The Induction

As soon as I woke up this morning I knew there was a hard day ahead. There was defiantly an element of excitement for my life was about to change. I knew this would be the last time I would see my family for quite some time but all i could think about was what was in my bags and had I forgotten anything. It was time to finally leave.
I didn't waste any time finding Windsor rd and the smooth bicycle lane it offered. As soon as i began to head west I was met with a strong headwind. This was not the best start but at least the path was smooth and generally flat. It didn't take long to get to windsor (about 30km) but i was already getting tired. The temperature was in the 30s and I knew the Hawksbury river wasn't far up the road. By now my legs were having trouble pushing me into the wind, only time could save me now. I cooled myself down in the river and rested for about an hour and had lunch.

From here and for the next couple of days it was all up hill over the Blue Mountains and Bells Line of Road. The wind stayed strong and hot as I began to ascend the mountains. After a couple of kilometres i had to stop again, this time laying on the grass under a big shady tree. After laying there for a while i nearly fell asleep. I had headphones in so I couldn't hear the car stop behind me. A man had seen me laying there, turned his car around to see if i was ok, i couldn't believe it. I thanked him and he offered me water before getting on his way. This experience gave me the energy to keep going up the hill. A rain storm offered a little relief but it soon passed. I was going at an absolute snails pace now as it got progressively steeper and pushing my bike was the only way. I was determined to get a little further when i reached the base of bellbird hill. This was now about to get steep and windy with little room on the road. I really didn't want to start tomorrow with this so i went for it, at about 20-30 meters at a time. There was a lookout just up the road where i would stop for the day. The end of day one was in sight. An hour or so later and I was there and the elation of reaching the destination kicked in. Big grins!

It was here I made my first new friend. A French guy by the name of Chris and his partner were travelling around. They were a bit amazed at how far i was attempting to take my BMX. Chris was a BMX racer, so now i have friends in France. This is whats its all about and its only the first day.
My girlfriend Nicole was coming to meet me for the night to feed me and spend some precious time before i get too far away.

I woke up the next morning with the sun and a sore right knee, must have strained it on the final climb. Not to worry I would just have to take it easy and see how it goes. There was no wind today and it was a fair bit cooler. The road was still going up and there was plenty of shade from the overhanging trees. I am pushing up nearly all the hills at the moment as I don't want to further damage my knee. Into the morning and through Bilpin it flattens out slightly. The knee seems to be ok once it warms up and I now realise it is a muscle at the back not the joint which is hurting.
Further into the day and the road (although fairly smooth) is very narrow and with no shoulder. Just a white line which hugs the edge of the road, my lane. The cars and trucks which pass seem to give plenty of room and there are lots of waves from drivers. Heading up towards Mt Tomah where i will stop for lunch i am greeted by my friend Jason (suicideshifterkustoms.blogspot.com) who is on his motorcycle and came to say goodbye. Its always nice to see a friendly face.

Mt Tomah was just up the road where i stopped for a long lunch and a rest on the grass. This part of the mountains is so very cool and green and at the slow speed at which im moving is perfect to take it all in. As i push on up more of this never ending hill i finally come to the first bit of down in a day and a half, and what a descent it is. Only about 1-2 km long bit its beautiful and smooth and now im going at much more of a decent speed. As im getting into it with the music blaring and a big smile on my face i notice there are a few cars slowed behind me. There is nowhere for me to go to let them past and as we reach the bottom and i can move over i wave thanks. Six cars all waving back and not one angry beep!

As i get ever closer to Bell and the top of the mountain it is expected to get a bit more of the down and not so much of the up. I have barely managed 35km today when *snap*, broken chain! Luckily i had preempted this and Nicole (who was meeting me again tonight had a spare on board), also lucky i was still in phone reception so I made the call for a rescue mission. Within an hour she was there which gave me plenty of time to remove the old chain and swap the front brake calliper to the back and ditch the rear as it had become stuck on the rim and was void of adjustment. This will surely be the end of the day for me while i fix everything for the next day.

