Unicycling for afghani kids- ride blog

[napalm]

Hey everyone,
Have to make this quick because the internet at this servo is really overpriced. So i started riding on Friday morning after a really welcoming morning tea at the Afghani embassy in Canberra. I headed through the suburbs until i hit the monaro highway and started to head towards Cooma. The weather was pretty dismal, compounded by long hills and a bit of a headwind the riding was tiring and at times frustrating. After battling through it all, the riding got a little better and i made good time in the afternoon. By nightfall i made it to Breadbo (76km) and we stopped in at the pub for a beer.
Luckily for us the owners of the pub were very kind and put us up for the night, and gave us a free counter meal. The next morning we left at 9ish and headed to Cooma- i had a newspaper interview organised for lunch time, so i hauled ass and made it in time- but left myself pretty wrecked for it. After a kip in the front seat of the the titanic (Alex's volvo- and my support car for the first 6 days) we continued the climbing into Australia's Highlands and made plans for Nimitabel.

The trees dissapeared from the landscape, as we forged our way over the Great Dividing Range. We gained 300m in height and lost a few too many degrees for my liking, but it was satisfying riding into the little town, having crossed Australia's best excuse for a mountain range relatively intact (70km). We stayed the night in the Federal Hotel, and again managed to score a good deal on accomodation.

The next mornings weather had Alex and I not wanting to emerge from the cosy setting of our room, all night the wind and rain had me wondering if anything would be salvaged of the next day for riding. Luckily it calmed down a little bit and we departed in the grey sleet and icy wind. We dropped down into a number of little valleys that gave some shelter from the headwind, but provided a lot of hillwork. We were content with making it to Bombala and camped by the river there (60km).

The volvo didn't provide much insulation from the morning cold so we got up early and hit the road. We planned a long ride to Cann River. This day would see us cross the state border into Victoria as well as lose a good 600m in elevation. The riding was hard in the morning with the flat terrain made incredibly difficuly by a fierce cross wind, Logging trucks, and the extra 4 or so kgs i added to my pack. Soon enough the riding got easier as i dropped down into the valleys which were now heavily shrouded in eucalypt and acted as a decent wind break. Soon the road started to trace the path of the Cann river and managed to avoid all the steep hills i was dreading, the lie of the land made the riding really fun and relatively fast. The land here is so green, and dairy farming meets the forest in most of the areas that i passed through. The weather deteriorated towards the end of the day with a light drizzle giving me a bit of a wet tail but the beer tasted even better at the end of the day (90km).

Alex is only with me for another 2 days so i will continue to add weight to my pack in preperation for a completely solo ride. Tomorrow we head to Orbost. I would really like to add photos, but the computer here does not allow any USB connections- so untill i get on the internet next that will have to do.

If you would like to donate to the cause i am raising money for please go to www.afghanmmcc.org and follow the links to the doantion page.

Cheers everyone, happy riding
Mark

[GILD]

Quietly and (almost) on your own you seem to be doing an awesome ride for an awesome cause.

Good job.

[Denali]

Keep going, Mark...
If you need any help (as I mentioned earlier), give me a shout (PM me or mail me at dennelli84(at)yahoo.com.
Good luck.

[napalm]

So i'm in a backpackers hostel in Lakes enterance. We arrived here last night and camped in the back of the volvo beside the waterway. During the night the cold front that was supposed to come through that afternoon hit like an absolute freight train. The car nearly got on two wheels in my opinion- and to outsiders it must have looked like something a little intimate was going on in the back of the car. This morning the rain had cleared but the wind persisted. I got my stuff together and hit the road but only lasted 1km before realising how dangerous it was to be on the road in these conditions. Alex had to start his way back home so i got my gear in order and he dropped me off at the hostel where i am writing this.

The last few days riding has been really good. From Cann river the road cut across a few valley and creeks which provided lots of climbing and lots of nice descents. The road cut through rainforrest with huge towering eucalypt trees, lots of ferns on the ground and the sound of bell birds was a constant soundtrack for the ride. The road varied between really well formed large verges to sketchy passes where even the white line was not always fully formed due to soil erosion under the road. We emerged from the valleys onto the lush green plains near orbost. Dairy farming is huge here, but it the cows wern't there you could easily turn any of the green pastures into a decent enough golf course if you wanted. I rode into orbost against a beautiful sunset, had a relaxing beer with the locals and was put up in the pub for free.

The next day saw much of the same type of terrain, with the exception that on the crest of one of the hill climbs a whiff of salty air and the deep blue of the ocean greeted me as i fought the sea breeze. Hopefully the gale force winds pass by tomorrow morning and i will be able to make my way along the princes highway to Sale. The trip is now completely self supported and i think i have done a pretty good job getting my bag right- it doesn't seem that much heavier than the last couple of days. A huge thanks to Alex Jorgenson-Hull for being my support crew till now. He saved my ass from a few logging trucks and has been great company and always good humored on the sometimes tedious 15km/ph trip.

Again, this computer does not allow me to post photos- there are some really good ones- but i will post them when i get the chance.

keep on riding,
Mark

[lunicycle]

Keep at it Mark!

I thought of your ride yesterday when I was out on the uni as it blowing a gale here in western Victoria, was quite difficult in the unsheltered open areas to stay up and riding.

It'd be great to ride along with you for a day or two along the ocean road - not sure if that will be possible, but maybe it will fit in great with the mid year school holidays - so my wife and kids can come along. We're a couple of hours north of the coast. Hope you can post an update before you reach there.

All the best for going solo!

[napalm]

Ok. Some pics from the ride so far. Starting with the leaving morning tea at the afghani embassy, some pics from the Monaro Highway, Climbing into the Australian highlands, descending onto the coastal plains. More to come when i get them! At Taralgon at the moment. Cheers guys and girls,
Mark

Oh, and for those of you that have facebook there are more here
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search...36906&view=all