A new personal record distance!

Date: 31-03-2010
Day 53: Renmark, SA
Distance cycled: 141km (+10km return from McD’s)

After 2 days off in Mildura, it was time to pedal off. We had a late starting with a good breakfast when Sue had what she called a Protein Bomb (soft-boiled egg, cheese and hummous on toast). We departed Mildura leaving behind more weight (some of which we posted) and also without Billy, the blue suitcase. Billy was a gift from Lukas’s mom and has been a loyal round-the-world travelling companion of his for more than 10 years until he decided that it was time to let Billy retire.

Just outside Mildura, we saw a guy cycling without a helmet and in his thongs (as in flip-flop) with some of his belongings strapped to the back of his bike heading the other way. A nod and “Good Morning” was exchanged as we past and moved on. Some distances later, we also went by an aboriginal gentleman on foot. “That must be tough”, we thought.

Our initial goal was to get to Lake Cullulleraine which is only about 40km west from Mildura. Due to excellent conditions, our progress was exceptional and we decided to push on to Renmark after a lunch break at Lake Cullulleraine.

Just before we reached the SA border, a couple towards Mildura pulled over and gave us tonnes of (seemingly giant) fruits which they did not want to bin when they enter the fruit-fly exclusion zone near Mildura. We were grateful and rode on for another several kms before we realised that without a receipt proving the purchase in SA, we would have to bin them too or get fined. So we ate some of the giant plum and pear.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at the quarantine station where all vehicles are checked for fruits coming from VIC or NSW. Fortunately, we were waved through and did not have to unpack all our stuff. We took a break at the service station just after the quarantine station for a refreshing iced coffee and banana milk.

We arrived in Renmark at dusk and were elevated to have achieved a new record in distance! 141km! The distance was extended when we had to start hunting for a not-fully-booked caravan park. The Easter holidays clearly started. We were both relieved to find one on second try just a couple of kms back.
As if our record distance was not enough, we clocked another 10km return to McD’s for a wholesome meal and Internet. It was a long day.

Destinations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson - Moss Vale - Goulburn - Queanbeyan - Yass - Gundagai - Wagga Wagga - Narrandera - Darlington Point - Hay - Maude - Balranald - Euston - [VIC] Mildura - [SA] Renmark

YAY! We officially made it to Victoria!

Date: 28-03-2010 - 30-03-2010
Day 50-52: Mildura, VIC
Distance cycled: 79km

This is official because yesterday’s walk to Robinvale, VIC did not count. ;p

Same strategy, different conditions… a hell LOT of a difference!! We left 10 minutes earlier than we did yesterday but still arrived 1.5 hours later in comparison. The headwind that hit us most of the way slowed us down drastically. The road was less smooth and the traffic much heavier than yesterday. All these are factors not within our control that made our progress more than 5km/h slower.

That said, it was still a day much appreciated. To begin with, we reached our first milestone: arriving in Mildura, VIC! Next, we had a serendipity encounter with a gentleman who is not only driving his newly-acquired diesel car from Adelaide to Sydney, he has done it all. Sydney to Perth, Perth to Sydney, Sydney to Adelaide via Broken Hill etc: he has cycled those routes and perhaps many more making distances as far as 260km in one day! Truly inspirational!

When Helmut saw us riding in the opposite direction, he pulled over and spoke to us from his car. Not long afterwards, he parked his car, approached us and introduced himself before kindly sharing his experiences and some very valuable tips with us. He reminded us to travel light (even the extra lock is unnecessary), be very careful of all vehicles on the road (he would pick up his bike and take off to the bushes whenever he sees a truck approaching at night), watch out for the march flies in the Nullarbor (these flies have no mercy on any exposed flesh, they even sting through his clothes to get a bite of him!) and enjoy our ride (which we are already doing)! We also became more comfortable with riding before dawn when Helmut revealed that similarly, he departs early, if not earlier. When he attempted the 260km in a day, he started his ride at midnight!

Lastly, we felt fortunate that we just escaped the dust storm that hit Mildura (and presumably its locality) by 2 hours! We have arrived at the caravan park, set up our tent, freshened up and was having dessert after lunch at McD’s when the dust storm unexpectedly hit. Even our 5-years-old frequently-used tent survived the ordeal! What a relief!

Since a town as large as Mildura will be scarce as we cycle further west, we decided to have 2-3 days off here and hopefully leave Mildura with 2 new comfy gel-padded saddles! ;=p

Destinations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson - Moss Vale - Goulburn - Queanbeyan - Yass - Gundagai - Wagga Wagga - Narrandera - Darlington Point - Hay - Maude - Balranald - Euston - [VIC] Mildura