Perth to Adelaide - Day 15 - Norseman

Still feeling dodgy but not much I can do about it here! Got rolling at about 8am after a dopey start where I couldn't get packed quickly.

Great weather again though, bit of a headwind but not strong, blue skies and quiet roads so I could trundle north without many issues, stopping at this little picnic spot so typical of many others I've called in at.

After lunch I only had 30km to ride so got to Norseman nice and early, to get supplies and get prepared for the next leg. But the first job was to find a place to sleep, and tonight could be the last night indoors for a while so I took the soft option of the Railway Hotel, who immediately gave me a discount just for being on a bicycle! What a welcome, and Beatrice is safely stashed in a store room I can access to get her ready for tomorrow.

Distance today: 97km
Hills:  +324m
Total distance to date: 1368km

So, what now?

Well the Eyre Highway and Nullarbor plain awaits. I've been to the shop, and this is my food for the next 8+ days:

I have 8 dinners there, about 6 breakfasts and a few less lunches. Lunch is a bit harder to cater for while keeping weight down, and not cooking, so I will use roadhouses for lunches as often as possible. Ontop of that lot I have a 10 litre water bladder and 3 litres in small bottles.

The greatest distance between roadhouses is 197km and that's the first one at Balladonia, so a lot of water is needed on day 1.

The crossing is 1200km and I hope to get across in 9-12 days...very much depending on the wind and my ability to keep pushing a heavy bike.

So there will be no blog posts for a while I'm afraid...there is no mobile signal out there. But thanks so much for reading, supporting and donating! In fact, we were already about to hit $5k and am only just at the hard bit on the cycle, so have doubled the target!

Lets try for $10,000. That will pay for far more lab time for innovative  cancer researchers...who knows what they may figure out.

Last pic before I leave town. Here is Fully Loaded Beatrice, 8l water bladder on rear rack:

See you on the flipside!

Perth to Adelaide - Day 14 - Salmon Gums

It took me a while to get moving...I had a rough nice thanks to a minor medical problem thats not worth describing on a public blog...when readers might be eating. So moving right along:

Today I cycled North up the Esperance Highway, a few hills at first and through some farmland and into the village of Gibson. You know when you enter some small towns and they have a sign up saying "Gateway to...blah blah", well I think that roughly translates to "The next town is better, hang in there!"

Although to be fair, Gibson had by far the best little roadhouse/gas station/ coffee shop of the tour so far. Lovely spot and the coffee was great.

North of the town the land seemed to slip into greyscale the further I cycled, and it looked like a fire had swept the area recently which added to the effect. Today was always going to be a short day with only 2 possible places to stop: Grass Patch or Salmon Gums. The former is not that far from Esperance whereas Salmon Gums about halfway, so it made more sense to stay there.

Just before the town there were beautiful green lakes, which turned out to be Sulpher Lakes.

The campground at Salmon Gums is very basic, but $10 for a shower and place to pitch a tent isn't too bad a deal. Except the ground was as hard as concrete so my tent pegs pretty useless. Ended up using the bike, and rocks as deadweights.

I wandered across to the hotel for some dinner...Cyclist Mark Beaumont describes a scene at this hotel in his "Man who cycled the world" book, when he passed through town on his way to break the world record for cycling around the world in 194 days. (Though a kiwi Andrew Nicholsen then smashed that record and the challenge is currently set at a staggering 123 days). And it sounded interesting.

The hotel was a super friendly place and a few rough as guts, but salt of the earth locals passed through and they were all up for a laugh. Apparently the smallest farm in the area is 9000 hectares...sounds big to me!

After dinner I was spent, by 7pm, but had trouble sleeping again and the tent was pitched badly. Bah!

Distance cycled: 108km
Hills: +431m

Perth to Adelaide - Day 13 - Esperance rest day

Ah a day off...and a much nicer place to relax in than the last (sorry Albany). First priority however was to decide route options. One of these is to head directly east from town and camp at Lucky Bay, then head about 280km up a difficult 4WD route which connects to Balladonia on the Eyre Highway. But the cyclist I met way back at Northcliffe gave me some good current info on road conditions, describing 40cm wheel rutts, sand and general harshness. This conforms with advice on the BNA forum.

This feels too risky to tackle alone...even if I get get through I'd then be starting the Nullarbor in bad state...maybe a damaged bike and exhausted.

