Beasts in Jungle

July 9th: Ary to Guthalungra – 68 km

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Day 269

We passed Burdekin Bridge without incident. Traffic was not as heavy as we expected, and compared to Indonesian drivers, Aussies are much more cautious when passing. We also had good news from the banks that Chopper had been dealing with for the past few weeks. Our international transfer finally went through! Now we have money, plenty of money to survive our slow traveling to New Zealand.

It was a good day for cycling, as have been the other days since we started traveling on the coast. A clear blue sky with perfect cool temperatures, and Bruce Highway was not so formidable as we imagined. For most part, there was a decent shoulder.

The free rest area in Guthalungra was also a nice surprise. A large grassy area was fenced off to keep the caravan outs and we took full advantage in our tent. Several large eucalyptus trees provided ample shade and there were pagodas with picnic tables and water faucets. The adjacent roadhouse provided a hot shower for 3 dollars per person. Even though we could have paid 3 dollars for a shower for 2, we decided to stick to the code of conduct. Stingy as we are, there are many other ways to save money without being dishonest.

A truck driver dropped by our camp and brought us a rock melon, and confessed that he was once a trike rider too back in New Zealand. He has been coaching rock climbing as a part-time job in Australia. It was before long that Chopper and Ron forged a bond – over how best to deal with aggressive drivers whilst cycling. Both recommend more aggression. It was refreshing to have a good conversation when we least expected it.

July 8th: Alligator Creek to Ayr – 69 km

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Day 268

It felt as if we were traveling in Thailand again. Miles and miles of sugar cane fields, tropical palm trees here and there amongst other subtropical vegetation. How sweet was the smell of sugar factories! Maybe it was that blend of organic grassy raw sweet fragrance that made us hungrier than usual. We were told by some locals that they also burn the sugar cane fields before they harvest, so the downside of the sweet smell was black ashes floating in the air.

A local fish shop put down advertisement boards for seafood along the road. As we were going at a much slower pace than the traffic, the effect was much more pronounced. Before long, all I could think of was some fatty salmon for dinner. Chopper was more than happy to oblige when I told him my dinner plan – pan seared salmon with soy sauce, over fried vegetables with garlic and brown rice mixed with sesame oil.

The salmon was the perfect motivation to get us quickly into Ayr. We chose a caravan park in hope to take advantage of the camp kitchen, and quickly showered and got ready for cooking. However the kitchen was occupied by young backpackers and their dirty dishes. Some were laying across the benches in front of the tables, others sitting on top. I made room by cleaning the table, and they only moved to avoid the debris and filth falling off the table. Dancing around to avoid garbage piles and grease spots, we managed to cook up the meal with disco music blasting in the background. I’ve been thinking about doing some farm work through the working holiday visa, but I have to wonder how I would fit in with a bunch of young, party hardy backpackers.

We took our food to another sitting area hoping to eat in peace, but only to find ourselves squeezed in among a small group of large caravaners. Often we are in between and wonder where the all the people our age are. Probably working. We received the normal long winded cautionary advice followed by a tiresome monologue about where the they would vacation in the states, how they would travel, how long in each place the would stay and the names of the various hotels they would stay at. We were warned that the Burdekin Bridge south of Ary would be a death trap. It would be a long bridge with a steep incline and zero shoulder, cars would be going 100km and not slow down for pushbikes. Can’t wait to see if any of these warnings would be true.

July 7th: Townsville to Alligator Creek – 22.2 km

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Day 267

After staying in Townsville for almost a week, we were both sad to leave and eager to get on the road again. We will definitely miss the quality conversations with our friends in Townsville, since most likely the conversations with fellow travelers on the road tend to be quick, basic and repetitive.

The weekend long ride left me longing for our good old-fashioned slow travel. A free rest area called Alligator Creek 22 km away looked perfect from the comments on WikiCamps – a free hot shower and a grassy camp site are all we need. At a leisurely pace we reached the destination and squeezed in between caravans to set up camp.

I was anxious about riding on the notorious Bruce Highway, but it turned out to be another false rumor to deter cyclists. Getting out of Townsville was a bit hairy since there were constructions on the road, but as soon as we were out of the city gravity it was smooth roads through glorious scenery. The traffic wasn’t exactly light but there was always a shoulder.

We were invited by our neighbors, a young couple from New Caledonia, to coffee. They managed to fit work into their traveling lifestyle, the girl being a teacher and writer and the guy being a cartoonist. As we chatted, Chopper got his first cartoon portrait done. Our neighbor on the other side was a true professional traveler who has been traveling and working around Australia since 16 years old. Chopper went over to check out his swag, and later we learned from him that a comet is passing by Mars and it is visible from the earth at midnight. It was normal that we get astronomical news from cowboys these days.

