This and that…last minute details.

By this time next week we should be in Torquay along Australia’s southern coast just south of Melbourne. Our bikes have been boxed and my panniers are nearly ready with just a few things yet to pack. I made a round trip to pick up Joe in Ames, IA on Thursday.

One of the pressing logistical issues tackled this week was what we would do with our shipping boxes once we arrived in Australia. I have spent significant time constructing boxes that were within the dimensions allowed by Qantas Airlines and would fit our bikes. I was hesitant to dispose of them outright and have to spend the time when we arrive in Darwin building new ones. Through the WarmShowers network I was able to locate a host in Darwin, very near the International Airport, who was willing to receive and store the boxes until we arrive in August. This is a great relief and will be a big time saver.

Our departure is on the solstice. Summer solstice in the U.S., winter in Australia. It had occurred to me that we would be cycling during the Australian winter, not too bad given high and low temperatures ranging from the mid-60s (F) to mid-40s. One thing I had not paid too much attention to was the number of hours of daylight available to ride. Looking at the current sunrise and sunset times we’ll have about   9 ½ hours. That should be plenty for our first week as we will be traveling along the coast taking time to stop and take in the sites. There will be plenty of time to increase our mileage crossing the rather desolate outback. Into July and August, and as we travel north the daylight hours will grow longer.

Adapting to Australia is another thing to be mindful of. We will be riding on the left side of the road with traffic, so I will have to re-mount our helmet rear-view mirrors to the other side. It also just hit me this week that I need to track down my power adapters for powering and recharging my laptop and other electronics. Reading the book Under a Sunburned Country / Down Under by Bill Bryson I was reminded a number of times of the over abundance of “world’s most venomous” snakes and spiders in Australia. This was brought close to home last week when my niece was bitten by a Copperhead while rock climbing in Kentucky. After a medical helicopter evac and 2 days in the hospital she is doing fine. My reaction was to decide on a well-used pair of Nike tennis shoes rather than my Teva sandals for walking while off the bike. What was I thinking anyway, it’s going to be winter. I just don’t want to rely on cooler weather to keep the likes of the, Red-bellied Black Snake, Western Brown Snake or Eastern Tiger Snake, or something as ominous as the Southern Death Adder at bay. Tennis shoes probably won’t do much to stop a bite, but I will be able to run faster….

…and 4) Wear really fast tennis shoes.