Monday, 1 September 2014
WHAT DID I BRING
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
What's best? Trailer vs. panniers

Monday, 7 July 2014
Namaste
This gapyear has been, and still is, all about trying new things and challenging myself both mentally and physically. It's about trying and doing things I haven't done before. It's about enjoying life.
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Thank you!
There are so many people I need to thank, I don't even know where to begin, but I'll give it my best.
My friends in Perth; Dian, Ben, Dawn and Roxanne who put me up and helped me get organised when I arrived in Perth. Thanks Dian for posting on my behalf on Facebook whenever I managed to use a payphone to call or text you! A special thanks to Ben who helped me a lot on my first day when I had an accident. 14 km outside a piece of cardboard got caught underneath my back wheel. Bike went left, trailer went right and I went forward. I had cuts everywhere... (Have a nice scar to remember this trip by on my right arm). He came and picked me up and dropped me off at the bike shop to get it sorted.
To Amber and her family in Albany for having me for a week. Really nice!
To Nicole and her boyfriend for letting me stay one week in Esperance, charging my batteries for the Nullarbor crossing. I wish her the very best on her adventures in Europe and hope to see her again.
To the staff at Fraser Range Station for helping me when I had some trouble with my trailer just over 100 km into Nullarbor.
To a "fellow" Welshman Martin Bevan whom I met at one of the roadhouses. Took about five minutes before we both got a Welsh accents back, scary. He was kind enough to give me a solar panel so I could charge my phone. Also thanks to his misses, Angela plus Brian and his wife for the fun company.
To the truckie Ian who gave me a lift to Port Augusta when my trailer and bike completely broke down!
To my friend Paul in Quorn (just outside Port Augusta) for picking me up, hosting me and helping me getting my bike sorted. Great guy with an brilliant insight into biking.
To James, for his comments and messages that cheered me up.
To Louise and Kerstin in the Clare Valley for teaching me about amazing Australian wine!
To Humphrey and Michelle for taking me in to their home in Renmark and showing me where out citrus fruits come from. I immediately felt at home there! So nice. If you're ever at one of the farmers markets in South Australia or Victoria keep an eye out for Fat Goose Fruits.
To ABC Renmark for having a chat with me on air. Great fun!
To John & Monique in Wagga Wagga for letting me stay and looking after me.
I need to give a huge thanks to John, my good friend u in Bathurst. A couple of weeks before I was due to arrive, I messaged him on Couchsurfing about staying. He immediatly got in touch and helped me stay motivated when I was feeling quite down. He also organised an interview with the WIN news channel, giving the charities some PR. Then when I got to Bathurst he put me up and showed me all around the local area. Great guy, with a cracking sense of humour. So thank you so much John!
To my relatives in Dubbo, who served me Norwegian kjøttkaker og brun saus (meatballs and brown sauce) and welcomed me into their home. I hope to see them in Norway some time soon!
To Hannah and Matt for giving me a warm welcome in Sydney. They showed me where you can get the biggest schnitzel in Australia. It's huge! I wish them the very best with their house restoration.
To my friend Martine (or Marty) in Newcastle for making me apart of her life for a few days. So much fun that girl! Hope she has a great time when she's going travelling around Africa.
To my good friend Peter and his partner for having me her in Mullumbimby. Peter was the cyclist who I met at Fraser Range Station by accident and we ended up doing the majority of the Nullarbor crossing together. It was nice to have someone to talk to after a day with constant headwind. We didn't even need to say much. You could almost see how saddle soar we were just by our facial expression. He headed home and we agreed I would come and visit them in July. Been great so far!
To my friends, family and loved ones in Norway, UK, New Zealand and other countries who shared my Facebook page, donated to the charities and sent me messages to keep me going. I kept pictures with me of people I care about and focused on their messages, that got me through the really tough days. Thank you!
To all the other people I've stayed with across Australia, who made sure I was well fed and got to see the local sights.
And of course, a thank you post wouldn't be complete without thanking ones mother. My amazing mother basically managed all publicity back home in Norway. She would talk to newspapers, radio stations and more to get them to feature this project. She even had access to my Facebook page and blog, scary... Only kidding. She did a great job and Sykehusklovnene now have 10 000 kr / $2000 to help children in Norway.
To all the others I haven't mentioned, THANK YOU ALL!
Friday, 4 July 2014
I TAKE IT BACK
I hereby withdraw the previous post; I didn't quit, I finished. I'M DONE.
I've crossed Australia :D
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Busride
I hope people understand that I'm not making this decision lightly and that I haven't let all of you down.
