by admin on September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
We’re now into South Australia and went through Nullarbor station yesterday.
Jack rolling across the Nullarbor
The brilliant Spud (aka Debora Holland), our main driver, picked us up after we’d driven past the campsite (we do that because not all campsites are situated in the exact location we need!) – so Spud drives out and picks us up and takes us back to the same spot in the morning.
Spud is also our main cook – the food is delicious!
Just Another Day In The Life Of Jack Sinclair
It was just another day in the life of Jack Sinclair – cycling across the Nullarbor, getting stopped by motorists who saw him on TV in Perth (and providing a donation), seeing emus, wombats, echidnas, kangaroos and more.
Then, at lunchtime, it’s up in a light plane taking off from the Nullarbor Roadhouse to go whale watching (we saw tons of whales and their calves in the Great Australian Bight).
Ready to fly to the Great Australian Bight
Jack, Emily and I (Brendon) went up and Jack flew the plane for 10 minutes or so (he’s flown before with the Air Force Cadets, so Emily and I weren’t freaking out entirely.
More soon.
Brendon
by admin on September 19, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Today we started 62 kms east of Madura (where we were going to stay)
Battled into headwinds today for 110 kms before lunch – enjoyed a long lunch at Eucla (lovely spot).
It was nice to get a hill into Eucla, probably the first hill since Perth (and it wasn’t that big!).
Random fan at the top of Eucla Hill!
We headed off after lunch with a nice tailwind and managed to do 211 kms for the day, ending up in South Australia, 52kms east of Border Village.
Signpost at Eucla
We saw a bunch of wildlife including emus, snakes, goannas, kangaroos and more.
Cheers
Brendon
by admin on September 19, 2008
Bit of a drama with Emily (Jack’s cousin) running into Brendon’s bike from behind. Emily’s got a couple of grazes, but apart from that everyone’s okay.
Bike repairs underway
Brendon’s bike did get a little messed up (apparently it’s only working in one gear), so it will be a bit tough until they reach Ceduna on Day 12, where they can get it fixed. Until then, he’s either riding his bike, with the dodgy gears, or the spare, which is about 4cm too small.
Despite all this it seemed to be all good news.
Another 185 kms done.
Laura
by admin on September 19, 2008
We started this day 30 kms out of Balladonia (which is where we planned to be) and aimed to get to Caiguna, 210 kms away.
As Mel mentioned, we didn’t want to get further behind as it might be difficult to make us so much lost ground.
Jack still had his cold and was exhuasted from the previous day, but away we went at 7 am.
After a great effort from Jack we managed to cover a massive 260 kms for the day – putting us 50 kms ahead of schedule.
Today included Australia’s longest straight – at 146.6 km long, it’s a beauty!
I simply don’t know how a 15 yo guy can do a ride like that after an exhuasting 185 kms the day before (not to mention the punishing first 5 days!
Cheers
Brendon
by admin on September 17, 2008
Day 6 started 20km out of Norseman, and it was a really hard day. 100km uphill into a headwind before Jack and Brendon got some downhill and the wind died off. They ended up cycling from 6:00am to 6:15pm and only did 185km, which left them 30km short of Balladonia, both totally exhausted.
Then they found out that the 165km from Balladonia to Caiguna was not 165km as originally thought, but was actually 180km. That makes it a 210km ride tomorrow to get back on track.
We’re hoping that they don’t get another headwind or they could be way behind.
~ Mel
by admin on September 15, 2008
Hi, writing this from a campsite 15 kms north of Norseman, which is the start of the Nullarbor for us.
The day started a bit poorly with Jack waking up with a cold at 5 am. We soon hit the road only to be confronted by strong headwinds.
Luckily we had Jack’s cousin Emily to share the load up the front as we battled for 100 kms into the headwind that just didn’t give up.
The hilly ride didn’t help and the uphills seemed so much longer than the downhills.
Rode Last 70 kms Standing Up
A fair bit of saddle soreness saw Jack ride the last 70 kms standing up to ease the pain. The winds finally stopped and after a hard 8 1/2 hours in the saddle we’d covered just 170 kms to the campsite at 5.40 pm.
That’s 15 kms short of where we planned to be (in Norseman), but we plan to leave early tomorrow to make up the difference.
Ange has worked on Jack’s legs for hours and he’s exhausted but comfortable.
Everyone is in good spirits despite the tough day.
Jack and Brendon on the road to Norseman
The typical outback WA road
Jack at the end of the day
by admin on September 15, 2008
The Gold Coast Bulletin have been great supporters of the ride and published another article about Jack on the 10th September, 2008.
Click this thumbnail on the right to view the full article.
Cheers.
by admin on September 14, 2008
Sunday September 14, 2008 – 5.40 pm
We’re here in Kalgoorlie after a 150 km plus day – resting up at Trevor’s house (Jack’s uncle), catching up on washing and buying food.
We have Sarah, a massuese, arriving shortly to give us both massage and Mel is off buying tons more food.
Roads Wide, Flat & Straight
The roads were the same as they’ve been – wide, flat and straight. We started the morning with an easy 40 km ride for a quick breakfast.
Brendon and Jack dress up for a break
After that was a 70 km hike to Coolgardie (Coolgardie Day was today – the place was packed).
Coolgardie to Kalgoorlie was a 40 km flat ride, but was one of the toughest stretches yet as we had an almost constant flow of cars passing close at 110 km/hr.
As they race past about 50 cm away you have to be very mentally focused and not allow the fatigue to have you move the bike to the wrong spot.
We pick up Emily, Jack’s cousin, from Kalgoolie Airport in an hour or so and she is with us till Ceduna. Em’s a PE teacher from Tasmania and will be riding most/all of the way to Ceduna.
Thanks Jules
We lose the wonderful, brilliant and just plain nice Julie Mason in the morning. Jules has been a fantastic part of the team and we’re sorry to see her go. Thanks for everything Jules – we love you!
Cheers
Brendon
by admin on September 13, 2008
Another fantastic day – here’s the thing: life doesn’t get much better than zipping along outback Western Australia with your 15 yo son at 50 km/hr on bikes.
We’re having a ball – tired, but loving it!
The riding has been excellent – smooth roads with great visibility. Our pace has been pretty good with an average of 30 kms most of the day.
The hills are long and very, very gradual – you don’t know you’re going p a hill. And then you can roll 5 kms down!
We knocked off 140 kms today – 40 more than expected. The plan is to get into Kalgoorlie a bit earlier than expected tomorrow as we have Trevor’s house (Mel’s brother, Jack’s uncle) to use.
Trev’s been great as part of the support team and is happily sitting in his camp chair, drinking a beer and reading the newspaper as I write!
Jack’s just had a 1 1/2 hr massage from Ange and is feeling terrific. Spag Bolognaise for dinner tonight, Julie reckons it’s her speciality so the pressure is on her!
Spud is cooking by the fire and Mel is fussy about everyone (as you’d expect).
Jack enjoys Ange’s work
by admin on September 12, 2008
Another terrific day with 177 kms churned out.
We planned on stopping at Walgoolan, but felt so good we ended up doing an extra 15 km to get to a better camping spot.
Jack is smashing me and doing more out the front than me. Looking very strong and just keeps getting stronger.
Winds have been a bit fluky today with some headwinds, cross winds and a tail wind for just a while.
The support team are fantastic and are making everything as easy as possible.
The trucks are massive and the drivers are the best on the road – they give us a real wide berth and they’re talking about us on the truckie CB channel telling each other where we are and to keep an eye out.
Jack ready to roll Day 2
Cheers
Brendon
