Distance: 252.80 – Total Km’s – THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS wohooooo

Avg Spd: about 16-17 for the three days

Max Spd – 64.3

Saddle Time: 13:18 – Total saddle time – 201:44

Elevation: 1600

Quote: I can always improve my attitude to the situation i’m in…….It is a choice isn’t it – you do get more bees with honey ( and a smile) that’s for sure

Song of the Day: Avicii – Hope there’s someone – This song whilst climbing hills was EPIC and on repeat for about an hour – such a great mix. listening to this made me think of his life and how quickly it went. So young. We don’t really know what goes on in people’s minds do we? – We sometimes behave with assumptions on what they’re thinking but we do not know what day/week/year or life they have or how busy they are in the head. It just shows that you really need to ask ‘are you ok’, mean it and have open ears to honestly listen even if you ‘think’ they are upset at you for something. be stronger than that and give someone the time to truly listen to what’s in their head/heart as there’s a lot going on mostly and a burden shared is a burden lessened isn’t it. Not only on ‘are you ok day’ but every day. I am saying this to myself also by typing these words out I am concreting it once more in my own mind. It is a learned skill it really is – a practice right?

Album of the Day: Tool – Fear Inoculum – My great mate and all time legend Wally got me onto it and boy is it amazing – and it’s getting better the more I listen – playing ‘Descending’ on repeat about ten times haha

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Well a few days have passed and haven’t had the time to blog really as many people have wanted to stop and chat or pull me aside at a campsite or caravan park and get to know the lowdown. To the point where i’m cooking dinner and someone pops their head in the camp kitchen door and says ‘he’s over here guys…..that tourer is here’. Along come a group of people and all want to know what’s going on hahahahaha #celebritystatus lolz. Not really – but I was sooo hungry I had to say can you gimme twenty and i’ll come over. These guys were all new to bicycle touring and were in Oz for 4 days, purchased full carbon fibre bikes with skinny race tyres and one drink bottle holder and thought they were ready for the nullabor ummmmmmmmmm NO! Hahaha. I needed help before knowing anything also so I spent a few hours with them ‘schooling’ them and explaining the sun and lack of water is dangerous out here and a)clean and oil that chain b)get panniers or a trailer c) hat/sunscreen/WATER WATER WATER storage/sunnies d) protect that neck from the sun e) mirrors f) change pedals to SPD’s etc etc I can go on hehehe they were writing it all down – that worried me cos this shit gets harsh sometimes. You need the basics and the rest you just work out along the way – you don’t need the best gear but basics are a necessity.

moving along – as I am watching the fires via a live app I have had to deviate the coast and head north then tuck in east to Syd so that meant no choice but some highway and some stretches on c roads which are quiet but no towns all day. This is ok because I really like the peace. I’m in a Wagga Wagga now and had to put the headphones on as there’s too much noise hahahah. I do like the silences and the landscapes and I can’t wait to see the west side so i can see more of that vastness and travel my own country. I’ve travelled a lot in this life but never done anything like this and I am very lucky to be seeing Australia with Australian eyes. I’ll jump from town to town using small roads so i can soak up the towns more and enjoy it as I am ahead of schedule (getting to NZ for my race) which is a nice feeling.

I’ve been learning more things on the road like better safety in my riding, talking to lots of people to get the lowdown, riding longer, feeling stronger and the mind is getting stronger braving the elements. I say ‘getting’ stronger hahaha i still hate waking in the rain and not knowing where i’m going to sleep but the mindset is improving to NGAF hahaha. I don’t think I will get used to flies though – EVERY BLOODY STOP. I’m an ozzie and I can’t get used to them LOL. The bitey one’s are the worst. Re safety, Little things like when climbing a hill I am super slow so i pop off the road and onto the gravel And keep going (getting my gravel on) so cars don’t need to worry about going around me into oncoming traffic up a hill…..and I know when a car comes towards me i look into mirror and if i see a car Behind i get off the road too – As a cyclist you have to think as a car and a bicycle and also I try to give cycling a good name by being not only defensive but safe as well – ok enough angel talk hahah. On the main highways (like the hume) it actually has a huge (one and half car) shoulder and is super safe but so loud, boring, rubbish everywhere but super fast to get somewhere. I avoid these roads generally but had to yesterday as there was nowhere else to go.