Jeg håper folk forstår at jeg ikke har tatt lett på denne avgjørelsen og at dere ikke føler jeg har svikta dere.
Monday, 30 June 2014
UPDATE - EASTCOAST
Anyhoodle, I had a great time in Newcastle with my new friend Marty. She was an amazing host and showed me all of the city. I even got to see a koala bear! So nice!
Because the wind still had a kick in it, biking wasn't too pleasant today. So decided to take my short day today and a longer day tomorrow. Need to get to a place about 5 km north of Nabiac, which means about 95 km in total. Fortunately the forecast said hardly any wind and sunny. Plus I've spoken to the couple I'm staying with tomorrow; the Highway have a emergency stopping lane all the way up which I can ride on. Which means I get heaps of space which is nice.
Also bought a new high-vis vest, cause the old one (which cost $3 on eBay) is falling apart. So now I'm visible and safe on the road. My phone keeps acting up, so had to manually track my progress today. Will try and restart it tonight. Hopefully that will do the trick.
Almost there... Almost there.
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Saturday, 21 June 2014
A LITTLE PIECE OF NORWAY
Sjømannskirken in Sydney is like a little piece of Norway. You come in and the first thing you see is childrens bunad (Norwegian national costume), followed by a nice selection of Norwegian food and snacks. Nothing says Norway like Toro risengrynsgrøt (rice porridge) and Melkesjokolade (milk chocolate). And of course, the portrait of King Harald and Queen Sonja is well positioned above the fireplace.
Friday, 20 June 2014
Up the mountain we go
What a climb.... Today I basically hit the top of the mountain, 1193 meters above sea level. Up until now, I've never been scared on the road. Worried yes. Nervous yes. But never scared. Today I was incredibly scared. Why? Because of people's lack of ability to actually give me space when they can and the inconsistency of a road shoulder to ride on (and all the pieces of glass that was in it). A truck didn't give me any space, even though the overtaking lane on his right side was empty. So I ended up in the ''rainwater gutter''... Luckily I managed to get my feet out and avoid tipping over.
But all this disappeared when I got see and hold a baby kangaroo. The lovely couple I'm staying with takes in baby kangaroos that have lost their mothers in traffic accidents. It was so cute and truly amazing.
Tomorrow I'll be in Sydney in the afternoon most likely. Then I'll stay there for about three days, resting and sightseeing. Also going to the Norwegian church on Saturday for waffles, Norwegian porridge and more. I can't wait!
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Litt av en klatretur.... Idag nådde jeg toppen av fjellet, 1193 moh. Fram til nå har jeg aldri vært redd på veien. Engstelig ja. Bekymra ja. Men aldri redd. Idag var jeg veldig redd. Hvorfor? Pga folks manglende evne til å gi meg litt plass og mangel på vei skulder (som som regel hadde godt med glasskår). En lastebil ga meg ikke nok plass og jeg endte opp i grøfta. Heldigvis klarte jeg å få ut beina og unngå å tippe overende.
Men alt detta forsvant når jeg så baby kengeruen. Hællandussen å nydelig. Det utrolig hyggelige parret jeg er hos, tar imot kengeru unger som har mista moren sin i trafikk ulykker. Så søt atte!
Imorra er jeg endelig i Sydney. Her skal jeg være over helga. På lørdag skal jeg innom Sjømann kirken for vafler, grøt og mer. Blir så digg atte!
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
INSPIRATIONAL BREAK
So the new routine is to get up around 7AM, have breakfast, pack etc. and then get ready to hit the road by 9AM latest. Then I also will finish a bit later as well. Oh well. All part of the adventure! At least it's not raining, haha!
Monday, 9 June 2014
Echuca to Cobram 102km
Staying with a Warm Showers host. Really nice! Went to the pub for a couple of pints. Decided to have my day off now instead of in Albury.
Also stopped by the supermarket for a shop. Even after living in NZ I still can't get used to having pet food in the fridge section. It's literally two meters away from the meat we humans eat. Weird Aussies...
Anyhoodle, really tired and it's late, so only a very short post tonight.
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Kerang to Echuca 97 km
Rull ned for norsk.
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YES! I've done over 4000km (2485 miles)! Only about 1900 km to go. Yay, haha! Well at least I'm way past halfway. Best way to look at it. My only focus now is to get to Sydney before winter really kicks in and there's ice and frost.
You can find all my workouts by clicking on the Endomondo logo on the right hand side.
