September 2008

Hi, quick update from the side of the road 24 kms out of Kimba.

We did a tough 191 kms yesterday, mostly into a headwind. Today has been 100 kms to lunchtime and we’re just 24 kms out of Kimba (meant to be our stop for the night) – but we’ll push on and get ahead so that the ride into Port Augusta tomorrow is much shorter.

Tomorrow we meet up with Jo and Chris (Support Team # 2) who have driven down from the Gold Coast, and David White from big Brothers Big Sisters Australia.

Looking forward to meeting up.

More later with photos and info.

Cheers

Brendon

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Below you’ll find a couple of minutes video of the action so far:

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Monday, September 22, 2008 – 10.06 pm

Thanks so much for everyone’s comments – they’ve been a great boost for the boys when the going gets tough.

Keep them coming – we’ll be reading them every night!

You can send a comment by clicking on the ‘Comments’ link at the bottom of each post/update.  We then approve your first comment as soon as we see it (to avoid spam) and after that your comment appears instantly.

Mel

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Monday, September 22, 2008 – 6.03 pm (Gold Coast time, 5.33 pm SA time)

As you can see, we’ve finally gotten Internet access after 7 days on the Nullarbor and have had some time this afternoon to write some info and update posts below.

Here’s what Jack and Ange were doing 2 minutes ago:

Cheers

Brendon

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Monday September 22, 2008

Okay, we’d done all the hard work and got ourselves just 72 kms from Ceduna – one of the few places where we have to be at a certain time.

72 kms in a day was meant to be a breeze after days of up to 260 km.

But it didn’t quite pan out like that…………

50 Knots Winds, 3 Degrees C

We were woken several times during the night by the 50 knot winds hammering the camper trailer.  We woke at 6.30 am to find the wind still howling and the rain pelting down.

Not So Happy Campers – Mel, Emily & Trev

Unfortunately Ceduna had moved no closer durng the night so we’d still have to pedal.  Jack and I jumped onto our bikes at Penong where we stopped last night and started pedalling.

• 3 degrees C
• 50 knot crosswinds
• Freezing cold rain

Road Trains storming past and the buffeting was enough to take you from 20 km/hr to just 8 km/hr!  As the cold water spray hit us it would literally take our breath away.

It was, without doubt, the hardest bike ride I’ve ever done.

Just Trying To Get To Ceduna In 1 Piece

And there was Jack riding along without a word of complaint.  Just trying to get to Ceduna in 1 piece and with all his fingers and toes free of frost bite!

Even Old Dave Said It Was Hard!

We bumped into a guy called Dave in the local cafe – Dave rode from Penong a few hours after us.  Dave is an older guy who has ridden everywhere and done it all.

Even he said it was the hardest ride he’d ever done.  So we didn’t feel quite so soft after all!

Cheers

Brendon

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Sunday September 21, 2008

Today we set out about 45 kms east of the Nullarbor Roadhouse (where we were meant to stay), after an enjoyable night spent round the campfire chatting with Bert, Claudine, Bob and Daphne (all touring about in caravans).

We packed up and set off at 8am into the cloudless day where tempearturs soon hit the 31 degree mark.

Unfortunately the headwind we rode into didn’t let up and we spent most of the day struggling up hills.  There were very few kangaroos littering the side of the highway (just 3 for the day), but we saw probably 20 dead wombats – sad to see.

Jack with Janice – Janice donated $5 and
7 slices of Corned Beef!  Delicious!

Stu Joins Us For Day 1 and Day 11

The highlight of the day was when we were riding into Nundroo for lunch- a cyclist was riding the other way and as we got close he yelled out:

“Heh, aren’t you the Paris Hilton of Australian cycling?!”

That was what Stu and I (Stu rode us out of Perth on Day 1) called Jack when he was getting all the media attention in Perth.

Jack, Stu & Brendon

Stu had driven from Perth to Ceduna (about 2,000 kms) to buy a caravan and was on his way back when he saw the team waiting for us in the Nundroo roadhouse.

Stu had bought his bike, so jumped out, onto the bike and rode out to see us.  Really nice to catch up with Stu even if it was only for a few minutes (Stu is Ange’s brother).

Mel always follows directions!

Rest Of Day Into Crosswind

The rest of the day was into a crosswind.  It was a real tough day, but at the end we’d manged to clock up 195 km and we’re just 72 kms from Ceduna where we pick up Laura and Harry (Jack’s sister and brother).

We set up camp 16 kms out of Penong and Spud droe out to bring us back in at 5.40 pm.

Emily cooked up fried rice which went down a treat – Jack went back for seconds, thirds and fourths!

Cheers

Brendon

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Saturday, September 20, 2008

We’re now into South Australia and went through Nullarbor station yesterday.

Jack rolling across the Nullarbor

The brilliant Spud (aka Debora Holland), our main driver, picked us up after we’d driven past the campsite (we do that because not all campsites are situated in the exact location we need!) – so Spud drives out and picks us up and takes us back to the same spot in the morning.

Spud is also our main cook – the food is delicious!

Just Another Day In The Life Of Jack Sinclair

It was just another day in the life of Jack Sinclair – cycling across the Nullarbor, getting stopped by motorists who saw him on TV in Perth (and providing a donation), seeing emus, wombats, echidnas, kangaroos and more.

Then, at lunchtime, it’s up in a light plane taking off from the Nullarbor Roadhouse to go whale watching (we saw tons of whales and their calves in the Great Australian Bight).

Ready to fly to the Great Australian Bight

Jack, Emily and I (Brendon) went up and Jack flew the plane for 10 minutes or so (he’s flown before with the Air Force Cadets, so Emily and I weren’t freaking out entirely.

More soon.

Brendon

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Today we started 62 kms east of Madura (where we were going to stay)

Battled into headwinds today for 110 kms before lunch – enjoyed a long lunch at Eucla (lovely spot).

It was nice to get a hill into Eucla, probably the first hill since Perth (and it wasn’t that big!).

Random fan at the top of Eucla Hill!

We headed off after lunch with a nice tailwind and managed to do 211 kms for the day, ending up in South Australia, 52kms east of Border Village.

Signpost at Eucla

We saw a bunch of wildlife including emus, snakes, goannas, kangaroos and more.

Cheers

Brendon

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Bit of a drama with Emily (Jack’s cousin) running into Brendon’s bike from behind.  Emily’s got a couple of grazes, but apart from that everyone’s okay.

Bike repairs underway

Brendon’s bike did get a little messed up (apparently it’s only working in one gear), so it will be a bit tough until they reach Ceduna on Day 12, where they can get it fixed.  Until then, he’s either riding his bike, with the dodgy gears, or the spare, which is about 4cm too small.

Despite all this it seemed to be all good news.

Another 185 kms done.

Laura

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