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

Bushwalking in thongs, anyone?

Date: 27-03-2010
Day 49: Euston, NSW
Distance cycled: 81km (+6km bushwalk!)

We wondered if we are crazy to be getting up at 4:30am to prepare for our journey to the next destination. We learnt to be quicker with packing up our tent and panniers and hit the road before 5:30am silently as we promised our newly-acquainted fisherman friends. ;p

The ride to Euston was one of the best experiences we have had so far with close to ideal conditions. We were racing away with at least 20km/h for most of the ride. We were in awe when we found out in Euston that it was only 11am! But our bodies still need to adjust to being woken up before 5am. We both fell asleep in our tent still clad in our biking gears!

After an hour’s nap and a refreshing shower, we looked around for lunch. Euston is one of the smaller towns that we have visited so far with nothing more than 1 gas station, 1.5 convenient stores, 1 bottle shop, 2 hotels, 1 police station and 1 old court house. However, 2 minutes walk from our caravan park is located an ex-servicemen’s club (like RSL) along the Murray River. The Euston Club is definitely not something we would expect, especially in Euston. Similar to the RSLs that we know in Sydney, it has gambling facilities, food and pub. But this club seems much larger (not that we have been to many RSLs to say for sure) with tennis and bowling facilities as well as hotel accommodations.

Around 2pm, after a good and satisfying lunch at the Euston Club, Lukas said, ”How about a digestive walk to Robinvale?” He was told that it would be about 2km walk on a pedestrian path to Robinvale that has a large IGA supermarket. Sue slightly hesitantly agreed. In the end, we bushwalked for 6km return wearing sandals (a.k.a. thongs or flip-flops)! Nevertheless, some scenery was breathtaking and we did WALK into the state of Victoria to Robinvale as we crossed the bridge over the Murray River, which forms the border of NSW/VIC!

What a day!

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

Watch out for male kangaroos!

Date: 26-03-2010
Day 48: Balranald, NSW
Distance cycled: 95km

Recognizing how the high-UV from the afternoon sun is not only bad for our health, it also always made the last 10km to the next destination in the heat somewhat agonizing. We trialled a new strategy: leaving in the wee hours of the morning. We left Maude before 5:30am.

Traffic was close to none as we rode south towards the Sturt Highway where we continued west to Balranald. While we were equipped with enough lights on our bikes, it was a still little spooky not being able to see beyond the road in front of us. Perhaps that is why Sue was especially talkative that morning. ;) In spite of that, the stars viewed in complete darkness cannot be more magical and magnificent.

We made good distance when the morning sun finally shone on our backs. We also saw several road signs to watch out for male kangaroos. Only the males. ;p

We arrived around 12:30pm in Balranald. The Balranald Caravan Park located along the Murrumbidgee River was a very nice and well-maintained park. We checked out the town for lunch and the bakery saved the day! Our new strategy to leave early worked well as our early arrival gave us several hours more to check out the town and recuperate.

With more time left to savour the day, we took a dip in the caravan park’s pool with our chilled drinks at hand. Paul, Bob, Tom and Mick joined us under the sun shade at the pool area with their chilled beer at hand. ;) We both enjoyed a fun and laidback chat with these nice blokes who came from the neighbouring town of Swan Hill for the fishing competition this weekend held at the caravan park itself. (That explains all the trucks pulling into the park with their boats in tow!) Yes Bob, we will try to consider holding up our bikes and flinging it off a cliff when we successfully made it to Perth!

Hope you guys had some good catch of Murray cods and Yellowbellies!

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

What a small world (and town)!

Date: 25-03-2010
Day 47: Maude, NSW
Distance cycled: 55km

Goodbye, Hay! Thanks for the nice day off!

Some days we feel the effects from riding more fervently than we do on other days. The distance we rode from Darlington Point to Hay is the longest so far. Taking the heat into consideration, it felt even further than it is. Hence, instead of attempting the 130km stretch from Hay to Balranald with little in between, we cycled to Maude. Maude is a small town, west of Hay, with a population of 60.

While seemingly near, it was still a respectable 3.5-hours ride. If not for the conditions like no wind, little traffic and relatively smooth pavement, it could easily have taken us much longer. Before we left Hay, we ensured that we are well-stocked with food (in our bags and tummies). After a good breakfast of a loaf of $2-cheese-and-vegemite pull-apart bread (yum!) and a chocolate muffin fresh from the bakery, we pedalled away.

We arrived around noon and decided that the rest of the hot afternoon will be better spent in an air-conditioned cabin than boiling in our tent. While we were shown our cabin, someone said, “Lukas, it is illegal to stalk in this country, you know?” Unbelievably, it was James whom we had a brief encounter with outside the Hay Library yesterday! Several hours of the afternoon were spent philosophising about life with James, who is a 69-years old writer and who has WALKED across the Nullarbor.

James reminded Sue of Robert Frost that she learnt in high school in literature class. Then, he recited the 4th stanza of ‘The Road Less Travelled’ which in his opinion, speaks a lot about life. We both agreed.

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

-Robert Frost

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

Too hot or too cold?

Date: 23-03-2010 - 24-03-2010
Day 45-46: Hay, NSW 
Distance cycled: 119km

Knowing that it would be one of the longer rides, we left early hoping to lessen our exposure to the afternoon sun. We hit the road before 6am while it was dark, pitch black. We were really surprised how cold it was in the morning (plus the wind factor while riding)... and that we may have hit rush hour! There was more traffic when we left this morning than when we arrived yesterday afternoon!

And yes it was a long ride. The conditions along the highway change more often than we would expect. Sometimes the shoulders are wide, sometimes non-existent. The road sometimes smooth, sometimes it can be a bumpy ride. While the sun can be furiously bright, the wind can be alleviating the heat against our skin but a deterrent to our speed. Yet, the countless honks and waves we got by caravaners and truckies were gratifying and priceless.

It was a great relief when the caravan park in Hay (actually South Hay) was in view. It was about 4:30pm. We looked forward to a good meal in town especially since the day was fuelled by protein shakes, muesli bars, Staminade (similar to Gatorade) and shortbread cookies. Then one of the poles supporting our tent broke! With patience and good teamwork, we fixed it! Double YAY! ;=)

Unfortunately, we were too late and most shops in town were closed after 5pm. Dinner from the deli, it is! Not so yay!

And we decided to take one day off in Hay. Yay again!

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

Short and sweet..

Date: 22-03-2010
Day 44: Darlington Point, NSW 
Distance cycled: 61km

It was a shorter ride to Darlington Point today. With a well-equipped camp kitchen, we made ourselves some good breakfast before leaving Narrandera for Darlington Point around 8am. We rode along Sturt Highway and except for one or 2 mini-hills at the beginning, it was mostly level. Like what we were told, it will be flat from now on. We did hit some headwind that made the condition less desirable. By 1pm, we made it to Darlington Point. Yay!

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