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Got home safely on Sat night, riding into the Entertainment Centre in Nowra at 6.30. Really stoked and humbled by the crowd cheering me in. Thanks to everyone who came along…it was great to see you all there. It was especially wonderful to see my sponsors Anne Sudmalis, Mayor Jo Gash, Bob Ducie from VIP Home Maintenance Services and Emo form Ultimate Cycles, Paul from Bob Jane T Marts, Ian and Cath Strathie for Wray Owen Funerals and Simon Apperley from SET Consultants.

I just had a radio interview on Power FM and we should be on WIN News tonight so check it out.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported us including our sponsors and those who made a donation…we raised over $25 000 for the Kids With Cancer Foundation. Speaking of sponsors, we we given $4500 for petrol and the money ran out in Goulburn so we only had to fill up once from our own pocket….having put our lives on hold for six months it was absolutely critical to have this support, so thank you once again to our sponsors.

A few interesting facts/tid bits of my ride

Best steak sandwich….dead heat between Nerriga Pub NSW and Green Head WA
Cheapest beer……….$4.90…Bridge Tavern Nowra NSW
Most expensive beer….$11.50 Carnarvon, WA.
Most expensive fish….snapper fillets $49 kg, Carnarvon WA.
Most expensive petrol..$2.05/L Barkly Homestead, NT.
Cheapest petrol……..$1.45/L Melbourne, Vic.
Most welcoming church..dead heat between Gerringong Anglican, Lutheran
Rockingham and Mandurah, and Barossa Valley Christian
Centre.
Best radio presenters..Loz and Jack, Power FM, Nowra NSW (had never met b4)
Best TV news int…… dead heat between WIN News Wollongong and Bendigo.
Most beaut spot……..Shark Bay, WA.
Greatest moment……..dead heat between riding 301 km in a day on Nullarbor
Plain, WA and riding 2400 km from Broome to Perth in
just 14 days.
Most impressive camp…dead heat between Kimberleyland Caravan Park at
Kununurra, Hamelin Stay Station at Shark Bay in WA and
Streaky Bay Caravan Park, SA.
Funniest moment……..in the outback Capitol of Qld we went to this very
Aussie restaurant called the Woolshed Restaurant. I had
a hankering for some roast lamb, but the only thing on
the menu was Thai food.
Closest call………..dead heat between getting run off the road by a road
train in Mt Isa, going over the handlebars in WA,
ending up in hospital and almost being bitten by a
snake in outback Qld.
Hottest place……….outback Qld particularly Cloncurry.
Coldest place……….Bendigo…it was freezing!
Most desolate place….Nullarbor Plain.
Most picturesque…….Shark Bay, Esperance and Katherine Gorge were stunning.
Most interesting person ..Mike Pauly walking around Australia and Marica Van de Meer riding a pushy unassisted from Holland to Melb.
Most challenging aspect…the heat in Central Qld and the top end in the NT.
Most rewarding aspect…..helping kids with cancer.
Friendliest people……..anywhere in the country…the further from the city
the more friendly people were.
Best drivers…………..Sydney and Melb.
Best truckies………….Eyre Hwy and Hume Hwy.
Total distance…………13 580 km.

It’s great to be home 🙂 but I must admit we are feeling a little lost 🙁
There is an extraordinary sense of enjoyment and reward in riding hundreds of kilometres a day in some of the most beautiful places on Earth.
However, we thank God it all went so well and that we returned safely 🙂
Cya

A huge thank you to Tom and Marilyn at the Motel Royal Tarra in Binalong and the Heritage Motel in Goulburn for free accom….very kind of you to help us.

The ride from Temora to Goulburn was the most hilly/mountainous of the ride so far….my average speed dropped significantly. But it was great to get on to the Hume Hwy….it has a huge shoulder that I can ride safely on and when the big trucks go past me I get pushed along….it’s a bit a rush actually!

Will be at Nerriga tomorrow midday. Any serious riders who want to ride into Nowra are most welcome to meet me at Nerriga. Riders wanting a shorter distance can meet me at the intersection of Turpentine road and Braidwood road at 3pm.

I will be riding into the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre at 6pm for my official homecoming. Really looking forward to getting home, meeting up with family and friends. There will be food and drinks and whole lot of other things happening as part of the Sleep Out For The Homeless. Hope you can make it….it would be great to see you.

By the time I get home it will be 13580 km ridden and $25000 raised.

The beautiful rolling hills around Yass.

This time of year the Cootamundra wattles in this region are spectacular.

Motel Royal Tarra at Binalong where we stayed. Down here where it’s cold it’s great to get into a warm room.

The Heritage Motel in Goulburn where we stayed last night.

Home tomoz….ahhhhooooo.
Cya 🙂

A huge thankyou to Peter at the Goldtera Motel in Temora for a free room…awesome stuff!

I rode 153 km today from Griffith. Very picturesque ride with endless fields of Golden Canola.

A field of Golden Canola.

Last night we stayed with our beautiful daughter and her husband in Griffith. It was awesome to catch up!

Before Griffith there were endless fields of cotton.

