Today marks 1 year since I departed Australia for adventures mostly unknown.
My journey to date has been incredible and in some ways it's hard to believe it's been a year and on the other hand it feels like I've been away for ages 😊
Below are some of the responses from people I meet when they see my flag on my bike, or my Aussie flag jersey, or hear my accent:
Did you cycle all the way from Australia, even on the water? 😂😂 (think they are hilarious with that dad joke)
Australia 😳. That's so far away, wow!
I've never met a “real live Australian” before (teenage Scottish girl who took a selfie with me in my jersey and posted it straight away)
Now you look like someone with a story to tell!
What, all by yourself? Solo? Alone?
Camping? In a tent? How long does it take you to set up? What if it rains?
That's brave; that's inspiring; gee that's sad you don't have any friends to go with(wife gave the guy a whack after that comment); do you feel safe?; aren't you scared?; what if you get a flat tyre?; what if you get lost; do you get lonely? Gee, I thought I was brave going to the movies by myself; I could never do that (my response - of course you can); don't you miss your family? (And of course I do! Soo looking forward to big hugs when I get back.); is that all you have? What? Everything is in those 4 red bags 😳; don't you get sick of wearing the same things every day?
“Australia - the place where everything tries to kill you” 😳. Soooo many people quote that line and proceed to ask me about spiders, snakes and crocodiles. (I do think, based on the volume of comments, we need some marketing letting people know the low likelihood of encounters as people are genuinely not visiting Australia due to this.). I have all sorts of responses depending on the person. Eg: Sigh and say I need to allow half an hour on the way to work to wrestle a croc, box a kangaroo, untangle from spider’s webs and avoid the snakes. We all laugh.
Many people have visited Australia, have a relative or friend who has, backpacked in their youth, have someone they know live there etc. all want to share their connection with a far off land.
The people I have met have made this journey so special.
Today for example, I brought my bike by train to Bad Honnef (1 hour by train) to meet up with and stay with a lady I sat next to on my flight a couple of weeks ago. We chatted for an hour on the plane and she has been trying to get up the courage to do a bike trip since becoming a widow and she invited me to stay and I said yes. Irmi met me at the station with her bike and took me on a guided cycle tour around this gorgeous area with islands connected by bridges, half timbered houses and shops, views to the castle ruins on the mountain.
Then once back at hers, Irmi had made an Asparagus,.caper and potato ragout and second course was cooked potato, cheese and a selection of dips 😊.
Then we went for a 6km walk through the neighbourhood, saying hi to so many people, walking with them for a while etc and then into the forest before completing a circuit.
Tonight we cycled to a wine restaurant in an old half timbered building with a leafy backyard to eat in. Yummy food and local wine and then back by 9pm and just made it as the rain came down.
What a blessed year it's been.. two months to go.
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