the last three days have been baron except for the end of the day, i hitup a town – fill up my panniers and either look for a wild camp or caravan park it. Yesterday for example was ride all day in the heat, eat all the way, checkin to holbrook caravan park, setup tent, walk to pool, get stopped by someone, get offered beer, smile like i’ve never smiled before, drink beer in 3 seconds, talk for 30 minutes, fall face first and belly flop in pool, lay there for one hour, shower, cook dinner, talk for three hours to help tourers, hop into tent…..fall asleep instantly, wake up at 6am, REPEAT hahaha

So i’m in Wagga Wagga NSW (another state done woohooo) I couldn’t get a good pic of the ‘welcome to NSW’ pic as I was on the other side of the road but at least I got it……super pumped to have competed 3,000 km’s of my journey so far and feeling great and getting stronger minded and bodied every day. Still get the odd days I really miss people at home and ‘a home’ but what I am doing is HUGE and I keep going – not giving in – enjoying every moment and super greatful. Even if I have to (as in today) wack on some rocky music (seriously) and smile when the words ‘getinnngggggg strongerrrrr’ is sung hahahahah.

A lot of people have asked me – are you going to write a book, make a doco etc……i’ve thought about it and no. I may do a small compilation for the blog but a bigger vid to finalise the whole trip but nothing bookworthy. I feel as though I’m just a red head pushing the pedals around and not doing anything super special. Unique yes, amazing yes, tough at times yes but anyone can do this. The ones that need to write a book are the mums and dads doing it tough, the firefighters and people losing homes, people who don’t get a good shot in life and I won’t go on – you get the idea. just sharing a thought there – take it or leave it hehehe

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Now to find a campsite – the journey continues – bye bye lovely peeps

Vanderpants OUT!!!!!

Distance: 101km’s – TOTAL KM’s – 2,839km’s

Avg Spd: 15.4

Max Spd – 60.5

Saddle Time: 6hrs 32mins – Total saddle time = 187 Hrs 26 Minutes

Elevation: 900mtrs

Quote: Are you doing what you’d RATHER be doing??? A quote straight from the cards that a good friend gave me – well…….are you?

Song of the Day: Ben Howard – Depth Over Distance – He is one of my all time favvies……he has his own unique style on guitar and his lyrics say so much in one line…check it out

Album of the Day: Sevendust – Southside double wide – great heavy acoustic album this one – pretty much my favourite type of music

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G’DAY readers…..well – a day of ups and downs – literally and mentally. The first 36 km’s were all uphill. It’s probably the longest climb i’ve ever done. I knew I was in for half a day of climbing (took me three ours) so I stocked up on 5ltrs of water (I can feel the diff of 5 ltrs let me tell yah). Off I went – I knew there wouldn’t be any water but I thought the last half of the day is all downhill so I wont need it – how wrong was I. I’ll get to that….so at the bottom o the hill, Max (i think that was his name and sorry if I got that wrong Max) drove past, stopped, got out and said ‘do you need a lift to the top mate it’s a fair bloody climb’. To which my response was ‘I told myself that unless there’s a road closure or a fire, I aint cheating and I will cycle all the way around Australia using my horsepower only’. We had a yarn and he was a lovely bloke and he took off. Two hours later (and a few boiled eggs mid way) He finished his job he was driving too and stopped on the way back and said ‘god I thought you’d be finished now’ hahaha. Another good yarn and he asked if he can follow me somehow to which I gave him my blog and he was off…..Thanks for the offer though max.y of the climb, a couple other locals encouraged me up the hill – so bloody nice around here. Although it was only 900mtrs in total (ranging between 2-12%- with a fully loaded bike a 36 km climb takes it out of you….so I got to the top and my ritual is to spit on the road and say ‘eff you bitch’. I know it’s crude but at the top of every climb it’s my motto to say ‘nothing will stop me’ and boosts me to keep going to crush the next hill.

