2 weeks into riding

So..harlo...
Had very limited access to computers but we've been generously allowed to use the computers at the school we've just presented at in Hamilton so will try to get a few things down…

Am feeling my standard level of exhaustion at the moment – our average schedule is get up 4.30am-ish, leave 5.30 or 6, ride the 30-100 kilometers until the next town in groups of 4 or 5, then chill out, work on workshops or whatever, find a nice little café or just nap. Then the next day doing school or community presentations or both (in the form of our “humorous theatrical skit”), then pack up after the second night and head out to the next town. It’s pretty intense but will only get more intense as more schools are back now.


Just for the record, yes I am just as sexy, buff and tanned as you expected I'd be coming out of this trip.

The trip so far
Tuesday 20th 30km riding around Smelbs, send off party with a great little representative body of WAliens. Was really nice to have Grace, Ania, Daniel, Ben, Jesse, and Jess all come down. Would’ve felt a bit weird being sent off by a bunch of strangers and was an awesome little end to a week of hanging out in Melbourne with people I hang out with all the time in perth – as strange as it was to just migrate across the country to do it

Wednesday 21st first 5.30 start, left Ange’s In Footscray, caught the train out to Weribee then started the tour properly, rode 42km to Geelong. I survived. This made me happeh. I wasn’t last. This comforted me. Found the group supportive and fun, and the weight not too overwhelming and only really noticeable on hills. Went to Geelong beach, was a relief to swim, did a performance in a funky little pub to the Geelong Sustainability Group (who started up out of a GetUp meeting) then stayed in a Guide Hall that night.

Thursday 22nd Day off in Geelong. Sleeping until 9am is being called a sleep in. ?! I’m slowly getting used to it! Had a day working on workshops, hanging out at the beach, and searching out a newspaper to read Obama’s speech (thank feck for that! EVEN if it’s all rhetoric, and there’s the Ruidd effect of the apology, followed bvy a pathetic 5% emissions reduction target, which I cynically reminded Mum, at least it’s a starting point of good rhetoric and not Bush or Howard rhetoric.)

Friday 23rd Geelong to Winchelsea, 38km. Took a trailer. Died a little but survived, despite repetitive hills. Our presence brought the town’s population up to 1350. Was the town I was in charge of organising.. It’s also the town from which the rabbit plague in Australia started (some tool wanted rabbits to hunt! Go team). Stayed at the Scout Hall.

Saturday 24th Winchelsea. Funniest outing yet – a few of us heard about a “Barn Dance” on that night and went to check it out. One of the most ridiculous nights I’ve had – picture a room of sixty 60-70 year olds, doing fox trot, three step, etc, enter seven 20 somethings, no ability to dance, who’d be just as happy at the pub across the road. But it was awesome! They showed us the dances and if I may say so, a few of us kicked arse at the Chicago Swing (which may or may not have been the easiest dance). Had Devonshire tea with milk milked that morning by one of the guys there. Saturday nights out in Winshelsea J! No husbands found, but not for not trying. We became the highlight and got waved out when we left early because we had to get up the next day to ride! Am I still hard core?

Sunday 25th Winchelsea to Colac, 36km. Stayed at a scout hall with an amazing view over their famous lake, which was dried out (first time in 20 years or something). Go global warming, go go. The cold shower helped me practice the “staggered shower” method our play tells kids to use, which I’ve done since, so..well no, a hot shower still would have been awesome. Practiced some “urban gleaning” (dumpstering) with J-train (as I’ll refer to her having not checked it’s ok to mention her by nameJ), which all the group was cool with, which is both surprising and amazing given the variety in the group.

This day by day thing is getting boring to read I’m sure...think I’ll persist out of stubbornness but hopefully I’ll get to interesting stuff soon…but cumawn, a barn dance?!

Monday 26th Colac, Day off. Ausvasion Day – went to Forrest, a small town out of Colac. Went op shopping, had a walk. I was very hesitant to go given it was a citizenship ceremony and I wouldn’t be able to deal with the flag waving, but it turned out to be quite cool, well, in a strange sort of way. There was a huige Sudanese community there, so it was kind of nice to see people looking happy about becoming citizens and that act7ually being an option for themn, even if the community is largely based there because it provides cheap labour for the abbatoir from what I’ve heard. But yes, there was a welcome to country form a local elder, and yes, there waere heinous plastic gflags, but they were of both the blue/white/red variety and the black/yellow/red variety, so that was surpising and quite cool. And then their little café they had running for the day not only had soy milk, but had fair trade organic coffee, and were peddling it in a little country town, very cool. Would have been awesome to be at the Tent Embassy in Canberra to support the mob there, or to have experienced the surreal access to a high rise building in perth to watch the fireworks, but was still happy to be in the little scout hall, playing cards and trying to get to sleep so we could get up early again.

Tuesday 27th Colac to Camperdown 46km. Amazing sun rise as we rode, with mist everywhere, listening to Bright Eyes ‘I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning’. It’s been mostly farming country that we’ve been through so in general it hasn’t been thaaat pretty, but it really was beautiful that morning. It’s funny riding past cows, they stare at you as much as the locals. Moved on to Bowie then Talking Heads, went surprisingly well :p. The other awesome part about the ride was that the whole highway route was lined with Bush Plums (or something like that, we ate them and didn’t die and they were like small plums), and there were apple trees, and some fennel. It was like someone had guerrilla gardened the princes Highway for us! I made crumble out of the plums. I feel wholesome. We were staying at Camperdown showgrounds which was a little bit hellish – it was a 42 degree day and we were in a big tin shed in a big dry grassy field. But that night 5 of us didn’t end up sleeping there that night anyway, because J-train had suggested we get up early and see the sunrise from the lookout behind the showgrounds, which I thought was a little bit crazy talk on a our day off so cynically said I’d rather sleep out there that night, which Be thought was an awesome idea. So we rode up there and slept out under the stars. It was so beautiful! We took a stove up and woke up, had some tea and watched an amazing sunrise! How’s this for an ad for my sneakers? Adbusters/Crimethinc would be pleased…

Ok have to go…but that’s a pretty huge update. So much more to say, nevermind the other days’ catching up! Argh…

So,
- arse not too sore, but getting there!
- The group is awesome, niche-ing up a little, but that’s cool, really connecting with some people
- Longest day has been and gone
- Probably the shite-est day (42 degree heat and one of the women getting hospitalised from heat exhaustion) been and gone
- First school presentation passed the test
- The original play passed the Grace hazing test, whose more cynical than me, so felt better after that :p
- Being really inspired by small things like fair trade coffee shops in small country towns, the incredible generosity of people, and loving the unexpected adventures

In the words of Mr Bowie
“I am happeh, hope you’re happeh too..”

Nice living day to day