There is a large mound on the ground. It is a heap of clothing, food and all the other potential items you might take on the bike for a trip to remote places in winter. And now we need to figure out what makes the cut and what stays home.
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Wide Open – Shakedown and Up Ride
9 May 2026
I like fast rides in the forest – zipping down dirt tracks and always looking for the right apex in a corner. I love the adrenalin and dopamine hit when you get to the end and realise you didn’t mess up so much that you came off the bike.
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Wide Open – Shakedown Ride
28 April – 2 May 2026
Wiradjuri, Bangerang, Dhudhuroa, Yorta Yorta Country
28 April 2026
It’s been sunny for weeks. The temperatures have been perfect. It’s been that stable autumn weather of warm windless days and cool nights that used to be characteristic of March but has now shifted to April. And it’s lasted for an extraordinarily long period due to a blocking high pressure system that has not budged in more than 10 days. So we are off to take advantage of that. Better late than never, but I had commitments until noon today.
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Into the great wide open – Introduction
The light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter – and no, it’s not a train. We’re about to pop out at the end.
After a very busy, full-on year driving a 12-month project with more than 20 primary stakeholders to a very tight schedule, it’s just about finished. In eight working days spread over the next few weeks, I will finish the last of the reporting and tie up the final loose ends. Phew – it’s been massive. It’s been 18 months of work smooshed into 12.
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Interim – Knocking off Railway Rd
12/13 September 2025
130 kms
Yorta Yorta, Bangerang, Dhudhuroa, Wiradjuri Country
There is something about a road not ridden before. It doesn’t matter where it’s located or the geography or scenery that envelopes it. It doesn’t matter if it’s gravel or sealed, or uphill or down. It’s still a new road. And I must ride it.
Read moreNew Day Rising – Conclusion
Anticipation can build and build sometimes, until the thing you are anticipating is almost anti-climactic once it happens. Sometimes you have too much time to set expectations, too much time to form ideas in your head that might not match reality.
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New Day Rising – Day 28
Eskdale to Albury
Jaimathang, Dhuduroa, Wiradjuri Country
22 March 2025
The difference between the air temperature and the dew point is quite close. The heat of yesterday has seeped away; the humidity remains. The water vapour has condensed into tiny water droplets suspended in the air. It’s supersaturation down here at ground level, as if the earth has exhaled all that moisture from the rain and it’s now just hanging in the air. Maybe it’s a sign we’re finally moving from summer into fog season.
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New Day Rising – Day 27
Lightning Creek to Eskdale
Jaimathang Country
21 March 2025
The waves of hard rain finished in the early hours of the morning when today was just getting its groove, long before any humans were stirring… well, any humans, except the people who can’t make it through the night and must get up to pee at 2.30am.
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New Day Rising – Day 26
Big River to Lightning Creek
Jaimathang Country
20 March 2025
The moon is there. So is the wind. So are the clouds. Wind at night always feels ominous, even in windy places like Wyoming. The moon is probably somewhere around last quarter, not enough to really light my path as I pedal up the road in the dark.
That 5am alarm came too soon. I’ve probably only managed three hours of sleep last night. My head just kept needing reassurance that a big mass of clouds had not yet arrived.
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New Day Rising – Day 25
Livingstone Creek to Big River
Jaimathang Country
19 March 2025
You can see the cows’ breath as they exhale. You can see individual droplets of water on leaves formed from the heavy dew. You can feel the cold air creating goosebumps on your skin. It’s another 4C start to the day. There is no wind. There is just the cold, crisp air that has settled in the valley.
We round a corner with a hill rising sharply to our right. To our left, the open woodland with its short, angular trees feels a bit like something from one of the hobbit movies. In the shade of morning, it feels a little bit wild and a little bit creepy, as if the strands of moss and lichen on the tree branches might just reach out to grab you.
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