It's been a while since I've updated this blog and alot has happened since my last entry.
I moved to Hobart and worked there for 10 months, got a little restless/homesick after spending such a long time in one spot so moved back to Brisbane. 2 weeks later I decided it was time for more great adventures so I updated my CV and sent it in to TDA. That was more than half a year ago.
In 3 more weeks (7th of Jan 2011) I will be jumping on a plane and heading back to Africa to do it all again - this time working as the tour medic. I am excited about the new challenges this will bring and excited about going back to the TDA lifestyle where you ride your bike all day, camp everynight, and live out of a truck. Doesn't matter what you look like, doesn't matter if you smell a little - no one else has had a shower recently either!
Leave without pay has been approved from work so I will *hopefully* have a job to come back to at the end of May. People at work ask me where I am going and I don't know how many people I have told about TDA and I think a lot of them think I'm pretty crazy but I tell them I've done it before and as long as you keep your head on strong that will help with the long days in the saddle. The medic part and tour support is all new and exciting though.
The Army Reserves are happy for me to start working with them when I return at the end of May too so that will be something new and exciting waiting for me to get back.
Time to sleep now, off for waterskiing/wakeskating in the morning if the weather behaves :)
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, May 29, 2009
3 weeks later
Its been 2 weeks since I got to Capetown and I think it's time to update this blog again.
Now I'm home, everyone is pleased to see me and asks me "how was your trip". It's a simple question - yet the answer is complex. The words "good" and "fantastic" even "awesome" come out of my mouth - and even though I'm not lying, I know these words don't come close to being accurate. How can riding your bike over massive corrugation in 50 degree heat possibly be "good"? It's not - its hard work!!! There were times when my legs were tired, my bum was sore, times where we went up to 9 days in between proper showers.
But the people we meet, the experiences shared, the feeling of satisfaction as we conquered a tough day in the saddle… these are what make the trip what it is. It was a huge personal challenge, it was a journey as much about cycling, culture and landscapes as a journey of self discovery.
I was asked to speak at my scout group AGM (as the person to entice everyone to actually come along to the AGM!). I sat down at my computer to write my speech - and I didn't know where to begin. Ithink that was even harder - to put our journey into words to an audience that wasn't there, than to simply cover the required kilometres for a day.
We went through so many exciting moments that I could only pick out a few to share.
People expect riding a bicycle across Africa would be a life changing experience. I’m still the same person, and the world back home is still the same. Nothing has changed yet I see everything in a different light.
People ask me what I’m going to do next – and I don’t know the answer. I had my life back home set up so that I could come back to it and everything would be the same. But I know I don’t want this. I don’t want this to be the end of a great journey. I want it to be the start of the next adventure.
My eyes have been opened and I don’t want to close them. I’m looking around at all the possibilities – and there are seriously a lot out there!
One of my favourite quotes is something a Mark Twain once said:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Now I'm home, everyone is pleased to see me and asks me "how was your trip". It's a simple question - yet the answer is complex. The words "good" and "fantastic" even "awesome" come out of my mouth - and even though I'm not lying, I know these words don't come close to being accurate. How can riding your bike over massive corrugation in 50 degree heat possibly be "good"? It's not - its hard work!!! There were times when my legs were tired, my bum was sore, times where we went up to 9 days in between proper showers.
But the people we meet, the experiences shared, the feeling of satisfaction as we conquered a tough day in the saddle… these are what make the trip what it is. It was a huge personal challenge, it was a journey as much about cycling, culture and landscapes as a journey of self discovery.
I was asked to speak at my scout group AGM (as the person to entice everyone to actually come along to the AGM!). I sat down at my computer to write my speech - and I didn't know where to begin. Ithink that was even harder - to put our journey into words to an audience that wasn't there, than to simply cover the required kilometres for a day.
We went through so many exciting moments that I could only pick out a few to share.
People expect riding a bicycle across Africa would be a life changing experience. I’m still the same person, and the world back home is still the same. Nothing has changed yet I see everything in a different light.