So it was time for lunch and i pulled over in the shade (it was hot today) and had my spaghetti in between bread X two with biscuits and a muffin plus a coffee and boy did that go down well. Whilst I was watching the ants I noticed this one feisty one and thought i’d give him some food to chill him out. This ant was like in the matrix – he was so fast and jumped (yes jumped) from place to place. He was really aggressive too WTF. If anything and i’m talking anything no matter the size he would attack it. I watched him for 20 minutes. Even this big bee or a cricket – he would go hard at it. So when i gave him the food he backed up and launched at me and JUMPED to bite my finger. If I ever come back as an ant – I want to come back as this ant. never seen one so aggressive and jumpy to attack hahahah. PS – have you ever squashed an ant and seen what happens??? The others carry it back to their nest no joke….My mate and I discussed this once and we thought that maybe they want to give it a proper burial or something and they all gather around a small amount of micro twigs and burn it like the old romans did to soldiers????? Maybe not – who knows.

so anyway after the climb, I thought brilliant – 40km’s of downhill….but then the wind GUSHED like never before. You never have experienced the elements until you’re outside everyday and away from the city without a home to go to and reset. The fluctuations of touring are so many in a day you are constantly adjusting multiple times a day to weather, terrain and body. Same as life I guess but it seems as though there’s more happening each day that you need to adjust to on the fly. Maybe not more or harder but more changes perhaps. These winds were bike stopping and the last 40 were hard. I smashed through it and happily found an old showground with working showers YEsssssss…..It was hot but said to rain all night and morning which it did and I did not sleep a wink (you’ll see why when I show you my campsite hahaha) as I said earlier – you take the crooked with the straights right LOL. Come to think of it, I had a red bull at 4:30pm ish which I haven’t had in like years and I wonder if that was it.

it’s all part of this amazing and lucky journey i’m on (convinces self) as the day before I had one of my best days. As I woke for the next day at 5:30 – I packed up and took off so tired but and knew I had 500 mtrs to climb in the rain before the next town and that’s where I am at now after changing my clothes that are all soaked and in a warm cafe blogging and waiting the rest of the rain out (hopefully an hour or two) before I push onto Wodonga.

Things I love that I didn’t even know before

• Hot Chocolate at night – delicious after a hard ride
• Water – i’m a hunter gatherer now
• Sheltered bench seats – always on the hunt
  • Means no ground sitting with bitey bugs so I can eat in peace
• A bed OMG a bed hahaha
• Warm showers
• A washing machine
• A kind gesture from a stranger – it’s strange how our first response to a kind gesture is to say ‘oh no that’s ok thanks anyway’ but I’ve learned to say ‘yes that’d be great thanks’ pretty quickly now hahaha and because of this, i’ve met great people and also learned a lot of helpful tips and tricks and also a ot about the history of the town or their lives.
• Electricity on hand

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No jokes on the blister ok hahahaha

Vanderpants OUT!!

Distance: 90 km’s on the nose – TOTAL k’s – 2,739 km’s

Avg Spd: 15.7 kmph

Max Spd – 38.9

Saddle Time: 5:35 – Total Saddle Time – 180 hrs 54 minutes

Elevation: 600 mtrs today

Quote: Little things make big days……I really like this one because in all the tough times during these travels and the amazing snippets you see in those videos….they are the little things on sometimes really tough days and you need the right glasses on to see and appreciate them which I try to consciously do (Which is like life in general isn’t it). Part of the reason I try to blog about it is to appreciate what i’m doing and re live it with you guys. The amazing animals And their habits I watch, The people and connections, nice campspots (albeit mossies/wind/hot sun), the sunsets, the wind on my back, the fact that i’m actually able to do this etc etc etc – all of these could be missed if I was not looking for them. They are small but there is a LOT

Song of the Day: Bon Iver – Beth/Rest – rolling through the valley’s was amazing with this playing my ears – listen to this song and picture it

Album of the Day: Damien Rice – O (this guy can sing, play piano, guitar and a few others and boy is he good)

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today was one of those great adventure days. it’s one where if you were to script it for a bicycle tour this would be it. The last two days were a bit down a grind and today is a full high. Ya take the crooked with the straights right…. so anyway as i hit the bakery in Yea in the morning before i left i was reading everything on the wall as I do and saw there was an old railway track that went allllll the way to where I was going (90km’s) so i asked the lady in the shop and she showed me the start of it. It did not dissapoint. I felt like I had about 25 highlights today and I couldn’t get the smile off my face. This trail is called the Great Victorian Rail Trail and it was AH-MAYZING. A scenic journey through rolling hills, farmland, old tunnels and lakes and all with some history along the way of the old rail existence and a feeling of ‘what was’. Hugging the steep walls and curving through the valley’s looking at all the different types of nature and popping out a few towns along the way for a bakery or coffee stop.

