“Really boring.” When people ask me how this ride has been (or, as I anticipate, when people ask me how it was), this is what I tell them. There’s no sugar-coating it, riding a bicycle across the Outback is fucking boring. Other adjectives I commonly use to describe the experience are: frustrating (headwind), frightening (thunderstorms), […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 56: My First Fall
Fifty-five days and 2,290 miles (3,685 km) without serious incident – my bicycle trip across Australia appears to be going smashingly. That is, until today; because today, I was forced to roll the “Days Without An Accident” counter back to zero. Yes, today I fell off of my bike (while it was moving). And what […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 55: Night Riding
“OH MAH GAWD! Riding your bike at night is so dangerous!” This is the most common reaction people have when I tell them I’ve started bicycling at night to avoid the blistering heat of the day. However, the assumption that bicycle riding at night is somehow more dangerous than bicycling riding during the day typically […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 54: It’s So Hot
The Outback is not a very hospitable place for bicyclists (mostly thanks to the flies and wind), and you can be assured that I would not be bicycling across it were it not the middle of Australia’s winter. Until now, the sun and the heat have not been too great of obstacles (the rain has […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 50: Broken Spoke
Over the course of this ride I’ve developed and refined my routines for making and breaking camp. From half awake inside my sleeping bag to fully packed and ready ride took me close to an hour during the first week of this journey. I’ve managed cut that time down to just fifteen minutes (so long […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 41: The Rain
I should just learn to embrace the rain. When you think about it, rain is pretty mind blowing (as is the rest of nature). Here I am complaining about not being able to find water, and it’s falling from the fucking sky. I am sure some people in the world (maybe someone living in the […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 37: Road Trains
Australia’s Outback isn’t the most populated of places. With a population density of 0.015 inhabitants per km², you’re more likely to encounter a troop of kangaroos than you are a person – so I hope you brought plenty of water. Despite the definitive amount of nothingness in Australia’s center, people still insist on living out […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 35: Where Are The Animals?
Hey Australians! Do you know what comes to mind when people outside Australia think about your country? As someone not from Australia who has thought these things, and someone currently in Australia who is hearing these things from friends and family not in Australia, I can tell you that animals (and yes, this includes all […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 32: Headwind
I’ve had my differences with the wind before, but the amount of frustration this large-scale flow of gases has caused me since setting out on my mission to cross Australia via bicycle trumps all my past experience. I can now assure you with near-absolute certainty that the world offers few sufferings worse than riding a […]
Australia Bike Tour Day 30: Last Call For Water
After a homemade breakfast prepared by my new friends the Grey Nomads, I set out into what looks unmistakably like rain. And now it’s raining. Luckily, the rain soon clears and is replaced by a headwind (but not before a torrential downpour). I think I prefer the rain. I will have to check the exact […]
