Sunday 21st October – Over the bridge from far away.

Sunday 21^st  October 

The Aussies love threatening and H & S signs. These at the start of the cycle way across the bridge.

My bike on the cycleway up to and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge

I'm over the bridge and approaching strangers to take my photo. I wouldn't have composed the picture like that with the bridge directly over my head but you can't see what they are doing!

My bike with a personal trainer session going on in the background just like the movies.

Having pushed my way through the Invictus Games cycle event to get to the spot this is me and the bile with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge behind and the sailing event between us.

At last a lady photographer with a sense of composition and who told me where to stand.

After a while wandering the streets I find a sign to Bondi Beach.

After my garbage truck escort breaks off I get a photo looking down onto the famous beach.

Me arriving to meet a relieved Mandy who has been parked up for 90 minutes of a two hour slot!

The Pacific Ocean is a little too enthusiastic to wet my wheels to mark the end of the journey. 

My feet got hit too.

And now from the other side.

A Wheeler on Bondi Beach. 

The name is on a wall just above my thumb.

Just one more shot for the album?

No wait I forgot the lift the bike above the head shot.

and maybe a close up to see the Wheelers' jersey.

Oddly the water did not drip on my head.

Now to cover up the lycra and re-enter polite society.

The last day starts very early when the recently repaired front tyre bursts noisily in the middle of the night waking us both up! I leap into action and turn over to go back to sleep to face the problem in the morning! When I take the tube out the cause is simple. The patch of previous a puncture has come unstuck. I put a new tube in and pack a couple of extras in case, as I shall do today’s ride out of reach of the support car. Due to the traffic in Sydney, Mandy is going direct to Bondi Beach for when I arrive, assuming I do.

It is grimly overcast and with a cold headwind when I start so rather like many of the other days really. A bit of a twist though, even on an earlyish Sunday morning the traffic is really busy too. I have a route planned with distances and turns listed on a piece of card as I have no satnav. I reckon I can use Google maps on the phone but it does not work. Luckily it all works out as the signs are not that helpful with all emphasis pushing traffic onto motorways and a tunnel. No mention of the bridge until I can see it.

It is about 60 km to the bridge and the traffic is stop start at almost every traffic lights. It is bad on a bike but even worse in a car. The traffic noise is awful and must be heard inside the houses along the way. Why anyone would ride a bike for pleasure in Sydney, I have no idea. It is quite hilly, the roads are potholed and there are cars parked across the shoulder where there is one. I just grit my teeth one more time and try not to think about the traffic behind me that has to dodge the old Galah on his bike. Cycling here is not for the feint hearted. There were some other cyclists out, presumably on their way to their psychiatrists.

I find my way to the bridge on the Pacific Highway which is nowhere as idyllic as it sounds. It is like cycling on the A4 in London. I only see the bridge as I’m almost upon it. The cycle track is luckily on the same side of the bridge as me. There are anti jumper fences on the bridge. Probably wise as by the time I got there I felt like jumping to end it all.

As I cross the bridge, the famous ferries pass underneath and a De Havilland Beaver seaplane comes towards me. It is getting closer and blimey that was very close, I hope he had permission to do that.

Over the bridge I stop and get some photos taken. Some selfies and some taken by bewildered tourists I’d roped in to help. There is a little bit of sun but still cool.

Next problem is that I don’t really have a plan how to get to Bondi and the roads in the central business district have lots of one way streets and no through roads. The whole town seems populated by groups of people standing waiting for the red man to change to green. Apart from the drivers of cars waiting for their lights to change also. A blacked ot executive minibus comes by with a large motorcycle outrider force. I think it was Prince Harry heading for the Invictus Games which I did not realise were taking place where I wanted to take my pictures of the Opera House. I find myself near there by chance so give it a go. The place is full of spectators watching the cycle racing on the headland and the sailing taking place in the harbor in front of the Opera House. I do get through to my spot with the help of a soldier who escorted me through. More helpful stand in photographers roped in and I’m off again looking for a sign for Bondi which I eventually find. Sun is out now but I run into Bondi Beach behind a smelly garbage truck and only see the beach at the last minute as it pulls over. The beach is quite small and there are not many people on it. So where are all the people from the cars going? It is bedlam here too with people trying to park. Mandy had to drive around for 45 minutes till she found a place. She had 2 hours to use but I was so long it was a bit of a rush to get pictures of me on the beach dipping the wheels in the Pacific as the formal end to the journey before hurry back to the car. After that we escape to the relative calm of a large park with many cyclists cycling round and round. To do a bit of bird watching I change out of or cover up the lycra and it as if the journey had never happened. I’m not overly sad that I won’t be back on the bike tomorrow. The first French running man I met was due to finish today in Perth. I bet he’s glad to stop, too.