Felt a lot better today after a good night sleep complete with ibuprofen for my wisdom teeth (did wonders). The wind was also less today, which did help. AND I found a "bypass" which took me of the highway half the day. Quite nice to be honest, getting away from all the trucks. The wind had its gusts here and there, but still less than yesterday. Checked the stats, it was an average of 18 km/h winds (with gusts around 20 km/h) between 12 and 2PM. No wonder I had a hard time battling that headwind!
I'm back into New South Wales for a few hours now. Will cross back into Victoria after about 30 km.
This is my route tomorrow; Echuca (West) to Cobram (East). I've managed to find a (sealed) route which don't go on the highway, well hardly anyway. So I'll start off by going past the national parks and then into diary country. So many cows today. All you could smell was cow shit.
Then tomorrow I'm staying one night (possibly two) with a Warm Showers host. Tonight I'm staying at a caravan park. A bit pricey today, $28, but that's because it's a Steam Engine festival (yes) on in Echuca. The forecast said possible showers in the afternoon/early evening and sure enough, the heavens just opened up a bit. Hopefully that means the clouds will stay a bit longer, making it a bit warmer at night and in the morning.
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Da tek med det på norsk au! Vurderte et halvt sekund om jeg skulle skrive på nynorsk for moro skyld, men så kom jeg på hvor bra det gikk på ungdomsskolen og VGS. Som sagt, skal jeg prøve å bruke mere norsk på bloggen (og Facebook) slik at de som ikke er så stødig i engelsk alikevel kan få med seg oppdatering. Dere får unnkylde eventuelle skrivefeil eller rare ordvalg i starten. Merker at norsken sitter litt dypt inne etter å ha bodd i det store utland såppass lenge. Oh shit it's på norsk som de sa i The Julekalender på TV2. Ord jeg slter med blir innimellom merka med (?). Rett i vei.
Du kan finne alle med treningsøkter (?) ved å klikke på Endomondo logoen på høyre side.
Ting føltes mye bedre idag etter en god natts søvn og en ibux for visdomstanna. Var mindre vind idag i forhold til igår, men fortsatt godt med trekk rundt øra. Og jeg fant en slik en sidevei som tok meg av highway'n halvparten av dagen. Digg med litt fri fra alle de lastebilene og campingvognene for å værra ærlig. Var et par kraftige vindpust her og der, men ikke på langt nær så ille som igår. Sjekka statestikken fra gårdsdagen; det var et snitt på 18 km/t vind med et par vindkast rundt en 20 km/t mellom klokka 12 og 14. Æ'kke rart jeg sleit litt da.
Tatt en liten snipptur inn til New South Wales, men tilbake i Victoria imorra etter en 30 km. (For de som ikke veit det; Australia er delt inn i stater og terretorier, som omtrent er sine egne land. Western Australia, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria og Tasmania. Alle har sin egen interne regjering, utdanningssystem, helse osv. osv. I tillegg så har bare enkelte stater sommertid, resten vil ikke. På mange måter veldig likt USA, men istedenfor 50 stater, har de bare 8. Håpløst og tullete organisering av et land spør du meg. Enten burde de være fullstendig uavhengig eller så burde de være et land, med like systemer.)
Detta er ruta mit imorra; Echuca (vest) til Cobram (øst). Jeg har klart å finne en (asfaltert) rute som ikke går via hovedveien (det var det norske ordet for highway ja! Den satt godt inne). Så starter med å sykle mellom to national parker og ut på landet blant kyra. Så mange kuer idag. Lukta kudritt hele veien.
Imorra skal jeg sove en natt (kanskje to) med en vert (?) fra Warm Showers sida. I natt tilbringes i en camping park. Litt dyrt idag, $28/155kr, men det er grunnet den årlige Steam Engine festival (kødder ikke) her i Echuca. Værmeldinga sa også at vi kunne vente en liten skur seint på ettermidagen/tidlig kveld og sant nok, i skrivende stund kom det er par droper. Forhåpentligvis betyr det at skydekke blir litt lenger og varmer holder seg her. For det er bikkjekaldt om morran nå!
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Mildura to Boundry Bend 133 km
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
PICS FROM TODAYS TRIP
Sunday, 1 June 2014
LIFE IS A ROLLER COASTER
Anyhoodle...
Fate, universe, life, tea and everything in between - How straight forward is the roller coaster called life?
I'm a firm believer of the power of universe and fate. Even more so after these last few months. That if you really put your mind to something, to find that personal legend or dream, the universe will help make it happen. Because when you're working towards you're dreams, there's very little that can stop you. Everything else becomes secondary.
Take control. Make a choice. Just decide who you're going to be, how you're going to be and what you're going to be. After that the universe will bend to your will.
