Now that is a big question...

In the short term, it is easy to answer. Our hot summer is quickly approaching and the window for riding in the bush is rapidly closing. Like our north american cousins, our summers are now very dry and it has become increasingly dangerous to be out there on a bike during the fire season. A spark or a carelessly disgarded match can literally turn into an unstoppable firestorm in only a couple of hours. And you can't outride one of those... 

In the past, I would ride the Munda Biddi in the middle of the summer, but in this new reality, I think I'll give it a miss. So, I have a couple more weeks of cooler riding weather until I have to give it up until autumn. And I have one last bit of the Munda Biddi to complete before I have the full set: the last couple of days from Walpole to Albany, the southern terminus of the trail. I had better get out there a peddaling... 

When they open the interstate borders, I might fly into Sydney and pedal back (better chance of tailwinds!!) along the Murry River and Nullabor, picking out the dirt tracks and slow roads where I can. I can do that after the summer heat subsides - maybe early April, if the border closures are lifted.

In the longer term, that question is more complex. Here in Australia, we are managing to keep a lid on Covid 19. We have the resolve (and an effective national public health system) to deal with it. And this will also help us to roll out an effective vaccination programme when one becomes available. Even so, our government is cautioning us that it could be 12 months or more before they carefully and slowly open up the international borders to let us out and others in. I'm afraid you, my American readers, have a far more difficult journey ahead of you. 

I have a near new Surly Troll parked up and gathering dust in the rafters of my friend's place in Bangkok. It's been gathering dust there for the past two years. And I've got a daughter parked up, hopefully not gathering dust, in Osaka. And another one in San Diego. If I keep pedalling here in WA & OZ, stay moderately fit and healthy, I'll be on one of those first commercial flights out of here...    

Heart

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