It was built in 1883 and closed in 1978. Some of my highlights were

• The wildlife – riding alongside 30 kangasfor 500 mtrs or so, large eagles Hunting, snakes (i’ll elaborate in a minute), cows, A turtle, all types of birds – not a car in sight and I didn’t have to look in my rear vision mirror all day which was nice
• The Long Drop – here’s a share for you – have you ever used a new long drop that has no umm how you say ‘matter’ in it…..the sound of the echo will scare you and yes – this was a highlight
• Bakery stops – OMG fresh produce coming out the oven as I rocked up and smashed a lot of it today – you know you’re in a rural town when there’s a sign saying water is for glasses only and not bottles as the whole town does not have mains
• Bonnie Doon – Yup – I rode there – saw it – took photo’s of it – will remember it forever hahaha loved it….best find of my journey so far LOL
• So many beautiful views of the rolling hills, gumtrees and eucalyptus trees, old train stations and bridges, tunnels etc etc it was awesome
• A brown snake….yup my first live one . The gum trees cast scattered shadows on the ground and all of their branches/sticks all look like snakes and as I unknowingly approached this one, he did not move at all until that critical no stop zone moment where you can’t brake and you just gotta keep going. I swear I was looking into his eyes as he slithered past me and I rode over his body and I crapped myself and said ‘OH FUCK’ really loud hahaha. I pictured where my snake bandage was in a split second Which was weird as i looked into his eyes as I rolled over tis big sucker. I thought for sure he will bite me As I raised my legs in which I thought I looked like this
  
  

But really I was probably like this

• I saved a turtles life too – well at least I think I did – He was so far from the river and it was stinking hot and he wasn’t moving fast – His shell was super hot. I looked at my map – the lake was a couple k’s away so we Jack and I (that’s his name) went for a ride together and we found a river and I had to jump a few fences and walk through long grass which I hate but we did it…..Meet Jack……

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So after I rescued Jack I was only a few km’s from Mansfield and feeling good after 90km’s on the track and 600 Elevation Gain. The sun was bitey today but it was just too nice to care. I smashed some food and now about to hit the hay a happy man – the next week can be shitty and i’m ok with that – today was worth it……night all…….Vanderpants OUT!!

Distance: 116km’s – TOTAL SO FAR – 2,651 km’s

Avg Spd: 16.8kmph

Max Spd – 51

Saddle Time: 6:51 – TOTAL SADDLE TIME – 175 hrs 19 minutes (or 10,519 Minutes – sounds much more doesn’t it)

Elevation: 1,200 mtrs

Quote: What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving them – This is true – i often believe when you have forks in the road in life – the hard road is generally the right road regarding the hard conversation needed or the effort required to ‘being a better person and growing stronger’. That road although hard – moulds you.

Song of the Day: No music today – it was a hard grind, windy, rainy and lots at night Time

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Hello devoted readers – thank you for tuning in again. I hope you enjoyed the last video. I must admit I have used it a couple times to look back on what feels like 6 months already but needed to so I can see how lucky I am and how many experiences i’ve already been a part of. Yesterday was one of the ‘grind’ days where I let my mind slip a little and got pretty down. I hear you say ‘how can you get down when you’re doing such a great adventure Vanderpants’?. Well one can’t be happy ALL the time when you have to ride most of the day through all elements, be cold then warm again, find a campsite, navigate, cook, work though a few niggles and injuries, hills etc. They are all things I enjoy overcoming don’t get me wrong but I realised that this time was nutrition. I’ve learned with endurance stuff is that fuel is really important for the mindset. Take that as a lesson…you don’t get your fuel right and your mind plays tricks on you. I smashed a whole lot of food and no joke within 30 minutes those thoughts were gone and i was climbing hills in the rain with more optimism (and after a call to my endurance mentor Gherns hehe).

before the grind (I go back a bit) I saw my mate patty and his amazing fam again to pickup a gift from my bestie Helen (thank you Helen) with a top up of the positive quotes for my blog – in good time too as I had one left. Sofia drew me a lovely pic as she knew I was coming (thank you so much it was so cute to receive) and i got a full breakdown of the pic. It’s me and her and my two whippets schnitzel and nico – it was quickly placed in my handlebar bag for motivation and I used it today as a quick look down at that and it made me smile.