However, the minute you decide to do something, it's done. That decision is all you need to propel you forward. Mediocrity and realism belongs one place; with other people and in the past.
In the picture above you see 90% of possessions that I travelled to Auckland with when I became unemployed and homeless back in November. The other 10% of my stuff I had in a shopping bag in my right hand. I arrived in Auckland and whilst working on a farm, I started applying for jobs. After a week on the farm, I moved into a hostel in the city for nine days. Over those nine days I handed out over 90 CVs and applied for an additional 30 jobs online. I walked into one of Aucklands best pubs and got offered a trial shift. That evening, when I had my first shift, I only had $NZ 125 (£63 / 630kr) left in my account and two nights left in the hostel.
I learnt a few things from that experience. One, the kindness of strangers, everyone from the bus driver to the hostel receptionist. Two, that when you put your mind to something and let go of your fear, you can make things happen. You can find a job. You can find a place to stay. You can crawl out of hell.
Your dreams might not seem logical or even sane to your friend, parents and family. They might try and talk you out of it. They might not understand you. They might even get angry that you are doing something different. But guess what? That's THEIR fear. They fear it, because they never did it themselves.
Let go of your fear.
It's not so much the tea itself that's important. Well, to some people (including myself) tea is almost an religion, but that's not my point here. What's important are the little things. Even the smallest things in life can change your life completely and show you a brand new path. Don't agree?
Up until February 2010 I was supposed to be a border patrol guard on the Norway-Russia border. The college I studied at had taken all the seniors to the annual educational fair in Oslo. Basically where all domestic and a wide range of international, universities pitch their courses. I was walking round, with no specific plan or school in mind, when I saw a picture. I saw a panoramic picture of this beautiful beach. I went over to the stand and ended up being invited back the following week to show my portfolio. Next week; accepted to the BA (hons) Digital Film and Television Productions course at Swansea Metropolitan University. The three years there changed my life completely in every single way possible. And all because of a picture of a beach.
So never underestimate the smaller things. They might just change your life.
Will you always be able to follow these advises? Heck no! I probably won't be either. My future is not set, far from it, and I have probably have more random dots that needs connecting than a leopard. Don't have a full time job, no idea where I want to settle down. I mean, one part of me wants to keep travelling all over the world, one part wants to live in the UK and another part wants to live in Norway to stay close to family. I've got a plan, I do, but the reason I can't tell it to people is because I'm not sure about all of it yet. Yes parts of my plan might seem crazy and random, but the more I follow it the clearer it all gets. The only thing I know is that I need to keep moving forward. Cause if I stop, that's when realism and mediocrity kicks in. I can't have that. Never stop.
Write that down on a list and if that list exceeds five things, it's time to change your life.
Meanwhile, while you contemplate the question above, listen to this great song by The Script.
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Update from the farm
Quick update; Really enjoying my week of, working on a citrus farm. I've learnt a lot and the people I'm staying with are lovely.
Did an interview with the regional paper a couple of days ago and doing an interview with ABC radio on Monday morning. Great publicity for the charities!
The plan is to stay here until Tuesday and then head on east. If all goes to plan, I'll be in Sydney by the 18th of June. Then spend a month going up to Brisbane.
Ciao!
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Watervale to Cadell - 127 km
So back on the road I had a few hills between Auburn and Eudanda, but still LOADS of slight downhill and flats. Then from Eudanda to Morgan, it was more or less flat. So managed to get a really good average speed.
Tip! If you want see more specific data about my route and the stats (speed, distance, elevation, ascent, descent etc.), click on the Endomondo logo on the right hand side. That will take you to my workout profile. From here you can access all my workouts.)
Morgan = Murray river
The Murray River ( River Murray in South Australia ) is Australia's longest river. At 2,508 kilometres (1,558 mi) in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps,draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows to the northwest, before turning south for its final 500 kilometres (310 mi) or so into South Australia, reaching the ocean at Lake Alexandrina. - source Wikipedia
Had to take a ferry across which was so cool. I felt like a little child, waiting by the docks. I say ferry, more like a floating piece of tarmac being pulled along two wires. The crossing was maybe 100 meters long, if that. But still pretty cool.
So from here, I'm more or less following the Murray river down to Albury. So hopefully it will be green, lush and very interesting scenery.
Also saw a lot of colourful flowers today, really nice!
Tonight I'm staying in Cadell, in the local community caravan park. Was only $10, so quite good. Plus the caretakers are a lovely couple in their early 70s. After I'd had my dinner, they invited me over for a second one. So nice of them. Afterwards we talked about everything from Europe and travel to Australias (lack of) green policies and the annual budget.
