Homeward Bound!
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING
After a few days off the bikes following our change of plans, on day 34 we left Ceduna and made our way down the Eyre Peninsular. The joy came back along with our confidence on the bikes. The other thing that came back was conversations. Across the Nullarbor there were no towns, just roadhouses dotted through the great expanse. Here we were going to the pub, campgrounds and cafes and actually meeting people. Wearing the Lifeline logo meant that the conversation often moved to mental health. While many of the stories were heartbreaking, each brought home the value of our mission. It also helped with our fundraising, with these conversations often ending in donations, which nicely justified our trips to eat at pubs.
Day 36 we began cutting across the peninsular. Cycling along a quiet country road after later than usual start, a car coming in the opposite direction pulled over and the driver got out. He asked, “Are you the cyclists who came across the Nullarbor?” It was Leif’s uncle. He was on his way to where Leif was tragically taken from this world. We couldn’t believe it. Had we taken another route or started at our usual early time, we would never had met him. There were tears, smiles and hugs and it felt like there were greater powers at work that brought us together. We were grateful for fortuitous meeting.
We continued our way across the Peninsular to Cowell enjoying the beautiful rolling countryside around us. The temperatures had begun to drop with mornings starting at a fresh 2-5C. When I winge about the cold here in Aus I'm generally reminded that I’m a Pom and therefore should be used to it. No, I’m a sook that doesn’t like the cold. And having been here for 18 years, I’ve acclimatised. This meant me wearing pretty much everything I had - thermals, jacket, gloves, waterproof over-trousers, overshoes, the lot. Stylish? No. Warm? Yes.
BLOW OUT
While we'd left the treacherous roads, we hadn't left our bike issues. On our way to the ferry to take us across the Spencer Gulf to the York Peninsular there was an almighty bang as my back inner tyre exploded. With a ferry that wasn’t going to wait, we set a new record of 22 minutes to change the tyre and fully hand pump it up. Our bike related stress was back. Ugh.
Over a few days we made our way across the York Peninsular to Clare and then up to Peterborough. This brought us back to our original route. It also took us back onto the highways and road trains. I was anxious at the thought, but the Barrier Highway was ok with a hard shoulder and good visibility.
The route took us next to the train line. As trains approached (there weren’t many) I waved frantically at the driver to try and get a toot from them and would get slightly overexcited when they did. Little things… And let’s face it, we’d been on the road nearly 7 weeks - I was going slightly la-la.
REACHING NSW
Day 42 we reached the border with NSW. Tara and I recorded a carefully choreographed dance to celebrate the milestone (you can check out our moves at @sarahpaddles on instagram). Safe to say we aren’t giving up the day jobs just yet. We were met at the border by the lovely Don Peters, a firefighter in Broken Hill. He was generously going to let us stay at his home for the two nights we had in Broken Hill. What a gem!
The next day we cycled to Broken Hill straight to the fire station where we were welcomed by ABC and Channel 7 reporters as well as the Don and his crew.
Our time in Broken Hill was busy, but we squeezed in a massage and a couple of really good coffees and breakfasts which made a welcome change. The bikes got serviced, supplies were purchased, including a high vis jacket to increase visibility on the road. We enjoyed dinner at the fire station our first night there - it was lovely of them to invite us. We also visited the local Lifeline office and all too quickly we were back on the road.
HOMESTRETCH
Being back in our state, it felt like the homestretch, but a long one at 1,300km. About 30km out of Broken Hill a car pulled up. A guy got out and came over to us. He’d seen us on the news and wanted to make a donation as someone who has dealt with mental health issues for many years and only recently been able to get help. He and his girlfriend had tried to find us the previous day, not realising we were having a rest day. The money he gave us meant so much more than the monetary value. I was nearly reduced to tears.
It was back to some remote areas for the next few days. One morning we woke to find Tara’s tyre flat. "No problem," I thought, "won't take us long to change with all the practice we've had." Ah yeah, no. Not so easy. The remnants of the sealant made getting the tyre off troublesome. We tried knives, hot water and borrowed muscles until we eventually got the thing off and were able to change the inner and be on our way.
A couple of days later, outside Wilcannia, we pulled into Warrawong caravan park where we were given an impromptu standing ovation by a few of the grey nomads as we pedalled in. It was a wonderful caravan park where they put on a fire each evening for everyone to congregate around and enjoy some light snacks. It had a lovely kind of community feel to it. That night we were invited to dinner with some of the caravaners – a delicious lentil curry and good chat. It was by far and away the best campground we'd stayed at and I loved these unexpected gems that popped up throughout our trip, whether it be people or places.
PLAGUE
Reaching Cobar we treated ourselves to a motel. Sitting on the bed I saw something out of the corner of my eye disappear behind the bin. Then I saw it go from the bin, under the door and outside. It was a mouse. He did another reccie in and out and I quickly put a blanket down to block his return. We were in mouse plague country.
For those who haven’t seen this, the mouse plague started last year brought on by optimal breeding weather and the end of the drought. This brought them food from the resulting crops. NSW bore the brunt of it with mild weather allowing the little critters to keep breading through into autumn 2021. They’ve caused thousands of dollars of damage to crops and fodder, cars and machinery. People have been bitten by them in their beds. Eew. It put a pause on our camping with neither of us keen to wake up to mice crawling all over us! Pubs and motels it was...
ONWARDS
One of the joys of going by bike is seeing the change in countryside, slowly unfolding in front of you. We’d gone from sand dunes to the wheat belt waiting to be seeded, to the arid barren Nullarbor, to rolling country and here now deep in cotton growing country with the roads were dotted with cotton balls as harvesting was underway.
