Day 103 (Lancelin to Jurien Bay)

April 14 (Sunday)
Day: 110km
Ride time: 5 hours

After waking up from a disrupted sleep, I packed all my gear up and had my oats for brekky. I decided to head to the small IGA in town to charge my phone while I relaxed a little before I took off. I felt incredibly tired this morning, a combination of tiredness off the bike and from waking up all night to the people around my tent.

The Chinese girl in the IGA had difficulty comprehending my need to charge my phone. After umming and aahing for a few minutes she went and asked the store supervisor. As she approached the supervisor, in a somewhat alarmed state, the supervisor instantly thought I was up to trouble. I was baffled that this girl was so shocked and jaded by a simple question of mine if I could plug my phone in the power point behind her counter. The manager looked at me, presumably thinking I'm a bum, and said it wasn't allowed. I walked back out and luckily found a power point on the footpath outside. I wasn't keen on using my pre-charged battery here as I want to save it for when I'm camping in the bush and need it more.

Taking off I had to back track 7km to the main road. The ride was hilly at times but all in all pretty good. I saw some beautiful country. It was amazing at points, as there were massive sand dunes in the middle of pure shrub land.

I could not believe my luck as around 85km in I received a call from my French friends, who I met in Norseman, saying they just drive past me. Norseman is the last town along the Nullabor, being over 1500km away from here. It was fortunate I was listening to my music as the phone rang through my speakers. Normally I probably would have the phone off or wouldn't be able to hear it if it did ring.

They told me they were planning on camping about 80km from where I was. I was actually planning on stopping at Cervantes as I was still pretty tired, this would have only been 85km for the day though. I said to them that I could ride to Jurien Bay, which is 25 km past Cervantes. They said they'd stop there and I would meet them.

I soon realised that they would probably be in a caravan park. As I rode I contemplated what I would do. A caravan site definitely wasn't in my plans, and also that of my budget. To my luck I receive a message off the Frenchies saying that I didn't have to book a site and that I could just set my tent up next to them. This was great.

I was very relieved to pull in and see them again. This was hard when I said by to them in Esperance as we had such a great time together. Tonight was made even more beautiful by a perfect sunset! Tomorrow I hope to do around 130km.

Day 102 (Perth to Lancelin)

April 13 (Saturday)
Day: 134km

It was hard to say goodbye this morning. Luke had come down to Matts and all three of us went down to the Subiaco market at the local primary school. As much as I wasn't in a position to do so, I spoilt my self with a fresh coffee and enjoyed my final moments with the boys. I'm well aware I probably won't see them for quite some time now.

In the same fashion of every other departure, I thanked everyone for a great time and all there help. I knew deep down as I was leaving that the oncoming months are going to be very long, tiresome and lonely. Keeping a strong mindset and knowing this is what I put myself in for I took off in the direction for Lancelin. This is a town around 130km north of Perth.

I felt physically great taking off on the bike. I suppose a week off will do that to you. I was surprised at the smooth transition of my legs and knees to the new pedals. It is quite common for joints, in particular knees as even lower backs, to respond to subtle changes in pedal positions. I hope today's experience can carry on for the rest of the journey. The bike was packed to the brim with supplies, making the bike even heavier then before. My goal is to get to Geraldton without spending any money at all, Geraldton being 480km away. I have a 500gram pack of red split lentils (2$), 500grams of whole meal couscous ($2.50), three tins of bake beans ($3), 750gram packet of oats ($1.15), 750gram homebrand sultanas ($4) 500grams walnuts ($9) and two left over two minute noodle packets, some brown rice, green tea, honey and herbs and spices. I plan for this to last me until Geraldton and have some left overs for even further ahead.

It was weird getting back on the road but I just had this feeling like it was meant to be. I wasn't aware where I would sleep tonight. I pulled into town and quickly got back in the swing of things. I instantly started scanning the area for safe spots to camp. The only downfall were all the signs around town saying "No camping allowed". These signs were mostly around the beach area as well, giving me reason to think the rangers might be on the lookout early in the morning.

It was pretty late in the day when I pulled in. I had trouble finding any amenities close by so decided to fill my water up at a tap in the front of someone's property. I ended up deciding to set my tent up at the back of a football oval amongst a few bushes in the back of town. The area looked completely dead and this was around 20:00 in the evening. I thought this would be a safe bet for a goodnights rest. Turns out I was wrong.

Throughout night I had a range of annoyances from the local people. At midnight I had a car come up to my tent with its headlights on. After this I had some drunk people throw bottles close by. Following that I heard the most derelict female Australian voice yell out "Look at that F***in dickhead in his tent" I must admit the commit was half slurred but still enough for me to gather what she said. Fair to say it hasn't been the best luck sleeping here!

Day 101 (Perth - Rest day)

April 12 (Friday)

This morning I was up nice and early to get down to City West Farm. I was very fortunate last night, as I went past a bakers delight shop just before they closed up and scored a free loaf of whole meal bread. I made some honey sandwiches before I left to catch the train. The farm is located only 5 minutes past the city, only two train stops past the city centre.

The day was great. I met a good bunch of people and learnt a little bit about the centrelink system. A fair few of the people working here have to sign a book to verify that they have come in, in order to receive payments. I reckon this is a great set up as it is encouraging people to actually work for their money. It is a way of instilling a work ethic into what many would label as dol bludgers. I met a diverse range of people - Turkish Cypriot man, an Aboriginal man and a few non-aboriginal Australians. The Turkish-Cypriot told me a few stories of his homeland and about the Greek invasion a few years back.