July 5th – 6th: Local Cycle Tour Weekend – 230 km

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Day 265 – 266

Our last hurrah in Townsville was a circuitous cycle tour into the mountains, along a 70 km dirt road, wild camp and then back to base. Mick and Jen would take their trusty tandem – the Duet, while Ian would ride his moustache handlebarred road bike with a trailer, and of course Cher and I on the trikes.

The Duet by Mick and Jen

We have been asked by numerous people, are they fast? And now we had a definitive answer. No. Although we were carrying much less gear than normal and we just completed a 2,500 km ride, and had plenty of rest, we were slow. Not too slow but not nearly as fast as a bike with road tires or a tandem. However, they were quite patient and stopped from time to time so we could catch up.

Early on we had a long climb out of the coastal plains into the mountains, and by noon we had done 50 km and ate had lunch and coffees at a little mountain top cafe. 30 kms later we left the pavement and entered a sandy gravel track. The trikes were made for this. Our front suspension ate up ruts and potholes while our three wheels gave us stability as we slid through sandy patches. The others were white knuckled but still faster than us.

By 4 we had completed 115 km and were setting up camp. Mick had chosen a secluded spot next to river without crocodiles. We lit a fire, and settled in for more great conversation, aided by the 3 bottles of wine we brought for the 4 of us.

Well rested, we set out early with a picturesque blue sky filled with white clouds puffed at regular intervals. Cher and I had already passed through this stretch and knew what to expect, a nice long downhill into town. Even though we started earlier than others, the crew caught us easily and passed us, but waited once again. We finished around 3pm and were treated by yet more hospitality when Mick and Jen insisted that they cook.

Emotionally well rested, we were prepared to set off for Brisbane, our first climbing destination, and our first long rest from the road.

July 2nd – 4th: Celebrating US Independence by Occupying a Stranger’s House

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Day 262 to 264

When Mick ordered our rear cassettes, I asked if we could come back and stay the night when they came in, and he said it was fine. We had no idea that they would arrive so quickly. Back at The Bicylce Peddlar, we discovered that our new cassettes were quite different from our custom cassettes from ICE. They were lacking the largest cog, which gives us the lowest gear. Capreo cassettes come riveted together, so Mick got out the Dremel, separated the cogs and reassembled our cassettes including the largest cog. Our large cogs were still in great shape since we only use them on the steepest of inclines.

Mechanic at work

Since Mick and Jen invited us to do an overnight cycle trip that weekend, we figured we might as well see if we could stay with them in the interim. We wouldn’t have thought it rude if they said no. Jen is finishing up a degree in Audiology and Mick just opened his new bike shop 3 months earlier. However, after a brief meeting they agreed that we could stay. We were overjoyed but still hoped that we hadn’t put them on the spot, although they insisted that we were easy guests.

Without a second thought they made us at home. Cher and I have only been in one home in the last 9 months and they pretty much left us with the keys and said see you later. Being alone in someone’s home you’ve just met is a little strange. First they were being incredibly trustworthy, which we didn’t take for granted, checking that the windows and doors were locked several times before we left, and secondly they were uncommonly generous. How else to make oneself at home than to cook? Cher and I took over the kitchen and cooked dinners, which also made us feel a little less guilty for crashing their house.

In the meantime we had shelter, internet and electricity so while Cher caught up with e-mails, and the blog, I got started trying to get cash into an account I could access. Many phone calls later, to both HSBC in Hong Kong and Ally Bank in the US, I think I figured out why our wire transfers weren’t going through, even though they were before. If they didn’t go through we had one last option, we took a day and opened a bank account here in Australia. However, my US account with Ally Bank is quite good and charges nothing for international ATM withdrawals and even refunds ATM fees. I refreshed the web page and hit send, hoping that this time the transfer would go through. Otherwise our net purchase would be a trip back to Hong Kong.

July 1st: Presentation at PCYC Upper Ross

Cher / 1 comment

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.

June 30th: Moving Across the Town – 15 km

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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

June 29th: Charity Ride around Townsville – 30 km

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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.

June 28th: Reid River to Townsville – 52 km

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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.

June 27th: Charters Towers to Reid River Rest Area – 75.8 km

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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.

June 25th -26th: Resting Up in Charters Towers

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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

June 24th: Pentland to Charters Towers – 102 km

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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.