75.04 km today in 3 hours 46 minutes – an average of 19.9 kph. With a max of 60.3 that I don’t recall. Total 4205.22 km / 2628.26. That’s it, all done .

Saturday 20th October - Bad Luck – Good Luck

Saturday 20^th October

Victoria Falls but not THAT one. This one is in the Blue Mountains.

Another view in the rather green Blue Mountains

Looking for Rockwarbler.

I've still got my shorts on under my birdwatching gear. 

I can see Sydney where I'm pointing but it is over 60 km even as the crow flies.

Fixing the lucky puncture. 

Racing against time to get to the motel before the big storm happens.

A funny day today with some good and bad luck working in conjunction. After a short look at Lake Wallace I set off from the motel at 9 am for the penultimate day’s ride. I’m on the Great Western Highway which is one of the two routes over the Blue Mountains from Lithgow to Sydney. I’ve been told it is the better one to cycle as the other is narrow and has no shoulder in places. The GWH is nicely graded and again I’m able to complete the ride on the big ring.

I meet up with Mandy and we do a side trip to view a couple of viewpoints looking down into the canyon on the north side of the GWH. The views are good but the visibility is poor. Many other visitors as it is the weekend and this is only a couple of hours drive from many parts of Sydney.

I carry on with over 50 km largely downhill and I’m able to complete many kilometres without having to pedal. It is a very busy road, however and the surfaces and shoulders are variable to say the least. I don’t think it is a route you’d take twice. It is warm and there is a tailwind, though Mandy has heard there is due to be a thunderstorm later in the afternoon.

We stopped to look down from Yelomundee Regional Park towards Sydney and can see its skyscrapers in the distance. We can also hear the sound of Bell Miners in the distance. How did we miss them last time we were here? When I come to set off I find I’ve got a puncture. That is a bad thing but at least it didn’t happen when doing 67kph downhill earlier and it is a front wheel puncture which is easier to deal with and the tools in the car are here too. I change the tube and set off again stopping to see the Bell Miners we’d heard.

I keep the pace up as the skies are darkening and thunder can be heard in the distance. Then it gets really dark and lightning can be seen rather close and in the distance we are going. As I get towards Windsor where we are staying tonight I come to wet roads showing the puncture had delayed me to avoid a good soaking. I get to the motel and prop the bike up as the next shower hits and hits hard. There are some good heavy showers and a rainbow in an oddly yellow sky at one point. All in all it was a useful puncture. I still hope I don’t get another too soon.

103.84 km today in 3 hours 38 minutes – an average of 28.5 kph. Total so far 4130.18 km

Friday 19th October - Day off the bike in Capertree Valley

Friday 19^th October

Misty start down in the Capertree Valley from the rim

The Capertree Valley is publicised as the largest enclosed canyon 

The Noisy Friarbird is aptly named. We came upon a large flock in the fog and the noise of their calling and squabbling was amazing.

White Throated Treecreeper

Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo

Hooded Robin

Laughing Kookaburra

Common Wallaroo. A large shaggy marsupial we had not seen before so it is not that common.

Birdwatching and sightseeing in the Capertree Valley, a quiet country area with some interesting birds. It is warm amd sunny and the wind is low. Perfect day for cycling!

0 km today in 0 hours 0 minutes – an average of 0 kph. Total so far remains at 4026.34 km

Thursday 18th October - Up to the Blue Mountains on the Big Ring

Thursday 18^th October 

Australian built Drover aircraft at our lunch stop at Bathurst airport

White faced heron looking up at a drone that someone was flying nearby

Sunset over the Blue Mountains

It was cold with a heavy dew at the cabin this morning. Took the bike out to start about 15 km east of Cowra where I gave up yesterday. Rufous Songlarks still calling all around. They really put on a vocal show. Cycle east along the A41 which has a good surface mostly and it is not very windy and there is no headwind today. Main problem is the amount of traffic and narrow shoulders but the drivers have more of a problem with me than the other way around an no-one hits me. Mandy suffers worse when she strips over a bit of metal fastener that is embedded in the tarmac. She grazes and bruises hands/wrists and even gets a cut on her chin. Driving is a bit painful for a bit but manageable as it is an automatic.

The scenery is like England with lots of winding turns and climbs and descents. Without the headwind it is really rather enjoyable. See Superb Parrots including a male in Lyndhurst. Other colourful parrots all around including Eastern and Crimson Rosellas.

There are short spells of light rain and it is more a view of grey hills than blue mountains.

We pass through Blayney which is like a wild west town in style. There is a rule that everyone must park rear end in at 60 degrees to the kerb and it looks really odd seeing everyone parked that way

Next town is the large and very busy Bathurst where the drivers are very aggressive and not at all like the journey so far. Probably what we have to look forward to in Sydney in a couple of days. Distance to Sydney is under 200km and really could be done in a long day from here if needed.

