Blimey, that’s a huge thing to have done - how long did it take you? And an excellent thing to have done, too 👏🏻🙌🏻
I left in winter (July here in Oz) and got back home in December. I didn't ride the
whole way around Australia because my purpose was to speak to audiences, so, when the distance between towns became greater than 150km, I took other transport. I rode from Melbourne, Victoria, to Rockhampton, Queensland. By that stage I had ridden 4,000 km. I took buses from Rockie to Townsville then Darwin (Northern Territory), Broome and Geraldton (Western Australia).
Back on the bike facing stiff headwinds all the way south to Perth (the trees grew up about 75 cm then headed north!), then down to Albany before heading back to Perth and the train across the Nullarbor to Port Augusta (South Australia) then back on the bike again for the ride to Adelaide and back to Melbourne via the Coorong.
Then, after Christmas with the family, I took the ferry to Devonport (Tasmania) and spent two weeks travelling the island state where I recorded my fastest speed (80 km/hr) travelling
down Bust-Me-Gall after having ridden
up Break-Me-Neck - something tells me they are normally attacked the other way around!!!
I wasn't slowing for anyone - I didn't like the possibility of the trailer overtaking me!!! The hills in Tasmania are very much like those in the UK but that means the distances need to be multiplied by at least 1.5 to get a more true indication of the difficulty of that day's ride!
I was the recipient of the generosity of dozens of people who opened their homes to me (the not-for-profit I worked for organised billets wherever possible) and saw some magnificent sights - Australia has enough scenery on its shores to make it unnecessary to travel overseas. From pristine white sand beaches to snow-capped mountains; lush tropical rainforests to deserts; we have it all. I saw cane fields burning in northern NSW; dolphins surfing near Geraldton WA; miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles; I rode up 15° grades and down sweeping roads overlooking splendiferous countryside!
In my talks I asked people to do three things they hadn't already done to reduce their energy use; I then asked them to ask three friends to do likewise (why not spread the savings around!) and then, when they had achieved those three things, go back and choose another three! Three is an achievable number and doesn't overwhelm people...
