Monthly Archives: July 2014

Day 261

Today we did our presentation and all our worries were for naught. Eight people showed up for our climbing and cycling talk. Armed with a laptop and a projector we put together a slide show and did our best to have some cohesiveness. The one of many things that Cher and I agree that we have learned is just how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to travel, and how this has made us more aware of our ability to contribute to society. There are hundreds of little lessons that we could point to that have taught us about ourselves and our cultures, but it’s only through being an outsider that we were able to gain these types of insights. We like to believe that our speech was coherent enough to inspire a couple of young people to undertake an adventure of their own and to win over the curiosity of the local police officer who works at the youth center.

The after party

Regardless we found the act of giving a speech had several positives. For one when we wanted to quit cycling in mid way, we couldn’t. What a disappointment that would have been to say to the audience. “We were going to cycle through the outback, but it’s hot, dry and windy, so we bought a car and drove through.” Secondly it gave us time to make sense of what we saw and experienced. Most importantly it was a chance to contribute a realistic view of what is possible with a little planning, patience and courage. Which is why we started our blog in the first place.

Day 260

Not wanting to overstay our welcome, although we were invited to, Cher and I moved into a caravan park for the night and mentally prepared for our presentation at the local PCYC, which stands for Police Citizens Youth Club. They were gracious enough to store our climbing equipment for 3 months, so we didn’t have to lug it over 4,000 km before we could use it and a short talk for an hour was the least we could do.

Cher was a bit apprehensive but I assured her that I could talk enough for the both of us. Although it has been a long time since I stood in front of a large group and gave a presentation, but on the other hand we weren’t certain there would be a large group anyway.

The talker

The doer

Day 259

We joined more than three hundred local cyclists today for a charity ride in memory of Sue Bell, who was struck and killed by a motorist carrying an un-escorted wide load of 3.8 meters on a 3.4 meter road when he attempted to pass Sue Bell, killing her and injuring two other riders. This tragedy led to the implementation of laws requiring vehicles in Queensland to give cyclists as least 1 meter when the speed limit is 60 kph and 1.5 meters when the speed limit is higher.

Mick and Jen let us sleep in, but they woke up at 4am after what can only be described as a nap. They volunteered to put up road signs to make motorists aware of the cyclists. True to the cause of cycle advocacy, Mick and Jen have banned the use of their car for 2 weeks and must run all their chores by human power. Fortunately they have a large array of bikes to choose from, including old style recumbents, road bikes, a tandem, a cargo bike and several others.

We woke at around 6am and found our way to the start, where we joined Mick, Jen and their friend Ian. We were immediately impressed by the amount of riders in attendance once the ride began. Everywhere in the park along the waterfront cyclists on sleek modern road bikes clad in spandex streamed to the starting point. With Mick and Jen on their tandem, Ian on his homemade recumbent, and us on our trikes we were an eccentric crew.

Jen and Mick on their touring tandem

Ian on his D.I.Y. recumbent

Chased by the cops!

This was the first modern town that we had come across since leaving Darwin, 2,500 kms ago. We were impressed by the well planned city center with cafe’s, restaurants and a stunning ocean front promenade, as well as the natural layout, being nestled along the coast all lush and exuberant. Cher and I did take a moment to consider living here. Although we were here during the winter, when a cool day is in the 20’s Celsius, while in the summer is a good deal hotter and humid.

Day 258

It seems like we were getting up later and later, as the temperature drops day by day. Beating the heat is no longer a problem.

I was a bit anxious about the fact that we will be staying under some stranger’s roof, what if we had nothing in common to talk about? Regardless, we do need to stay in Townsville till our trikes are fixed, and we give our talk at the local PCYC on the 1st of July, where we will also pick up our rope and climbing gear that they stored for us. Both of our front tires are worn through the rubber to the inner puncture resistant layer, and we might need new chains depending on how much they have stretched.

It was an easy ride into town. We met another cyclist who was heading into the outback, taking the same route that we came from. We warned him about the lack of water in the desert, after learning that he only had a 3-liter water bag with him. Between two of us, we carried 23 liters of water and that was just enough for 2 days. Travel fast is always a way to save the weight, but you will never know what might delay your travel. Hopefully he will take our advice and get some more water containers.

