Distance: 75km’s

Total Distance: 560km’s

Avg Spd:16.4

Max Spd – 44

Saddle Time:4:30

Elevation: 296

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Good evening blog fam

Well today started interesting lol. We woke up in the creepy hall (after hearing some random noises last night which wasn’t creepy at all) and was happy that noone came for our kidneys in the night. Was a good experience though. Just as we were about to head in to the hall last night, a neighbour from up the road came up to us for a chat and we thought GOD DAMN IT……there goes out fun, but we decided to stay anyway and it turned out FINE. Was a great laugh last night and a unique (piano) experience haha. I did wake up hearing a trickling noise thinking WTF – but it was just Alex peeing into his bottle and putting his finger on the lip like a blind making a drink to avoid ‘overspill’ hahahaha. He didn’t have to walk through spider webs to get to the toilet so I guess that works – GREAT, his pee made me pee and I don’t have a pee bottle (decided to save space) so that woke me up 🙂 The joys of bicycle touring 🙂

We woke up at 5:15 and I put some coffee on for us and alex was getting breakky ready (sandwiches and a banana). We packed up and away we went into the sunrise which was so peaceful. No traffic on the road, beautiful dirt roads mixed with paved. Bicycle touring requires so many little things and all these things go somewhere right? And these things require bags and clips and straps and particular places. You get into a rhythm but ti all requires clipping, strapping, hanging, packing BUT there’s a method there. My drone is now placed perfectly to whip out for ‘that shot’ ALMOST so that I can drag it out on the fly (i’m not that good yet haha). I am getting adventurous with the drone though….sometimes too adventurous…….almost hit a cow and the welcome to victoria sign hahahahaha

So onwards we went into the sunrise and it felt like The Long Way Round (doco with Charley Borrman and Ewen McGregor which is AWESOME – highly recommend it) The winding dirt roads, beautiful country side, wildlife everywhere. Almost, almost saw a calf take his/her first steps. We stopped and watched as this few hour old calf was being cleaned by mom and was encouraging her calf to stad. We waited about 15 minutes but unfortunately, did not FULLY stand (see video). A crow followed us for a while too who was very curious to see what we were doing. Following my bike as i descended down a hill and he followed me for ages.

Today was a cyclists dream when I think about the above – AGAIN ALEX, I WANT YOU TO SUFFER BUT YOU ARE NOT and you’re getting all the good days and all in a row. I was saying today though that even the hard headwinds and the organising and ligistics etc hasn’t phased Alex as a Newby Tourer. He has taken everything in his stride, learned lessons SUPER quick and is starting to power through the top of the crests more to keep his speed going. I noticed that today actually. We legit just laugh ALL day it’s been great so far. Dont worry though, he’ll earn his stripes when we hit the offroad Ottways Track for sure.

Today we cycled to SA’s most southerly point ‘Port Macdonnell’ which you’ll see in the vid so that was a tick box AND WE MADE IT TO VICTORIA. From SA to Vic with Horsepower and wheels – how cool is that. What was funny was the sign in SA that welcomes you to the Coorong is WAY better than the BORrrrrrrrring Vic sign. SA by bicycle was far nicer than when we crossed the DARK DARK side of Victoria hahaha

Along our journey today there was a brown snake on the road which I thought was dead but he was just sunning on the road about 1 metre from me as a car drove over it and squished it right in front of me. The snake flew in the air and hit the road with its tail end still wriggling around RIGHT next to me. That was interesting.

Some car pulled over a while after that in front of us and we were like ‘here we go’, what’s this (insert expletives here) want’? – it turns out it’s alex’s mate hahahah SMALL WORLD. Thanks for the stop and chat Jarred and Kimberly, it was nice to see some smiley faces and crank out a fist bump to mates.

It was headwinds again today…….I think again tomorrow – I will be super happy to get more than 50km’s of tailwind out of 560 please, creator, mother nature, someone or something. We have had a dream adventure so far so we can’t really complain can we.

So we arrived into Nelson and are ‘shacked up’ and showered (was nice to have a shower for once :-)) , things charging, video done, blog done, next few days planning water, food, distance etc DONE……so good to get it all done and now rest for the rest of the night. Go for a nice walk on the beach/river tonight, dinner, ZONK…….Night peoples….have a great evening, I’m thinking of you all out there (especially my peeps back home) I’m thinking of you A LOT.

REDMAN SIGNING OFF………………………………….

PS – Any suggestions for my videos or blog is very welcomed…..I enjoy learning the art of digital media and getting the best shot/vid/pic albeit the fact that i’m a total rookie at it.