People ask me what I’m going to do next – and I don’t know the answer. I had my life back home set up so that I could come back to it and everything would be the same. But I know I don’t want this. I don’t want this to be the end of a great journey. I want it to be the start of the next adventure.
My eyes have been opened and I don’t want to close them. I’m looking around at all the possibilities – and there are seriously a lot out there!
One of my favourite quotes is something a Mark Twain once said:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The journeys end
We got into Capetown yesterday and had a pretty over the top welcome! I can't believe how fast the last few days have past. I'm feeling weird. Excited and sad at the same time.
I haven't updated this blog in such a long time that I don't know where to start - I think there's been one or two opportunities but they were both on long pedalling days and I had time between getting into camp and our rider meeting to either do internet or yoga with Erin... Yoga won - I needed to stretch!
So Namibia, apart from being a great country to experience the feeling of riding naked in (due to very few people) was perhaps one of my favourite countries to bike through - although each country is so diverse that it is hard to say which I like the most!!! The landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but hard to describe. Beautiful yellow grass and nice little hills. And Mitch and I always prefer the dirt to the pavement.
The riding through South Africa was less exciting and has been more about just getting to the end.
Dad says from reading everyone elses blog that everyone else seems to be reflecting at this stage and I admit I have been purposefully avoiding it, as there's people at work that might be reading this blog and I haven't been so keen to go back.
The "what next?" is constantly on my mind and something I think about quite often as I pedal along. Since arriving in Maun, Botswana I suddenly decided that I didn't really want to return to 9B, the medical ward at the MAH. I miss working and having something to think about - and have especially noticed it in the last 3 weeks. The thought of going back to showers, bedpans, and changing pads is not something I want to be doing forever. And I know if I returned that its too easy to just get back into the old swing of life, get back into the old comfort zone. But then I thought that it would be nice to have an income again soon after I got back so I told my boss that I was still keen to come back. I am however thankful that he has finally emailed me back and basically told me that he's got too many staff at the moment and I would have to be redistributed to another part of the hospital... But the thought of being unemployed and starting something new really excites me. Suddenly I'm unemployed and I don't think anyone else has been so excited about being unemployed before! "What next" for me means going back home for a few weeks at least, and then finding a new job in an emergency department. I don't know where - maybe Hobart or Alice Springs I'm thinking. Or Darwin. The plan is to apply everywhere and see what comes up.
Anyhow, there's more to write but I'm out of time - I'm meeting up with some friends to walk up to the top of Table Mountain watch the sunset and have a picnic.
Happy Mothers Day Mum! Look forward to seeing you and Dad and Janey on THURSDAY!!!!
I haven't updated this blog in such a long time that I don't know where to start - I think there's been one or two opportunities but they were both on long pedalling days and I had time between getting into camp and our rider meeting to either do internet or yoga with Erin... Yoga won - I needed to stretch!
So Namibia, apart from being a great country to experience the feeling of riding naked in (due to very few people) was perhaps one of my favourite countries to bike through - although each country is so diverse that it is hard to say which I like the most!!! The landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but hard to describe. Beautiful yellow grass and nice little hills. And Mitch and I always prefer the dirt to the pavement.
The riding through South Africa was less exciting and has been more about just getting to the end.
Dad says from reading everyone elses blog that everyone else seems to be reflecting at this stage and I admit I have been purposefully avoiding it, as there's people at work that might be reading this blog and I haven't been so keen to go back.
The "what next?" is constantly on my mind and something I think about quite often as I pedal along. Since arriving in Maun, Botswana I suddenly decided that I didn't really want to return to 9B, the medical ward at the MAH. I miss working and having something to think about - and have especially noticed it in the last 3 weeks. The thought of going back to showers, bedpans, and changing pads is not something I want to be doing forever. And I know if I returned that its too easy to just get back into the old swing of life, get back into the old comfort zone. But then I thought that it would be nice to have an income again soon after I got back so I told my boss that I was still keen to come back. I am however thankful that he has finally emailed me back and basically told me that he's got too many staff at the moment and I would have to be redistributed to another part of the hospital... But the thought of being unemployed and starting something new really excites me. Suddenly I'm unemployed and I don't think anyone else has been so excited about being unemployed before! "What next" for me means going back home for a few weeks at least, and then finding a new job in an emergency department. I don't know where - maybe Hobart or Alice Springs I'm thinking. Or Darwin. The plan is to apply everywhere and see what comes up.
