Friends. I wanted to start by saying how much I appreciate the love and support I have received from the entire Australia IBA community! I have received invaluable advice, constructive criticism, words of encouragement, and many offers of support. I am so looking forward to this trip and this challenge.
Not sure if I have mentioned this in prior posts, but this trip is in celebration of my 60th trip around the sun and my gift to myself. I have always dreamed of visiting your country, and I am beyond grateful to have this opportunity to see it this way. It is not lost on me that I will miss a lot of the beauty and nuance of Australia, and the opportunity to get to know some of you better, but this kind of riding is my passion (my wife says defect!) and my way of seeing the world. I promise to come back again when I retire for a trip at a more leisurely pace.
I have received several requests from folks asking if they can join me for parts of the ride. So, I thought it might be useful to address that here. I have absolutely no objection to anyone joining me on any of this ride. I have attached my itinerary, and this is my
Spotwalla link so you can see roughly where I expect to be and when. My tracker is satellite-based, so it should generally be pretty accurate and up-to-date.
I should also mention that I am keenly aware that plans break. I am not beholden to this one. If I change it, I will try and post an update here, and on my
Facebook page. Exceptions will be posted as cell coverage permits. If you don't see an update, something catastrophic has happened, or everything is going pretty much as planned. Please know that I am not afraid to abort this challenge if I have to. I will let you know if that has happened as well.
Here is my only request for those of you who wish to join in. Please understand that I have to ride my ride. My stops will be fast. I generally eat and drink while I'm rolling. I have to roll when I'm ready. I will be going on 4-5 hours sleep most days. I can't sacrifice 15 minutes of that to socialize. I do hope you understand. I am the friendliest guy you will ever meet, but this is as tough a challenge as I've ever done, and I need to stay focused on the goal.
For those of you in the Sydney area, my wife and I will be staying in the Sydney area for a few days after I finish. We would love to meet you then if you want to join us for a beer. Just email me, and we can make plans.
That's all I can think of for now. Peace!