Hobart (06/03/11-13/03/11) So we finally got to Hobart, found accommodation with safe tandem storage and headed out for dinner. We wandered down to the wharf where the Bob Barker and the Steve Irwin (Sea Shepherd boats) were docked, we couldn't walk up to them as they were sectioned off by the federal police because Japan had requested they be searched. The crews were partying in Salamanca, celebrating a successful anti-whaling season and also getting back to dry land. The next day was spent on dull stuff; we booked the tandem in for a service to try to sort the front rim problem out, booked flights to Melbourne and accommodation at the YHA there for our first night, had a clear out and washed the road grime off all our cycling gear. We did find time to ... read more

Caution, cycling content! The reason we came to Tasmania was to support Team Mad Women On Big Bikes at Evandale, so it was sickening to wake up to the sound of high winds and torrential rain on Saturday morning (because of the tyre technology it is unsafe to race Pennies in the wet) we texted Charlotte to find out what was happening and received a response that the day's racing was cancelled for safety reasons. The fair itself had also been called off and we arrived (in a taxi) to a very wet and rather miserable village, we found Charlotte and Kat sheltering in the Bakery Cafe along with their co-conspirators Gray and Alison. The decision was taken to make the best of a bad situation and we headed back to the B&B to get Penelope ... read more

The re-boot seemed to work and we made good time to Sydney, arriving about 1hr late, we were hurried through immigration, customs and the bug dump department at alarming speed and were very quickly shoved into a taxi and on our way. We got back to Glebe in time for a quick midi in the Toxteth Hotel (cue jokes about the world's stickiest bogie!). The next day was very hot and humid, we arranged an appointment with a "genius" at the Apple Store to look at my iPod charging problem and spent most of the rest of the day mooching around the Queen Victoria Building because it has air-con. Feb 3rd was Genius Day and we turned up expecting the worst, the iPod started playing up after it was out of warranty so Apple didn't have ... read more

...aaaand you're back in the east We reached Sydney by mid morning on the 5th Jan, gathered all our scattered possessions from the various luggage vans, loaded up the bike and tried to find a way out that didn't include steps. After several false starts involving steps, an escalator, tram tracks and numerous pedestrians who couldn't see a bright orange five barred gate when it was right in front of them, we found our way to a Gloria Jean's (coffee shop) for a very late breakfast. Vernon was immediately accosted by a bloke who wanted to know all about the bike and our journey, when we told him that we'd cheated badly and taken the train across the Nullabor he said "Don't blame you, don't blame you at all, there's drivers had to leave their cars ... read more

I apologise for the delay in getting this entry written (and therefore the ongoing delay to later entries), I've been completely stumped over what to write and it shows in the final product, hopefully the photos will make up for that. Christmas in Espie We got back to Espie without incident and checked into a very quiet YHA where we met Roland, a Dutch guy who had just cycled from Adelaide to Espie on a rather nice looking Santos tourer, his view on the Nullabor? The road trains were okay, but the heat very nearly had him beat. We were already thinking that we should take a train or bus across the GAFA, listening to Roland's story of his ride helped us decide, there's no way we could do the distances he was doing daily and ... read more