Anyhow, there's more to write but I'm out of time - I'm meeting up with some friends to walk up to the top of Table Mountain watch the sunset and have a picnic.
Happy Mothers Day Mum! Look forward to seeing you and Dad and Janey on THURSDAY!!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Namibian Nude Mile
It had to be done.
And Erin and I had to out do the boys.
So we ride a full 10km completely naked instead of just one mile (1.6km).
And then another 27km topless.
Namibia has been an awesome country - maybe even my favourite TDA country. Nice dirt to ride on, not many cars (hence the nudity).
The internet place is about to close so I can't finish this entry today but its been ages since I've posted an update so here it is - will update again ASAP!
And Erin and I had to out do the boys.
So we ride a full 10km completely naked instead of just one mile (1.6km).
And then another 27km topless.
Namibia has been an awesome country - maybe even my favourite TDA country. Nice dirt to ride on, not many cars (hence the nudity).
The internet place is about to close so I can't finish this entry today but its been ages since I've posted an update so here it is - will update again ASAP!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Camping Out
The elephant highway has been a challenging section. Long days in the saddle up to 207km, which took me 9 hours on my bike to complete. Botswana was flat, the scenery unchanging. Thorn tree after thorn tree, my slick tyres wore out so I've been riding the last few weeks with my semi- slicks which means slightly harder work. I just tell myself I'll be fitter for it when I get home! To make life more exciting I ride with different people everyday. I spent one whole day riding with the sweep rider - Shanny and Henry in the morning then Alex in the afternoon. Sometimes I still ride alone and listen to my MP3 player. I ride with Sonja, Viv, Isabel, Mara, & Lloyd taking it in turns in a peloton to get through the wind. I ride with Tim and Bruce where we take 10minute turns on the front. There's meant to be prevailing tail winds but the weather doesn't seem to want to behave itself. I'm pleased to have reached Namibia, and the next 7 days are unpaved road. Woohoo!!! As well as the challenging long days the mentality of the riders has been somewhat lower. We can see the end approaching but it still seemed so far away. Only 2 more weeeks now and I think there'll be a mixture of excitement and sadness as we get closer and closer to Capetown.
3.5 months of camping is a long time to spend in your tent and now that we have reached Namibia we are below the high risk malaria area. The first two nights in Namibia I don't pitch my tent and sleep under the stars. The first night works fine, but the second night got a bit more exciting. The sky was clear when I went to sleep somewhere around 7:30pm. 10pm I wake to raindrops falling on my face. Everyone is frantically putting their flies on. I am the only one camping out and I crawl under the lunch truck where it is somewhat dryer and go back to sleep. The wind picks up and the rain gets heavier and I move over so that I'm not getting wet, and eventually I go back to sleep. At 2am I'm awake again. Its still raining and the moisture has collected on the pipes under the truck and is dripping quite heavily on me and my sleeping bag. I make a dash for it with my sleeping mat and sleeping bag to the campground kitchen, but when I get there I find that the fabric awning that shelters it is not waterproof. The only dry spot I can see is in the corner under the kitchen sleep so that is where I sleep. I wake extra early at 4:30 when James is up making scrambled eggs for us for breakfast. I give him a hand cracking eggs and drop a heap of egg shell into the mixture which makes me giggle (and everyone tells me the first thing they heard that morning was me giggling!). Sometimes we are so well supported I feel like I'm on a luxury tour and I really want this to be an intrepid expedition, which is how I felt that night!
The next day riding we get some rain, and I get nicely soaked and freezing cold on my way into Windhoek. Even though I am freezing cold and can barely see, I have a big giggle just because I am feeling so mad yet so alive!
Next time I don't pitch my tent I'll have to prearrange with someone to gatecrash if it rains!