I found the Aboriginal bloke to be a great guy. He was a shy fella and displayed immature mannerisms, but the mannerisms were no different to any of the other middle age people here on the dol. I felt like I wanted to help this fella and spur him on to get into the workforce. I felt this guy had an excuse to be on the dol. He has moved around quite a bit and worked on a few cattle stations up north on Aboriginal land. He told me one of the first things the "blackies" taught him were to collect bush tucker. You can imagine this man, full of wisdom but none that seems to be able to carry into mainstream work force. He said "I always wanted to be a doctor, but I'm no good with math! That's not really [math] part of the culture up north west". He also explained to me he comes from a family of hard workers and that it's been passed on to him..

The day provided many great insights, environmentally, governmentally, socially and culturally. To my surprise City West Farm also provided a free lunch from their fresh produce.

Tonight Matt and I headed down to the Essendon Fremantle game. This was great. It started out one sided against Essendon and then turned around in the second half. I tell you what I was getting quite annoyed in the first half with all the Freo supporters around me! I was wrapped in the end as Essendon ended up winning by four points!

Tomorow morning I'm off nice and early. After tonight's footy game I made sure all my gear was packed and that I had everything I needed. I am expecting this next part of the journey to be the most difficult so far. I really need to make sure I'm organised and have everything I need.

Day 100 (Perth - Rest Day)

April 11 (Thurs)

Today I went back to the museum for the final time. The Aboriginal history section is up there with some of the best insights I've seen.

After the museum I went to the productive garden, close to the Perth train station. I wanted to have a good look in the day time to see what type of species were actually in there. I have to acknowledge how great this set up is. It is free to anybody (or anybody aware) and any of the surplus produce gets given to homeless shelters around the city. It is ran and managed by an non-profit organisation that receives grants from the government. The non-profit group also relies on donations. The maintenance is generally done by volunteers, or unemployed people working for the dol. The garden is well kept, perhaps a little to well to abide by council regulations, but still an amazing piece of work. A great deal of attention has also gone into it, so that it does not overload the structural properties of the underground car park beneath.

This is really a win win for every one. Educating the public on what type of species grow well here, showing that a productive garden is possible, providing organic produce in the heart of the city and providing pleasing aesthetic value amongst a concrete setting.

I saw some workers at the back of the garden. I thought I'd take the opportunity to get over there to learn more about this set up. When I spoke with them I learnt about City West Farm. This is an organic set up similar to that of Ceres in Melbourne. It is a small scale farm, more like a permaculture set up property. They sell fresh produce to the public, provide work for youth or unemployed people and have a great little cafe. I quizzed the guys if I could come down and also volunteer my time for tomorrow. They were wrapped and gave me all the details. This has worked out great as I can now spent my last day in Perth learning more about this great set up!

Tonight Matt and his partner, Luke and I had all went to the roof top cinema in north bridge Perth. Matts mum could organise tickets through her work so we made good use of hem. This was a great night, the movie was also good value. It was Total Recall with Arnold Swarznegger. I am so happy with my time here so far and feel very lucky to have two great friends here who are able to show me around. It has certainly made my time here a lot better then I expected.

Day 99 (Perth to Rotnest Island)

April 10 (Wednesday)
Day: 30km

This morning I met up with Matt in Subiaco. We caught the train to Fremantle to spend the day down at Rotnest island. I was very fortunate that my friend Luke could organise two free tickets. The tickets are quite costly to go, a the ferry operator has a monopoly on business and charges a higher price.

The island was absolutely beautiful. Matt and I did a whole loop of the island, stopping on several occasions for a swim an a snorkel. We had a snorkel for at least 2hours.

I found the snorkelling here great. It wasn't spectacular coral and reefs yet it still provided much beauty. I saw a bright blue fish, almost illuminating in the water. Only a few minutes later I saw some coral of the exact same blue colour. This to me was an interesting insight into the possible reasoning for this particular fish to have such the unique colours that it had. It made me think about kangaroos, lizards or other Australian land animals. They also seem to camouflage to their surroundings. I wander how we humans are evolving to camouflage to our surroundings..

Day 98 (Perth - Rest Day)

April 9 (Tues)

Today I did a bit of washing and packed up my gear. Tomorrow I will be heading to my friend Matts, where I will stay until Saturday morning. I decided to hang around until Saturday this way I can watch Essendon play Fremantle Friday night. Matts a freo member and can organise some tickets.

Later on in the day I went to lederville and caught up with some friends I met whilst riding. We met in Ceduna, the town at the start of the Nullabor. This was crazy to see them after a few months of riding. It was perhaps just as weird for them, seeing me with a big beard and all. This was great catching up and reflecting on stories over the Nullabor.

Day 97 (Perth - Rest Day)

April 8 (Mon)

This morning was a strange feeling. I was at Luke's by my self and a thought suddenly occurred. I realised that sitting inside with no noise actually drives me crazy. I used to experience this but always thought it was my inner self wanting to do something, or exert energy. I have not felt like this once in the bush and accredit this to the sound of nature. I never feel like I need to go somewhere else when I'm in the bush, yet whilst sitting inside I had this strong desire to do something. I opened the doors to let some sound in and surprisingly felt much more comfortable.

Today I picked up my bike and wet back to the museum. I had a good look around, spending even more time in the Aboriginal cultural section.

I noticed in town a productive garden section. This is next to the cultural district in North Bridge. I didn't eat a great look in there but realised there were a few different herb species and a couple fruit trees. An keen to head back at some point and have a good look.