to stay. Will book an appointment with a dentist when I'm on the east coast again.
So, tomorrow I ride back up to Leonora. I sure will not see a tail wind for that trip. It'll be a case of making friends with the wind.
Bit worried still, but loaded up with nasal decongestants, asprin, panadol, cloves, and other pain killers. Will just ride. If it blows up, I'll sort something out.
I wonder if needle nose pliers are the best sort to have...