Wed, 29 Nov 2000 02:19:15
From: simon @ millennium-ride.com
To: sponsors @ millennium-ride.com

2k/10/26
Alice headed West

2k/10/19
SE Oz, going north

2k/10/11
Flores Report & Proposal

2k/09/25
Sydney update 25.9.00

2k/09/17
Olympic mania, Sydney
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+ more

[46kB 640x480] Aboriginal art.

Well Australia really tired me out so whilst the bike is en route with Perkins Shipping (thanks for the sponsorship) from Darwin to Singapore, I'm taking a few days rest in Bali Indonesia since I had to come by air with a stopover here. Kuta Beach is where I am, Australians will know it well for it's cheapness, great food, massages (I took one of those to help get my back in shape, worked nicely, though the mattresses in the US$3 per night rooms are extremely lumpy), rip-offs unless you're careful, temporary tattoos (on grown men, I mean, come on!), nightclubs, and white sand beaches teaming with tanned bodies.

[44kB 640x480] I was so elated at being out here: just me, my bike, nature and the hard work of staying upright.

The ride up Australia's west and north coast to Darwin took seven days doing an average of just over 600km/day. The bike went fine save a few bolts vibrating out. The cruise control (I simply used a hose clip) worked great.
So I put my feet up, snuggled into my kit bag and practised steering no handed! (Not really, that was impossible in the cross-winds.) But my right arm now feels alot better.

Good enough to go surfing in the other day. Well, I had to give it a go.
It's not for the hairy chested you know, the hairs grip on the waxed board when paddling and there after you feel badly sunburned, which you are anyway!
But I did manage to stand up once or twice for an instant!

[32kB 640x480] Hurrying to Darwin, rainbow shows that the Wet is on the way!

I wish I had more time in NW Australia. I camped one night on the beach and other times I stayed with friends of friends of friends. Australia is like that. In fact I really grew to like Australia, the very laid-back attitude, great weather, lifestyle, it's all there, a big thumbs up to 'em. Alcohol plays a big part in everyday life - they drink it like water! I saw more wedge-tailed eagles on this stretch than anywhere else, they are such magnificent birds. The vast straights of the coastal highway eventually gave way to superb sweeping corners of the red mounds of Kimberley region, when lightning storms entertained me for a thousand km, announcing the start of the Wet. I managed to reach Darwin without getting seriously wet at all, the rains being least a month late this year (jammy eh?) I spent the last night on the road in Oz in Lichfield National Park, bathing in the waterfalls and playing host to a hungry long-snouted rabbit-like creature eager to share my food.