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I cycled into Sydney on Saturday morning putting an end to the Perth-to-Sydney cycling trip. I MADE IT!

First the stats:

1. Albany : 658 Kilometres (from KD Cycles in Rockingham where I bought the computer).
2. Norseman : 1366 Kilometres
3. Ceduna : 2571 Kilometres
4. Port Augusta : 3050 Kilometres
5. Adelaide : 3385 Kilometres
6. Melbourne (possibly)
7. Sydney : 5217 Kilometres (includes about 500KM around Adelaide)

From West Wyalong to Katoomba had lots of rolling hills and a tough 1-in-8 ascent up from Lithgow to Mount Victoria. I got my second flat about 500m up the 3KM ascent so had to push the bike up that incline for about a kilometre until I found an old passing place where I could change the tyre. This was only the second time I’ve had to push the bike since Perth and soon realized it’s not that much easier pushing a 40KG bike up a 1-in-8 hill with a flat tyre than it is to cycle with it! At this point, I was on the lowest lowest granny gear moving along at a tortuous 6KPH and I couldn’t have cycled with any more incline at this point.

The Schwalbe Tyres have been utterly superb and I’ve only had two flat tyres since Perth – both in the front, and both caused by small slithers of metal from (I assume) the occasional disintegrated truck tyres that line the roads.

There’s no pictures of the Blue Mountains or the hills because for five days the weather looked like this:

Yup. After practically rupturing my heart against my Adams Apple on the Mount Victoria ascent, I was none-to-impressed either.

From Katoomba down into Sydney was exceedingly pleasant despite most of it being on the Great Western Highway and I started the day with fully inflated tyres for added effect. The road drops about 1,000 metres between Katoomba and Penrith and its fair to say I probably cycled for less than 10K of the 40KM stretch and freewheeled the rest. I spent the night at the Voyager Motel (which is the only ‘bicycle friendly’ Motel I could find this close to the City) and then cycled into Parramatta before following most of this route into the City.

Despite what I’d heard about Sydney drivers, I have to say that cycling into the City wasn’t too bad on a Saturday morning and it was even bearable in Rozelle just before the cross over into the City:

I’ve put my bike into storage in Rozelle until I find somewhere to live (easier than lugging it around the City).

The stretch from Adelaide has broken me. My left knee was really painful for a few days and still niggles now; my right knee started to hurt because I was using it to compensate for the other, I’ve pulled a shoulder muscle such that when I relax, my left arm goes numb and get pins and needles, I’ve cranked my neck which makes looking right a bit difficult, my backend feels like I’ve accidentally walked into the Blue Oyster Bar and I am coming down with a bit of a head cold / chest infection with all the time spent in the rain. I’m French Connection UK’d.

But apart from all that: I’m Tip Top!

That really does end ‘my year out’ and its been a good one; four months of hiking, three months of cycling and five months of intense coding.

Hardest Days
Four days stand out as particularly hard:

1. Border Village – to – Nullarbor Roadhouse – 190KM (118 Miles) – 40+ Kilos of luggage.
2. Nullarbor Roadhouse – to – Nundroo – 146KM (91 Miles) – 40+ Kilos of luggage – lots of hills (the biggest is right, bang in the middle!)
3. Balladonia – to – Caiguna – 180KM (116 Miles) – 40+ Kilos of luggage and censory deprivation on the 90 Mile Straight Road.
4. Port Pirie – to – Port Wakefield – 125KM – Average speed of 12KPH because of the headwinds. Painful.

Smurf Days (Hardest Climbs)
Keira Knightly is not flat chested – she’s just tall, slim and her tits are stretched out. Australian hills suffer the same indignity! Australia is NOT FLAT. Many of the days have relentless rolling hills. There were only really two tough days where I had to use my full range of gears:

1. Adelaide to Stirling via Bel Air
2. Lithgow to Mount Victoria

None are particularly tough and by the time you hit them (coming from the West) you’ll be fit enough to tackle them.

NOTE: I’ve posted my route, where I stayed and daily distances below for anyone that is interested.