3.5 months of camping is a long time to spend in your tent and now that we have reached Namibia we are below the high risk malaria area. The first two nights in Namibia I don't pitch my tent and sleep under the stars. The first night works fine, but the second night got a bit more exciting. The sky was clear when I went to sleep somewhere around 7:30pm. 10pm I wake to raindrops falling on my face. Everyone is frantically putting their flies on. I am the only one camping out and I crawl under the lunch truck where it is somewhat dryer and go back to sleep. The wind picks up and the rain gets heavier and I move over so that I'm not getting wet, and eventually I go back to sleep. At 2am I'm awake again. Its still raining and the moisture has collected on the pipes under the truck and is dripping quite heavily on me and my sleeping bag. I make a dash for it with my sleeping mat and sleeping bag to the campground kitchen, but when I get there I find that the fabric awning that shelters it is not waterproof. The only dry spot I can see is in the corner under the kitchen sleep so that is where I sleep. I wake extra early at 4:30 when James is up making scrambled eggs for us for breakfast. I give him a hand cracking eggs and drop a heap of egg shell into the mixture which makes me giggle (and everyone tells me the first thing they heard that morning was me giggling!). Sometimes we are so well supported I feel like I'm on a luxury tour and I really want this to be an intrepid expedition, which is how I felt that night!
The next day riding we get some rain, and I get nicely soaked and freezing cold on my way into Windhoek. Even though I am freezing cold and can barely see, I have a big giggle just because I am feeling so mad yet so alive!
Next time I don't pitch my tent I'll have to prearrange with someone to gatecrash if it rains!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Elephant and The Worm
I have pedalled the last 5 days along the section titled "The Elephant Highway", named so because there is a high chance of seeing elephants along the way! And the first day riding we are disappointed. I see plenty of butterflies. Plenty of caterpillars. Plenty of grasshoppers. Plenty of elephant poo (which we're told not to ride through because as well as obvious reasons, elephants like eating acacia trees which are thorny and the thorns don't digest too well and unless you really like fixing flats...).
The second day is better. There's more elephant poo to dodge. I see a deer-like creature which starts with the letter L but I can't pronounce the name or have any idea how to spell it! And then we pass by the biggest piece of road kill I have ever seen - man dead elephant stinks!!! We also pass by some hyena road kill. And then drinking by the waterhole is Bob, the biggest elephant I have ever seen. He's about 50m away from me and Evelyn (who doesn't spell her name like that but I don't know the right way to spell it) and staring at us. Don't think he sees too many bicycles. We get photos of ourselves with him in the background and he takes a few steps towards rider Simon, flapping his ears, and we think he's going to charge. He doesn't though but we don't linger too long and leave him to drink without being watched.
I see two more elephants that day, one crosses the road right in front of me, another I don't see until I've spooked it riding along beside it.
The following day we get warned of the rogue elephant who likes to stand on the highway and take on the cars. He's off duty thankfully when we pass though!
Ok - so now the story with the worm.
Worms are much smaller than elephants and in the Botswanian sand lies some larvae. The larvae have buried there way under at least 3 riders skin and grown into worms that wriggle and itch right under the skin. Some riders are also ill with intestinal worms too, and the treatment for both worms is apparantly the same - so now there is some talk that we all should take prophylactic worm medication. I am thankfully still asymptomatic - but very intrigued about these worms!
The long days in the saddle have led me to now understand what it feels like to have pressure areas! Nothing too major down there yet though!
Hope all is well with everyone back home :)
The second day is better. There's more elephant poo to dodge. I see a deer-like creature which starts with the letter L but I can't pronounce the name or have any idea how to spell it! And then we pass by the biggest piece of road kill I have ever seen - man dead elephant stinks!!! We also pass by some hyena road kill. And then drinking by the waterhole is Bob, the biggest elephant I have ever seen. He's about 50m away from me and Evelyn (who doesn't spell her name like that but I don't know the right way to spell it) and staring at us. Don't think he sees too many bicycles. We get photos of ourselves with him in the background and he takes a few steps towards rider Simon, flapping his ears, and we think he's going to charge. He doesn't though but we don't linger too long and leave him to drink without being watched.
I see two more elephants that day, one crosses the road right in front of me, another I don't see until I've spooked it riding along beside it.
