Journey of Charity with Michael Davey

An amazing day today…clocked up 12000 km and $22000 raised for the foundation.
David at the Bordertown Dukes Motor Inn gave us a free motel room….it’s great when we meet a generous kind-hearted person and David certainly is just such a bloke. He regularly hosts cyclists raising funds for charities….thanks mate..legendary…

David’s motel in Bordertown.

On the road today just before Bordertown. I was just collecting in a pub and this bloke asks me how far I’ve ridden. When I tell him he chokes on his beer..it’s funny when I think about this because to me it doesn’t seem that far, 12000 km….been a bit of a blurr really….it’s only when I see a map of Oz that I stand back and say wow, that’s a long way.

It’s amazing riding around Oz….every now and then you stop for a drink, look up and see something unusual and totally unexpected…yesterday it was the ocean…seriously, from near Murray Bridge I rode down to this lookout and there it was…big, blue and beautiful….being a surfer it’s always a very welcome sight, but incredibly on my ride I’ve rarely seen it. Going to have to spend more time at the beach when I get back.

On to Victoria and Horsham tomoz….160 km.
The only state left to ride through is Tassie, but that will have to wait for warmer weather…cyclists and ice on the road don’t mix!
PTL
Cya 🙂

A huge thank you to Dave and Pam Mace for hosting us while we were in Adelaide. Also, a huge thank you to Rudolph and Barb just down the road for letting us stay with them. And a v big thank you to Mick Parker for donating $100 and Joey Kolossa for flying down to Adelaide to catch up….it was great to catch up with my great mates!

We’ve just arrived in Tailem Bend, 120 km from Adelaide.

A huge thank you to Stacy and David at Motel Riverbend in Tailem Bend for a free motel room….very kind-hearted people. That’s their motel above.

I rode from Adelaide up into the hills to the east and along the Torrens Valley. In the valley were these stunning wattles…..

Around Adelaide there are heaps of vineyards. Been wanting to get a photo of the green vines, but it’s winter…oh well, never mind, no point in winening about it eh?

Yet another stunning wattle. Apparently, there is always a wattle somewhere in Oz flowering…that’s why green and gold are our colours in sport….

Spoke to the homeless on Fri night in the CBD of Adelaide. It was amazing and Barbie and I were very moved by the hard times these people are experiencing….one minute all is well and the next they’re out on their own with nowhere to go…it’s estimated there are 45000 people homeless in Melb….similar numbers exist in most capital cities throughout Oz…hard to imagine really….

Tomoz it’s on to Bordertown…175 km….will clock up 12000 km along the way.
We have now raised $22000 for the foundation…ahhooooooo!

Gods blessings 2u….

Cya 🙂

A huge thank you to Karina Lindsay of Heart and Soul Women’s Fitness Centre in Nowra who continues to fundraise for us…she’s an angel!
Also, thanks to Laura Community Caravan Park in the Clare Valley for putting us up in a cabin….it was awesome!

Well, we’ve finally made it to Adelaide…..that’s 11700 km and over $21000 raised for the foundation and man, it’s very cold and wet down here which makes the riding a challenge. Sometimes we sit in the car with heater on full, waiting for the rain to pass -it’s dangerous riding in the rain because traffic doesn’t always see cyclists owing to the poor visibility.

One of the many stunning rainbows the we’ve seen in SA. The rain is so fine and with the sunshowers that persist down here we often see ten or more every day and this one is extremely low to the ground making it a very rare sight.

The cabin where we stayed at Laura Community Caravan Park in the Clare Valley…because I was cold and wet it was awesome to get into a warm cabin and a hot shower.

Being interviewed by a local journo down here.

Why I’m riding around Oz.

A hay wagon with hay bails in the Clare Valley just north of Adelaide.

Here are three of my best mates….we all joined the navy as 15 year olds. That’s Dave Mace on the right and Joey Kolossa on the left with Mick Parker (Hamish)on the far left. We are staying with Dave in Adelaide. I spoke at his church on Sun and will speak to the homeless this sat night….Dave does great work in feeding the homeless in the CBD of Adelaide.

I will be leaving Adelaide on Monday and riding to Bendigo…not in the one day, it will take 5 days or so to get there.
I have less than 2000km to go now. Am really going to enjoy these last few km’s although, it’s going to get even colder than it is now….brrrrr….yesterday I had to keep changing my gloves it was so cold…Barbie puts them up on the dash to get them toasty warm….it’s awesome putting them on in the cold.

God’s blessings 2u.
Cya 🙂

A huge thank you to Arno Bay Foreshore Caravan Park for three nights free camping, Nuttbush Caravan Park and Fuller Views Cabin Park….the latter put us in a v warm cabin for free…..very kind and generous of these people to help!