Km’s – 70

Total K’s – 485

Elevation – 236mtrs

Saddle Time 4.5 hrs

Avg Spd – 15kmph

Howdy all. well another successful day today. Up before the sun rises, teamwork got the brekky and coffee sorted, packed our bags and away we went in record time. On the road we were and the sunrise was awesome to watch. Today was always going to be looking forward to the end of the day because WE KNEW what the end of the day may hold if we decided on it. We werent sure whether we would push on to Mt Gambier during the day or not however, our sense of humour took over……a remake of ‘The Hall’ and ‘The Piano’ hahahaha from my last attempt at around Australia HAD TO BE DONE (watch vid to be amazed i mean shocked hahaha

Along the way we met Michael who is riding from Adelaide to Brisbane for a charity and it was lovely to see them throughout the day and have a good yarn about things. Good luck guys and I hope to stay in touch over Insta as I continue my journey.

Half way during the day alex and I lol’d because we were smack bacng in the middle of the road comparing photos and going ‘Hang On….we should get off the road’ hahahaha getting used to the ears to hear traffic happens quick lol – but definitely stay off the middle of the road people hahh

It was only 70km’s today but again – those headwinds….phewph – I think that (total guess here) that 70 km’s on a loaded touring bike in the headwinds feels like 120 on a light road bike – it aint easy lugging that thing into the wind but – use minimal energy, low gears and just push away and the k’s and laughs just roll over.

One thing we discussed today was how nice it is to unpack EVERYTHING on the bike. To have the chance to discuss everything from the experiences we encounter to everything else in life and it always ends in sarcasm of course – sooo lucky to be doing this and unwind whilst doing something hard that rewards you in SOOOOO many ways. Alex said ‘I don’t know how to adjust when I get home’ hahahaha yup – it’s THAT GOOD OUT HERE

Millicent was the lunch stop after 40 clicks of talking shit and meeting lovely people – we had a couple bike issues – flatty and some adjustments so decided to eat where the flatty occurred and god it’s lovely to basically eat our way through towns. It’s what I live for – that descend into an Australian town wondering what’s in it, who’s there, what’s to see but more importantly follow my (small) nose to wherever the bakery leads us and smash EVERYTHING then move on like some kind of pair of locusts 🙂

So lunch stop occured and we had another quick chat with the legend called Michael and off he went zooming by and us left in his dirt all jealous like 🙂

We then decided that it was time……..time to head to THE HALL. I remember visiting here when I attempted to ride around Australia before Covid took that away from me (not burnt AT ALL) and being so drained from double the headwind and sore hamstrings and just went – STUFF IT IM GOING IN……I was then dared to play the piano in a non savoury way so of course i did hahaha and today was an opportunity to make THE SEQUEL -you’ll see 🙂

I must say I do have a chuckle with alex about 10 times daily about how many people think my drone footage is awesome and alex’s pics or whatever he puts into the videos are just soooooooo SHIT and not comment worthy hahahahahahaha – I am laughing now just thinking about it – even my bike gets comments and his NONE 🙂 bwahahahahahaha

Body Updates:

Adrian: a niggle behind his knee he is worried about – other than that and a sore ass (takes another week or so) i’m good. Other than general fitness soreness……i’m gooooood

Alex: Just his ass – nothing big at all – body feels like a million bucks he says – how freekn good is that – what a legend

The drone came out a few times today which you’ll see and I feel so much more confident with it including the editing and putting it all together. Would like to learn a few more tricks making videos but that’ll come

Shout out to everyone who is commenting on my blog – I READ THEM ALL – I just don’t reply because by the time I do, you’d have to go back to my old blog post and read them through which noone does LOL

Tomorrow should be another 70km day ish and we have also planned out a rough km per day to keep us in check when we feel edgy to go or behind – knowing overall what we need to each day including rests days allows us to relax and enjoy and be flexible but have plan a’s and b’s – that’s how I work and so does Alex so this Redlegs Team are kicking ass at the moment

Dinner was no exception to this – I must we didn’t rough it with dinner tonight – on the menu was

Pasta with mushroom, onion, broccolini, pesto with an egg to boot and the salad on the menu tonight was spinach, pear, balsamic glaze with crushed nuts on the top mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

See you all tomorrow peeps – enjoy the vid

See Vid for how nice Beachport is peeps

Catch you all tomorrow

Km’s – 100km – The Tonnnnnnne – well done Alex

Km’s to Date – 414 km’s

Saddle Time – 5 hours 20 Minutes

Elevation – 160mtrs

Avg Speed – 20kmph (happy with that with a loaded bike)

Howdy everyone – welcome to the random ramblings of two redheads just pushing pedals and legit LAUGHING the whole way through (with SOME pain) but mainly, hanging shit on everyone and laughing about random shit ALLL day.

We had favourable winds today which made it cruisy and easier to enjoy the scenery and smash out some k’s which really IS the trip isn’t it. The road IS the trip. So much unpacking and discussion and thinking happens on the road plus being able to see everything that goes on around you. All the things we don’t have time for when we are in the thick of it right. These things are priceless.

