Watch out for giant mosquitoes!

Date: 18-03-2010
Day 40: Gundagai, NSW 
Distance cycled: 109km

We got up at 5am and were ready to roll at 5:45am. It was still pitch black. We cycled for several kilometres from town to the Hume Highway that takes us to our next destination. The golden arches greeted us with a smile. We decided to stop and have breakfast at McD’s while we waited for the sunrise.

There were some hills to climb. But as Sue sees it, the reward of rolling downhill after each climb was worth the while. The surrounding views were breathtaking and given the wide road shoulders, we were able to enjoy them. Sue also noticed quite a few skid marks which reminded her of every possibly near-death experience of someone driving along the highway. It was a unnerving thought. For those of you who drive, please drive carefully.

We arrived at a camping and caravan park by the river in Gundagai around 2:30pm. We were quick to set up and head to town for our first proper meal of the day (apart from the brekkie at maccas). We walked to town to give our bums a break.

Every town is unique in its own way. However the similarities are also evident. As Lukas put it, “In Europe, every town centre has a clock tower. In Australia, it appears that every town has a bottle shop.”

Gundagai, also a historical town, has some nice walkways along its parks too! The walk to town for an early dinner was pleasant until we realised why we were the only ones walking through the park. We were under attack by horrendous giant mosquitoes! Thankfully (we hope), there were not deadly. ;)

Destinations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson - Moss Vale - Goulburn - Queanbeyan - Yass - Gundagai

After 4 weeks, we are back on the road

Date: 17-03-2010
Day 39: Yass, NSW 
Distance cycled: 74km

There goes the alarm at 5:30am. After 4 weeks of late nights and not so early mornings, we felt barely rested. But we were both excited to get back on the road and pedal our push bikes. We took off a little after 6am. To our amazement, there are people already up and running (literally) or walking their dog. It was still dark!

Coming from Queanbeyan in the south east of Canberra, it was around 8am when we left the capital of Australia. Canberra was in a good mood with its month-long birthday celebrations and gave us a nice farewell of fine weather. Looking at the road signs, it always felt like we are almost there. We pressed on and finally arrived in Yass just before noon.

Yass is a historical town dating back to the 1800s. The parks have grass as green and well-maintained as you would see in golf courses and there is a walkway along the river that takes you around the park. It was very nice.

Well, pushing on without breaks was a mistake we learnt not to repeat. We were both exhausted when we arrived. We did not have a proper breakfast except for a slice of bread with chocolate spread or a muesli bar. We did not take any proper breaks but were quick to stop and go. We did not pace ourselves thinking that “this will be the last hill” (NOT!) and “we’re almost there, let’s keep going!”. And so we will learn.

When we left Sydney, we carried 80kg on both our bikes. When we left Queanbeyan, we had 40kg. That was another lesson we learnt: to keep learning from the challenges we face. See the challenge as an opportunity to learn and become wiser.

Destinations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson - Moss Vale - Goulburn - Queanbeyan - Yass