Sunset from the wharf at Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. I’ve said it before I know, but after the Nullarbor this entire peninsula was a breath of fresh Eyre!

One of the more remarkable things about riding on the Nullarbor Plain is despite the barren landscape every now and then a field of golden canola appears suddenly and quite unexpectedly out of nowhere….amazing!

Sunset from our campsite at Nuttbush Caravan Park….we were expecting an appearance from Tina Turner, oh well…..

Sunrise from the same place…No Tina Turner, but still, God doesn’t disappoint with sunsets does He?

The Arno bay Foreshore Caravan Park at Arno bay, a v beautiful part of the Eyre Peninisula.

Just a few days ago we were exactly halfway across the continent. Adelaide will be this Friday….amazing when I think about the distances we r covering…..

Pt Lincoln on the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula.

The beaches down here remind me of Jervis Bay back home…the sand is very white and the colour of the water is the same stunning turquoise as back home…

Fuller Views Cabin Park where we were hosted for free….the cabin was awesome. This was at Stirling, just south of Pt Augusta.

Today’s ride into Pt Augusta and beyond was one of the the most challenging so far…only 70 km but the wind was gale force and blowing me all over the road…wow, it was pushing me into the traffic going the same way…man, it was challenging.

We collected in the three pubs in town and have now raised $21 000 all up.
Today’s ride brings me to almost 11 500 km in total. Tomoz I will be riding down the Clare Valley, a v beautiful and stunning part of SA…really looking forward to it….
God bless u…
Cya 🙂

We r at Kimba, halfway across the continent. A huge thank you to Jan and Charlie McKenna for giving us a free night in a motel room at the Kimba Roadhouse, Motel and Caravan Park. Really lovely people and their roadhouse has the cheapest quality food that we have had since leaving central QLD…..that’s in 9000 km…very impressive….also, I heard someone say that a beer is only $4.50 and that’s the cheapest beer in the same distance!

The Kimba Roadhouse….

Today is only the second day that I felt like fainting on the bike…the first occasion was on day one….not sure why, but maybe it’s related to the wind last night…v v strong and our tent felt and sounded like it was ready to take off! As such, we slept hardly at all….

Less than 500 km from Adelaide now and have raised over $20 000 for the foundation Ahhhhooooooooooo!

Very tired now….zzzzzzz
Cya 🙂

Wow, we have just finished the Nullarbor….what a ride!
I’m 10 days ahead of schedule and with two speaking gigs in Adelaide I have to slow down. As such, I rode down the Eyre peninsula to Streaky Bay, a very beautiful part of SA. We look out our tent and the ocean, dolphins and birds are right there…amazing stuff!

A huge thank you to Shelley Beach Caravan Park in Ceduna for reducing our cabin fee to just 40 a night…..wonderful to be in a cabin and sit out the cold wind and rain for two days and nights!

This is from near our tent in Streaky Bay.

Sunrise the next morning from near our tent.

The incredibly rugged coastline near Eliston….

These heads are part of a series of carvings on the coastline near Eliston on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula…..amazing to see them coming around a corner!

The extraordinary coastline just south of Streaky Bay….the mauve colours of the rocks are striking…

These sand dunes go on for kilometres….they are very similar to snow covered ranges…..being a snowboarder it made me feel like racing downhill on my board with Barbie in hot pursuit!

Murphys Haystacks…a very unusual rock outcrop…think they are granite…whatever they are it’s an odd sight in the middle of a paddock of sheep…

This is the cast of a white pointer caught off the coast nearby…it’s a world record line catch….1520 kg, 5 metres long caught on 24kg line…can you believe that? The pectoral fins were 1m long!

I’ve just clocked up 11 000 km and raised almost $20 000 for the foundation. Incredibly, a complete stranger donated $1 000! Would one day like to meet Paul Warburton….good on ya mate!

Planning to ride to Kimba on the Eyre Hwy tomoz, 176 km from Poochera where I rode to yesterday.

God bless you and thanks so much to everyone who has donated…$20 000 is a wonderful amount to reach on our ride……
Cya 🙂

A huge thank you to Spirit of the Desert Motel in Eucla, Border Village Motel, Nullarbor Roadhouse Motel and Nundroo Roadhouse for free motel rooms….it’s a big help!

Border Village Motel just inside the SA border.

Nullarbor roadhouse and the countryside was as flat as a tack!

Nundroo roadhouse.

On the Nullarbor there are heaps of these signs. We’ve seen kangaroos but no wombats or camels. Apparently, there are 400 000 camels running wild in Australia but the only ones we’ve seen were in a paddock in Central QLD.