Tomorrow I've got about 100 km riding to do to Renmark. Here I'll be staying for a week, working on a farm. Also think I timed it good, cause there's a cold front coming in on Tuesday. Woop woop.
A day in Watervale, paradise
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Gladstone to Watervale - 91.7 km
Finally the scenery improves. I'm now entering the wine region of Australia, where some of the best wine in the world is produced. I've travelled past many vineyards, both big and small, all day. It's something about that Mediterranean feeling it gives me. I suppose you can say it soothes my soul. I don't even mind the fact I'm doing some of the biggest hills since Western Australia.
There's also towns every 20-30km, which breaks up your journey a bit more. Also allows you to easily stock up on food and water on a more regular basis. Fun fact: the reason why these small towns are so close, is because that was the length the bulls (who pulled the carts or similar) could travel before they needed to rest. At least that is what I was told by the lady in the tourist office. Quite cool I must admit.
Stopped in Clare for a long three hour lunch break at the Wild Saffron cafe. Amazing food AND free WiFi, a combination in Australia which is very hard to come by.
Heading further south towards my final destination, Watervale, I see even more vineyards. So nice.
I found a lovely couple to stay with through Warm Showers (cylist equivalent of Couch Surfing). I was greeted by two cupcakes left in the kitchen for me and a lovely greyhound. Louise works as a nurse and Kerstin works for a winery nearby. Unfortunately Louise had to work, but will hopefully meet her in the morning. Kerstin spoiled me with an absolutely amazing Thai chicken dish and some local Clare Valley red wine. Oh the flavours, yum!! She also told me a bit about the regional wines and that if I see an Australian red wine from 2011, I am to steer clear of it. Apparently that was an awrful year for Australian wine. There you have it people. Next time you buy a red wine, make sure it's not Oz 2011.
Showed her my route and she said I'm coming into some areas with beautiful scenery along the Murray river. I cannot wait. Really starting to enjoy Australia now.
Anyhoodle, it's getting late and I need to sleep before getting up for riding in the morning.
Night!
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Quorn to Gladstone - 120 km
I don't know why, but the Blogger app automatically places my photo at the end... So scroll down first, look at them and come back up here again. Might make more sense.
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Felt a bit like Donald today. As I was setting off from Quorn, my mate Paul pointed out that my back tire seemed a bit flat. So he brought out his bike pump with a pressure gauge. Guess what? Turns out the pressure in my tire was 40psi. The ideal pressure is 60psi. That's a shortfall of 20psi... Have you seen the Donald Duck episode Clown of the jungle? Donald tries to take a photo of the beautiful birds, but another bird messes with him. When he finally manages to get the shot and is going to take out the film for developing, it turns out he never put film in it in the first place. He goes loopy. That is how I felt this morning, haha.
Anyhoodle, set off. Heading; south. Immediately I noticed the amazing scenery. After Port Augusta it has improved ten thousand times. The ONLY interesting thing between Esperance and Ceduna was the Bunda cliffs. So seeing sweeping hills, trees and wildlife every day, all day is a most welcome thing. All the locals I've spoken to have all said it will only get better from here. Excited!
Small towns all over the place. Today I passed through six towns, all quite nice. Finally staying within civilisation. Less water and food to carry. Also breaks up the day a lot more and motivates. As I was causally peddling through Melrose, I passed a well equipped bike shop. A BIKE SHOP, in a town with less than 200 people. Got talking to one of the staff and he told me there's a lot of mountain bikers coming through here because of many good tracks in the area. Staying there for a good 30 minutes. So if you're passing through this way, make sure you stop by. They also have a cafe and free WiFi!
Along the way I passed these big hollow trees all over. Reaching probably 20-30 meters into the sky, they all have partly or fully hollowed out bases. So cool to see.
My new setup is working great. I'm still carrying 45ish kg, but all on the bike. It took some getting used to, but so much easier to build up speed. I mean, I was flying today. Reached a maximum speed of over 45km/h and a good average of 22.1km/h (according to my speedometer).
Because I'm now only doing 100-120 km a day, I can take my time and stop at places I like. Not having to rush like I had to on the Nullarbor. Also stopped in a town called Laura and ended up talking for ages with the lovely ladies in the information centre.
