Lilydale to You Yangs

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This blog is 30 years in the making, I have turned 60, and it was exactly half my life ago that I assembled a travelling party of four to cycle to Alice springs, this is my story. The group consisted of my very good friend Colin Harvey who I had met on a previous ride at a chance meeting in Armidale NSW, Bruno who worked as a bike mechanic at Bill Mannings Cycle shop in Lilydale, Kirk Hurran a good friend and of course yours truly Daryl James Thompson, a veteran of many rides over the last few years. We had trained hard and conducted a lot of research for this journey as to where we were going, in particular the gruelling Oodnadatta Track in Northern S.A. Saturday morning had arrived, it was the first day of autumn, it was a warm day, a little overcast with a welcome blue sky, to ride under.

We set off at 9.30 from outside Bill Mannings bike shop with a rousing send off from our many families and friends who gathered to send us off and to wish us well on our journey. Some of them followed us as far as Ringwood before they let us go into the wide blue yonder. But first we had to negotiate 40 ks, of city traffic, there were posh dudes in jags and mercs, etc. who thought by paying a lot of money for their motor car, they also bought the road, it was a little tricky riding a fully loaded bike, to Melbourne.

There was a touch of irony cycling through Melbourne on a quiet Saturday as I passed my City Office where I had worked for 15 years, also half my life at the time, a thought of never returning entered my head as I saluted the big green building. Travelling west of Melbourne we had to negotiate further city traffic, riding through Footscray, my birth town, I mentioned to Colin, my Grandnother Stella Thompson, lived close by in Altona, so we took a little detour, to have a cup of tea and some cake to a surprised Nanna.

We had arranged to meet Kirk and Bruno the next day at the Geelong Post Office. After saying Goodbye to Nanna we set off for the You Yangs National Park to find a bush camp for our first night on the journey under the stars. To get there we battled a strong headwind which punished our weary legs, but after 112 ks, of cycling we found a bush track in the park, that led to a sheltered little grove of trees. With the trees cutting the fierce wind and offering some fallen wood for our first of many campfires.. We set up our little one man tents our home for the next few months, and made a small cooking fire.to enjoy our first dinner of pasta and veggies that we had bought a long the way, Both colin and I had set ourselves a mission of achievements for the journey, Colin's was to learn to walk on his hands and mine was to relearn the mandolin. So after dinner Colin brought out his guitar and I introduced my Grandfathers old mandolin, a beautiful instrument with pearl and ebony engravings. Before stoking the fire i remembered that mum had lovingly placed some home made garlic bread.in my panniers, great comfort can be found in the little offerings of life and such was the case, with garlic bread hauled out of the coals, washed down with billy tea, And now time for our first jam, no not the condiment, but guitar and mandolin, Colin and I played under the stars. It was a perfect first night until some Johnny DoGooder spotted our fire and made us put it out, we tucked in our little cocoon tents, legs a little weary and turned in for a well earned nights sleep.

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Photos

Kirk, Daryl. Bruno and Colin
Launchimg place for the big ride ahead

First camp, in the you Yangs
Little tents in the Long Grass