Posts filed under 'Cycling'
Wow! I made it, the final destination Cairns has been reached! Over 2,300 km of cycling to get here and 31 days of riding and I’m DONE! What an awesome feeling! No more trucks, buses, or caravans, no more bad roads, no more hills, no more dead kangaroo stench, no more attacking dogs, no more raging heat rash from head to toe, no more headwinds, no more honking idiots, no more caravan parks, no more peeing in sugar cane fields, no more magpies or snakes, and no more V drinks and glucose tabs!!! I am so happy it’s over, and it’s such a great feeling to look at a map and see how far I’ve come.
I had a good day for my final day of this leg of cycling and was thrilled that there was no rain but enough cloud to keep the heat rash away. Seemed to be an easy day despite 90 km, but I’m sure it’s because I was at the end and so had unlimited energy just to get here. And now I am here in a really nice motel room complete with living area and kitchen that I managed to get at a standby rate. And I deserve it at the end of a long journey full of dirty backpackers and cheap caravan parks! It’s been a fantastic challenge and has tried me in various ways but now that it’s over I’m looking forward to a good rest.
And what can I say about cycling in Australia? Well I guess it just depends on what you’re looking for. Personally I think I enjoyed cycling in Asia much better because (1) the distances are smaller, (2) there is much more to see along the way, (3) the culture is more interesting, and (4) everything is about 10 times cheaper. In Australia there just isn’t that much to see and the distances are huge and it’s an expensive country to travel in. Plus I found the locals in Asia to be much friendlier to me as a cyclist than the Australians. Cycling on your own in Oz can be quite isolating and lonely because there just isn’t anyone else out there. That’s just my opinion based on my experience anyway.
And to everyone I met along the way who thought I was crazy and stupid to even consider doing this on my own and who tried to instill their fears on me instead of offering me encouragement and support ? Hey, I MADE IT!! There. Have a think about that the next time you see a girl on a bike, and hopefully next time you’ll just say YOU GO GIRL. And to that annoying Australian man with a big fat beer belly who I met at Mt. Warning and who was absolutely convinced that I would just never make it, well I’d love to watch him eat those words now ’cause I’m here mate!!!!
Resting up tonight over a few beers and will figure out what to do with my time in Cairns tomorrow.
Distance: 87.67 km
Time: 4 hr 4 minutes
Avg Speed: 21.5 km/hr
Is that rock real?? Royal National Park NSW
Spread the work Aussies! Royal National Park
Great weekend Evan and friends, thanks!!
June 1st, 2003
Got the Cardwell range behind me now, and just 170 km to Cairns. 53 km was enough for me today after waking up to grey skies and facing a day of riding in the rain with hills and headwinds to boot. At least with the sun away for the day the heat rash had a bit of a break. But
then she fell asleep….
Distance: 55.18 km
Time: 2 hr 49 minutes
Avg Speed: 19.6 km/hr
May 30th, 2003
Felt great to do a shorter day today. 60 km seems like nothing after so many 100+ days. Last night I had rain for the first time in about 2 weeks, and I was so happy to wake up to a cloudy sky knowing the road would not be as hot. What a difference a few clouds can make!
I got to town and decided to treat myself to a motel room for the night. Having a proper bed to lay in and watch tv this afternoon was bliss. I went to the post office here and decided to send my handle bar bag ahead to Cairns and this way it’s off the back of the bike and not such a stress. Hopefully Arkel will send me the new parts to Cairns so all pieces can meet up with the bike again there. Only another 250 km to go but the weather forecast is for rain for the next 3 days so it could be a rough last stretch. Just taking it one day at a time. It’s been 28 days of cycling in Australia since I left the Gold Coast in the beginning of April. So to Cairns it will be 31, so close now!
Distance: 57.02 km
Time: 2 hr 43 minutes
Avg Speed: 20.9 km/hr
Any salt water crocs in there?
Clouds mean cool temps mean happy cyclist
May 29th, 2003
Getting very monotonous, these entries about long days, the heat, the traffic, and not much scenery. Today was another of those days. Good news is that I’m closer to Cairns. Bad news is that the new parts for my handle bar bag never arrived in Townsville and I’m stuck having to tie the stupid bag to the back of the bike. And I STILL cannot find bungy cords anywhere in this country. Very frustrating! I’ve been dealing with the Canadian company Arkel, trying to get new parts sent, but no far to no avail.
Yesterday I had a very enjoyable rest day and took a trip to Magnetic Island for the day, only 20 minutes by ferry from Townsville. The island itself is nice with several good beaches, but the best thing for me was doing one of the walks through the forest and seeing 4 koalas in the wild. I was so excited! They’re not easy to spot because they sit in the crook of the branches and sleep all day so I was really happy to have found four! Apparently the koala population on the island is around 2000 so you have a good chance of finding one if you look. There’s only 12 km of road on the island and I used the bus service to go up and down and check out the beaches as well.
Today I got a late start out of Townsville because I was checking for any parcels at the post office and then doing email to try to find out what’s happening with the bike parts. I also stopped at 3 bike shops before leaving in hopes of someone having any type of mounting system I would try to use but it was hopeless.
So I’m a bit closer to Cairns now, maybe 4 days to go from here. I’m staying at a beautiful caravan park right on the beach with absolutely nothing else around and I have the only tent in the unpowered area so I’ve got no neighbors tonight, only the sound of the ocean waves and that’s cool with me.
Distance: 79.96 km
Time: 3 hr 58 minutes
Avg Speed: 20.2 km/hr
Koala!
Another koala!!
Views from the Fort Walk, Magnetic Island
May 28th, 2003
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