So, that was an easy decision in the end. Instead, it's 200km up to Norseman which I can split into 2 easy days, provided I ensure I get there well before the IGA supermarket shuts as a major food shop will be on the cards.

With that all sorted, the bike was next with a clean and check up...Beatrice has been amazing, so very little work was required.

The downside with the change of route plan was that I'd miss seeing Cape Le Grand NP...so I figured I'd try get on a tour out there as a day trip. Its the off season here but in a huge streak of luck I was able to tag on with a group thanks to Jeff at esperanceexplorer.com.au and...well...just wow:

And Jeff also happened to have worked on The Nullarbor so while enjoying some spectacular scenery I was also able to get some great advice.

So, tomorrow morning its time to ride North. Today was brilliant but I am keen to keep moving and not loose momentum.

So far I have cycled 1259km

About 2300km to go.

Thanks all so much for the donations to Cure Cancer Australia...I think I may have to increase the target!!

Perth to Adelaide - day 12 - Esperance

After the sun went down last night at my hidden campsite, the mozzie swarm attacked. Dealing with insects that bite is sadly not my strength...whilst I dont get freaked out (too much) by snakes and spiders, mozzies and sandflys tend to dine well on me and I am Afraid. So, I did the manly thing and hid in the tent!

Whenever I moved or switched on my torch, I could here them buzz with excitement and the pitter patter of insects against the tent sounded like a shower of rain. Lets just say any toilet stops went on hold...all night. Lessons learnt: don't camp near flooded farmland!!

Despite that I slept very well, albiet, cross legged. But in the morning, I was completely covered in bites and they clearly targetted the hand holding the defensive bedding.  There was also a heavy dew so everything was wet....best way to warm up? Hmmm how about some cycling?

20km up the road was the Munglinup roadhouse where I grabbed a coffee and a toasted sandwhich. This was the only supply point all day so I took a best guess at how much water I'd need to get to Esperance, then headed East.

Thanks to nice weather and 2 massive days riding perviously, today I only needed to cover 130km to hit Esperance. The sun was out, just, and it was still and cool so I decided to do the 130km in one big hit, and get to town hopefully  around early afternoon. A good plan but the legs were now heavy from the previous days so I was a bit off pace, and was getting through a bit more water than planned. It was also really dissapointing not to see any stunt Kangaroos jumping over a cow!

As I got closer to Esperance a sea breeze headwind cropped up, the lightest of winds and my pace dropped a bit...but it was just tired legs that was the issue. Some relief came in the form of encouragement  as I hit the edge of town: a bloke in a railway service vehicle saw me coming and wound his window down yelling out 'jeez you've done alright mate'...he must have passed me earlier. And it felt bloody good to hit this town...a major milestone...game is ON folks.

So good to get to Esperance...first impressions: what a town! Full of character, natural beauty and warm people. I am staying indoors and have just laundered my clothing after a 12 day stint on the road...what a luxury! And so now its time to get ready for the next leg of the trip...

Distance: 130km

Perth to Adelaide - Day 11

Last night I was talking to a couple hitching their way round Aus with no fixed plan. They were far more free spirited than myself...in a rush to hydrate, eat, update blog and get ready for another days cycling!

No mist this time this morning and a beautiful still morning as I set off east from Jerramungup at 7am to the sound of bagpipes from a nearby Anzac day ceremony at the war memorial in town...surreal!

The plan today was just to try and get within riding distance of Esperance by the end of tomorrow. But, there are big gaps between towns around here so that limits sleeping options.

The riding however was beautiful, and not easy...barely a flat section to be found, and in places the road just seemed to go on forever.

Supplies were also very scarce, which I had expected, so I was carrying enough food and water for 2 days. About 80km into the day I was on the lookout for a picnic spot for a lunch break but there wasn't much appealing so I ended up crawling into Ravensthorpe totally drained of energy, the only town all day, with 115km done in one hit. Far too much without a fuel stop!

The town was totally shut down for Anzac day anway, only the gas station open.

I got to talk to my wife while I stopped which was nice. She filled me in on some of the comments on social media I'd missed when off grid. A friend of ours who is from this very town had put a shout out to people she knew here, which may have explained the honking and waving around that area today...really nice.

After a late feed I was off again and bumped into another long distance cyclist heading the opposite way. Wow this is always so uplifting...and the vital info you get from the perspective you need is super useful. He looked shattered...but was on day 40 of his epic so that was understandable.