We have lunch at Bathurst airport which has a De Haviland (Australia) Drover parked outside. It is a bit  like a DH Dove but is a tail dragger with three engines. When I was a kid there was a book at home with pictures of children in Australia taking lessons by radio and the flying doctor travelling in DHA Drovers. There is also the odd looking Transavia PL-12 another aircraft of Australian origin and the first time I’ve seen one.

After Bathurst we start climbing in earnest and the highest point of the route today is at the Yetholme Crest shown as 1180 metres. It is well graded and I make it on the big ring with a cog left to go and without getting out of the saddle. Is this all the Blue Mountains has to test me? The route we will take next will climb back out of Lithgow (we dropped down to about 910 metres here) but never above 1086 metres which is just 1 metre more than Mount Snowdon!

Have a quick shower at Lithgow at 5pm hen set of quickly to look for Flame Robin where we’ve seen it reported. We don’t see it at Blast Furnace park in town so we drive out on one of the routes towards Sydney to a picnic spot. Good views and sunset but no bird at first. Then one shows up briefly but oddly for this showy bird he slinks away. It’s a new bird for us though.

Back to town after dark for a Big Mac before getting ready for tomorrow’s day off the bike. We are going to the Capertree Valley just north of here for the scenery and birds.

151.42 km today in 6 hours 21 minutes – an average of 23.7 kph. Total so far 4026.34 km. Cracked the 4000 km and 2500 mile barriers!

Wednesday 17th October Quandialla to east of Cowra plus we get our bogey bird

Wednesday 17^th October

Before the ride it is so wet the cats are hiding in drains.

Arriving in Grenfell

The Crested Shrike Tit - the bird we have been seeking so long.

 Starting to ride again after lunchtime birdwatching

Wet on the inside, hydrated on the inside

 I may bumble but I ain't dry at the moment.

It is still raining when we get up but it soon stops though it can bee seen heading away the way we are going later. We were going to go to the Weddin Mountains National Park but it is a long gravel road and after all the rain in the night we decide not to risk it. Well Mandy tells me we are not going to risk it and I wouldn’t dare overrule in case I get stuck!

We look around the town’s many grassy areas for parrots but not a great many about. We go to the wetland centre and find a tiny Baillons Crake showing briefly at the water’s edge, so it’s a good start to the day.

It is still spotting with rain as we head out to yesterday’s finish point and find a freight train picking up grain from the silos at Quandialla. Naturally I try to take photos and succeed before the security guard notices and politely asks me to leave for safety reasons. Companies are very concerned about liability claims even more then in the UK.

I finally start cycling after 10 am and the sky still looks threatening. I get to Grenfell, which is a well preserved brick built historic town and take time off to visit the famous Company Dam where we have lunch and look for a bird we’ve been seeking for ages in West Australian form. We dedicated several days to staring at empty trees trying to see it!  I’m just thinking we’re not seeing a lot when a bird flies into a nearby tree. At first I assume it is a Golden Whistler but no it is a Crested Shrike Tit and a pair show themselves really well in low trees. It is a curious looking bird, like a large Great Tit but with a large hooked bill. Job done but now it’s back on the bike in gloomy weather for another 55 km to Cowra.

There are hills and bends on the route and it is like cycling in the UK. Especially when the rain starts! I recall cycling in the UK thinking how different it would be in Australia! See Superb Parrots and lots of Rossellas en-route and finally after over 90% of Australia has been covered I hear and then see Rufous Songlark, a bird I’d expected to see by the roadside all the time. It is a most impressive songster and after the first I hear more along the way.

Tonight we’re staying in a nice cabin on a camp site outside of town. After a quick slump with a beer I drag myself out for another short spell in the saddle to cut down tomorrow’s route. I don’t get as far as I’ve expected and sit watching a spectacular rainbow in the last rays of sun waiting to be picked up.

A good day for birds but a short day in the saddle with much less wind than over the last three weeks. Tomorrow the wind should be low again but they are still talking about rain. This pleases the locals but not me as I’ve got to get up the Blue Mountains tomorrow.

115.81 km today in 4 hours 42 minutes – an average of 24.6 kph. Total so far 3874.92 km

Tuesday 16th October - Cycling passed West Wyalong and a little help with birdwatching.

Tuesday 16^th October

Birdwatching does result in some wonderful sunset views like this one at Nudges Dam, a small pool near our hotel.

Art on a grand scale - on the side of large silos at Weethalle

I suppose Mandy thinks she's funny!

A few wrinkles are appearing in the roads now.

Perseverance has certainly been required on this trip.

Douglas Dakota preserved as a memorial at West Wyalong where we stay tonight.

