Day 29 (December 1)

After nearly a month on the road, we’ve come to see that this trip is all about phases – mini-milestones that are attainable within the time span of one or two weeks. While we have to keep the ultimate goal of reaching Sydney in mind, we can’t dwell on it day-to-day. If we did, it would just be depressing. As of today, we’ve done 2,120 kilometers, and Sydney is still around 2,000 kilometers away. By breaking the trip down into separate phases, we can focus on the day-to-day details and can attain our goals within a matter of days, instead of weeks or months. It’s a way to maintain our sanity while pedaling 100 kilometers every day, day after day.

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Days 26, 27, and 28 (November 28-30)

Since leaving Norseman (what seems like years ago) we have been counting down the kilometers, days, Snickers bars, liters of water and whatever other unit of measurement cyclists use to measure time spent “in the saddle” till we get to Ceduna.  We have done it!  Today (November 30th) is a much appreciated rest day!  I will catch you up on the last two days of pedaling and the goings-on of our recovery day in the sea-side town of Ceduna.

Morning fog between Yalata and Penong on Eyre Highway.

On the morning of the 28th, we awoke in our very nice roadside camp (a truck pull off with a picnic table) to a fog covering the landscape.  This mist stayed around for the first few hours of the ride, then burned off around eight in the morning.  We rode 120 km to the small town of Penong, where we ate fish and chips with beer…glorious beer! Read more

Days 23, 24, and 25 (November 25-27)

Day 23: Sunrise over the Southern Ocean

We have had a headwind for five days in a row.  Finally, on November 27, once leaving Nullarbor Roadhouse, the weather patterns changed and the headwind was over!  The most notable event of the last three days has been meeting up with another bike tourist doing a round-the-world cycle in seven months.  Comparisons between his travel style and that of Scott and mine find more differences than similarities.  But more of that to follow; let me start on the 25th, before we met the other push biker. Read more

Day 22 (November 24)

Our progress, as of November 24, 2016

Today was Day 7 on the Nullarbor. We repeated our now normal routine – up at 5:00 am, on the road by 5:30, pedal against the wind all day, pitch camp around 3:00-4:00 pm, dinner, then bed.

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Days 20 and 21 (November 22-23)

Mattie, at our roadside camp, hard at work on this blog post

Yesterday and today were both of a similar pattern: up at five in the morning and riding about 90 kilometers to a roadhouse.  Eat a hamburger with the lot (lettuce, tomato, beet slices, cheese, onions, fried egg, ham, and ketchup!).

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Day 19 (November 21)

A young kangaroo poses at the side of the road in the early morning light

After covering 106 kilometers of the 146 kilometer straight section of road yesterday, we came across a nice campsite pullout by the side of the road. This one had a large structure, about 40 feet x 60 feet, consisting of a flat, corrugated sheet metal roof, supported about 10 feet off the ground by steel pipe columns. Its purpose was to collect rainwater and funnel it, via gutters, to an adjacent water storage tank. Read more

Days 17 and 18 (November 19, 20)

A beautiful pink and grey Galah common to Australia

From yesterday to today we have ridden a bit more than 200km.  As most of my attention while riding is split between gazing at the plants and scenery and trying to hug the shoulder of the road, much of my comments of the road conditions refer to the size of the shoulder.  Yesterday, from Frasier Station to past Balladonia Roadhouse, the shoulder was very nice: wide and smooth.  Today was another matter.  The shoulder narrowed to less than six inches with an uneven  break onto the soft edge.  This is unnerving with the road trains and caravans rushing by at 100kph.  The road trains are much better at moving into the far lane than the caravaners. 

Highlights of the ride: yesterday we saw an emu with five chicks (each chick four and a half feet tall!), today we saw our first live kangaroo (it hopped parallel to us for a number of minutes before darting across the highway; no wonder so many are roadkilled!). Read more

Day 16 (November 18)

Road sign outside of Norseman. Such a long way to go!

Today we began the next big phase of the trip – the Eyre Highway. Also known as Highway 1, this is the only road that goes all the way across the southern part of Australia. The Nullarbor Plain segment of it stretches about 1200 km from Norseman in the west to Ceduna in the east. Approximately half of that distance crosses the treeless Nullarbor Plain.