He had revealed that the next wee challenge ahead was the final set of roadworks repairing flood damage. It meant a detour and an extra 15km to Esperance which I really was not keen on as I was already riding to pretty much my maximum daily range. The sun was also getting low and I was pondering options as the place were the works started got closer. Either way I knew I'd be sleeping roadside tonight, as there is nothing close by.

At the turn off for the works detour, there seemed to be no one around...so, I made a break for it and rode straight on past the barrier...not fancying 15km extra!

This turned out to be the highlight of the day! The whole road traffic free, and some interesting  sections through floodplains.

Once through to the other side I felt very much done. Another big day riding and it has been a while since I've tried riding 2 centurys (cyclist talk. A century is the cyclists marathon and is 100 miles, or 160km)in a row. But; great to get through the roadworks safely with no one around, and tomorrow if my legs are still working, Esperance should be the target.

Total distance: 172km

Perth to Adelaide -Day 10 - Jerramungup

The weather has been pretty bad in Albany so I was grateful to not be out riding in it. Though the town seem all but shut down...barely anything open and all the accommodation  somehow still full? I found a place but had to move on the 2nd night.

Still, the time was spent eating, resting, and updating the blog...so I was recharged and ready to roll again this morning.

This whole trip as a whole can be broken down into different stages, and in my original plans I'd budgeted 4 days to cycle the 480km from Albany to Esperance.
It's also a good opportunity to retest water and food needs before the Nullarbor, as this stretch is also quite sparse in terms of supplies.

It rained hard again overnight and a thick mist blanketed the land yet again when I set off at 7am

But, there were no headwinds unlike the last few days, so a big day looked possible. The road wound its way North East, heading inland from the coast and was quite undulating still. Thick scrub lined the road on both sides with a lot of stagnant water around, remnants of the floods in summer no doubt. The scrub seemed to go on forever as well. I was thinking how difficult it would have been to travel through here before roads.

Also I had my first experience of big road trains to share the bitumen with. They were very good drivers and no problem so long as nothing was coming from the other direction at the same time. When that happened, I'd pull over fast. There is no shoulder on this road but it felt much safer than previous days (between Denmark and Albany).

I got to a small roadhouse, the first possible water point 92km NE of Albany in really good time. So had some food and fluid and a bit of a walk around to stretch. It looked like a tough place to live so I take my hat off to the locals who all must be pretty hardy!

As the road continued, scrub eventually gave way to farmland and there were some flatter sections which were some relief. I ended up just keeping on riding till I hit Jerramungup, where there is a camp ground, and to my surprise a small IGA that I had missed when route planning.

At the camp ground the staff were full of tales of failed cyclists in the area...they had story after story to reel out:

- The girl who collapsed on their porch with heat exhaustion before giving up 4 days later
- 2 Scots who thought they could do the route staying in B&B's the whole way
- The couple on a tandem who were blown off the bike in a crosswind
- The Korean on an ultra expensive racing bike (but again, nothing to survive a night out)

It was a healthy mix of truth and banter, I was just surprised there were no snake stories thrown in!

Today was a long distance to ride as a tourer, but it was good to take advantage of much better weather conditions! Provided I can still move well tomorrow, this was a success. Now I need to eat...a lot!

Distance: 172km!
Hills: 1199m

Perth to Adelaide - Day 8 - Albany

Late last night the rain came down hard. I couldnt sleep, worrying about whether I'd pitched the tent well enough. It was fine in the end but not a great night.

Today was just hard. Quite a stiff headwind and was getting regularly spooked by vehicles way too close. A highlight at Denmark was the best muffin I'd ever eaten in my life...but the less said about today the better...just couldn't find any energy.

Making Albany was pure relief and I've got enough time to take another day off to sort myself out.

Enough about ME. The support and donations coming through have been amazing. One friend sent me an awesome message a few days back about his own brush with Testicular Cancer, which he survived. These words mean a lot to me and make it all worth while...expecially on the days that don't go do well.

We have now raised $4382 for innovation in Cancer Research. How cool is that!!

Tomorrow, I need to prep for another remote stretch out to the 'frontier' town of Esperance, work on the bike, and contact Cure Cancer Aus who are after some promotional material.

In the meantime, a big thank YOU!

Distance today: 95km, slooowly
Hills: 593m

Perth to Adelaide - Day 7 - Bow Bridge

Packing away the tent early this morning I had some extra motivation to get moving quickly as a nasty looking weather front looked likely to cross my path in the days ahead. Whilst I'd promised myself not to look too far ahead, it makes sense to ride harder when conditions are good, and take it easy when they are not.

