The Road to Canberra

Its been an incredibly challenging ride from Albury to reach the Australian capital of Canberra. True to form, I created the most difficult route to enjoy a brutal mountainous climb before my finish line next week in Sydney. Most of you will be familiar with my usual monthly post covering thousands of kilometers at a time, but I though being so close to the finale I should share with you the this weeks gruelling ride with Wilson…

Arriving late on Sunday night I stayed in Albury with a local school principal, enjoying a delicious sunday roast with his lovely neighbours. It was a fantastic way to kickstart my time back in my home state, and on the following morning I was able to visit two Wodonga high school campuses to share my journey with year eight pupils. It wasn’t all fun and games though, as Wilson suffered his first ‘nail puncture’…

I soon got out onto the spectacular Lake Hume, where I was able to follow a converted railway line (historically used to transport migrants and materials for the Snowy Mountains Scheme) besides the waters edge. It was the perfect afternoon on the bike, enjoying the sunshine and picturesque views of the region.

And the well maintained railway track made for some stunning riding as I crossed the lake on the old railway bridge.

May has proved to be one of the warmest months on record for this part of Oz, and instead of the chilled winds and even snow that I had expected, the riding remained beautiful with many gorgeous roads and plenty of sunshine…

Through an unfortunately foggy camera lens I crossed The Murray River for the last time, and began the steeper slopes into The Snowy Mountains…

In Khancoban I did an impromptu photo shot and interview for the local paper, and ate the heavier jars of pasta sauce to lighten the load for the climbs of Kosciusko National Park.

On top of Scammell Spur Lookout I met a Hungarian bloke who was dropping off food parcels for his two month trek of the ‘Australian Alps Walking Track’. Sitting on the saddle afterwards, it didn’t take long to daydream about my next punishing expedition! By nightfall I had reached Geehi Flats, where I could pitch up camp beside the mountain stream and spend an hour getting up close to the local kangaroos. It was a beautiful way to finish the day, and the fresh stream not only let me refill the waterbottles but doze off peacefully to sleep…

The next day, however, was brutal. I climbed to well above the highest road elevation of all of Northern Europe, and after struggling through a six and eight kilometer ascent (a road too steep for trucks or caravans), I got to ‘Siberia’. Stopping for the obligatory photograph made Cycling4Cancer seem a whole lot more impressive…

If you look closely at the image, you can see the expression of agony on my face. I had ‘hit the wall’ an hour beforehand, and if it wasn’t for stolen Macca’s sugar sachets I’m not sure if I would have made it to the top! Locals call a $100 note down here a “Thredbo Dollar”, but after such a gruelling ride I didn’t give a stuff about my budget. It was time to feast.  I ended up spending three days budget to enjoy peanut biscuits, protein shakes, Tim Tams, chunky soup, sardines and pasta.

The next day I rode from Thredbo to Cooma, where I had a fantastic homestay with Lainey and Pat. Before reaching thier home I dropped into yet another local newspaper office to prepare an article for the Cooma Express. With such great company and throbbing leg muscles, it didn’t take long to decide to stay a second night and enjoy the best of Australian country life.

And as I set off into the sun for the 120km ride to Canberra, I had not only Lainey and Pat but a hairy companion to accompany me to the highway…

It was a long day to get to the nations capital, but luckily I had both German sausages and protein gel sachets in the panniers after a couple donations by a butcher and nutritional health shop in Cooma! A clever farmer too my mind off the road briefly as I nerared the ACT…

And after 43 countries and 42, 407km I came across the best invention witnessed in the entire trip. Yep thats right, cycle racks attached to the front of city buses! And on my day off I took a visit to the ANZAC Memorial…

For the first time in my adventure, I was able to be hosted by a friend from my hometown of Camden this week. It was fantastic to cycle into Kate’s home, and catchup after nearly a decade!  On Tuesday in Canberra I visited The Australian National University (ANU), where I had the opportunity to meet Richard Callaghan and his science team that are currently funded by an AICR grant. We also took a three kilometer bike ride of the campus, and I was able to share my expedition with WIN NEWS and ABC Radio.

In Canberra I was also able to catchup with my parents who had driven down for the days charity event at ANU. So that’s been my past seven days, and the third post on the website for thisevening, so it’s definately time for bed! Over the next few days I will be riding to Sydney via Goulburn and Wollongong, with my brother Ian excorting me with his motorbike!

One the 2nd June I will be at Sydney University, so please click here to find out more about my final destination of my expedition. I will be riding in at 10am, and at 10:30 I will be talking about my experiences inside the Law School Foyer. I hope to see many of you there!