E Sharp

Unscripted – Rest of Week 3 – Casterton to Naracoorte

October 30, 2022October 31, 2022E Sharp

25-28 October 2022

193 kms (120 miles)

Total trip kms: 925 (575 miles)

Day 18 – Casterton to Penola – Gunditjmara, Jardwajali Country – 102 kms

The world has reduced to such a small space – a couple hundred metres in any direction. It is wet and cold and the foggy mist quickly clings to my face, raincoat and rain pants. It is quiet, the world muffled by moisture. It’s like those silent mornings as a kid that excited me so much knowing there had been a big dump of snow and we’d get to go sledding.

Unscripted – Week 3 – Days 15-17 – Hamilton to Casterton

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022E Sharp

22-24 October 2022

Part week 3: 87 kms (54 miles)

Total trip kms: 732 kms (455 miles)

It’s an old theatre stuffed full of camping, hardware, auto and gardening equipment. It’s not a place for the claustrophobic or someone of any width. There is stock overflowing the shelves, on the floor and bulging into the very narrow aisles. There’s metal stuff and tools and locks and latches and everything you need for a camping portaloo. There’s stakes and shovels and ropes and power tools. And absolutely everything a bloke could ever want, I think. I imagine my handyman Nigel, who is the only person I know that possesses a width appropriate for those cramped aisles, could wander in there and never come out.

But I do find a tarp up where the theatre stage used to be and then crab-walk sideways down another aisle to find the cash register.

And now, with a secondary floor for my saturated tent, we pack up and head out to see another volcano.

Unscripted – Week 2 – Echuca to Bendigo; Warrnambool to Hamilton

October 22, 2022October 24, 2022E Sharp

15-21 October 2022

Week 2: 397 kms (247 miles)

Total trip kms: 645 kms (401 miles)

The gentle, quietly-spoken checkout chick at the veg market asks me: ‘are you safe’?

I’m not quite sure of the question’s intent. Is this related to domestic violence? Is this related to the housing crisis? Or maybe it is because the town upriver is going under with record flooding and the relief centre is here in town?

She must see my quizzical look, because she adds, ‘Is your property safe? Do you have somewhere to stay?”

I say, “Oh yes, I’m fine. I’m just passing through.”

I had used Echuca as a place of safety, as a place to sit out nearly 100 mms of rain over a few days. But I am getting the heck out tomorrow because one of the rivers that runs through town is already very high, and given that it just flooded out 85 percent of the town upstream, I’m thinking it’s not going to be too good for this town either.

Unscripted – Safety Update

October 16, 2022E Sharp

I am safe. I am in Elmore and will make my way to Bendigo tomorrow.

Unscripted – Week 1 – Corowa to Echuca

October 14, 2022October 14, 2022E Sharp

Yorta Yorta Country

8 – 14 October 2022

248 kms (154 miles)

I had always envisioned this tour as a solo one. But it was evident before we even put one foot to a pedal that I was going to have company. Murphy decided to come along for the ride.

I know my grandfather, if there is a place you go after death, would be having a good giggle. He subscribed to the theory of Murphy’s Law (if it can go wrong, it will) so much that he even had a poster about it on his garage workshop door.

Unscripted – This IS a shakedown ride

October 8, 2022October 7, 2022E Sharp

Wiradjuri country

3-5 October 2022

134 kms (83 miles)

I’ve accumulated a fair bit of baggage over the past year. A lot of middle-aged people have accumulated baggage at this point in their lives.

But luckily, this baggage carries no emotional or physical burden – just gear and stuff.

Unscripted – Not a shakedown ride

October 6, 2022October 6, 2022E Sharp

Wiradjuri country

22-24 September 2022

228 kms (142 miles)

It’s not a shakedown ride. It’s not the start of the tour. It’s just a ride. But it follows along with not having a script.

I took the mountain bike in for a service on Tuesday, but the bike shop suggested I replace the rear hub. They will order in the hub and rebuild the wheel and have it back to me by next Monday or Tuesday. And so that is being done.

Unscripted – The bike, the gear, the route

October 3, 2022E Sharp

The bike

Bicycles must earn their names. Some bikes I’ve owned have never had a name. And some bikes I’ve owned had names that became apparent over time: Lil’ Demon, Lil’ Boy Blue, Pansy, The Wizard.

And so now I’d like to introduce you to Atlas.

Unscripted – Introduction

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022E Sharp

There’s a script to life that tells you what to do, when to do it, what to say and how to interact with others. It is society’s script of social norms.

The script is a bit like a milepost guide to interstate exits, only it details life stages instead of restaurants and accommodation.

If you stick to the script and travel along the freeway of life, your road is well-defined and engineered by all those who have passed through before.

Beyond Bananas – Conclusion

September 17, 2022E Sharp

I like the stories with happy endings. Or the ones that end up being a start in a series. You know, like when Police Academy 2 was better than the original movie. Never mind about movies 3-6 or 7, of course! I also like stories where the end is really the beginning.

And so Beyond Bananas is coming to an end. There will be no more weekend rides or day rides.