The next adventure begins
Getting to the start point for my previous adventures felt like a huge milestone. This one was no different. It’s the months of training, planning, preparation and organising all the logistics finally coming to a head. The switch from expectation, anticipation and apprehension to execution. Knowing there are highs and lows, challenges and obstacles ahead along with the creation of memories that will make me smile for years to come.
As Dean Stott, a British Special Forces veteran says, when it comes to expeditions, “The start point and objectives are the only things you can confirm in your plan.” So true! You know that the plans will be tested and no doubt changed multiple times. It was time to let the adventure unfold and see where it took us.
GETTING TO DAY 1
It was a complicated trip to reach the start point. After a couple of days in Perth for the final prep Tara and I got the overnight bus to Overlander Roadhouse, about 800km north of Perth. There we got a lift with a shuttle bus to where Bec and Mick from Shark Bay Coastal Tours met us at the turnoff to Useless Loop (gotta love the Aussie naming).
We loaded the bikes and made our way 140km along a road that quickly switched from smooth bitumen to corrugated unsealed roads, to sandy corrugations, to sand, to sand dunes and more corrugations. While it was valuable to see what was ahead of us, seeing this challenging terrain added to the apprehension.
Along the way we dropped some 5l bottles of water. This area is remote and the temperatures were soaring to 40C. Scorchio! After about 5 hours we made it to Steep Point, the most westerly point of Australia.
After plenty of photos and video to capture the moment it was time to start this next adventure. Milestone one had been reached and we began pedalling.
AN UNEXPECTED DETOUR
The excitement of starting our trip was short lived. Tara’s bike (Bud) had an early dummy spit and popped a flat 4kms into our journey. The biggest weakness Tara and I had coming into this trip was our lack of bike mechanic skills. We managed to change the tyre. Very slowly.
The next few days were brutal. It included pushing our bikes (clocking in at a hefty 60-65kg+ fully loaded) over sand dunes and across beaches.
There were sandy corrugations and more flat tyres. On Day 3 at one point we had seven guys trying to help us change our tyres and solve the baffling mix of issues we had.
With their help, after a total of three hours we were on our way, but down to one spare inner. We were incredibly grateful to everyone for taking out so much of their time in the heat of the day to help us.
Our progress continued, albeit slowly, until Day 4. We hit the bitumen much to our relief. The relief didn't last long – we both got flats and with one spare inner we were stuffed.
It was time to put the satellite phone to good use. I called Bec and Mick from Shark Bay Coastal Tours to see if they had any ideas. Bless them, they came to our rescue, very kindly collecting us, putting us up for the night and then dropping us in Geraldton to get the bikes fixed. After a few days, a transfer to a tubeless set up on the bikes, we were back to where we'd had to put the trip on pause.
OVERLANDER TO KALGOORLIE
Back on the road after our detour, we punched out some big kilometres over the next few days. Engine 1 and Engine 2 (aka my legs) quickly ran out of steam and I constantly felt I was running on empty. Doing 120-140km in a day was tough. Each morning felt like getting on the bike after leg day at the gym. I hoped I would adapt within a couple of weeks. It was set to take longer than that to fully adapt.
Pulling into a lay by Day 9 we got a big lift. A lovely couple, Rob and Kerry, on a caravan trip, had seen us and stopped to wait for us.
They gave us cold drinks (heaven!) and we chatted. It turned out that Rob was a former elite cyclist and was keen to hear our plans and the next day he came out to see where were and invited us for brekkie. They cooked us bacon, eggs, toast and gave us juice and coffee plus nuts, lollies and more cold drinks! They also invited us to stay with them in Kalgoorlie. Bless them!
We had some interesting camping spots as we made our way to Kalgoorlie. A couple were beside the road with the sound of road trains lulling us to sleep. At another we found a lovely, yet suspiciously green section of grass close to a school set amongst the scorched earth. I asked Tara, “Do you reckon there are sprinklers here?” We looked around and couldn’t see anything. The temptation of camping on soft grass was too good to pass. Well, it was all smiles until the sprinklers went on at 5.30am resulting in the quickest pack up to date.
After 11 days, we had the lure of soft beds and home cooked food to incentivise us. The Deputy Mayor of Geraldton, Tarleah Thomas, who’d we contacted while in Geraldton about getting back up to where we’d paused our trip, had invited us to stay with her and her husband Andrew, just outside of Mullewa. We jump at her generous invitation. It turned out that she is the sister of someone I know at North Bondi SLSC and his son (Jamie and Charlie Verco)!! Talk about small world!
Tarleah cooked us a delicious lunch and later dinner. We were able to do some washing and they let us soothe our aching muscles in their magnesium spa. Oh the joy! Tarleah’s kindness didn’t stop there. She sent us on our way with a delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner and had arranged for a place for us to stay the next night. Such incredible kindness and generosity!
For a while we thought/hoped that our bike issues were behind us. No such luck. Arriving in Perenjori on Day 13 Tara’s bike had a flat. We made it a short day to be able to fix the bike by putting in more sealant and enjoy a pub dinner. It was a beautiful Aussie outback pub full of friendly locals interested to hear about our ride. Meeting people and chatting to them as we went was a highlight.
