The Overland from Melbourne to Adelaide

Loading up the bike at the trainstation... the blurry photo is accurate relative to how I was seeing everything!





At 5.30 am my alarm went off and I sat straight up in bed. I was actually relieved to have the alarm go off so I could quit pretending to sleep. I threw the piles of semi-sorted gear into my panniers, stashed those items that I wouldn't be taking in my duffle, and jumped into the shower.

The taxi was prompt, and I loaded in no time flat. The driver, a man of middle-eastern decent, thought I was crazy to be doing this trip... I seem to get that a lot here! At the train station he firmly shook my hand a wished me "good luck"- it was all very touching. It's surprising how a small gesture from a stranger can mean so much.

Initially I thought that it was just fatigue, but as the train pulled out of Melbourne, I began to feel genuinely terrible. Within an hour I had a full-on fever, head-ache, coughing, the works. I managed to sleep most of the 10 hours to Adelaide, being woken up every hour or so for a broadcast tourist announcement. I tried to take photos of the noteable stuff, but only the Murray brige photo turned out. I'm not certain why it is significant, but I think it has something to do with being big, or old, or made from matchsticks or something.

I've checked into the Adelaide YHA (youth hostel), and I'm going to hole-up here until Sunday in the hope that I will feel up to crossing the one low mountain pass of the journey..! I'm force-feeding liquids, vitamin C, and a little sushi, as well as sleeping for enormous stretches of time. I slept straight through from 6pm until 9am today, and that was after sleeping 10 hours on the train.

I went for a short walk to the central market to buy supplies, and found a fleece jacket on close-out for $7. It is surprisingly cold here, and I needed another layer. The market was excellent, with lots of fresh fruit, used books, and myrid exotic curiosities from around the world. They also had EXCELLENT coffee!

Well, I'm off for another nap. I will then start the task of figuring out how to actually get out of Adelaide and such.

Rest and Prep

Had a brilliant day in Melbourne today. I slept like a dead man, and woke to sunny skies. After an easy morning of coffee, coffee, and an excellent tuna sandwich it was off to buy a few last items and a train ticket to Adelaide. The ticket price including the excess fee for the bike was a mere $74AU and I was told that I didn't need to box my bike- Fantastic!! Tested the Spot Satellite Tracker in Jason's back yard and it worked brilliantly as well. I can only hope that I only need to use the "I am fine" button...

My train leaves at 8.05am on Thursday, so tomorrow is a free day in Melbourne. I'll be assembling the bike, packing, and generally faffing about.

Melbourne

Finally made into Melbourne this morning at 8.05am. I'll add more to this post after I get a good night's rest under me, but wanted to let everyone know that there are boots on the ground in Australia. Melbourne is 15 hours ahead of Minnesota time, so at 11pm here its 8am back home... been traveling for 48 hours, time to rest.

Airports and PA mind-control

I'm sitting at gate 120 in LAX, listening to the loudest airport p.a. system I've ever experienced. There is a women essentially screaming instructions in rapid-fire spanish directly overhead- I'm having flashbacks to Catholic school in Guatemala! Of course in Guatemala the screaming would stop when you complied with directions...

My flight boards in 2 hours at 8pm. I've been at the airport since noon, and I've got an 18-hour flight ahead me... I should have never stopped huffing paint! The LA weather is lovely, and I'm enjoying the sunshine after all the Minnesota rain. I've checked the weather forecast in south Austalia, and regardless of the temperature the all important wind seems to be shifting again to the south!!

Jason is still allegedly meeting me at the airport, and still seems to have a full itinerary ready to keep me from sleeping. I'm sure he mentioned 'wake boarding', but I'd have sworn he said 'water boarding'! Anyway, I can't wait to have boots on the ground in Oz!!!,

Airlines- and the collapse of western civilization

Its a looong story, but the short of it is that for some reason no one can explain to me, I was not allowed to board my flight out of Thief River Falls at 6am. Every other passenger in the terminal boarded...even though I checked in first, had all my affairs in order, etc.! So, I came back to the airport at 2.30, waited until 4, was delayed in Hibbing and again in Minneapolis. I missed my connection overseas at LAX by HOURS!

All day I tried to get a NWA supervisor to speak with me regarding this situation, with no luck. I literally ran my cell phone dead on hold with NWA "customer care". If I ever get the chance to meet the TRF/Bemidji supervisor, Roger Tuttle, I may just punch him in the face on general principle! The only people worth a damn at the entire Thief River Airport today were security: TSA, TRF PD (Yes, I mean you Seth!), and especially Les Johnston the TSA supervisor-Thank you Les for being not only damn good at your job, but for being a stand-up guy!!

