Down Under - Disco Remix

By -
2 years ago we rode 2000 miles from Brisbane to Adelaide.  It was a terrific trip and we got a great feel for the 'civilised' east coast but, having been an avid viewer of Skippy and The Flying Doctors,  it wasn't quite the Australia that I had a mental picture of.  On Feb 23rd we are returning to Adelaide to fix that!  We are picking up where we left off, joining the Eyre Highway and continuing another 2000 miles across the Nullarbor ....to Perth. 
The science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson, once wrote: "The distinguishing mark of true adventures is that they are often no fun at all while they are actually happening".  I suspect this might sum up what we are in for rather nicely.
For the benefit of the many (OK....2) people who worry about me, there is nothing dangerous about our plans!  There are enough places to stay and sufficient passing traffic should we have an emergency........but that is about it.  We will have some long days (several well into triple digits), few services and temperatures more suited to roasting a turkey than riding a bike.
We are travelling as light as we can manage, or at least I am.  Neil will, as usual, have huge piles of crap bungeed to his bike and this is an essential part of my 'keeping up' strategy.   In addition to our kit we will need to haul 10+ lbs of water on some days, so luxuries like soap and spare pants have been jettisoned. Deciding what to wear each morning will be laughably simple: same kit as yesterday or nothing. 
It is still unclear whether there is any phone data coverage (or indeed voice coverage for that matter) for much of the route so blog entries may come along like buses. 
We start riding on Sunday so I better go and weigh out my toothpaste; we hope you will tag along!
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Mr Tamborine Man/I Write The Songs

By -
Image
  After an 18 month separation Plum and I are reforming the band for another tour.  The two of us, plus 6 others, are heading up to Scotlandshire for another crack at the North Cost 500.  I should probably introduce the full line-up:   Lead Singer - David.  David is the young(er) pretty one.....brother of John.  David also happens to be my Financial Adviser and is funding this trip (plus a yacht and a cocaine habit) out of what he makes from my account.   Lead Guitar - Nick.  Friend for 50 years.  At school Nick was a keen cyclist and consequently, quite rightly, bullied.  Nick has forgotten more about cycling than I will ever know.   Bass Guitar - Stuart.  Stuart and I worked together for many years; he has powerful legs and can push out big watts while looking like he is coasting.  I hate Stuart.   Keyboards - Michael.  Michael is also younger but not pretty.  Michael believes that upgrading cycle compone
Read more

If I Could Turn Back Time

By -
Image
If ever you are in the Inverness area on a Friday and looking for a lively night you could do a lot worse than avoid Muir of Ord.  Our hotel, the only pub, wasn't serving food so we walked into town where it appeared that Steven Spielberg had just finished filming some sort of post-apocalypse movie: nothing open, nobody on the streets and the odd bit of tumbleweed blowing along the pavement.  Even the fish and chip shop couldn't be arsed to open...on a FRIDAY NIGHT!  We managed to find a take-away offering a rather odd choice of kebabs and curries (served in pizza boxes for added novelty) and purchased some food which made up for in calories what it lacked in food-hygiene standards.   I recall a meeting where a few of my co-riders and I met to kick around ideas for a group ride.  We considered all sort of destinations....mostly in those parts of Europe where the weather isn't consistently shite.  I'm ashamed to say that I think it was I that th
Read more

Julia's Song

By -
Image
As some readers will know, Plum is no longer Chard's most eligible bachelor.  The lovely Julia has taken on the job that Social Services would otherwise have to do....making sure he changes his pants once a week whether they need it or not and loading routes onto his Garmin.  We are all very grateful to Julia, especially Chards most eligible bachelorettes who can get back on the dating scene now Plum is safely off the market. As we were starting our trip Julia fell, dislocated her foot and broke her Tibia so she is probably missing Plum more than usual. She has insisted that the show should go on so thanks for being such a trooper. Today was another with a shortcut that promised to turn a very hard day into something more manageable.  Some of our group took the high road and others took the low but I had a more cunning idea.....get in the van.  Whatever is ailing me, long covid or acute spinelessness, reached the point where pushing the pedals just w
Read more