I had dreamed for quite some time about making a cycle journey from Brisbane to Sydney, and I wanted to make it different to any other route one would take with vehicular transport. The great dividing range runs parallel to the east coast of Australia and provides some spectacular scenery. This would be my answer! With some time on my hand between racing commitments and university semesters, it dawned upon me that this dream COULD happen.
With a bit of organisation and map reading and marking, I was on my way. It was not long into the journey however that the harsh realities of such a journey struck my body, my head and my heart. The lines I had casually drawn on maps from the comfort of my own bedroom were in reality long, hard slogs up and down mountains, through dead roads, soggy dirt roads damaged by recent floods and constant drives against blistery cold block head winds. Ignorance is bliss and sheltered me from these facts that may have turned me off the trip all together.
The roads although being hilly and hard were through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ridden through in the world. Straight from Brisbane I headed inland over the majestic Tambourine mountain. The first day then also took me through the wonderful Dunbar Valley and into Murwillumbah. A difficult but stunning 210km! I was so encouraged by how beautiful and how much wilderness there is here in Australia. I was mere kilometres inland from one of the most heavily populated regions of this country and felt like I could have been in an isolated, wilderness wonderland!
The abundant isolation available in Australia has its appeal to the solo traveller. From the tidy Tweed town of Murwillumbah, more majestic roads over and out of the valley into the cattle country of northern NSW. This super tough 240km day was relentless. Coming into Grafton I had my doubts as to whether I was over ambitious with my route plan. Weather was on my side and I was determined to push on. The hardest climbs of the ride were to come in the coming days as I climbed the Northern tablelands on corrugated sealed and unsealed back roads. What stunning countryside, especially after all the rain!
As I travelled south, and gained altitude, the temperature dropped significantly and the wind picked up as it swept across the western plains and onto the tablelands. By this stage the legs were really feeling the pinch. Towns are few and far between in this area, meaning a heavier pack with more supplies. I made it to the highest point of the ride in a frigid wind to the tiny village of Ebor at 1,300m. From here things started to look up as surely it was all downhill from here. WRONG!
Motorists and motorbike riders would always advise me “yeah mate that road is flat as a tack” or “Its all downhill from here mate!” these comments were never correct and began to infuriate me. I believe being on a human powered vehicle gives you a much greater understanding of the terrain you are on. Hills that appear downhill from the comfort of a seat heated 4WD it seems are quite different on the saddle of two 700c wheels.
From Armidale my trail took me through bushranger territory to Tamworth and then through the rolling hills of the Hunter Valley before I entered Sydney from the north west.
Despite the difficulties and despite the setbacks. I did complete the journey, it was 1,400km and I finished in one week. Being on one’s own on the long country roads gives you plenty of time to reflect on why undertake such a journey. In every town along the way I would meet people who would ask me what the billy’o I was doing clad in lycra with a backpack. I told them and all were very supportive. Times are tough on the road sometimes, but helping me was the encouragement of all these people I was meeting and all the wonderful people at home who were cheering me on. It makes it easier to push on with these images and thoughts in your mind. The personal mental energy was also required sometimes. That little voice of ‘the little engine that could’ ran through my mind on those long, lonely climbs “I think I can, I think I can… I know I can, I know I can!”.
The ride was undertaken in part to raise awareness for diabetics of all ages. I myself live with Type 1 diabetes and have done for the past 15 years. Undertaking such a trip with diabetes throws more challenges at you than otherwise. However these challenges in anything we as diabetics dream of undertaking are never anything more than that… just challenges! Never insurmountable! The chant of “never give up” is I know cheesy but so true, especially with the diabetes factor! These challenges sometimes make the path even more worthwhile!
Complimenting the advocacy work with diabetes, the ride was a fundraising mission for the Australian Huntingtons Disease Association. This is a terribly tragic neurodegenerative disease that has very little publicity behind it around the world. We have done a fabulous job and have so far raised nearly $4,000! So much support from so many wonderful people is really humbling and a really fantastic step toward better care and more research for those affected by Huntingtons Disease. There is still plenty of time to donate if you can donate it would be so legendary: www.everydayhero.com.au/justin_morris
The journey has opened a door to a part of the world I never expected to find and I am so grateful to have pedalled every centimetre of the way and have the privilege of seeing, smelling and feeling it all from atop my trusty pushy! Long live the pushy and Never Give Up.
Justy