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| The beast in front of the Statue of Liberty |
Enough people have asked if I will be blogging for me to
arrogantly believe there might be some vague interest in my self indulgent
dribblings about cycle comfort, road quality, dietary choices and ill informed
views on Australian history, culture, and nature.
A few questions have come up again and again, so I’ll answer
these up front:
1. Why are you doing this?
A few years ago I did this: uscoasttocoastwillwhite.blogspot.com.
Ever since I’ve had a nagging thought that a lot of the success of the US trip
was down to luck (which it was) and I guess I want to see if I can get lucky
again.
Also, finishing in New York that time was one of the most
incredible feelings I’ve ever had. I’ve found myself between rental properties
in London without serious ties like a mortgage, and work agreed to the time
off, so figured I’d like to see if I can get anywhere near that feeling again.
On the slightly more hippy front I figure we all have
roughly 1,000 months on earth, if you can’t spend the odd one trying to do
something silly, that seems a shame. Would kick myself in the old people’s
home, if I’d come up with a plan, found few reasons not to try it and still not gone ahead.
On the slightly less high-minded end, have a couple of
weddings in early summer, and fancy looking sunkissed and leaner for them. If big
dream guff doesn’t get me there, pretty sure vanity will.
2. Why Australia?
After the US trip a mate mentioned the idea of cycling
across Australia. It was one of those ideas that lodges in your brain, and
makes you smile everytime you think about it. Also it’s a heck of a lot easier
than Africa or Asia, and warmer than Europe at this time of year.
Australia’s also full of deserts. From my perspective, there
are few things more amazing in life than waking up pre dawn in the desert and
riding out at sunrise laden up on water and supplies, hoping and praying you
make it through the day. It’s an awesome mix of fear, beauty and wonder. And
Australia would appear to offer a fair few of such opportunities. Obviously my perspective might be slightly
coloured by the fact I’ve not got married or had kids, which I would imagine
surpass such feelings by some margin.
3. Why are you going Sydney to Perth?
North South through this country sounds insane, and misses
the Nullabor Plain. There is something that really appeals about 900 miles flat
and treeless in a straight line.
The whole trip was going to go the other direction, but a
last minute research on prevailing winds in February and March, meant a final
shot in front of the Opera House had to take second place to not having the
wind flat in my face for 5 weeks.
4. Will it be too hot?
We’ll see. 40C does sound a little terrifying, but hoping it
will only be for a few hours on a few days. But we’ll see.
5. Will you be bitten by a snake or spider/caught in a bush
fire/hit by a road train and many other inventive ways to die?
Hopefully not. People appear to have a rather morbid fascination
with the scary side of Australia. Snake and spider related deaths are few and
far between. Will be watching out for road trains in my mirror like a hawk, and
provided I keep abreast of them, the chances of actually being caught on the
road in a bush fire appear extremely slim.
I’ll take all the precautions necessary, but after a point
you feel a little fatalistic. If it’s you day, so be it. Way I look at it, you
could be knocked down by an Espace after buying eggs at Tesco Metro in
Bracknell, but you would be slightly nuts if you changed your plans to avoid
that eventuality.
There were also a load of practical questions around where I
will sleep, clothing and the bike that I’m hoping will just come clear during
the trip.
So with all that cleared up, onto planning.
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