A lot of the trip is being ON the road. Not the whole thing but a major part is going through everything you need to go through ON the road. It’s such a nice feeling to be pushing those pedals all day and experiencing everything that this amazing country has to offer. Many people say to me ‘but there’s nothing out there’ or ‘isn’t it boring sometimes’ – yeah sometimes but honestly, there’s soooo much random stuff out there that is amazing, not only the scenery but everything else that comes along with the ‘touring package’ that i’ve explained before – there’s sooo much to take in every day that it all seems like 20 mini adventures every day. I feel priveleged and lucky to be doing this.

I’ve realised that I get super sore riding on the flats especially with headwinds and I used to worry about that as all my injuries over the years (and there’s a lot) flare up and I sometimes i’m in my tent and start worrying about how I can finish this whole trip, but then I remember that I enjoy when the hills come because all those other muscles kick into gear and I feel so much better, it’s a strange thing but it is what it is in’t it. I think I adapt to hills much better than the humdrum flats and headwinds.

We started this morning at the bakery – yesssssssss my favourite, and this old local mate there said we are in for bad weather when we hit Robe to which I said to Alex ‘don’t believe everything you hear because everyone says random shit’ hahahahaha but he was lovely and we shared a quick LOL and he said he will be seeing us on the road later, which he did and gave us a toot a few hours later hahaha – PS – got to Robe later on and it was the best weather we’ve ever had hahahahaha.

Along the route today we came across a fake skeleton that was a donation tin for the RFDS so we stopped and had some fun which you’ll see in the vid hahaha

Alex spent like 5 minutes explaining why he enjoys the Symmetry of the pine trees all lines up in a row – I couldn’t really roll my eyes could I because let’s face it, I BOMBARD him with allllll my shit ALLLLLL day about every topic under the sun from why I like this over that Vs what grinds my gears and then more random stuff hahahaha

Moving on, we SMASHED 50 km’s today before 11 am and we were stoked. We got to Robe bakery today and smashed so much of the bakery that we needed a BOX which included – two pastries, cakes and two coffees. Of course I’m a super amazing skillful cyclist so I was the one voted to carry it off to a nice spot on the beautiful beach of Robe. This is where every man and his dog came up to us to ask us all questions under the sun. I was explaining to alex how this happens and today he experienced it hahaha. I love the conversations and curiosity and kindness of people but sometimes, you want to grab a pastry, eat and go hahaha. I’ve met some life long friends this way so I want to sound respectful because every interraction is good interraction but I saw the look on Alex’s face today hahahahahah – it was that face of ‘we got plans people, can we go’ hahahahahaha. One conversation was about Camel Milk and how many uses it has and how good it is for you :-). Personally, I enjoy meeting new people and seeing where they come from and what makes them tick and why. When I was touring Europe, I wouldn’t have met a plastic surgeon in France who invited me to his place to see his ‘Surgery’ if I wasn’t curious right? HEAPS SAFE – what could go wrong 🙂

You’ll see in todays video a snippett of a wtf “im barely clothed moment” … lets just say we stopped to record a special birthday video message for one of Alex’s friends! haha

We also visited the lighthouse and did some droney fun, and answered more questions hehehe and then took off and took advantage of this beautiful weather and wind.

So after lunch, on went the loudspeaker hooked onto the back of my pants and Metallica was the choice of the day. Alex and I both LOVE Metallica – pretty much know every song and Alex explained in detail how ‘Welcome Home Sannitarium’ has a killer bass track and went onto to say that it was a CHUGGY baseline that thinckened it all up – the ‘CHUG’ – the ‘Meat and Potatoes’ and the drum sits a half beat off and then went on to tell me exactly where those ‘chugs’ and half off beats were. I play a little guitar and can appreciate those perfectly explained analogies hahahaha

I must say that I think today, Alex gained his ‘Touring Medal’. Reason I say this is because after a few days on the road, he had A LOT of energy today and SMASHED his first ‘LOADED HUNGE’ 🙂 His first fully loaded 100km day. He finished it with power too. I was impressed. He gets the touring medal of the day for sure.

We ended up in Beachport with Alex saying ‘dude, what the EFF do you like about beachport’

I half said something to which we then rolled down that hill, saw the ocean and the beautiul tiny town and he went ‘ohhhhhhhhhh I get it now’

Beachport is like a small Robe. Everyone goes to Robe but this place is tiny and a little haven of a place. The beach is turquoise perfect.

Tomorrow I’ll take some drone vids and you’ll see. It’s so beautiful here.

We walked around the town a little, had an amazing pub meal and settled in for the night, blogged and then probs going to stretch those tired legs

Tomorrow will be a day off doing some bike maintenance, droney action, swimming and planning the next few days and jetty jumping – how freekn good is that. Many times we just talk about how good this trip has been so far and how lucky we are. SO LUCKY.

PROBS no blog tomorrow but lets see if I can hold myself from not talking hahahahaha

Signing off peeps