I just returned from nine days of cycle touring on the Great Victorian Bike Ride. 600+ kilometres of sun, rain, wind, cycling and fun in just over a week. I’ll post a proper entry in the next day or so as I’m still processing the photos, doing washing, cleaning tents and generally recovering from what was a somewhat arduous journey, but in a good way.
I had a ball, and wish it could have gone on for at least a few more days. I spoke to people last night, our last night of the Ride, and we all had mixed feelings of sadness at the Ride ending mixed in with feeling of happiness or relief at going home. I’m glad it ended on a high note, rather than at the point of being utterly fed up and just wanting it all to be over, but I would have enjoyed a few more days out on the road. I’m sure I’ll annoy people when I get back to work because I’ll be grinning from ear to ear all week.
This experience has changed my life. I won’t explain how in detail here, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I want to live my life on this trip. I’ve grown up a lot in a mere nine days. Some of it came from when I slogged it out for hours on end against an unrelenteing headwind. Some of it came from screaming with joy at 50 kph on a downhill section. Some of it came from the quiet moments before falling asleep on the last night of the Ride. There were so many little pieces, so many wondrous memories that are all my own that made the trip one of the best experiences of my life.
I’ll be posting photos of the trip as soon as I manage to sort through the seveeral hundred frames I shot.
If you’ve ever thought of doing a trip like this, be it trekking in Nepal, backpacking around Europe or just living it up in the Caribbean, don’t wait to go. Set a date, book your tickets and go. Life is far too short to waste on grinding away at work for years on end.
This Ride wasn’t just Great, it was Amazing.