Nerd Em's Adventures
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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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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The most important thing to come out of this six-month tour was the return of ‘the roar’.
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1-3 April 2023
Kms: 172
Total Part 2 Kms: 3992
Total Trip Kms: 6440
Old Mill Track to Waygara – Gunaikurnai Country – 76 kms
The tent is wet. That’s normal. In six months of riding, I think I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve packed up a dry tent. But at least that means there’s moisture around, and that has made sourcing water less of a logistical issue this summer and autumn than it would be in a normal year.
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25-31 March 2023
Kms: 198
Total Part 2 kms: 3020
Total Trip kms: 6268
25 March 2023 – Newtons Crossing to Faulkner Creek – Bidawal Country – 21 kms
The sky does not look promising. Well, it does not look to promise any sunshine. It may promise some rain. But I’m not sure, I don’t know the weather patterns here. It’s not foggy; it’s not sunny; it’s cloudy but not terribly dark. So what to do? I’ve got plenty of food. We could hang here for the day and see if the weather improves tomorrow. We just need to get to Bombala before really heavy rain is forecast a few days from now.
But I don’t feel like hanging out here. I’m ready to move on. Plus, it’s a Sunday, and maybe there won’t be so much truck traffic on the dangerous Imlay Road if we try to make a little progress along it today.
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18-24 March 2023
Weekly kms: 313
Total Part 2 kms: 2822
Total trip kms: 6070
18 March 2023 – Errinundra Rd Quarry to Queensborough – Gunaikurnai and Bidawal Country – 35 kms
The light is blinding and refracts off the misty fog that is slowly dissipating as we head east. We’re high on a ridge on a road that is also a wide firebreak. That just means the trees are a bit further away. There are pockets of big trees with little understory, and areas that have been logged fairly recently. There’s long downs and ups and a helipad part way along.
The morning is quiet after last night’s rowdy wildlife – like everyone but a few small birds are hungover and waiting for the haze to go. As I ride, I think about the height of these ranges that catch the clouds and drop the rain and cool the air creating these unique ecosystems. I think about minimum fire intervals and our lack of understanding of how fire impacts the great majority of species in the forest – the fungi, the insects, the soil microbes.
I roll through a cathedral of shining gums and mountain grey gums on my way to see the plum pines.
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