Fatbike On The Fly

 So my quiet, tiny baby boy of 19 years ago has growed up to be a 6 and a half feet tall bean pole gamer. He's still nice though,  lovely in fact.  I just wished he'd be more active,  may be ride alongside me.   Today,  that happens.  Something about my ride reports?  Something triggered within him ? From the first hill,  it's a wipeout. His spindly gamer's legs have no thrust.  He gasps, he swoons for air,  he points to his heart pounding in his breast but his face is grey.   Over the hill,  he's reborn.  Zooming up behind me , dodging mum's and prams on the path. His long greasy freak flags flying.  So proud,  so hopeful.  

 Phew, my new- to- me Surly Long Road Trucker has arrived.  I can't  put my hands on him yet though because he's at my mum's address in the city.  There was a time in the last few days when I wondered if I was ever going to get it. It was sent from the next state to the north and went two states sweaty to the south west! Then,  almost magically it arrived overnight.  I'm not really certain it went interstate,  it could have been a tracking system error. To actually get where it suposedly went, it would have had to go past here.Either way,  he's here and tomorrow I get to assemble and ride my LHT!  Where will he take me? Options include; Myall Lakes,  Barrington Tops,  CentralCentral West Cycle Trail,  Tasmanian Trail and ?

 Enjoying my third commute post car ownership.  I need to be out 2hrs earlier,  but then the pressure lifts, I am free to ride.   The scene by the train station. The creek is working, in the drizzle the low clouds form an acoustic dome for rosella, blue wren, duck and the seasonal kohl bird calls. Below them the out of rhythm beat of frogs. 

 Yeh,  I can't believe I actually own the iconic touring bike! I always read about my (small "h") heroes riding the world's most spectacular routes on Surly Long Haul Truckers.  I thought,  bay I dated to dream that one day I would be able to afford one and go touring. Now Ive done it,  its actually happened! The background is that  I wasn't found a Surly Bridge Club for sale.  It was red,  pretty new and optioned up as far as tyres,  brakes & other components go ... for the price of a new bike. I was thinking,  yeh it may be the bargain basement,  multipurpose Surly,  but its a Surly.  Ie. happily accepting second best ad you learn to do when living in a minimum wage.    Anyhow, there had been a delay in transferring seller providing account information and I guess I was a little bit holding back. Something was rankling inside me so  I went back to the for sale column and found a  Long Haul Trucker! Long Haul Trucker, racks, panniers. The colour was good and

d out a fire trail and said it linked to the next village.  After the usual signage threatening hell and damnation, it go steep,; 200m up in less than a k. While hiking, I see an echidna harvesting ants. They're more intelligent than humans,  in that they take only enough ants to this the colony,  not destroy it.   Unfortunately he/she saw me and refused to pose for a shot.   One of 5 locked gates today  I thought my decorations softened the scene a bit.  Why do Australians feel the need to discourage people from using these spaces? My local river on the way back.    

 Aah! It's been a long time in the making, but this morning I woke up being free of the burden of owning a motor vehicle. And it feels bloody great!  I wrote this from my local train station,  I rode 2k from home, train out for 60k and then cycle today be 5k to my mum's. If I detour by the beach for a swim,  another 2k.  I will probably have to get a motorcycle to make it to work on treo of my furthest jobs, but that's later.  At the moment Im really relishing the freedom and out I can learn to live using my son's car,  I'll be an extremely happy chappy.  May be then I could splash out on a top of the range bikepacking mount,  some gear or an extended cycling trip. Oh what a feeling being a cyclist.   POST SCRIPT: Here we are à few hours later having caught the train to Newcastle and ridden the coastal bike path to Merewether.  The path was full of positive energy,  lots of healthy people and dogs having a walk.  Do I really want a car? In the afternoon,  the weathe

  Left home on James the Tourer with 38mm tyres,  to do a reconnaissance on Mt Johnstone Extreme Sleeping Project. I look at that mountain everyday from my verandah,  I have to do it.  The main barriers are scant trail info,  trails are private and probably steep. Plus I have to work this afternoon.   Asking WCR these young cattle kept running alongside checking out the black bike with horns I suppose.  Fortunately,  I arrived at the turn of as two trucks and an escort vehicle were entering, so I had cover.  Passed my first "No Public Right of Way" and "Beware of the Dog" propaganda.  Immediately,  the road up looked "interesting". Within a kilometer I had negotiated a series of really steep bits,  followed by a bend and another really steep bit.  Strava says the grade is 12%, I had to walk the final section,  the front wheel was popping and I was pooping out. As it leveled out the surface degraded quickly from sealed,  to gravel,  two track to rough trail