The following day we get warned of the rogue elephant who likes to stand on the highway and take on the cars. He's off duty thankfully when we pass though!
Ok - so now the story with the worm.
Worms are much smaller than elephants and in the Botswanian sand lies some larvae. The larvae have buried there way under at least 3 riders skin and grown into worms that wriggle and itch right under the skin. Some riders are also ill with intestinal worms too, and the treatment for both worms is apparantly the same - so now there is some talk that we all should take prophylactic worm medication. I am thankfully still asymptomatic - but very intrigued about these worms!
The long days in the saddle have led me to now understand what it feels like to have pressure areas! Nothing too major down there yet though!
Hope all is well with everyone back home :)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Victoria Falls - the adrenaline capital of Africa
It took 3 days for us to pedal the 480km between Lusaka to Livingstone, the town near Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls is the adrenaline capital of Africa so of course I don't miss out on the opportunity of lots of adrenaline activities. I am a brave person - brave enough to bike across Africa, brave enough to venture from the suburbs into town on local transport in the city of Lusaka and back again by myself (which I did because everyone else was simply hanging out at the western mall on our last rest day and I wanted to check out the markets in town!). I'm quite proud of myself for this because it was tricky figuring out which bus to get back on again - but definitely worth it and even though I gave up on finding the snake stone, I did find the Rambo Tot (which turned out to be a sachet of orange flavoured liquor), another item we were meant to find for the scavanger hunt. Jolyane and I came second in the great hunt anyhow!!!
Yesterday however I went on the gorge swing. The gorge swing consists of a rope suspended in the middle of the gorge. You stand on a platform on the edge of a cliff, and step off, and after you have had a free fall of 53 metres the rope swing catches you and you fly back up into the air again, fall again, and then its just like a massive massive swing.
I'm standing on the platform in my harness feeling ok, and I walk closer to the edge. The guy at the top says to me
"Are you ready?"
And I look down suddenly scared, and terrified. I don't really want to walk off the side of a cliff. This is crazy. But I am crazy - I know that already (enough people told me before I left, and enough of the locals over here tell us the same thing!).
"No" I tell him. "I'm scared".
He smiles...
"3-2-1" he says
I know thats my cue to walk off the side of the cliff.
"Can we do the counting thing again?" I ask.
And he counts again.
And I walk off the side of a massively high cliff, and fall at 140km/hr down the 53 metres watching the trees at the bottom of the gorge come closer and closer.
The rope catches me and I get the giggles at myself for getting so scared about something that only lasts a few seconds and check out the view of the gorge while I'm swinging backwards and forwards until they lower me to the ground.
I have 2 more goes on the swings - both of them are tandems. It wasn't any easier going over the edge. The next time is with Malcolm the Giant. Malcolm and I get harnessed up again, we get shown where to hold each others harnesses and they tie our feet together. Going tandem you have to go over the side of the cliff backwards. Malcolm is more brave than I am and as we're leaning backwards to fall over the side of the cliff he's leaning backwards faster than I am. I'm scared and start leaning forwards. He starts leaning forwards then too (he says anyway - I didn't realise!) and I pluck up enough courage to firstly swear ("oh f*** it") before I lean backwards and pull Malcolm with me over the side of the cliff. And we're going head first towards the hard rocky cliff face on the other side of the gorge, faster than before (180km/hr maybe) because tandems are faster, and heavier.
It's a funny story now because lots of us are aware that we swear more than we did before we came, but I'm still not a big swearer yet!
This morning I spend more of my hard earned $s (I keep using the excuse that I don't know when the next time I'll be in Africa will be) and take a flight on a microlight glider to see the falls and it was a really cool!!! So much fun. Microlights are kind of like a hang glider with a motor. John my cool Aussie pilot from Alice Springs points out some hippos below us.
There's some more long days awaiting us and tomorrow is going to be an easy 82km day to get us across and into Botswana. 3 countries to go and only 4 weeks.