50 meters away from our destination, we encountered the first unfriendly driver, who yelled ” I didn’t see you, you could have got yourself run over!” while we were peddling along the bright green “bike only” lane, with our bright yellow flags floating in the air. Welcome to the city, it was also a reminder that we were no longer in the wide open outback.

We were greeted warmly by Mick, the owner of the Bicycle Peddler, which is the only shop in town that carries the tires we were looking for as a replacement – Schwable Marathon Surpremes. Coincidentally Mick and Jenny were our Warm Showers hosts as well. We couldn’t resist to take a spin on the variety of bikes they have in the shop, and were inspired to do another tour – maybe a cycling on the folding Brompton bikes through Europe one day?

Tires were easy to change, and the stretched out chains were easy to replace as well. However, the chains were stretched long ago that they had worn down the teeth on the cassettes. With our new chains, every few steps there was a jump. New cassettes are generally not expensive, but since our smaller tire size requires special gear clusters, we were looking at a 80 or 90 AUD dollars for each replacement, that is if we are lucky to find it. Mick again came to our rescue, and promised to find us 2 new gear clusters. What else can we ask for from a bike shop?

Mick and Jenny didn’t just saved us from our mechanical failures, but also opened their home to us – warm shower, comfy bed, and delicious home cooked meals. Mick and Jenny are also touring cyclists, they assured us that our dirty panniers and ravenous appetite were to be expected. We also had engaging conversation, which was just as rewarding as having a home to stay in. It has been a while since we went beyond the small chat, and have had a real conversation with like-minded people.

That night, we had a hard time sleeping in the clean comfy bed. It felt so unusual that we could move our limbs and roll around, so that was what we did for the better part of night. It only took us 6 weeks to forget how to sleep in a bed.

Day 257

It was a joyous day of riding – the scenery was stunning, and for once we had a tail wind to help us feel like superhuman.

We stopped to have lunch at a truck stop, and met a truck driver who confessed that the truckies had been calling us crazy over their cb radios. Which is fortunate because they’re giving other truckies a heads up so they are ready to give us a wide berth. We finally got the chance to verify the mutual hatred between truckers and caravaners. The problem is that the caravans travel at or below the speed limit to save fuel, while the trucks drive at or just above the speed limit because they are on a tight schedule. Combine some narrow roads and the fact it takes almost 2 km to pass, which must be done into oncoming traffic, and you have some understanding of their frustration.

After a long and thrilling downhill, we arrived at Reid River Rest Area at 2pm. I felt like we could have gone all the way to Townsville, but since we weren’t supposed to show up at our Warm Showers host’s place in Townsville till the 28th, there was no reason to rush it. Reid River Rest Area was great for camping, plenty of grass to pitch a tent under with an enormous tree for shade.

We took a bottle shower by the toilet. Once again, just as we were getting ready for the action, a couple of caravaners stopped to have a chat. Practically half naked, clenching a bar of soap in one hand and a water bottle in the other, we had no choice but to stand there and listened to each of their children’s hobbies and whereabouts. It would be a short day tomorrow, and we looked forward to some indoor living for the next couple of days.

Day 255 to 256

Sometimes, one rest day is just not enough to do all the chores while having a “rest.” Since we don’t have a schedule, we took 2 days of rest in Charters Towers. We spent the first rest day working, as usual. Spending most of the day in town, trying to take advantage of McDonald’s free wifi to upload the pictures. Hours later, our patience wore thin by the incredible slow connection, we moved across the street to the public library, which promised 30 minutes free wifi. Half an hour later, only 3 out of 82 of our pictures were uploaded. It was a losing battle, so we decided to give up and head back.

The second day was restful, we spent most of the time reading and carb loading.

Chopper still had some bike maintenance to do, including pulling several thorns out of our tires. The Schwalbe tires did the magic again, our tires managed to stay puncture free even with all the thorns sticking in the foam padding. But we will definitely need some new tires when we reach Townsville.