Was great to see you and yr amazing fam patty – your family brings a smile to my face.

So the day was awesome until I left patties house when it started raining (whatever that’s fine – you get wet and you dry) and I had enough at about 75km’s and found a rest stop (shelter and toilet) and thought let’s stay here for an hour and see the traffic and people and see if it’s ok to pitch my tent here. A local came up to me and chatted for 45 minutes and boy could he talk….i couldn’t get a word in edge wise and it was interesting and funny at the same time. He covered topics from truck drivers, global warming, pharmaceutical companies, David Attenborough, cyclists in general, unions, his gardening, oil prices, crime in the area (druggies in the area), snow since the 70’s hahaha I could go on and then he finished by saying ‘yeah nah thanks for the chat, I enjoy hearing other people’s opinions’………I didn’t even say anything hahahahah I love it. So I waited an hourish and then as he mentioned earlier – a car pulled up and and I swear they were doing deals and i didn’t feel safe so i knew I had to move on. That was hard to fathom as I knew I had forrest with no camping opportunities for 45 km’s With hills (7km limb) …in the rain – blerg….that meant about 3 hours more ……. I knew there wouldn’t be camping as it was such dense forrest with lots of flooding Everywhere. Sooooo on I went hahaha…..I must say at first it was really annoying and i was cold and over it but on went three head lights and two rears plus reflective vest. If you have good quality lights, in my experience, riding at night is safer (as long as not on main highway). This is due to being lit up like a xmas tree you can be seen from a long way away rather then blend into scenery during the day. Cars were highbeaming me as I was too bright hahaha that’s how I like it

So on I went at 10:30 ish onto the town ‘Yea’. It was marvelous. The rain stopped and the sky opened and my headtorch was on hunt for wildlife and it did not disappoint. I saw frogs, 10 or so wombats, sugar gliders, possums, herds of kangaroos, birds and much more. I had a smorgasbord of sounds and sights. So on came 1:30am when i reached the caravan park and I snuck in, setup tent and slept a happy and tired man. The Next morning I told reception and they didn’t charge me for the night and i wanted to dip in the cold pool to ease the leg pain and the owner said ‘I created a magnesium oil that’s clinically approved etc etc you can have a bottle if you like’. I’m down with magnesium so he gave me a massive bottle – so gooood. I knew it was going to rain all day so took the opportunity to shop up and chill for the day……and also bloody lost the cabin key which cost me a bit which I won’t go into…don’t want to go through the ptsd of it all hahaha. I don’t lose much on my journey as everything has a place but it had to be the bloody cabin key didn’t it hahahaa. Shit happens – you move on.

it’s nice to see all the Small towns that I ride through all do their bit for the bushfire appeal – there’s alot of donations (Financial and physical) – really great to see the community spirit. On that note…So far in my navigation endeavours I thought it was just fires but now it’s turned out to be fires, floods, hail, dust storms and road closures so I’m going to have to be vigilant in my plans I think.

Dinner tonight was on my Camping stove in the cabin (no cooking facilities) and it was spaghetti, sauce, garlic, onion, brocc, carrot, chickpeas and tuna). You can’t be fussy bike touring – throw it all in one…carbs, protein and vitamins hehe. plus – in the leftovers go a ziplock bag for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. I boiled a few eggs too as i LOOOOOVE them mid ride with a bit of salt – it’s a bloofy bit of hard boiled goldness when you’re hungry from riding all day.

My final thought for the day is salespitches. Why I hear you say…well everything is isn’t in…for instance like selling a house or a caravan park attraction like the one i’m in…..it’s either on the beach, close to a beach, within sight of a beach/lake, you can smell the beach OR within 30 minutes public transport to a beach hahahah. I’ve learned this (if I can be negative for a second for the sake of a laugh)……

A lake – this means hard ground for tents and too boggy
a River – Mossies
the beach – overcrowded, loud and windy

I’ll finish with an excerpt from a poem I read in a cafe today by a local that’s seen a lot of change in this area and it’s along the same lines

Muddy Creek
This is the river that flows past my back fence.
Though to actually call it a river is a bit of an offence
it rarely runs clear, strangely usually in the middle of a drought
It carries more dirt than a tip truck, but the fishing is good for trout
That’s Muddy Creek

Night all – Vanderpants OUT – until the next day of 20 adventures…..