Day 57 (December 29)

Relaxing at the finish line at Bondi Beach in Sydney

We have arrived in Sydney!  The distance pedaled since Perth is 4394km.  We have been pedaling for about 393 hours (this includes break times during the day).  It would be curious to know how many cans of tuna we’ve eaten since Perth, granola bars, Snickers, ice cream bars, etc.  We left Perth on November 9th.  Not including the days we did not pedal, it has taken us 48 days to cross the country from Perth the Sydney.  We are done pedaling!!

Since long before even arriving in Australia, Scott has known that we would end the ride at Bondi Beach in Sydney.  When I asked him why Bondi Beach, he informed me that is where everyone that cycles across the country ends (or starts) their pedal.  I clearly did not do my research before this journey began (I had no idea where to end?!).

Entering the city of Sydney

We are now settled into a small hotel room in Sydney.  Tomorrow we will likely go to the zoo.  If we have time, and the weather is not too hot, I would also like to go to the botanical garden here.  Our rough plan is to rent a car for five or so days and drive down the coast (away from the city and the crowds!).    I am a huge fan of the movie “The Man From Snowy River”.  I would love to see the Snowy Mountains (not to mention the Snowy River!).  (I am sure my sisters all agree!).

I do not consider myself a cyclist.  Sure, I knew how to ride a bike before beginning this trip, but I have seen definite improvements since we left Perth.  I can now glance over my shoulder (for traffic) without swerving out into the lane!  I no longer feel the massive stress when cycling in city traffic.  Along the way, people have asked how I trained for this trip: haha, trained?  Nope, I just arrived in Perth and expected to be a bit sore for the first week.  Well, it worked for me!

Posted by Mattie

Well, it’s done. We’ve biked all the way across Australia. It was a long trip through a variety of landscapes and weather conditions. We each drank around a hundred gallons of water and sweated it out. We saw all sorts of interesting wildlife and we crossed the country three times – west to east by bike, south to north by train, and north to south by plane.

Was it worth it? Definitely. Would I do it again? Well, there probably wouldn’t be much point in biking across Australia again, but it would be nice to do another long bike trip sometime, somewhere.

Right now though, we have a week to rest and relax before our flights home on January 6. We’re looking forward to renting a car and experiencing the wonders of internal combustion on a road trip south along the coast.

Posted by Scott