In the meantime there were some more hills to climb before descending down to Walpole on the South coast, and the goal for today.

It was more stunning riding, no traffic for the first few hours and I pushed hard making some good ground. In the end, covering the 90km just after lunch with some fast descents in the mix, after all what goes up must come down!

There was a great little cafe in Walpole called Phillipine Magic owned by an Aus/Phillipino couple who donate heavily (including all tips) to a food charity in the Phillipines. The place was lively, helped by the razor sharp wit of the guy serving me who was something  of a stand up comedian...it made for an entertaining  lunch. Entertaining also because it was my first coffee in 3 whole days so I was getting a bit twitchy!

The next town, Denmark was still 68km away and a bit of a stretch by the time I'd caffinated myself...but there was a camp ground on the map 32km away which looked like a good target so off I rode.

The road all along this South Coast is not great for cycling...barely any shoulder and the cars roaring past far to close. Evasive action into the gravel was needed a couple of times.

After passing this sign:

I wondered what made them so conspicious? Were they wearing frilly underwear? I spent the next few kms making up silly placenames using similar alliteration to help distract myself from riding pains. These are the things you do when riding alone...

So a relief to pull into a beautiful spot on the hills, Ayr Sailen. As I turned into the ground I was busy giving myself a pat on the back for a big day, and failed to notice the Tiger Snake sunning itself on the red earth driveway! Only just missed it, we both got a fright.

Jo, the owner here gave a brilliant warm welcome. It seems she somehow runs a farm and a private camp ground at the same time...who knows how. Definitely the best campsite so far.

Whilst brewing rehydrated bolognaise for dinner some dark clouds were forming, doesn't look like that bad weather is far off.

Distance: 127km 

Hills: 1297m

Perth to Adelaide - Day 6 - Northcliffe

Due to going to bed at 8pm last night I was awake and on the move before the sun came up, riding east on empty roads before 6am. There was almost zero traffic but a heavy fog and really quite cold...I had the bike lit up like a xmas tree and kept a catious eye out for following traffic who would not be alert for nutty cyclists.

I made great ground for the first 50km, gradually  climbing  the whole time, and as the sun rose, the morning fog burnt off to reveal beautiful forest.

This forest got bigger and better the further East I rode. Karri trees are the most impressive, towering up to 90 meters, and the Beedelup National park was full of them

A lot more climbing  followed and the sun came out so was burning through the water..and there were no shops or towns anywhere for resupply today. Old Vasse Road was a nice off road detour and pretty easy going...just the odd car here, a very pretty spot.

Just short of Northcliffe I ran into the first cycle tourist on the trip...he was heavily laden and cranking up the hill in the opposite direction. But he'd ridden all the way from Brisbane and it was great to get some first hand info on the route ahead from the Nullarbor. The winds were still backwards and Easterly when he crossed, so riders going the other way were taking up to 2 weeks to get through.

Great character...he was completely in tune with touring and probably escaping the world for quite some time.

My day ended at Northcliffe and I camped with 2 mtn bikers on a trail ride to Perth so had great company.

Distance: 127km
Hills: 950m

Perth to Adelaide - Day 5 - Alexander Bridge

Margaret River is an excellent spot for a rest day! I woke feeling pretty stiff so spent the morning stretching and then went for a walk to get a few things and look around.

In the afternoon I joined a wine tour which was quite a pleasent distraction  from turning pedals! There were some great people here, through it was very strange not to have my wife with me. Instead, a kind couple took pity on the sole traveller and babysat me for dinner. They had travelled all over the world and not to the usual places on most peoples itineraries, so were fascinating and inspiring to share a meal with. Thanks guys! I hope you dreams in Sweden and Greenland come true...

Although it wasnt a late night by any means, I was grateful for a shorter days riding for day 5. The day started with a few showers and I rode south in the rain towards Augusta. Here I stopped for coffee and had to fix a puncture...as always the laden bike attracted plenty of attention and I got talking to a nice couple who had cycle toured in Europe. They asked about the blog and I'm again kicking myself for not having a Cure Cancer shirt on or something...but anyway if the Augusta Couple are reading this: thank you and all the best to you...

After the town I headed South West...the opposite direction to home, down an undulating coastal road with some energy sapping steep sections...but too come this far and not see Cape Leeuwin...the very South West corner of Australia would have been a crime!