By now the tiredness was really building, and I was feeling heavy with it. The fatigue was physical, mental and emotional. It was all-consuming and the type of tiredness needing more than a good night’s sleep or a day of rest. We were seven weeks into the trip. While we’d accustomed to our average of 100km, it was still a daily deposit into the fatigue bank.
Come day 52 we were heading to Coonabaraban on the Newell Highway, the major link road between Melbourne and Brisbane. It was horrendous, busy with road trains thundering past and long sections with little or no hard shoulder. After 20km we had a chat – this road didn’t feel safe. Coming up was a tourist route to Coonabaraban which we decided to take. It was beautiful, with quiet roads surrounded by green fields edged in the distance by the spectacular Warrumbungle mountain range. In the distance, high up in the rocky peaks we could see an observatory and joked that we were glad we weren’t going up there. Little did we know, that’s exactly where we were going. After a total of 120km for the day and 1,300m of climbing, we pedalled slowly into Coonabaraban, exhausted from the day’s ride.
The next day was our only day of real rain on the ride. It belted down. To add to it I got a flat and we couldn’t get the tyre off. We were soaked, cold and miserable. We got some help but it took time. By the time we were back on the road, we were shivering, cold to the core.
Just 10km from the end point for the day and Tara popped a flat. Seriously?! We needed to get to Gunnedah and the bike shop there to get the bikes looked at again. I flagged a car down and the driver, Pete a local ambo, kindly offered to go and get his ute and take us into town. We gratefully accepted and the bikes were soon in the capable hands of Gary at the bike shop.
We needed the bikes in good shape for the final big challenge – getting over the Great Dividing Range. To be honest, it was going to be more of a challenge for Engine 1 and 2 (aka my legs). I just wanted to make sure the bikes didn’t add to the challenge.
After a few days of moderate climbing we hit our first big day of climbing covering 93km with 1,300m of elevation gain, with my bike determined to make things harder by throwing her chain. Still no answers as to why this kept happening. The reward was a rest day in Armidale.
As usual it was busy, with the bikes into yet another bike shop, admin and restocking. Tara gave a talk at one of the local schools and had an interview with University of New England where she is doing her PhD on the impact of suicide on firefighters.
In the afternoon we visited BackTrack. Both this and the school talk had been arranged by our sponsor Regional Australia Bank. BackTrack is an incredible organisation that enables young people who have lost their way reconnect with education and training, become work ready and secure meaningful employment. They help them develop strong, happy and healthy foundations. They had created these amazing welcome pictures.
We were invited into their circle where we shared a little of our stories, answered their questions and went deep into issues around mental health, the value of connection and so much more. It was a privilege to be part of. The work they do really makes a difference. As one of the participants said to me, “I’d be in juvey if it wasn’t for this place.”
FREEWHEELING
All too quickly our rest day was over and we were on the road, edging ever closer to the end. It was beginning to feel close. The next couple of days involved over 2,000m of climbing, followed by a joyous 18km downhill!
With the climbing behind us we made our way to Grafton before the beautiful town of MacClean, set on the banks of the Clarence River. With just 120km to go, it felt like the end was suddenly here. I wished the time between the climbing and the end was longer. To have more time to gently approach the finish. But saying that, I was ready for the end!
While we could have done the final 120km in one day, we decided to break it up, giving us a short final day from Ballina to Byron Bay. Tara’s friend and fellow firefighter, John McGarvey was there. He and some other friends of Tara’s had joined us for dinner the previous night. That final morning the three of us went for brekkie, overlooking the ocean. It was awesome to see the ocean again and some dolphins popped up to put the cherry on the cake.
FINISH LINE!
Come day 62 it was to the bikes for the last time. We took it easy, letting it all sink in. It was all zen and smiles until, yep you guessed it, I got a flat just 15km from the end. With a welcome party set to meet us (arranged by John), we went into action mode and were quickly back on the road with the pace picked up.
The road to Cape Byron is a steep climb from the town of Byron Bay, like a brutal finisher on the ultimate workout. As we rounded the final corner, the finish line was in sight, with the local fire truck there and the crew holding a banner across the road and the hose to create an arc of water for us to ride under. It was brilliant! We crossed the finish line, cheered on by the firies, friends and some bemused tourists.
There were smiles, tears and hugs. After 4,700km, over 10,000m of elevation and more flat tyres that we could count we had made it. I was so happy! It was done!
And what an adventure it had been, filled with many highlights. The standout was the people we met, the conversations we had and the extraordinary kindness of the strangers we met, many of whom we now count as friends. The other big result – Tara and I are still great friends! A better adventure buddy I couldn’t have imagined and I felt very blessed and privileged to have been able to share this journey and all its challenges with her. Thank you Tara.
THANK YOU!!
So there we have it. The end of another huge adventure. To everyone who made it possible and all those people who helped us along the way THANK YOU. A special shout out to our wonderful sponsors for their incredibly generous support.
Regional Australia Bank
Breen Resources
Breen Foundation
Panthers Cycles
BeFit physiotherapy
Fortem Australia
StandBy Support After Suicide.
We have raised over $30k - thank you so much to everyone who donated. The portals will be open until the end of July for anyone who would like to donate at www.cyclingoz.com/donate
A question I'm frequently asked is, “What’s next?”
Good question! Well of course there's more in the pipeline, but for now you’ll have to wait and see…
In the meantime, thank you for following this latest journey.
Sarah x x