Janey - you asked if I was looking forward to coming home or sad to be leaving. And the honest answer is that at the moment I'm happy, and in 4 weeks time I will be ready to come home. I love biking, but at the moment I spend 7-8 hours actually sitting on my bike covering all these kms. 5-6 hours a day would be sufficient I think!!! So yes, starting to look forward to coming home, but still enjoying the pedalling (although feeling challenged by the end of the day - which is the whole idea in the first place. This trip wasn't meant to be easy!)
Annie Jo - thanks for your email, looking forward to hearing Adams band when I get home!!!
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!
Victoria Falls is the adrenaline capital of Africa so of course I don't miss out on the opportunity of lots of adrenaline activities. I am a brave person - brave enough to bike across Africa, brave enough to venture from the suburbs into town on local transport in the city of Lusaka and back again by myself (which I did because everyone else was simply hanging out at the western mall on our last rest day and I wanted to check out the markets in town!). I'm quite proud of myself for this because it was tricky figuring out which bus to get back on again - but definitely worth it and even though I gave up on finding the snake stone, I did find the Rambo Tot (which turned out to be a sachet of orange flavoured liquor), another item we were meant to find for the scavanger hunt. Jolyane and I came second in the great hunt anyhow!!!
Yesterday however I went on the gorge swing. The gorge swing consists of a rope suspended in the middle of the gorge. You stand on a platform on the edge of a cliff, and step off, and after you have had a free fall of 53 metres the rope swing catches you and you fly back up into the air again, fall again, and then its just like a massive massive swing.
I'm standing on the platform in my harness feeling ok, and I walk closer to the edge. The guy at the top says to me
"Are you ready?"
And I look down suddenly scared, and terrified. I don't really want to walk off the side of a cliff. This is crazy. But I am crazy - I know that already (enough people told me before I left, and enough of the locals over here tell us the same thing!).
"No" I tell him. "I'm scared".
He smiles...
"3-2-1" he says
I know thats my cue to walk off the side of the cliff.
"Can we do the counting thing again?" I ask.
And he counts again.
And I walk off the side of a massively high cliff, and fall at 140km/hr down the 53 metres watching the trees at the bottom of the gorge come closer and closer.
The rope catches me and I get the giggles at myself for getting so scared about something that only lasts a few seconds and check out the view of the gorge while I'm swinging backwards and forwards until they lower me to the ground.
I have 2 more goes on the swings - both of them are tandems. It wasn't any easier going over the edge. The next time is with Malcolm the Giant. Malcolm and I get harnessed up again, we get shown where to hold each others harnesses and they tie our feet together. Going tandem you have to go over the side of the cliff backwards. Malcolm is more brave than I am and as we're leaning backwards to fall over the side of the cliff he's leaning backwards faster than I am. I'm scared and start leaning forwards. He starts leaning forwards then too (he says anyway - I didn't realise!) and I pluck up enough courage to firstly swear ("oh f*** it") before I lean backwards and pull Malcolm with me over the side of the cliff. And we're going head first towards the hard rocky cliff face on the other side of the gorge, faster than before (180km/hr maybe) because tandems are faster, and heavier.
It's a funny story now because lots of us are aware that we swear more than we did before we came, but I'm still not a big swearer yet!
This morning I spend more of my hard earned $s (I keep using the excuse that I don't know when the next time I'll be in Africa will be) and take a flight on a microlight glider to see the falls and it was a really cool!!! So much fun. Microlights are kind of like a hang glider with a motor. John my cool Aussie pilot from Alice Springs points out some hippos below us.
There's some more long days awaiting us and tomorrow is going to be an easy 82km day to get us across and into Botswana. 3 countries to go and only 4 weeks.
Janey - you asked if I was looking forward to coming home or sad to be leaving. And the honest answer is that at the moment I'm happy, and in 4 weeks time I will be ready to come home. I love biking, but at the moment I spend 7-8 hours actually sitting on my bike covering all these kms. 5-6 hours a day would be sufficient I think!!! So yes, starting to look forward to coming home, but still enjoying the pedalling (although feeling challenged by the end of the day - which is the whole idea in the first place. This trip wasn't meant to be easy!)
Annie Jo - thanks for your email, looking forward to hearing Adams band when I get home!!!
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!
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