Leaving Wagga Wagga we headed towards Sydney via the Hume Highway. Our first plan was to head north to Bathurst and cross the Blue Mountains on the Great Western Highway. However, after a very helpful conversation with the owner of a bike shop in Wagga Wagga we elected to go by the Hume Highway with its ample hard shoulder. Although the road through Bathurst was more scenic the thought of a variable hard shoulder and trucks passing at 100km/hr didn’t attract us for some reason. 

Here is a more detailed map of our route to Sydney. The Blue Dot is currently relaxing in Goulburn which was Australia’s first inland city. 

Either way, we knew we were going to have hills and, as you know, Susan hates cycling up hills. I don’t know why as our knees are fine now after I took charge of our medical care. Basically, I googled the problem then we did everything everyone recommended. So I don’t know what actually worked but somewhere there is a great cure for sore knees and we are evidence of it, whatever it is. 
Wagga Wagga to Gundagai was 84km and 1600 feet of ascent. We managed to keep to back roads and avoid the Hume Highway on this part of the cycle and we had a wonderful day in the sun. Yes the weather has improved and we are back to experiencing 30c+. It’s not pleasant! Are cyclists really ever happy with the weather?

Here’s me on the old Hume Highway with not a car in sight. You have no idea how brave Susan is in taking this picture.  At any moment I could just jump on the bike and cycle off! Of course I’m joking and wouldn’t leave her. I would miss her advice when to ‘go’ at traffic lights. I mean, if nobody shouts ‘GREEN’ within a nano second of the lights changing I could sit there for hours!  She does wonder, however, why I keep watching videos of the sprint start of the bobsleigh run 😀

From Gundagai we headed to Yass (the name ‘Yass’ is derived from the Aboriginal word ‘yarrh’ which means running water).

We knew this was going to be a big day of climbing but not as big as it was.  It didn’t help when, on the first big climb, I thought I heard a scuffing noise. Now I’m a bit OCD when it comes to rattles and squeaks on the bike. It annoys Susan when we have to repeatedly stop until I get the noise pinpointed and sorted. This time I thought I would be mature and let it go. After all, we were on a mammoth long hill.  

When we reached the top, after a huge effort, we got stuck into our sandwiches. They were meant for lunch but 10.30am is nearly four hours from breakfast. As we were munching away Susan noticed a flat tyre on the trailer. Ah that was the scuffing noise! The trailer is a real deadweight to pull up any incline and not noticing a flat tyre is probably an indication of how hard it is. You could probably take off both wheels and we would still not notice. Once you get to ‘this is really bl**dy hard’ then there’s nowhere else to go. 

Well Susan had made the sandwiches so I got to kneel in the layby and get covered in oil and grease doing the repair. As Susan says ‘we all have our jobs to do’. 

The cycle from Gundagai to Yass was an epic cycle for us. The temperature reached 34c, we ran out of water until we found Barney’s cafe at Bookam, climbed 7 major hills and reached our destination at 7.30pm. A total of 103km and 4,000 feet of ascent – our biggest day ever on the tandem. We ordered pizza delivery and were sleeping by 9.30pm. 

Next day we were back on the Hume Highway. First, I had to repair another puncture on the same trailer wheel – I missed the glass that caused the problem and it repeated the puncture. Schoolboy error. 

Nice shoulders on that Highway. Mmmmm.

One issue with Australian hard shoulders is that I’m not sure they’re ever cleaned. This means the debris is unbelievable. They are littered with glass, rubber, sizeable metal objects and dead animals – a danger to cyclists and motorists. 

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned but dead kangaroos are pretty common. In Western Australia we used to see over 50 a day and on this part of the Hume Highway there were many. Someone really must do something about clearing up.  You can clearly tell what’s been lying for a while and a nice white skeleton is always an obvious clue. Apologies for being morbid.

Here’s a picture of a thistle that reminds us of Bonnie Scotland to make you feel happy again and take your mind off thousands of dead kangaroos by the roadside with nobody caring about them. Sorry, sorry, I’m not helping am I?

After a few kilometres we met Marc. If you think what we are doing is more effort than you would ever like to consider as being sensible think about what he hopes to achieve.

Originally from the UK, now living in Melbourne, Marc (www.chasingthesun.run) is running across Australia from Sydney to Perth. Outstanding drive and energy for a worthwhile purpose. Live life. 

Now back to Susan and I with a selfie at the top of a hill.

I promise to post a photo of us together in Sydney just to prove that I never managed to perfect my bobsleigh getaway 😀

This was a photo at our lunch stop. Pizza for lunch. That’s what’s great about having pizza the night before – we have the left overs for lunch the next day.  Usually, we have no alternative on the road.  

After 83km and 2,500 feet of climbing we reached Goulburn. We had a quiet night out at a local hostellery where the food was plentiful and the beer ice cold.

It’s great to be in Australia. 
4,618km to date. 

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