Stopped for first lunch at Barellan, home of our tennis great Evonne Cawley. It’s great to see indigenous Aussies having a great go and succeeding. What a great role model Evonne has been.

Today I clocked up 13000 km…can you believe that…man it’s such a long way to ride a pushy…such a long way…

The Goldtera Motel in Temora where Peter gave us a free room. Thanks mate…totally awesome!

Yass tomoz…145 km.

Cya 🙂

I rode 108 km today and got a free cabin thanks to Michael and Stacey at the Jerilderie Motel and Caravan Park. Michael said he saw me last week on the Calder Freeway riding to Melbourne.

A monster Murray Cod at Tocumwal, just inside the NSW border. It’s incredible being back in our home state after riding 12850 km. About 40 km from the border excitement was building in my chest and when I saw the border sign I was punching the air and yelling exuberantly…Tink captured it all on our GoPro. Thrilled to bits to be back in NSW!

The mighty Murray River….what a welcome sight for a weary pair of travellers.

The Jerilderie Motel and Caravan Park…thanks heaps Michael and Stacey!

Tomorrow is a 140 km ride to Griffith to see our daughter who teaches infants there. Really looking forward to catching up.

Cya 🙂

A huge thank you to the Numurkah Caravan Park for a very cosy and warm caravan….awesome!

I rode 153 km today from Bendigo to Numurkah, which is only 48 kms from the NSW border.
I just collected in three pubs and Numurkah is the most welcoming town I’ve been in since leaving home a bit over 5 months ago. No one fobbed me and everyone made generous donations…one bloke even offered me a beer! I declined saying I’ve got a sick support driver sitting outside waiting for me…yes, Tink (Barbie) caught my viral infection 🙁
Just so u know, I call Barbie Tink because she looks like a fairy..size 6-8, fairy ears and bounces around like Tinkerbell when she walks/runs.

Anyway, I think Tink needs to toughen up a bit….today she didn’t feel like driving. A bit of a drama it was, so I told Tink she can ride my bike instead and I can drive..it was an amazing and very quick response…. ‘I can drive, I can drive!’ she said!

Only 750 kms to go now 🙂

Check out these photos:

Blossoms on the side of the Hwy today.

A close up of above.

The view from near our on-site van.

Red flowering gum on the banks of Broken Creek, Numurkah. Can’t figure out why it’s called broken…looks like its working to me…water is still flowing.

Our on site van at Numurkah.

NSW tomoz….ahoooooooo!
Cya 🙂

Only 900 kms to go now. I will ride north tomorrow from Bendigo. Man it’s cold down here…didn’t get much above 6 degrees all day. Had a big day today…spoke at La Trobe uni this morning to a professional group…it was great, then had an interview on ABC radio then was filmed by WIN News in Bendigo.

Will be home in Nowra next Sat, 9th August, riding into the Sleep out for the Homeless event at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre. My arrival time will be 6pm. Everyone is welcome to attend….there will be stalls, food and drinks as part of the sleep out event, hosted by one of my major sponsors, Ultimate Cycles, Nowra….Cu there!
Getting excited thinking about home.
If anyone wants to join me for the last 20 kms or so of my ride you will be most welcome. Email me your interest and I will post a meeting place next week and we can ride into the Shoalhaven Centre together
journeyofhope@live.com or text 0422092912

A few of my fav photos of the ride:

A termite mound in the NT. We didn’t dr the photo…this was how it was…

Buley waterhole, Litchfield NP, NT.
cable Beach, Broome, WA.

Shark Bay, WA.

Banksia in Perth.

Cya 🙂

I rode from bendigo to Macedon today, 55 km from Melb. Very cold riding and in Vic this afternoon there were wind gusts at 100 km/hr….incredible…one gust hit me and almost blew me off my bike!
Anyway…a huge thank you to John and Samantha at the Black Forest Motel in Macedon for a free room for the night…johns wife has worked in Mongolia as a midwife helping the locals learn safer/better ways to deliver babies…even went into the Gobi dessert. Her work with the locals has decreased infant mortality rates…very impressive indeed.

Black Forest Motel, Macedon.

Total distance so far is 12500 kms.
Will be in Melb around 1pm. Will be home in Nowra next Sat, 9th August, riding into the sleep out for the homeless at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre. My arrival time will be 6pm. Everyone is welcome to attend….there will be food and drinks as part of the sleep out event, hosted by one of my major sponsors, Ultimate Cycles, Nowra….Cu there!
Getting excited thinking about home.
If anyone wants to join me for the last 20 kms or so of my ride you will be most welcome. Email me your interest and I will post a meeting place next week and we can ride into the Shoalhaven Centre together 🙂
journeyofhope@live.com or text 0422092912

May the Eternal One be ever smiling on you.

