Nerd Em's Adventures
30 May 2026 – 65 kms – Wakool to Moulamein
Wamba Wamba Country
My watch alarm alerts me that it is ‘sparrow’s gurgle’ at 5am. I immediately start packing up. Let’s see how far we can get toward Moulamein before the wind picks up. 5am is more sparrow’s fart, or even first light, in summer. But at this time of year, it is still pitch black out there. Sunrise is close to 7.30am. Sparrow’s gurgle it is.
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29 May 2026 – 84 kms – Mathoura to Wakool
Yorta Yorta/Bangerang, Wamba Wamba and Mutthi Mutthi Country
It is 3C outside the tent. I start the ritual process of easing my body into the cold. I pull down the neck buff that I wear over my nose and mouth to reduce condensation, I unzip the sleeping bag and then peel it back, trying to keep it from touching the wet tent sides. Then I slide down the sleeping bag liner to my waist, lift my butt, slide it to my knees and then pull the liner and bag from underneath me. Now exposed to the cold, I stuff the sleeping bag into its bag, roll the liner up and then lay back down to pull off my warm fleecy pants. Each act introduces the cold a bit at a time.
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28 May 2026 – 61 kms – Moama to Mathoura – Gulpa Island
Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country
The heavy dew coats every surface in big rounded drops. The fog descends, leaving the barren deciduous tree branches looking like fuzzy, black and reaching claws behind a transluscent sheet of cloud. There is a light wind already that whooshes wisps of fog upward and pushes strands of cloud together into greater masses.
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27 May 2026 – 47 kms – Barmah to Moama via Goulburn River
Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country
There is the pitter patter of rain outside early. Then the sun tries to break through. But that lasts less than 10 minutes. By the time we are packed up to leave, a low and misty stratus has set in. The guys go in a pannier to stay dry.
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26 May 2026 – 64 kms – Barmah National Park
Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country
The earth moved. And moved again. And again a few more times. The movement changed the course of rivers and was the catalyst for the development of the largest river red gum forest in Australia. It has influenced the course of human history to this day. Over the next three days, we’re going to unleash the geomorphology nerd and have a look at it all.
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25 May 2026 – 74 kms – Tocumwal, NSW to Barmah, VIC
Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country
The bed creaks as I shift my weight and swing my legs to a sitting position. The floor then creaks under my weight as I stand and then tiptoe my way to the toilet. I quietly brush my teeth and pack the panniers in the darkness of predawn. It will be the first of many dark starts on this tour.
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24 May 2026 – 94 kms – Corowa to Tocumwal, NSW
Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country
The clouds to the east coat the sky in a matted, thick grey. The bottoms and edges glow pink with the imminent sunrise. There is rain on the radar to the north that is slowly sinking this way. Red sky in morning, sailors (and cyclists) take warning. We are warned.
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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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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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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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