Whoops! This wasn't in our plans!

In June we took a break in Broad Beach, on the Gold Coast, Australia. 
We'd originally planned to finish our ride there. 
By June COVID requirements and overseas travel restrictions had eased so we decided that a a good holiday would do us the world of good.
We cycled and walked every day, opened an account with the Commonwealth Bank and bought SIM cards and phone packages for our phones in preparation for our big cycle. We would take off in July.

But on arriving back in NZ in late June, both of us tested positive for COVID. 
DARN IT! 
We're fully vaccinated and boosted yet we were still hit with headaches, sore throats, muscle aches, a deep chesty cough and heavy cold symptoms.                      
One week's isolation at home seriously reduced the 3 week window for our most URGENT need - getting used to towing the weighty trailers with our bikes - and MUSCLE POWER! 
The heavier the trailer, the 'heavier' the handlebars and the firmer the control needed.                                                      Cycling with the trailers MUST happen ASAP - otherwise - we'll just have to WING IT!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last Day in Mundaring! (Fingers crossed!)

Image
The weather forcast is starting to improve a little, so we're making plans to head off tomorrow. Melbourne and Sydney are now preparing for the Super Storm's havoc. Meanwhile we've been enjoying the warmth of our unit and keeping track of the Commonwealth Games events on TV. You have to admire the Australian athletes and all their gold medals! Mind you, NZ  athletes never get a mention, even if they do win a medal! We battled an icy wind on our daily walk into town, arriving with thunder, lightning and more rain. Won't hold our breath re tomorrow's plans! The local woods are full of mountain bike trails - a veritable Mecca for bikers!  The Kep Track is 76kms long and runs from Mundaring to Northam following the water pipeline from Mundaring Weir. We're heading towards Northam but unfortunately we don't have the same degree of suspension as mountain bikes and, with the weight we're carrying and the uneven ground, we'd soon be suffering bro
Read more

Time to be Realistic!

Well folks, we've been reviewing our plans! What an experience this has been! We've cycled over 2000kms, crossed 2 time zones and have survived some very challenging conditions. We're just not doing the daily mileage that we expected to do - hills, head winds, trailer weight and age being the main factors. This has meant more bush camps (over 25 so far) which in turn has meant carrying more heavy water supplies and food, which most certainly contributed to Del's broken spokes. With the hills of the Flinders Ranges, Broken Hill terrain and crossing the Great Dividing Range (some 1740kms), we realise that, at our age and with Del's bike problems, it is a challenge that would be lengthy, gruelling, potentially dangerous and probably beyond our ability. (We've cycled Coffs Harbour to Coolangatta on a previous trip.) We have decided to continue to Iron Knob then turn south to Whyalla, a major town with an airport. From there, we'll prepare to fly to Adelaide, the
Read more

A Few Statistics! Perth to Whyalla - 2022

Our cycle trip is over and my blog posts conclude today. We have successfully crossed the Nullarbor Plains - for the second time - which is exhilarating and very satisfying! It's been quite a challenge but we've survived! After 2 years of COVID isolation, we're so thankful that we had the opportunity to cycle again in amazing Australia, even though we had to change plans at the end. Hope you enjoyed travelling along with us via our blog. Here are a few Statistics: *Began Cycle: 1 August 2022 *Duration: 60 days *Cycle Days: 42 *Rest Days: 18 *Distance Cycled: 2388kms *Average Daily Cycle: 56kms *Days Cycling Over 100kms: 1 *Most kms in One Day: 118kms *Least kms in One Day:  21kms *Punctures: 1 (Del's thorn proofing worked!) *Broken Spokes: 2 (all Del's) *Accidents: 0 *Average kms an hour:  9 - 15 kph *Last Cycle Day: 29 September 2022 Thank you to everyone who posted comments and encouraged us on.  We couldn't reply but appreciated every single one! Note to Self
Read more