With no overseas flight and an uncertain stand-by ticket to LA, I was at the point of despair. I asked the gate agent James M. if he could possibly help me... the man was AMAZING! He simply took command, made decisions, and even berated the Qantas "customer care" agent for being an idiot- got me an overseas flight and confirmed my flight to LA! I'm exhausted or I would sing this man's praises even more... perhaps I'll amend this later.



I took this snap on my camera phone, while James was saving the day! NWA sucks beyond belief- I literally had delt with more than a DOZEN other NWA people, all of whom could (or would) do NOTHING! This man deserves something beyond a mere promotion; he may actually be single-handedly running the entire airline for all I know! I should also note that at LAX Mr. Kamran Kaiser went above and beyond as well, helping several of us brain-dead travellers find a hotel even though the ticket area was clearly closed.

So, in a mere 24 hours I've made it to Los Angeles. However, on the bright side I do have all my luggage including the bike.
I also spoke with a shiney-new grad student on the shuttle bus. She will be doing an anthropological study on spirit guides in Papua New Guinea while living with the natives. She genuinely believes that she will subsist for 2 months collecting rain water! She will do this as method of avoiding dysentery from the regular water. I would LOVE to hear about this in 2 months time- honestly, I think they might just eat her on general principle!

...And away we go!

Its about 9:30pm on Thursday night. I'm packed, and everything is loaded into the cruiser. I fly out at 6am from the Thief River Airport. I've got a couple-hour layover in Minneapolis, and then TEN HOURS at LAX before I fly out after 11pm! Its a 14-hour flight to Melbourne, so I'm looking at about 33 hours in transit. Skippy (Jason Scheepers) has already informed me that he will NOT be letting me sleep until dark the day I arrive (allegedly to help me beat jet lag, but I have my doubts!), so I'm in for a study in sleep deprivation!

I took my boxed bike to the airport today and weighed in on their scale, then went home and loaded it to capacity with stuff. The rest is going into one duffel and a small carry-on. I was informed that we are now allowed only one bag on the flight, and that I will have the privelage of paying extra for both the bike and its extra weight... If I could get to Australia in a timely manner any other way I would NEVER fly again.

I had a good scare last night when I was switching out my old Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires for the new ones I've been sitting on for months... Schwalbe had sent me the wrong size! The box said 35C the tires were 32C or smaller. Fortunately, I happen to still have a Christmas gift from my folks from two years back in the form of two Schwalbe Marathon XR HS s in the right size! So I'll be rolling a bit slower, but the toughness is there.

"Get to bed Nels"

Final Tune Up and the Mindset of Mastery

I spent yesterday evening in Grand Forks with Dave Sears getting a final tune-up and some modifications on the bike. Dave is a consummate professional, and while watching him work I became aware of one of the traits that I've noticed about true craftsmen over the years- the way in which they control the tempo of the activity that they are engaged in.

I first noticed this phenomenon as a kid, watching my cousin Denny evaluating a rifle. To the casual observer he was simply turning the weapon over in his hands a few times. But I became keenly aware of his level of absorption and focus. His casual conversation would continue during the evaluation, but he seemed to me to be on "auto-pilot". The tone of his voice would change subtly, his responses to questions would be a little too offhanded, and time just seemed slow down around in the room until his examination was complete.

There is a similar sense of calm, easy purpose, and an economy of motion when Dave is working on a bike that can only come from years of working through the trials and frustrations of any specialized activity. The result of this diligence, coupled with pride in one's work and a genuine love of the activity, is the "mindset of mastery". This mindset seems to cross all genres and activities, and it is the reward for learning to temper oneself... I have a LOT to learn in this area!

In addition to a comprehensive tune-up, Dave removed my failing STI shifters and installed Dura-Ace bar-end shifters and of course new brake levers (Tektro's). On his advice, today I'm replacing my rear cassette and putting on a new Sram chain. Of course then I have to put the bike through it's paces and get a feel for the new systems.

For me, having work done by a profession of Dave's caliber truly enhances my enjoyment of bicycling. First of all there is the HUGE increase in confidence that I have just knowing that nothing has been over-looked or done in a half-assed manner. Then of course there is the "feel" of having your finely-tuned machine run at it's optimum level. And finally, it's just fun being around people who genuinely enjoy what they do, and do it at the highest levels. THANK YOU DAVE, I wish you were coming along on this ride!!!