After 80,000 km, the rubber was finally worn through to the foam padding

Over dinner, we met an old couple who were traveling every year to the exact same destination, staying at the exact same caravan parks. It was great that they were out and about at the age of 80, but knowing exactly what to expect takes the joy out of traveling. Of course, they expressed their concerns about our “early retirement” lifestyle, traveling around with no jobs and no home to go back to. After all, they worked for the same employer during their entire career, while such loyalty mutually owed between employees and employers are nearly non exist nowadays. We do have a wonderful time by throwing security and caution to the wind, but we might never be able to retire.

Curious bird visiting our trikes

Day 254

Oh benevolent gods of cycling, how shall we repay you for such a perfect day? We have already paid homage by toiling into the wind, on hot dusty days, through water scarce deserts without abandoning our cycles on the roadside. But this, this is too much you are far too generous. Perfect cool weather, tail winds, long winding downhills through dense forest with the roads to ourselves. It’s noon and we’ve done 70 km, our average speed is 18 kph. We communicated our excitement in hushed tones, as if the cycling gods will hear us and take all the rewards away. Let’s not pretend that this is the work of our weak mortal bodies, lest the cycling gods punish us for our arrogance. We change our tone and louder we announce, we are so fortunate to have perfectly smooth roads, a strong tail winds and so many downhills. I think it worked. The wind was picking up.

Quick with lunch, back on the road before they change their mind. Still bloated from lunch we mount our trikes, now traveling uphill at a mere mortal speed of 16 kph. We climb and think we have reached the top, but it’s just a crest before another hill. The gods are testing our faith. We show the cycling gods we are devout subjects and we power up the hills, not allowing our pace to slacken, and then as we round one last bend we see that we are now on top looking out over the valley. Oh joy! To be saved.

At 30 kph we rush towards salvation, which looks a lot like Woolworth’s and a cozy caravan park. It’s only 2:30pm and we’ve come 102 km, and have time to shop, shower and settle in for a few days of much-needed rest. We have now only to cycle 2 days before we reach Townsville which is 130 km away, where we will give our steeds a new pair of shoes and add climbing shoes to our luggage. Hopefully the climbing gods will be as beneficent.

Day 253

Getting ripped off is always painful, especially when you learn that there was a better alternative. Just across the street there is a very small bathroom with running water, and a flat grassy area, we could have easily stayed there for the night for free, and the paid site was not much better. Such are the misfortunes when you’re tired and a hot shower sounds too good to think rationally.

If we were taken advantage of in Torrens Creek then Pentland was our redemption. A few long uphills and some nice long downhills and we were close.

As we approached we saw a couple of farmers selling fruit and stopped and bought fresh apples, tomatoes, fresh-baked buns, and a jar of homemade Rosella jam. The two men working there were sharp wits and we stayed another 30 minutes having a chat. One claimed that he was the more social of two and lived in town while the other preferred his farm. There was no town, and only farms. Their roadside fruit business was one of two businesses in town, the other being the caravan park. They also told us that we had crossed the dividing range, which explained why everything was turning from brown to green. Two other local men stopped by, one because his dog barked on our way by and the other was out for a stroll with his walking stick.

We hadn’t planned on staying at Pentland, but both agreed that if they offered us a good price we would stay. Normally unpowered sites are 18 but we were told it would be ten, total. She must have read our minds. We set up on a perfect patch of grass with some low plants to give us shade and spent the rest of the day reading and devouring fresh bread, and jam. We splurged and got two bottles of cold ginger beer. It was one of the days that everything was just perfect.

Day 252

It was cold today. Starting out we both had numb fingers and toes for a long stretch. At 43 km we passed the Prairie Motel, where we learned that you can camp for free if you buy a beer or a meal from the hotel. However right next door, east of the motel, there is a nice little public park with picnic benches, bathroom, and running water. It doesn’t say you can camp there, but if you are cycling, no one would say anything. Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to stop, as we only have food for 3 days and there aren’t any supermarket between the 240 km from Hughenden to Charters Towers.

For the first time we began to see groups of trees, along the roadside, what might even be called forest. Hills on either side of us blocked the wind and we began to climb gradually higher throughout the afternoon.

