Dave and his Bike

Days 177 to 180. Day 177. Despite knowing that I really ought to make a good start, the motivation this morning was sadly lacking. Then Lottie rang from Thailand and lifted my spirits somewhat. That’s what a video call with family does. I had a couple of cups of tea in my cabin, locked and…

Days 173 to 176. Day 173. Day off in Los Andes. Primarily to recharge myself and get a bit of rest before the impending 3000m ascent. I slept reasonably well. However when switching the light off last night something clicked in my rib cage and it’s now worse than it was. I’ve contemplated going to…

Days 169 to 172. Day 169. Well that was quite an eventful day. I’m pleased to be leaving Santiago actually. As much as there are some nice parts, interesting architecture and things to see and do, there are the not-so-nice bits too. All the shops are caged in; there is an abundance of neck and…

Santiago, Chile. Days 166 to 168. Day 166. Part Two. The flight was a bit late leaving. Not that it bothered me as I’ve loads of time at the other end to get sorted. The extra legroom, film entertainment and being fed three times in the 12hr 45min flight helped it to pass well. I…

Days 163 to 166. Day 163. Now that the cycling in Australia is (sadly) over, we have a couple of days doing some very obvious (and possibly some not so obvious) touristy things in Sydney. As the crow flies, the Harbour Bridge is less than 10km (6 miles) from the campsite. You wouldn’t know it…

Days 158 to 162. Day 158. Back on the bike. Just as well really as there aren’t many feasible cycling days left whilst we are in Australia. With only a short day planned, and temperatures not being scorching, I was in no hurry to get away this morning. So after a leisurely coffee I trundled…

Days 153 to 157. Day 153. Rest Day. We had planned a rest day. Mainly because we thought it appropriate to visit another wine establishment and taste their wine. After a very leisurely start and a breakfast of tea and pain-au-chocolat we drove a couple of kilometres up the road to the visitors centre and…

Days 149 to 152. Day 149. Rest Day. After five days on the bike I felt the need for a day off. My legs need to recover, and an overall ‘re-charge’ wouldn’t go amiss. Bendemeer seemed like a good place to do this; the campsite is cheap and clean; the pub serves breakfast; the countryside…

Days 145 to 148. Day 145. After publishing my blog post last night, the bats came. In their thousands. So much so that I had to Google it. Apparently there is a colony of fruit bats / flying foxes resident in two public parks in Casino, which has caused the parks to close due to…

Days 141 to 144. Day 141. No bike day. Last night I was convinced into not riding today. We’ve planned a couple of nights in Brisbane, staying at a campsite on the south side of the city. Local knowledge (thanks Gary & Suzanne) informed me that the traffic volumes and road conditions would not be…