After setting up my tent (it needed to dry first) and making a lovely tuna & cous-cous dinner, I had to bring my sewing kit out. My tights have started to...shall we say open up to the world. These tights are amazing. I bought them in St. Maxine in southern France in 2008 when my grandparents took me to see one of my great aunties whos got a house down there. Beautiful place by the way. St. Tropez, Nice, Monaco... If you ever get the chance, go. It is absolument magnifique!! Sorry, back to the tights. We went shopping and bought a few gym clothes, including those tights. So I've had them for six years. Six years! Still going strong, but might have find another pair when I get to Sydney.
Like I said, I'm truly starting to enjoy Australia now. Finally getting interesting. Can't wait to see the rest. Tomorrow is a short day, only 80 km. Heading to Watervale, where I'll be staying with a nice couple I met through the cycling site Warm Showers (cylist version of Couch Surfing basically). Then from there I'll head towards Renmark, camp out and hopefully arrive on Sunday.
Nos da! (Welsh for 'good night')
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Updated route
After careful consideration I've decided to change my route. I've spoken to locals and other cyclists and they all say the same thing; don't go to Adelaide and Melbourne, it's way too cold and wet this time of year. So instead I'm staying north and going through Mildura and between the Blue Mountains into Sydney. We're still talking at least 2500 km left until Brisbane, so heaps left.
So will have to come back in the future (in a van/on a motorbike) and see Melbourne then.
I've managed to get a week of work on a citrus farm in Renmark (just before Mildura). So plan to get there late Sunday/early Monday and then stay for a week. After that I plan on heading right to Sydney, only stopping to have a rest day every five days. If all goes to plan, I should be in Sydney by the 18-19th of June. Then I'll have a whole month to get to Brisbane. I can't wait.
Tomorrow I'm taking the bus back to where my bike broke down. Yes I know, I'm crazy. But if I don't, I won't be the first Norwegian to cross Australia. So won't let that happen. Plan:
Monday - Take the bus and arrive in the afternoon. Then bike 67 km to Wuddina.
Tuesday - Wuddina to middle of nowhere, 165 km
Wednesday - Middle of nowhere to Quorn (town outside Port Augusta) 136 km
To achieve this, I'm leaving everything at Pauls except the absolute essentials. Laptop, camera, spare clothes etc. That will shave tons of weight off and will let me fly over those hills. For those of you watch Gavin & Stacey, I'm going Nessa style; femme wipes, undies and TicTacs. So to save power, because I don't have my laptop, I will have probably turn my phones off in the day for the first two days. Then I'll turn them on for a bit in the evening to check messages etc. I'm bringing; spare jacket, one boxer, one pair socks, thermals, GoPro, bike parts, tent, sleeping bag, food and water. That's more or lesi.s it. The rest I'm leaving here.
So wish me luck!
"Norway Day" Aussie style
Happy National Independence Day or just "happy Norway Day" to you all!
A great day to be Norwegian, both in Norway and other countries. This year is also the 200 year anniversary of our constitution, which is still in use today.
So to celebrate it headed to Emily's Bistro for the mandatory ice cream. I also made my own flag with the use of my permanent markers. The cafe is a old general store and still has the old shelves and counter from back in the day. Another cool thing they had, was the money handling system; basically the men behind the counter would receive money from the customer, put it into a small bucket and pull on a rope which then would "fire" it off to a enclosed till room where the ladies would empty it, put in the right change and "fire" it back again via the rails. So cool! The owner filmed me doing it, so will show you that some time.
The Ghan railway used to run through up until the 1980s, but the station and much of the maintenance halls are still in use today as part of a tourist attraction. Every weekend they bring out the old train set, going Port Augusta - Quorn - Port Augusta.
You can just about see the white smoke rise up inbetween the hills. Then coming round a turn, you can see the locomotive. I felt like someone had given me a ticket for the Hogwarts Express, departing from platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter reference). The mere power of that black beast is astonishing. It was truly magical seeing it pull in.
After ice cream and locomotives, I headed back to the house to start test packing. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I now have front panniers instead of a trailer on the back. After going through everything I found a few things I don't need anymore. So gave my full body mosquito net, shotglasses, ducktape, deck of cards and trailer to my host and mate Paul. So now I just need to make sure the rest of the stuff from the trailer fits in bags. Will do that in the morning.
Fun thing happened today. There are over 6 billion people on earth, about 5 million Norwegians and 1300 people in Quorn, the town I'm staying in at the moment. I walk into this amazing bookshop which also looks like something from the world of Harry Potter. Anyhoodle, got talking to James (one of the staff. Guess what? He's currently learning Norwegian and hope to one day study and live in Norway! I mean, what are the odds of that happening? So ended up talking heaps about Norway and the language, with parts of the conversation in Norwegian. So surreal! Weird to speak Norwegian again, face to face I mean.