The Cape was wild as you'd expect, the Indian and South Pacific oceans meet here, so it is an exposed and rugged corner of the country and it had an intimidating  feel to it when you are just a bloke on bicycle. I did not hang around, for one thing I was wet and cold, but also at this point it felt very far from home indeed. Heading back East felt good...East at last! Every pedal stroke now gets me closer to home.

The goal for today was a little campsite at Alexander  Bridge. Nothing much there but a nice setting and gaurenteed water which is all I need.

I ate by the river and tried to concentrate on writing my journal but the moment was somewhat tarneshed by a family at a table near me having a series of massive arguements over a card game. Feel the serenity!

Day 5 distance: 85km

Ascent: 650m

Pert to Adelaide - Day 3 - Margaret River

Epic day. It was always looking like a long one so I was up at 05:30 and turning the pedals in the dark just after 6. No traffic and my hope was to clear town early as it's easter Monday and these roads are not great for cyclists.

Great progress for the first few hours, again pushing into a southerly though it was quite light. Out on the dual carraigeway and in the middle of nowhere, a car that had sped past pulled into the shoulder ahead and a guy got out waving me down. As a distrustful city dweller somewhat well versed in the art of Self Preservation your first reaction is MURDER... but a quick scan of the fella told me he was fine. He was in fact going out of his way to share some local info on B-roads to get to the next town.

Of course, he was an avid local cyclist and he'd ridden LeJog in the UK so we chatted roadside for a while sharing war stories as that was my first hard tour too. What a gentleman...not young by any means but looked highly capable of cranking out some decent distance and was probably fitter than most 20yr olds, though I doubt they would recognise it. So a few kms later I was off the main road which turned out to be very close to where I'd planned anyway. But the encounter lifted my energy way more than any plans.

I rolled into Busselton around 11am after having to stop for a puncture fix. 2nd breakfast was at a great location facing the truley massive wooden wharf, but a poor choice in a way as it was rammed with people and took ages to get fed and caffinated. The break was nice however.

Heading West out of town felt weird. Home, and my wife are not West. But at least no headwinds, just a climb out of Dunsborough and a pitstop for some tourism at Ngilgi Cave. The presentation was interesting with a strong focus on the first people in the region whose presence goes back an incredible 50,000 years. 50,000!! I remember visting a Dolmite in England that predated the Pyramids at Giza, but that does not touch on 50,000 years. This land and it's people are ancient.

It was a bit hard to appreciate the cave with a mob of people. When you think about it...a mineral infused drip of water that runs the same track over the limestone for thousands of years...totally untouched by us disruptive humans, to form a delicate spire of stalactite hanging from the ceiling underground. The beauty and awe of a cave is put into perspetive by time.

So anyway, I snuck off to the bottom, way ahead of my fellow tourists and there was not a sound. I've done some semi serious caving a bit off the tourist trail many years ago and have enjoyed the complete sensory depravation you can get underground, so it was nice to get a little taste of that again Plus, the guide was awesome. Back in the daylight I had a good chat to the staff about the ride, but I was too damned shy to bring up the charity which is just stupid off me. Bloody introverts.

I took lots of photos underground but can't post them till I get back as I used the proper camera which I've been hauling from Perth for such occasions.

Back on the road, the last 30kms into Margaret River were pretty hilly. I was following  an excellent suggested route from another blog...great riding so I will credit them and post the gpx files at the end of thr trip.

Tomorrow  is a designated rest day as I could not pass through this stunning area without trying local produce.  Starting tonight with this Cyclist sized portion of Bruchetta:

It was a longer day today...142 km done. My pace is way off but if I stick to my day 1 mantra, this is not important!

Perth to Adelaide - Day 2 - Bunbury

Last night's efforts to fix up the bike seemed to do the job and it was a largely drama free day. After 'the breakfast of champions'

I was rolling south with wonderfully clear sky but a bit of southerly head wind which kept me working all day. Being Easter weekend there was too much traffic for me to fully relax, but enough shoulder most of the time to keep out of their way most of the time.

I took the more coastal route and the only non freeway option but it was still dual carraigeway. Still, the area was pretty...low laying bush land, plenty of birds, the odd Skippy and some comfortable rest stops.

And a car full of people gave me the most OTT exuberant cheers as I trundled by fully laden, which put a huge smile on my face despite the embarrassment.

For other cyclists, if approaching Bunbury from the north, take Cathedral rd along the estuary to get out of the traffic...superb cycling too.