We reached what we imagined to be a plateau and the road runs incredibly straight along the top. With only a slight headwind we made decent time and arrived in Torrens Creek at 2:30pm. What is supposed to be a caravan park is no more than a dusty field behind a building. There are hot showers, and that’s about it. No camp kitchen or even just a barbecue, nor laundry and other amenities. I asked the owner if we could use a kettle or a range top. He told me no, they are for the restaurant, (which was closed) and the didn’t have them here and if we wanted we could just keep going and he would give us our money back. He knew there’s nothing out here and we really need the water, so we stayed.

Day 251

Some one was blaring music with thunderous bass in the middle of the night. It had to be some one at the public area at the lake. I finally fell asleep and then an hour or so later woke up to the same obnoxious music. I had no desire to get out of bed when the alarm went off. Today it was Cher urging me on, undoing the nozzle on my sleeping pad. Grumpily I started the day.

We arrived at Marathon Rest Area just outside of Richmond, and stopped for lunch. I considered spending the night there. We had only done about 45 km and it was early. Cher agreed that if I was spent then we would stay. We ate, and as I became full, the less desirable this dusty, unshaded, noisy, spot became. I knew that she wanted to continue on, as she was having an on day, but had agreed to stop since I looked so miserable. Not to be outdone by Cher’s formidable endurance, I got myself together and we set off for Hughenden.

For a short while it was hot, flat and boring before we finally hit some downhills and the weather cooled. Averaging around 18 kph, we rode parallel to the train tracks and received several encouraging blasts from horns of passing trains.

Continuing on we passed a herd of horses that came running over to check us out, and began galloping along the fence, keeping pace with us for a moment before taking off in front. For a moment we were an indefatigable diesel locomotive, and the next an unfettered horse. It was exhilarating.

With time to spare we stopped to get groceries but found that the main grocery store is closed on Sunday and only open until noon on Saturday. We were directed to a little basic market around the corner where we picked up some bread and canned goods. We found the camp kitchen at the caravan park extremely well equipped with a barbecue, stove, and an instant hot water dispenser. It was crowded and I quickly claimed a burner and squeezed in between a woman and a man who if I was a bottle of white-out, they were a bucket of paint. We made a small pot of pasta to go with pasta sauce and two fresh tomatoes, and sat down to eat. Across from us a group of four who made me look like a stick and Cher like a bug were having a mixed grill – steaks, sausages, bacon and the works. Cher whispered, we’re the only ones who deserve that sausage. We were quite hungry and we always have to laugh when caravaners talk about the wind and hills effecting their fuel consumption.

Day 250

Rest day = feeding day. We get as much fresh fruit vegetables and meat in as possible on these days. For breakfast, yogurt with muesli and a couple of fried eggs satisfied our protein crave. By the lake there a couple of free electric barbecues and made bean, corn, zucchini, and spam burritos for lunch. Finally for dinner, pasta with spinach ricotta sauce, and a healthy portion of zucchini, cucumber and tomato salad.

Cher the birthday girl was freed from all her duties. She chose to spend the morning doing laundry and read the gargantuan book she’s been toting around for the rest of the day. I wrote up the blog. Finally for the first time we are caught up. Cher will have her work cut out for her next time we get to a wi-fi spot, as she is our website master.

Utilizing our phone, I called up the US bank and Hong Kong bank to figure out why my international transfers aren’t going through. Hong Kong banking is not like the US where credit cards are given out to teenagers like sticks of gum, and many of the HK atm cards only work in Asia. Foreseeing a problem I opened an US account, and transferred money to it several times. My US card with a Master Card logo works everywhere and even refunds atm fees. Of course now that we really need it, the transfers are no longer going through. Luckily we have about a month before we really have to worry.

Hong Kong banking is quite ridiculous with its security measures. They require a numerical code generated by a little key fob to do transfers and they mailed a new one after we left. Thankfully if you call you can still use the old one. When I tried to use my card here in Australia the atms didn’t recognize it and reported that my key code was incorrect and locked my card, which I can’t unlock unless I go back to Hong Kong. However, I can close my account by writing a letter to the bank with instructions on where to send my money, as long as I sign it. All hail the power of the old-fashioned pen and paper!