A Taste For Adventure

Three Mates. 1000km. Nine Days.

By Black Sheep Cycling

January 17^th, 2022

The Journey

The Covid pandemic changed the trajectory of everyone’s lives to some extent in 2020. We had to slow down, stay close to home and reconsider how to fill our days. I spent the start of the year riding through Southern Africa, falling in love with cycle touring. However, plans to tour through Mexico and further South were curtailed when I had to jump on a plane home to the Gold Coast.

After a few months at home, it was time to venture back out onto the road. I spent much of the back half of the year on two different cycle tours – one heading south along the beaches with a trailer and two surfboards, and the other up to Cape York after having to flee home to Queensland when the border was shutting again.

Both trips were amazing, beautiful opportunities to indulge in some backyard exploration which so many people (myself included) often neglect, choosing to fly to exotic destinations rather than explore the beauty within a few hours drive (or ride) of their doorstep.

The year came to an end and in 2021 I returned to university and spent most days in a hospital on placement. There was much to be learnt there and it was a great year, but I find there is something suffocating about having to be at the exact same place at the exact same time every morning. The panoramic view from the 6th floor corridor out over the best climbs of the Gold Coast Hinterland is especially cruel on a sunny winter morning. Physically I was there but mentally I was off in the hills.

Travel by bike is made special by its simplicity. Rise with the sun, eat, pedal, eat, pedal, set up camp, rinse (or sleep in the dirt and sweat caked on all day, because the only water close by is a croc’s home), and repeat. It strips away barriers that are erected in everyday life - between you and nature, you and the other humans you encounter, you and a sense of unencumbered freedom.

This year I very much missed that simple life offered by life on a bike. I would spend days in the hospital dreaming about pedalling through the countryside, and all the connections that travel by bike attracts.

As exams approached I received a message on Instagram from a guy I followed but had never met, Josh Lynott.

“I’ve got a proposition for you… if you can get the time off. Want to bike pack from GC to Syd with me in December?”

I could barely contain my excitement at the idea. Borders were opening and I needed something exciting to keep me going for a couple more weeks as I laboured through exam preparations. This was perfect.

A trip like this is hard to plan too firmly. The route and distances covered each day are dependent on weather and your physical and mental state – the beautiful gravel mountain pass you thought would be a good option suddenly sounds horrific when you wake up tender and desperate for a recovery day. But we did have time constraints giving us only nine days for the ride. We would need to average between 110-130km/day depending on the route we ended up taking.

A friend linked me up with Black Sheep who were happy to generously support the ride with gear from their ADV line. As a student, my trips have always been on a low budget and I’ve traditionally ridden in an old bib and a long sleeve button up from the op shop to keep the sun off. Receiving a package from The Woolshed with plush chamois and soft, breathable merino was a real treat.

Another friend of Josh’s, Jye Dean, jumped on board and the three of us set our departure from the border in Coolangatta for Wednesday 8th December. Rolling from home down to Cooly I wasn’t even sure what the route was or where we were aiming for that first day. Once we assembled at the border, bikes fully loaded, we cruised off down the coast.

We decided to aim for plenty of gravel and beach riding where possible, avoiding the highway except where other options were unfeasible. We quickly found our way onto some sandy single track between Wooyung and Ocean Shores, and after a brief downpour in Mullumbimby, we continued through the verdant hills of the Byron hinterland.

As we crested a climb, drenched in sweat because of the humidity and the effort required to pedal the rigs (each probably weighed about 40kg including camping gear) uphill, we were called off the road by a group of men chatting outside their home. They had just returned from fishing and wanted us to take some from the esky. Unfortunately fish doesn’t travel well in hot pannier bags, but we appreciated the gesture.

A recurring theme arising during these bike tours is that the perceived vulnerability of living off the bike brings out the best in people. Strangers are constantly curious about the trip and want to help in their own way. Whether it’s fruit and water from the car window, a piece of grass to camp on, or dinner, cold beers, a hot shower and warm bed. Even a fish that threatens the sanitary status of your bags. People want to contribute.

People either see you as being in a tenuous position or are stoked on the adventurous spirit of the bike trip and want to help you through it. This generosity continued as we meandered our way down the coast. Long days in the saddle were made sweeter by arriving to the warm embrace of the friends and strangers who reached out to give us a place to stay.

We boarded the Manly Ferry and a sense of accomplishment and nostalgia swept in. Crossing the harbour the melodies of Australian Crawl came to mind and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by gratitude for the country we were so fortunate to have ridden.

An extended group hug with the boys on the steps of the Opera House signified the end of a beautiful adventure and was a celebration of the friendship we had forged over the course of the nine days riding down the coast. To share such intense experiences expedites stages of relationship development that normally occur over a protracted period. We set off on the trip relative strangers and finished it feeling like brothers. And what an iconic place to end the journey!

Ride, eat, sleep, repeat. By stripping away so much else space is created for important aspects of life suppressed by a busy schedule and the comfortable ruts of repetition that can develop at home. Time for introspection. Time to process emotions. Time to be in touch with your body. And to share the experience with others who quickly become close confidants – through shared exertion, shared laughter, shared fears and dreams – adds a whole new level of beauty to the journey.

Grab some friends and get riding!

Tait

Special thanks to Black Sheep for providing beautiful kit from their ADV line. The gear was extremely comfortable and took everything we threw at it.

Thank you to Josh for being the type of person who would invite a stranger on a big trip like this. And to Jye for diving in head-first and being a constant source of stoke and positivity throughout the trip. Unbridled optimism and smiling through adversity can move mountains.