Tomorrow: pack and prepare to head back to where my bike broke down and cycle here.
Friday, 16 May 2014
Pimp my ride
Upgrade Viking style
My ride has now been transformed and I'm pretty sure I could hear my beautiful bike let out a great sigh of relief at the thought of never having to pull that trailer again.
So yeah, like I've mentioned previously; I intended to replace my trailer with panniers somehow when I got to Port Augusta. Well, universe came to my rescue and it all worked out perfectly fine. Paul, the great guy I'm staying with here in Quorn (a town just outside Port Augusta) had some old panniers he had used on his 10 000 km journey around Oz in the late 90s. So we did a clean swap; my trailer for his panniers. He even phoned up the guy he sold his bike to and asked if he could have the pannier rack back (Photo: silver rack and red bags). Sure enough, 20 minutes later, this nice chap rolls in on Pauls old mountain bike and warmly says You can have 'em if you, no use to me. So I start the process of unscrewing the rack from his bike.
After some tweeking and headscratching, I manage to mount the rack on my bike. Perfect fit.
The issue of water is something that is always on my mind. When I crossed hell, I mean the Nullarbor, I always tried to have a minimum of 9 litres of water when starting out each morning. Now, with the trailer I simply whacked them in there and off I went. Now I had to think of something new. Pauls old bike hade this great front rack above the panniers which he had used for water (Photo: black rack which holds the blue water cintainer). I asked his mate if I could buy it off him, but alas he was using it himself.
Did some research online and found the exact same one on eBay for $5.99 plus shipping. However, seeing as it was in China it could take up to a month to get here. And I don't have a month. So after a few frantic Google searches, we found a bikeshop in Wyalla (a city 100 km south of Port Augusta) that might stock it. Phoned them up and they did. Asked if it was anyway I could have it brought up to PA. She put on the next Premiere Stateliner bus which was headed for PA. Price? $29 for the rack and $10 in shipping. So taking into account I could have what I needed with hours of enquiring, I'm quite happy with that. Then after picking up it from the bus stop, we headed to a department store, which has got everything from undies and onsies to fishing rods and shampoo, to see about finding that perfect water container.
There it was, on the shelf, in bright blue; a 5 litre water can which would fit perfectly on my new front rack. Only $9! Bargain.
So now I've solved the issue of the trailer (in theory). Tomorrow I plan on spending a couple of hours trying to repack everything and see what to put where and see if it will work in real life. At least now I'm in a part of Australia with more towns, people, supplies and shade. So don't need to carry an stupid amount of food and water.
Rule? If it doesn't fit in the trailer, I can't bring it. Pure and simple.
It's funny isn't it? How the universe works. If you really want something, the universe will help you get there one way or the other.
Tomorrow: Go through stuff, test-pack, test-ride and plan future route.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Quorn - Break from biking
Universe works in mysterious ways
If I hadn't had the troubles with the bike, I would never have experienced this. See? Things happen for å reason.
Woke up this morning in the Big4 caravan park in Port Augusta, after having arrived late last night. After my bike breaking down in Poochera I was lucky enough for a truckie to pull in at the exact moment I needed it. Turned out he was an engineer that designs products and develops methods of securing cargo on truck. As more of an intrest, he would take on the occasional job. Funny enough, he had past me on the Nullarbor a few days before (heading west) and was now on his way home. So he offered to give me a lift all the way to Port Augusta.
Anyhoodle, woke up in PA, had breakfast, grabbed my rear wheel and walked across town to the bike. Here I was greeted by a lovely chap who started hammering and working away on my wheel seconds after I'd gone G'Day mate. Turned out he'd been to Norway about 40 years ago and had loved it. He very much reminded me of that stereotypical grandad type, with his white beard, glasses on the tip of the nose with eyes frowning at you Dumbledore style (the first actor who played Dumbledore, but sadly passed away). Anyhoodle, he put in two new spokes and straightened my wheel out. Only $32.50, plus I got two new spare spokes. Bargain!
Then my host, Paul, was kind enough to come down to Port Augusta to pick me up. After we'd done a Mary Poppins style packing of all my stuff, we drove up to Quorn where he lives. This is by far, the most beautiful, peaceful and postcard-perfect town I've seen in Australia. Instead of rundown buildings and a blank characterless town, I was met by old, beautifully maintained old buildings. All complete with quirky old details all over them. All the shops had signs in the historically correct font. And it was so peaceful. No major traffic noise. No drunken people roaming the streets. It was as if time had stood still for years.
