The first week of The Ride

The flight from Fiji to Sydney was surprisingly eventful with two bottles of champagne, too many James Blunt videos, and the cameo appearance of the ghetto blaster. Brisbane Becky had the misfortune of sitting next to us while the Canadians, Devon and Kristin chilled behind us one row. A half bottle later, we pulled out the ghetto blaster to start the party...we may have been playing the music thru the landing of the plane, which Aaron and Eric barely remember happening. Customs was also a bit dodgy, as the pure euphoria of seeing our bikes in one piece sent us over the party edge.

We met up with Lisa the Rockstar and headed to bonzi Bondi beach for some slightly overcast but still warm skies. Our hostel had flocks of parrots chilling and singing in the trees above. The ghetto blaster made another appearance and enticed two girls from Norway to join us for the evening of dancing and late night kebabs.

The next day we set out on a slightly overcast day to explore Sydney central. A beautiful and spacious city and we hit all the main attractions, took our pics of the opera house, botanical gardens, Darling harbor, and harbor bridge, which we will soon be biking over. very cool.

After another day of Sydney seeing, we began our trip to Warrnambool starting with a taxi to a plane to a train then a bus and then finishing the day with a 2 hour assembly of our bikes at the train depot. Finding a hidden spot in a massive and beautiful beach side park, we crashed for the night.

Our ride started off with a coastal cruise, then a slightly undesired detour inland and up hill. Off the bat, Eric's trailer mysteriously came off the rear axle of his bike, nearly sending him pavement-side. Fortunately the doctor said most of his injuries were emotional.

After a long and hot day of riding on seriously back country roads with next to no cars we were dumped off onto The Great Ocean road. Aaron nearly hit a kangaroo when it jumped across the road in front of him on a dirt road. We later saw two more chilling countryside.

After another day of riding along the coast, stopping at small towns along the way, we finally arrived at one of the highlights of the entire Australian coast: The 12 Apostles. We were chatting on the trail to the beach and as we turned the corner we were awestruck at the beauty of these limestone monuments. We decided to stay the rest of the evening for epic sunrise and sunset pictures. We biked to a lovely nearby town of Princetown and went for a coastal trail run before heading to dinner at the only restaurant in town, deservingly named "The Talk of the Town". amazing views and surprisingly tasty food.

The following morning was a ride and a half, complete with heat, hills, too little water, and a well deserved beer at the summit in Laver's Hill. A few times we stopped and picked dozens of fresh blackberries, which line the sides of the road. Finding a hot spot of gorgeous berries, Eric felt a pinch of sorts on his ankle. Low and behold, he was bitten by a quarter sized brown spider. not cool. But no worries, spiders here aren't as bad as the snakes. Having no idea what to do, we wet napkin wiped it, and road into town. After a final descend into Apollo Bay, we were able to enjoy a setting sun over the mountains off the bay. after a little laundry, food, wine, and these written words, we're off again. We're both doing well and are still friends.

till next time...

eric & aaron

PS pics will be posted soon...you're gonna love them!