Cya 🙂

It was a very picturesque ride yesterday from St Arnaud to Bendigo. Beautiful rolling hills, wheat crops that are green as, and with the landscape dotted with sheep and lamas, yes Lamas, it was an enjoyable ride despite my viral infection. I got to Newbridge on the outskirts of Bendigo and Barbie went to grab me a lamb roll for first lunch…I usually eat two lunches…..anyway, I went into this pub to ask the publican if I can collect from his patrons. Interestingly, in St Arnaud the only pub there seemed like a great place to collect, but the publican refused to allow me to do so. Even more interestingly, this was only the third pub in Australia to refuse, and I have been collecting in literally hundreds of pubs all over the country. The other two were in Palmerston, Darwin and near Pt Macquarie, NSW.
Anyway, the publican at Newbridge says yes and throws money in our bucket as well, (most publicans don’t donate) shouts us both a roast lunch for din dins and shouts us drinks as well!
What a contrast between the two publicans. It’s one of the more remarkable aspects of my ride, that people can be so different and getting to experience this for ourselves. Being a motivational speaker this has been invaluable to me. Curiously, we all have the freedom to refuse or if you like to choose and this is one of our greatest God-given gifts don’t you think, the freedom of choice? But what is is that makes some people want to help and others not to do so? From the complete stranger Paul Warburton in Esperance who donated $1000 to the poor person on the street who could only manage 20 cents, it is a great act of kindness and in my opinion, is the greatest measure of human character; that one is prepared to help another human being who can in no way return the act of kindness.
And so a huge thank you to everyone from all around the country who has helped us via a donation 🙂 We are getting close to $23000 raised for the foundation.

Another big thank you goes to Lyn and Des at the Avondel caravan park in Bendigo for a free night in a cosy cabin.

Down here in Vic there are wattles everywhere…stunning.

Was watching TV last night…haven’t missed it really, especially the ads, but the Commonwealth Games were on so I persevered. Nicole Livingstone was calling the swimming saying Cate Campbell was on fire,
‘Just as well Cate’s in the pool,’ I say.
I switch over to SBS and catch up on the Tour de France. Can’t believe how fast the riders are going in the 54 km time trial….over 50 km/hr! Very impressive indeed. None of the commentators mention any of the riders being on fire, instead saying things along the lines of, ‘He’s going like a train!’
No matter how hard I try, I can’t see the resemblance.
But one thing I can relate to is the effort required to push a bike over 200 hundred kilometres day after day. But unlike me, the speed at which those elite riders do it in the tour is mind blowing.

Having a rest day today before riding to Melb tomoz.
Cya 🙂
PS: The publican, Terry who shouted us lunch at Newbridge, is also raising money via an auction, to build a park in memory of a young boy who was tragically murdered a couple of years ago. Barbie and I were greatly moved by this….Terry is one of the more outstanding individuals we have met on our journey.

PPS: To those of you who say your prayers can you please say a few for our son…he has both tonsillitis and bronchitis…thanks so much….

At the moment we are in the Pyrenees, but not France, rather St Arnaud in Vic.
I only managed 75 km yesterday and 110 today owing to my viral infection/cold.
A huge thank you to Kirston at the Wimmera Lakes Caravan Resort at Horsham for a free night in a deluxe cabin…very comfy and warm and also thanks to Neil and Chris at the Country Road Motel in St Arnaud for a free motel room…very generous. So far we have had every night free accomodation in Vic….there is something very special about Victorians eg last night I collected 270 for the foundation in a couple of pubs in Horsham!

Wimmera Lakes Caravan Resort at Horsham

Pink Lake just near Dimboola. The pink colour is caused by a bacteria in the water.

A snail near pink lake.

I was riding through Dimboola and this journo, Kerri, chases after me and does a story for a couple of local papers. Check out the sign…Darwin is 3000 km away but on my bike it was almost 6000. Seems like only yesterday I was there, getting up at two in the morning to take a cold shower because it’s so hot! Down here it’s exactly the opposite…when I finish my ride I’m so cold I stand in the shower for ten minutes just to warm up!

Bendigo tomoz to catch up with my lovely sister then Melb later next week.
Cya 🙂

A very BIG thank you to Dorothy who put us up in a deluxe cabin for free at the Nhill Caravan Park. I came down with a cold yesterday and this morning wasn’t up to riding so Dorothy gave us another night for free…she’s an angel!

Nhill Caravan Park.

Crossing the Sa/Vic border yesterday.

The Vic sign was a welcome sight.

This is Johns bike, a bloke I met in SA. Don’t know how he can ride this thing…it weighs almost 60 kg and when it leans slightly past the vertical it wants to fall over. I’m very glad I have a support driver so everything I need is in the vehicle and just a minute or so away when required.
Speaking of what I need, up north it was so hot that whenever I would stop it was into the car with the aircon going flat out so I could cool down. Down south it’s the same thing, but not to cool down but to warm up! Yesterday it was so cold I had to wear my snowboarding gloves….didn’t get much above 5 degrees all day….brrrrr! With this annoying virus-cold thing I’ve got, my nose was running like a fire hydrant, but on a bike wearing snowboarding gloves its impossible to use a hanky….needless to say, snot was flying everywhere!
You should have seen the looks on peoples faces when I went into a cafe to grab something warm to eat. Completely forgot that my face was looking like a monumental shipwreck on boogie reef! How embarrassing.
Oh, well, life’s like that at times (especially mine).
Will spend today resting and try again tomoz.

May the Big One upstairs be ever smiling on you.
Cya 🙂