West Wyalong is in the region of Bland. 

Even they have to acknowledge the humor in the name.

Most roads are well maintained with very little patching. 

This bit, near Quandialla, is an exception!

Our kind host Mikla shows us the work she and Duane have done to make their property good for birds and other wildlife. When I rang her from a UK phone number she thought initially I may be a crank. After meeting me she was probably sure I was one.

Start day with breakfast at sunrise at Nudges Dam but nothing shows up. The wind is strong and it rained in the night so I suppose the birds have a choice of puddles near their roosts. At least this means I get on the road early and although the wind is strong it is from the north so it is no hinderance and at times it helps. It also means I don’t have wind noise in both ears so I can hear bird calls as I ride. Lots of parrots but main sounds are from Galahs and the explosive calls of groups of Apostle Birds and White Winged Choughs which line the roads.

I’m managing 25 kph or more so I catch up with the cold front which has passed over Rankins Springs in the night heading east ahead of us. I then manage to ride clear into the sunshine beyond and the day goes really well apart from some long sections of rough road surface.

We pass through a very sad run-down settlement of Weethalle which as empty closed shops and some sad old buildings. It does however have a spectacular example of Silo Art – a giant mural on grain silos. The figure of a sheep shearer and of a farmer. Really very impressive.

Along the way Mandy sees a pair of Cockatiels by the roadside. Lucky I saw one yesterday so I could carry on covering ground to get to West Wyalong before noon. We are staying here tonight and it looks an interesting sizeable historic town. I see a pair of Turquoise Parrots but they are gone when Mandy catches up.

In order to free up time for bird watching long the way tomorrow I carry on to the small town of Quandialla and a little beyond before finishing my ride at just after 3pm. I pack my bike in the car and we drive on to Grenfell and after viewing the bird friendly sewerage works we visit Mikla who does indeed show us round her property which includes two moderately sized hills with gum and wattle trees. She shows us the trees she has planted with her partner, Wayne, with a view to recovering the land from a former unnatural sheep grazing area. In just a short time she has attractive many birds and was able to show us a Speckled Warbler and several of the range restricted Superb Parrots which feed on trees and on the ground and fly over in the late afternoon to roost near the road. These are the two birds I most wanted to see here.

After leaving our kind hosts we drive back 100 km west to West Wyalong into the weather front we had passed earlier in the day. As it gets dark the sky is lit with an impressive lightning display but no rain until we are about to book into our motel when the heavens opened! The lady booking us in reveals the British woman who cycled across Australia earlier in the year as part of a round the world record attempt stayed in the same hotel. I remember seeing her website and she had cold weather including snow. It was her blog that warned me to expect the weather might not be all hot and sunny.

We manage to unload under cover without getting wet and prepare for another early start tomorrow. We can rest when we get home but a lie in does seem appealing.

All in all today was a good day. Let’s hope the rain passes in the night and that I don’t catch up with it again.

155.64 km today in 6 hours 3 minutes – an average of 25.7 kph. Total so far 3759.11 km. Only four more cycling days left.

Monday 15th October - Birds not bikes, including our first Cockatiel

Monday 15^th October

Sunrise at Chat Alley. No Chats though.

Fleece instead of Lycra today.

The hide at Nudges Dam

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. Big, noisy and boisterous.

Rufous Whistler makes a sound like a whip crack.

Red Capped Robin is a really handsome fellow.

Our first Cockatiel. 

The Avocets in Australia are a separate species and have brown heads

Day off the bike. Very early start for birdwatching to north of Rankins Springs. We followed the directions in book and on websites to the famous sites of Lake Cargelligo (pronounced Kar Jelly Go) sewerage works, Chat Alley, Old Wheat Paddock and Whooey Tank. All sights apart from the sewerage works were very quiet due to the drought and strong winds. Highlight of the day was our first ever wild Cockatiel which Mandy noticed at extreme range on a dead tree. I managed to get close to it when it went onto another view and get good views and pictures. The ponds at the sewerage works were alive with birds especially a very twitchy flock of Pink Eared Ducks which are always good value.

From information on the web I contact a lady called Mikla who is involved with organising birdwatching events in Grenfell where we will pass. She has a large area of land which she is planting up to make it wildlife friendly and has regular visits from two birds we want to see. She kindly agrees to let us visit her tomorrow if it is not raining, which it might be according to the forecast.

Finish day at Nudges Dam where we watch birds coming in for a last drink of the day including some gorgeous Mulga Parrots.

It was warm and windy today and tomorrow is due to be the same but also with the likelihood of rain showers in the afternoon. Guess which way the wind is supposed to be blowing!

0 km today in 0 hours 0 minutes – an average of 0 kph. Total so far remains at 3603.47 km