Behind us are the extraordinary 130 m cliffs of the Great Australian Bight…truly spectacular!

These cliffs are at the top of the Bight where whales and their calves can be found. Once again, the cliffs are spectacular to see.

Southern Right whales…a mother and it’s calf at the Head of Bight, a very stunning part of the coastline on the Nullarbor.

Some of the stunning array of wild flowers one sees on the Nullarbor.

Still more stunning windflowers.

At the moment we are sitting in Astro Boy (our car) in Penong, just near world-famous cactus beach. I would like to be riding but it’s raining….we r going nowhere fast….
Anyway, I’ve ridden 1200 km in 6 days and we r trying to get to Ceduna today for the weekend and two days rest, but it looks unlikely with the weather. So tonight it’s going to be Penong….

God bless you.
Cya 🙂

A very big thank you to Neil at the Madura Roadhouse for a free motel room…ur a legend mate! Also, thanks to the balladonia roadhouse for a free room.

We started the Nullabor trek at Norseman and I rode 195 to the Balladonia Roadhouse. Essentially, a roadhouse is a petrol station, restaurant and bar, and a motel with nothing else around for hundreds of kms. Balladonia roadhouse had the most expensive petrol in Australia…. just under 2.10 a litre. It’s sad really because back in Norseman, only 195 km before, it was just over 1.70 a litre.
Anyways, the next day we found ourselves on Australia’s longest, straightest stretch of road….

145.6 km and man it’s straight and flat.

This is on the same stretch of hwy where I clocked up 10 000 km. That was yesterday….as you can see, I was very excited….check out the the Eyre hwy behind me….straight as a gun barrel!

As yesterday progressed we stopped for morning tea and I had covered a huge distance in a short period of time. One of the dreams that I’ve had for a long time now is to ride 300 km in one day. So far, I’ve ridden 250 and it was looking like I might be able to pull of the 300 if I could keep the pace going.
The wind was blowing strong behind me and the terrain was flat so I gave it my best shot….

It was very late in the day and cold, but I still managed to clock up 300 km. The world record is 400 km someone told me. Ok, I didn’t break the record, but was so thrilled with the days ride that when I finished I could feel a Neil Armstrong coming on so I moonwalked across the Eyre Hwy!
It was amazing because when I reached 275 km I became so fatigued that I struggled to use my brakes…my hands just wouldn’t work!

So, two remarkable kilometrestones in the one day 🙂

This a beautiful rainbow that we saw this morning just before I started riding.

This is John Smith. John and his brother Alex are riding from Bunbury in Wa to Melbourne raising money for a friend who fell off a skateboard and suffered significant brain injuries……v impressive indeed!

Sunset from our free motel room at the Eucla Spirit of The Desert motel.

Just ridden almost 700 km in three days so tomorrow is a recovery day…will only ride just under 100 km.
Very tired now…..zzzzzz
Cya 🙂

A huge thank you to Clare at Ravensthorpe Caravan Park, pine Grove Holiday Park, Esperance and Great Western Motel in Norseman for free accommodation. Wonderful stuff…..

The Great Western. Hotel in Norseman. We couldn’t do this if it wasn’t for the generous folk who give us free accommodation.

Camel sculpture in Noreswood. Camels played a huge part in the history of the outback. It’s estimated there are 400 000 camels running wild in Australia.

I start riding the Nullabor today. It’s roughly 2000 km to Adelaide. Hopefully the wind we be behind us all the way.

Cya 🙂

See, told you we had a great tail to tell!
This is in Esperance and the ride was the most difficult of the trip so far….185 km with v sore ribs, and the wind was blowing 60 km/hr from the left-hand side and it had me going all over the road….v dangerous, but the Big One upstairs kept me safe!

West Beach in Esperance. The sand is A4 paper white and the beaches are stunning!

Twilight Beach…stunning also. This is part of a 40 km drive along the coast and it’s incredibly beautiful.

Yet another gorgeous spot.

Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grande NP. Esperance was explored by French sailors in the 17th century, hence the name.

My ribs are getting better and today I rode 80 km up the Hwy towards Norseman. Will drive to where I stopped and kick on to Norseman tomoz, which is the beginning of the Nullabor Plain. And can you believe it, westerly winds are forecast for all of next week, which will make the trip to SA a very quick one indeed! I’m hoping for at least one day where I can ride 300km. 250 is my greatest distance so far, but with a strong westerly behind me and the flat terrain, 300 km is a possibility. Here’s hoping….ahhhhoooooooo!

Have raised $17 000 for the foundation. If you can help in any way, please do.

Heading off for an ABC interview in Esperance.
Cya 🙂