After sleeping like a baby, there was no rush to leave in the morning. Nicole and I had a long slow breakfast on the side of the road as there was only 35km to Lithgow and as the road was becoming flatter(ish). It wouldn't take long. Enjoying the cool mountain air I plodded along.

I could now do alot more peddling as the gradient had become more bearable. And now when the road goes up it is usually followed by a down, the way it should be. It doesn't take long before I've reached Clarence, Lithgow is now in sight. I enjoy the last bit of mountain view before making the final descent into Lithgow. A long steep downhill with some sharp bends. Again the elation of reaching today's destination takes all the pain away. I stock up on food and find accommodation on the exit of town. I am totally due for a shower (first one so far). Again i am asleep with the sun, fed and ready to depart the next day.

An early start today the mountain pass is over its off to Mudgee, which I expect will take three days to complete the 120km or so. The clouds are out this morning as I head up the road to get onto the Castlereigh Hwy. Much peddling to be done this morning I pass a couple of power stations and plenty of coal mines. I will be happy to get to Capertee today (40 odd k) where I will meet some more friends, Andrew and Lauren, for lunch. Capertee is the widest canyon in the world and I have driven past is numerous times. It was quite breathtaking to be able to stop and have an actual look.

I had now reached the pub at Capertee where I would wait for my friends for lunch. I was the first customer for the day. As we eat lunch the pub slowly fills up as does interest in my bike. By the time its time for me to leave a bunch of guys have come outside to see me off and wish me luck. This is heartwarming stuff already, only 200km into a 50,000km journey. I travel 10km up the road and decide to finish for the day when i spot a good place to camp. I set up my tent and contemplate the evening when a bearded man on a quad show up. His name is Douglas and he lives just behind where I was camping. He offers me a room and some water and after a bit of conversating i accept. Douglas lives in an awesome house with 360degree views of the countryside. He is all alone and in search of a partner, which i soon learn would preferably be of the male variety, and with nice feet. He eventually opens up to me but im not too worried, after all who am I to judge.

 I make an early exit from Douglas's house before he wakes up and head back onto the road. I experience a couple of drops of rain which soon pass on. Its 75km to Mudgee and just up the road is Cherry Tree Hill and the highest point i will reach so far at 1100m.

Now what goes up must come down. The other side of Cherry Tree Hill is a long steep down hill with sweeping bends. Any distance covered where i don't have to pedal or walk is most appreciated, especially when it can be done at speed. On the other side of the hill the terrain flatten out significantly. I enjoy just peddling along, taking in the vastness of the sky and the landscape with the sun back out. I reach Illford and stop for a bite when a car stops suddenly and reverses up to where im sitting. Its Adam Beehag an old mate from the motorcycle industry. We do the usual photo shoot, he asks me the usual "are you really riding this around the world?", and i give my usual response "im going to try" and then he is on his way and so am I. A short while later I notice my front tyre is deflating. First puncture! Not a worry, and 15mins later the tube is replaced and im back on the road.

Only a couple of km up the road i see a fluro figure in the distance coming the other way. It appears to be a fellow cyclist but as it approaches it looks more like a giant scooter. I pull over and fluro man comes to my side to meet me. His name is Glenn Burmeister, a garbo from England, and he is currently on track to break the world record for the longest distance travelled on an elliptical bicycle (5100km). Turns out he has other world records in the cycling world too for distance riding. We have a nice chat and take a couple of pics before going our separate ways.

The plan is now to get to lake Windemere (30ish km from Mudgee) to camp for the night. As the wind picks up a little im happy to just pedal along listening to music. I soon reach the turn off for where I would camp about 1km from the main road. Looking at the time it is still early and i figure the more I do each day is less to do the next. So after much debating with myself its on I go. There are a few hills surrounding lake Windemere and I notice the clouds are coming in, although it does appear they will pass and i press on. This would prove to be the wrong choice. It begins to rain and im sure it will pass so I enjoy the cool shower and don't bother with a raincoat. Then it gets heavier and I am without shelter. I find a tree to shield me from the rain and I contemplate setting up my tent. The rain lightens slightly and I make the decision to keep going. So I frantically search for rain gear in the bottom of my bag. Just in the nick of time as the heavens open, this is now coupled with thunder and of course lightning and wind. The trees are no place to be in a storm so im back out on the road. It begins to feel like the rain will never stop and all I can do is put my head down and move forward. I swear in vain for the first time and I know I will now have to push on and ride the remaining 30km today to mudgee as i am now soaking wet all over.

