Now I've finally got things in the right order...: We can continue

August 3, 2015

We took our time packing things up in the morning sun. The forest was so lovely and with a warmshowers host organised less than 40 kilometres away it promised to be a relatively relaxing day. Having said that the forest track still provided a few challenges, with more steep climbs and a couple of creeks to be crossed. At one Dea tried to follow me in cycling straight over the rocky creek bed but got jammed halfway and ended up with wet shoes, after which she unfortunately had to turn her P plate around again.

Towards the edge of the forest we saw a lot of kangaroos, or more accurately I did, and I was starting to build a commanding lead in that respect. Then it was back onto the asphalt and we connected with a much busier road out of the forest again, which was pretty horrible after enjoying such a nice back road detour. But it had to be done - there were some sections where there were simply no gravel forest road options and we had to use bigger roads, although we were at least still able to avoid the main highway.

This big fella wasn't the least scared of me, or the cars

And what an extraordinary score board, by the way

If we thought that being out of the forest would mean an end to the hills we were mistaken. They were just as frequent and just as steep. But all the sweat and effort involved in trudging up these was soon forgotten when we crested one of these hills and down below us at the bottom of the next descent we could see the Pacific Ocean. We freewheeled down to it and parked up the bikes and ran onto a beautiful empty beach. It was a glorious setting and another personal milestone for me – after Europe and Asia, a third continent had been traversed, and this one in record time.

To arrive together made it even more special

I resisted the temptation to go in the water. Ostensibly this was because I didn’t want to officially have completed my cross-Australia ride that I began in the sea at Fremantle until I reached my ultimate goal of Gold Coast, where I envisaged Dea and I walking hand-in-hand into the surf as a poignant final scene in the movie. In reality it was because I was still scared of sharks.

A little later we reached the seaside town of Bermagui where we waited at the library to meet our host Simone. She soon arrived, a middle-aged Dutch woman who greeted us with a broad smile and an overwhelming enthusiasm of laughter and smiles. It set the tone for the evening where we made pizza in Simone’s apartment and had a really nice time talking about life and cycling. Simone had plenty of experience in that regard, having done lots of touring herself.

With Simone being so lovely it was an easy decision for us to take the next day off and have a rest day in the pretty seaside town. Although it was very scenic it was also very cold and we spent much of the day at the library planning our onward route to Sydney. In the evening Dea and I took a walk to watch the sunset over the beach and we both agreed Bermagui would be a very nice place to live, but there were no pedicabs, so we had to keep going to Gold Coast. After we walked back to Simone’s apartment another two cyclists arrived. Simone had double-booked her warmshowers hosts but that was okay, there was enough space and everybody was pleased of the company. The new arrivals were an older Italian couple who were doing something rather extraordinary.

After stumbling in after dark they both collapsed exhausted into chairs in the living room. It seemed that they had cycled 140 kilometres, although this was a relatively short day for them, as they had left Brisbane only ten days earlier, meaning they had averaged 150 kilometres per day so far. After popping some painkillers they managed to explain their itinerary, which would involve continuing on the Princes Highway all the way, reaching Melbourne in three or four days, before continuing on to Adelaide and up to Alice Springs at a similar pace. After Dea and I had enjoyed such a lovely ride up through the forested mountain back roads from Melbourne it seemed absurd that anyone would want to cycle there in three days on the highway. They would miss out on the platypuses and the wombats, have no time for the koalas. It seemed so silly. “Highway very busy,” said the woman in broken English, “but today we saw many, many kangaroos -” Then she paused for a moment before clarifying the condition of those kangaroos: “Dead!”

Simone, Dea and myself exchanged glances regarding the apparently absurd nature of the Italians tour. Simone was a slow-paced cyclist herself, matching the sort of 50 kilometre days that Dea and I had become accustomed to since Melbourne. Still, it was not lost on me that up until Melbourne, as on many other occasions during my trip, I had also been doing very little except cycling. I’d been doing 120 kilometres per day for a whole month hadn’t I? What a strange thought. Looking at the exhausted Italians now I realised how much better life was now that I was slowing down and really enjoying it and really taking it all in.

Dea and I wrote a letter to thank John, Trish and Nic, our hosts in Sale. The Italians were going to stay with them, so we asked them to hand deliver it for us. It featured an awesome koala drawing contest that we asked them to judge for us. Behind Dea is a tired Italian woman planning the next day's 150 kilometre ride, and in the kitchen Simone

Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 45,678 km (28,366 miles)

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