By now some interesting physical impacts were showing themselves. Due to the compression on the nerves my little finger on my left hand wasn’t working properly. I could stretch all my fingers out wide, but when I drew them together with fingers still straight my little finger didn’t move. The only real impact from this was typing on my iPad's keyboard. My uncontrollable little finger kept putting caps lock on. First world expedition problems. The other issue was losing strength when pinching first finger and thumb. It made opening packets tricky and holding a fork had to be adapted to more like I was stabbing my food. Classy.
Over the next couple of days the tyre problems persisted but with more sealant and pumping up the issues seemed to be behind us. However my bike, Banjo, not wanting to be left out, decided to chuck her own wobbly and proceeded to throw her chain off randomly.
One day we followed the Rabbit Proof Fence for a while. It was unsealed roads, so even though it was only 110km, it took us nine hours with breaks. On the upside there was limited traffic and great views.
Day 17 saw us hit our next next milestone - we cracked the 1,000km mark. We hugged it out in celebration before getting back to it. It was a big day with 130km to cover. The weather rather than cooling as we’d hoped, and historical weather patterns predicted, seemed to get hotter each day.
It reached a peak on Day 18 when the mercury hit 45C on a day when we had 105km to cover. As cycling conditions go this was definitely sub-optimal. Night-time gave little relief with temps only dropping to a stifling and airless 35C. Not conducive to sleep. But it was ok, because the next day there were just 86km between us and a rest day! After cycling 12 days straight I was hanging out for a day off the bike.
REST DAY IN KALGOORLIE
We had many of pleasant surprises waiting for us. First was being met by Rob in Coolgardie who took us to his and Kerry’s lovely home where we were welcomed and made to feel like family. Our bikes were taken into the local bike shop, My Ride, to be given some TLC and hopefully put a permanent end to the issues we were experiencing.
Our purpose for this ride was not only about raising money for Lifeline and Mood Active, but also about creating conversation and breaking down stigma as we go. I had emailed the local mayor of Kalgoorlie ahead of our arrival, who had arranged several engagements for us, which Rob kindly ferried us to and from.
The first was an interview with the local paper, the Kalgoorlie Miner. Next was the Goldfield’s Women’s Health Clinic who, after an introduction from the Mayor, had contacted us wanting to hold a small event. There we met a small group of men and women who volunteer for Mates 4 Mates in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.
Their mission is to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention in the Goldfields-Esperance region through peer support and riding motorbikes out into remote communities. Every member of the team has their own lived experience which they use to create connection and a space for people to be heard and feel supported. It was wonderful to meet them, hear some of their stories and the amazing work they do.
Then it was time for me and Tara to have some TLC. Rob and Kerry had arranged for us to have a float tank session. It was wonderful to lie there, floating in the beautifully warm water, letting the tired, sore muscles relax.
Back at Rob and Kerry’s we were treated to a delicious home cooked meal with them and some of their family. Getting into real beds with beautiful clean sheets and full tummies was heaven. I instantly fell into a deep sleep.
While the next day was off the bikes, it was still busy. Tara had an early interview with the University of New England and then we both had a live radio interview at ABC Goldfields-Esperance. Then it was a massage each and a trip to the supermarket to load up with supplies. This was going to be our last supermarket for 1,200km. As a result we might have gone over the top - it was tricky squeezing it all into our panniers. Cycling with such heavy panniers was going to prove even more challenging!
Tara had one more live radio interview to do. What neither of us realised was the surprise Rob had lined up for us. We were whisked off to the local airport for an extraordinarily generous and special gift from Rob and Kerry - a sunset helicopter ride over the super pit at Kalgoorlie! I got tearie – I couldn’t believe they had done this for us! A helicopter ride had been on my bucket list for years, and it didn’t disappoint!
It was amazing as we gently launched into the skies above Kalgoorlie lit up with a perfect soft evening light.
The day was finished off with another wonderful family dinner and a good night’s sleep. The next day it was time to get back on the bikes and reluctantly say goodbye to Rob and Kerry. They dropped us where they had picked up us in Coolgardie. I got tearie once again as we said our goodbyes and got back on the bikes. What I didn’t expect was that we would see them again before our ride was over…
FUNDRAISING
As mentioned before we’re raising money for mental health and suicide prevention. Our chosen charities are close to our hearts: MoodActive and Lifeline. We had many conversations in the rural communities we travelled through, hearing many heartbreaking stories. One tiny community had been lost three of its residents to suicide in just six months. It brought home how important our fundraising is.
We made great progress on our fundraising. The portals are still open for anyone who would like to donate: www.cyclingoz.com/donate
OUR SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS
We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors and supporters who made this trip possible:
Regional Australia Bank
Breen Resources
Breen Foundation
Panthers Cycles
BeFit physiotherapy
Fortem Australia
StandBy Support After Suicide.
Well, that’s it for now. The next update will bring by far the toughest part of this trip.
Sarah x x