105km later I was in town and got to a camping store in time before they closed (you can't take gas for your stove on a plane of course). I will be camping soon, but took a b&b for tonight. Camp grounds in towns seem to charge the same to pitch a tent as getting a cheap room.

For dinner I went for a walk to the beach armed with a parcel of Fish & Chips...tick one more item off the trip Bucket List!

A plaque had some information  about the indigenous people first in the area so I'm off to read up more...as that's another item on the list.

Tomorrow, a longer day is on the cards and I want to be away on the road at dawn...it should be the last day of traffic for a while too!

Perth to Adelaide - Day 1 - Perth to Mandurah

Well here we go! No more thinking about doing it...time to actually do it! The day started with a tough farewell  to my wife and our pets. My wife was a rock at the airport whilst I was a bundle of nerves...not helped by 10/10 on the Faff scale from airport staff with the bike.

The bike turned out way to big for their boxes...which I guess I should have expected. She's  not called 'Beatrice' for nothing...Anyway after a lot more disassembly she fit in the box eventually...albeit not padded as well as before, it turned out.

On the plane I calmed down a bit. I got out some pen and paper and jotted down a few ground rules to myself:

• Don't think too far ahead.
• Start slow
• It doesn't  matter how far youvride today, its how far you can still ride tomorrow.
• Eat well
• Payback peoples kindness and charity

If i can stick to those I should be fine!

The highlight on the flight was the clouds breaking at a perfect spot above Cape Arid...probably  the hardest bit on the trip. It looked very wild...cant wait to get there in a couple of weeks!

Upon landing it was time to put Beatrice back  together. The bad news was the front axel was severly bent at the end! The wheel would attach but I did not fancy being out in remote lands with a ton of weight on it....so plans to exit Perth quickly went on ice while I tracked  down a bike shop. They were awesome and had her fixed nicely but this all took a while and was quite a detour, but so glad to have it sorted before leaving town.

The plus to this was a peek at Perth and the cycle paths are top quality. Even saw dolphins swimming a few meters offshore.

After hooking up with the bike path running parallel  with the freeway running south I made fast time to Mandurah into a headwind but the sun out and great riding conditions. The delayed start meant I arrived well after dark. Campgrounds all full so I ended up in the luxury of a motel for the first night...and have spent the evening fixing up other bits of gear. A connector on the hub dynamo was loose and I was getting no power generating...so fixed that and a few other small things.

I am hoping that is it for mechanicals. But it is nice to be moving...darn tired now...

Total distance today:110 I think
'Where are you going on that'? Questions: 4

10 Days to go...

I'm counting down the days now will I board a plane and set off to Perth to start cycling back to Adelaide. It still feels like I have a lot of preparation to finalise so it will be a very busy 10 days...busy, and exciting!

Donations to Cure Cancer Australia have been steadily flowing in thanks to generosity of friends and coworkers...I'm hoping to pay back this kindness by getting those pedals turning ASAP! So a bit about this cause: I chose this charity because of the work they do to fund research from emerging researches who find it difficult to get financial support to pursue their brilliant ideas. They look at all kinds of cancer and you can have a peek at some of their fine minds here.

I still have a fair a way to go on my fundraising target, but this should pick up once I get riding...

Training

A few people have asked me how much training I'm doing. Well, I'm relying largely on my 68 km round trip commute to work, which has been good for getting through distance on top of a busy job. Most weekends I've topped that up with other riding, so all in all I've ridden 3700km in training since the start of the year, with the longest riding being 165 km.

March was a bit more like it

I had a good test ride a weekend back, a return trip down the Great Ocean Road to Lorne to try out the bike with close to a full load, including 15kgs of water. Such great scenery along there, especially good at the crack of dawn as I had the road pretty much all too myself.

Training on the GOR

It went well in terms of a gear test. I camped out and rode back the next day...but found it so much harder with the weight and was burning way more energy than normal for 2x 130km days. I've got to be disciplined on the nutrition front for the trip itself as I wasn't eating well enough that day...lessons learned.

Weather

I mentioned the season of Djeran in my last post and it really seems accurate right now in Melbourne. Right on cue in April the wind has dropped a lot, its colder at night and with brilliant still mornings...perfect for eating up serious miles so I hope this holds for a while longer!

Early mornings in West Melbourne

That's it for now, but just a huge thank you to everyone who has read this drivel and still been willing to support Cure Cancer Australia! You all officially rock...