Paul himself does tours (kayak, motorbike, camping, vintage cars WTC.) in this region of South Australia. He showed me his motorbikes earlier... Wow, amazing. Will try and get a photo some time this week.
The house I'm staying in is a beautiful (listed) building, built in 1881. Which, in Australia, in considered very old. Nice wooden flooring and majestic fireplaces and rooms that are big and great.
So I plan on staying here for a few days, relaxing and truly enjoying life.
Tomorrow I'm working on my bike rack, on how I can get everything with me. Will keep you posted. Plus going to have a walk around town, taking more pictures.
Like this? Now that I've actually have got signal I plan on trying to post more regular updates like this. Stay tuned!
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Posted from my Android phone, so please excuse any minor spelling mistakes.
Thursday, 8 May 2014
How to follow me
At the moment I'm doing the Nullarbor crossing (Norseman to Ceduna) and it is VERY limited signal, so I opted for an offline diary. When I get to Ceduna, or in 'worst case' Port Augusta, I'll upload all my photos and diary entries. Right now I'm using Telstra pay-as-go sim, which hasn't got the best rates to put it mildly, but only operator with signal out here. After Port Augusta I can start doing daily updates here on the blog as well, as I'll get full signal then.
In the meantime you follow my progress via my Facebook page or my Endomondo training profile (link on the right side).
If you want/need to get in touch with me within the next four days, please use the FB page and my friend Dian or my mum Nina should be able to answer any questions.
If all goes to plan, I should be in Ceduna and back to civilisation by the 12th of May (the latest).
Tom-Daniel
Sunday, 27 April 2014
The Nullarbor plan
- Day 1: Esperance to Norseman part 1 - Leave Esperance tomorrow (27/04/14) and do as close to 115 km as possible, as this is a rest stop.
- Day 2: Esperance to Norseman part 2 - Try and find a wild camp spot 10-20 km outside Norseman
- Day 3: Norseman day - Head into Norseman, fill up bottles, stock up if anything is needed and then head 20 km out of the town to camp. Short day
- Day 4: Norseman to Fraser Range – Fill up bottles and wild camp a bit further east.
- Day 5: Fraser Range to Balledonia: Fill up water and wild camp a bit further east
- Day 6: Balledonia to Caiguna – If the wind is in my favour, I'll hopefully make it to Caiguna. If not, there is a small gorge (north side of the road) 42 km west of Caiguna roadhouse. Might have to purchase water, but will try to avoid
- Day 7: Caiguna to Cocklebiddy: Will stop at Cocklebiddy for a shower, laundry and water. However, will not camp here. Will find a camping spot a bit further out.
- Day 8: Cocklebiddy to Madura (Modini Bluff) – Will stop at the roadhouse and fill up water, but plan on making it to Mondini Bluff rest stop to camp.
- Day 9: Madura (Modini Bluff) to Mundrabilla: Will consider paying for camping here, if shower is included in the price. If not, I will carry on a bit further east. However, if the rainwater tank 2 km before Mundrabilla is empty, I'll have to pay for camping as tap water is reserved for guests.
- Day 10: Mundrabilla to Eucla – 2 km before Eucla, there's a challenging hill. When at the roadhouse, I'll have a shower and fill up my bottles. Then carry on a bit further east to wild camp.
- Day 11: Eucla to Nullarbor part 1 – Will fill up water by available rainwater tanks. Then there is apparently a okay spot for wild camping between kilometre posts 80 and 85, by a grove of trees.
- Day 12: Eucla to Nullarbor part 2 – Making my way along the Great Australian Bight, I'll see some amazing views of the Bunda cliffs. Hopefully I'll make it to the Nullarbor roadhouse. Here I'll shower, wash my clothes and stay the night. Apprently there's few good wildcamping spots for at least 35 km.
- Day 13: Nullarbor to (Yalata) Nundroo – It's a 148 km cycle, however it's supposed to be fairly hilly. I'm hoping to make it, but if I don't I'll probably camp near the old (and closed down) Yalata roadhouse/station.
- Day 14: (Yalata) Nundroo to Penong – This is a short cycle, but can still be quite hilly I've been told. Will try and wild camp a few km past Penong roadhouse.
- Day 15: Penong to Ceduna – A short cycle to finish off Nullarbor. Here's I plan on heading to the tourist office to buy my Nullarbor-crossing certificate. Then buy the biggest meal known to man from somewhere. Then I might camp at Cabins & Caravan Park if a shower is included. If not, I'll probably wild camp.