LANGUAGE WARNING!

As the rain lightens the road flattens out again and im on the home stretch to mudgee. Getting through the storm gives me a huge sense of achievement (or maybe its relief) and that converts into energy. Everything is going well. A ute pulls over in front of me on a long straight, the drivers door opens and a friendly head pops out, "need a lift mate?" Ha, another one. "I can't but thanks anyway" I reply. He smiles and waves and takes off up the road. 20 mins ago I might have just accepted.
I begin to see to fields of grape vines and I know im nearly there. A warm shower awaits and time to dry my clothes. As im a day early I have decided to have a rest tomorrow to refuel myself and rest my right knee. Finding cheap accommodation is easy and I settle in for the night. 75km today is my biggest day so far and as im still in training a rest is just what I need. Only 49,750km to go!

After an awesome rest and lots of eating its on to Dubbo. I will soon be off the main hwy and onto some real country roads. The landscape is noticeably drier on the west side of town. Its a beautiful day today, no wind, sun shining and after a rest my knee feels great. Only 15km till im off the main road and I seem to get there in the blink of an eye. This is where the road gets a little more serious. Its still another 125km to Dubbo and as of now the plan is still to take three days. I am totally loving this road even though the quality of tar is depleting quickly and all but a centre line remain. The edge of the road looks like a roughly torn piece of paper and the surface is quite bumpy which makes for difficult peddling. The smile remains. Plenty of trucks, I do my best to stay close to the edge.

Just before I get to Goolma (40km from Mudgee) I stop for a banana when a car pulls over. His name is Neal and he saw my flag coming down the road. Nice bloke who wanted to reminisce about the days when he used to cycle these roads. Again a bit shocked at my choice of bike. Off again and within minutes im in Goolma. Goolma is basically a pub and a public toilet. I stop for an ice-cream at the pub and end up spending an hour talking to Lisa (the owners daughter) while i try to decide whether or not to press on for the day or stay put. Again because it is early i decide to keep going. "Just a little further" I tell myself. The road deteriorates even further and the straights get longer it also stretches out over the horizon. This is where the mind games start, always wanting to know whats around the bend/over the horizon only to be met with another straight road disappearing over the horizon. I want to camp but I don't want to wake up the next day to go around the first bend and come across some sort of oasis. After much pressing on in the hot sun, drenched in sweat, eventually I get to a familiar spot just 45km from Dubbo. At this point i realise im a day early again and will relish the extra rest day in Dubbo. 90km today, Phew!

I can feel the heat as soon as I wake up. Its only 7am and the sun has a bite to it already. I waste no time packing up and get moving. The heat seems to really kick in at about 1pm so I move with haste. 5km into the day and im back on a main hwy. The Golden hwy will take me the remaining 40km into Dubbo where a 5 star backyard awaits including a swimming pool courtesy of Dale and Rachael. About 1km up the Golden hwy and I wave to a farmer who is riding around on his quad. I stop for a rest when he pulls up next to me. His name is Chris and before I know it im up at his house having a coffee with him and his wife C. They are on 560 acres and with 50 cattle it is just a hobby farm. Nice hobby. After conversations and photos they pack me some biscuits and fill my water before the remaining 35km to Dubbo.

I had lost track of time with Chris and C and the hot part of the day was fast approaching. There was nothing I could do except move forward. The stretch into Dubbo is quite straight and flat. As it gets ever hotter, time seems to slow down. The landscape is getting drier again and the hills have flattened right out. I kept telling myself to just get to Dubbo where rewards of a cool swim and three days off await. After much stopping in the shade for moments of rest and non stop sucking on my camel bak straw i was there. What a nice feeling and again a day early.

On Wednesday I begin the next leg of the induction which is Dubbo to Bourke. Its about to get a bit more serious as I head into the outback of New South Wales and north towards Queensland.
400km down
49,600km to go.