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Day 15 (November 17)

As of today we have pedaled 770 kilometers since departing the airport in Perth.  This has gotten us to the dying gold mining town of Norseman (named for the horse that discovered gold here).  As I follow Scott down (and up) the roads of Western Australia, I have time to ponder my favorite and my most hated items of gear.  In the packing for this trip I planned to do it Oregon Trail-style (to jettison/throw away unwanted/superfluous items).  Already to go is a foam square for sitting on and my much-loved Crocs.  Good bye, Crocs, our time together is over.

My purple Crocs, left behind in Norseman, Western Australia.

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Days 12, 13, and 14 (November 14, 15, 16)

Wave Rock to Norseman – 310 km of nothingness

November 14 was the start of what we believed would be the most difficult part of the trip across Australia. Our route took us eastward 310 km from Wave Rock to the town of Norseman, nearly all of it on a remote dirt and gravel road with very little vehicular traffic. The defining characteristic of this segment was the near total absence of towns, gas stations, or other places to obtain water. The only thing between Wave Rock and Norseman was a nickel mining operation, at the 75 km mark, where we anticipated we might be able to refill our water containers. But more about the water situation in a bit.

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Day 10 (November 12)

A typical view of the long, straight road ahead.

Today was Day 4 since leaving Perth. This ride was 114 km from Corrigin to Wave Rock (4 km east of Hyden). I’m pleasantly surprised that it has taken only four days to get from Perth to Wave Rock. I figured it would probably take at least six days, so we’re making good progress.

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Day 9 (November 11)

Typical roadside scenery east of Perth

Today we rode from Brookton to Corrigin, 91 km, in six hours and 15 minutes.  Only four of those hours were “rolling hours” as we took lengthy breaks today to accommodate my (Mattie) short attention span and need for frequent inspections (“Ooo, look at that tree!”, etc).

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Day 8 (November 10)

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Day 7 (November 9)

At the Fremantle ferry terminal after getting back from Rottnest Island

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Day 6 (November 8)

Today was a fairly lazy day for us. The only thing on the agenda was a tour of the island, and since it is only 10 kilometers long, we weren’t in any great hurry. It gets light here at 5:00 am and we were up by 5:30. After breakfast and a bit of blog catch-up work, we were on the road at 9:00.

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Day 5 (November 7)

Sitting here after a hot meal of pasta and vegetables, I have time to assess what events of the day are worthy of your time.  First order of business, I would like to proudly announce that I did not get sea sick on the thirty minute ferry ride from the Rous Head ferry terminal to Rottnest Island.  As I have a strong disposition towards sea sickness, this is quite the accomplishment (Scott was also quite pleased with my lack of visceral performance). Read more

Day 4 (November 6)

My flights from Lewiston Idaho to Perth Australia went off without a hitch: no lost baggage, no missed connections and no customs hang-ups.  In reading and talking to Scott, I realize the vast difference between his first class flights and my economy class flights!  (Being a recent college graduate, I have a budget!) 

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Day 3 (November 5)

I arrived in Hong Kong at 7:00 am after a very enjoyable 15 hour flight from Los Angeles (via Anchorage). On approach into the airport, the pilot gave the typical weather report and said it looked like it was going to be a nice, sunny day. Looking out the window,  all I saw was  an unbroken layer of clouds; until I realized  that it wasn’t clouds, but Hong Kong’s smog layer. So yes, it was sunny – through the smog.

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Day 2 (November 4)

After arriving in Los Angeles, my first order of business was hiking the 12 miles to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (not really 12 miles, but it sure felt like it!) to find out the departure gate for my Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. After figuring that out, I went to the Qantas First lounge (shared with Cathay) and got a quick shower. That was followed by some snacks and a light champagne buzz, then it was time to head down to the gate for departure.

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Day 1 (November 3)

First day of the trip. Even though my flight wasn’t scheduled to leave Anchorage until 1:30 pm, I left home at 9:00 am and headed to the airport. I figured it was probably a good idea to get there with plenty of time to spare, just in case any difficulties popped up. And it’s a good thing I did. The agent at the counter didn’t know what the baggage rules were for bikes, so she had to look up the info on the Alaska Airlines website. Everything was fine. Alaska would accept it – no charge. The real problem started when she checked Cathay Pacific’s baggage rules. She told me that my bike box could not weigh more than 66 pounds or have total dimensions greater than 88 inches. The box was 69 pounds and 103 inches.

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