Friday, 1st April, 2005
March 30 – April 1 - Back to the Big Island
That night we decided to hire a car, rather than catch the bus back to Devonport. Same price, except for a tank of fuel. But the real reason? We could now stop off at the Anvers Chocolates Factory. Luckily they rented us a Tarago, so we filled it up with ‘supplies’. Don’t worry, Ann’s dairy intolerance is not affected by dark chocolate.
We dropped the car off at the rental car park and reassembled Argo while all the cars were driving onto the ferry. The ticket collectors decided we couldn’t board with the cars and told us to “see security”. Gulp! Security escorted us on board, making sure we were on the lower garage level amongst all the semi trailers. Come on, it’s a long bike with a trailer, but THAT long? Actually, we thought we might’ve been carrying more than our quota of fine Tasmanian dark chocolate. Phew.
We watched from the rear deck as the ferry left the terminal, did a U-turn in the Mersey River, then headed out to sea. Next stop, Melbourne, but only after a rolling night with waves breaking over the bow – luckily I don’t get sea sick (Ross is writing this entry because unfortunately I do).
We rode off the ferry, navigated peak hour traffic, and safely arrived at Erin’s for brekky. Not a bad effort for towing a trailer loaded with chocolate – to Ross’s horror, I had bought 5kg – but this will have significantly reduced before we leave Melbourne. It was great to catch up and hear about Erin’s China trip – Erin was OS when we had first been in town and ‘moved in’ to her apartment. You can’t trust cyclists when a comfy bed is on offer.
The day was going to be fairly busy, but less so after Erin offered us the use of her car. An invigorating journey, keeping Ross’s mind well engaged driving an unfamiliar vehicle on unfamiliar roads and doing a phone interview while searching for a petrol station to shut up the beeping fuel alarm while we panicked about being late for our talk… But of course Ross passed all the tests with flying colours.
We made it to the Kingston Rehabilitation Centre, where Dr Peter had arranged for us to talk at their Grand Round, a monthly presentation by guest speakers to the clinicians, therapists, and allied health professionals working there. Peter was a keen cyclist, read of us in a newsletter, and asked us to come along.
We were then shown the centre’s Gait Analyst Lab. A combination of biomechanical engineers, researchers, technicians, and a few therapists use this equipment to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly of your walking and then how to achieve a better outcome. Very powerful and exciting possibilities.
While driving back to Erin’s, Ann did a newspaper phone interview, which they wanted for the next day. We garaged the car, raced upstairs and got changed, raced down stairs to grab the bike, rode along the river to meet the photographer, did the shoot, then rode backed to Erin’s to meet her in time to go out to dinner. No problem.
We met my Aunty Kath, her daughter Felicity and friend Vince for drinks and a great café meal at Federation Square. It was a great and late night with lots of catching up to do. Tomorrow we’re having Morroccan with friends from the Stroke Research Institute and Ross’s cousins, then packing our panniers to hit the road again on Saturday. Oh, and by the way, we’ll be home in 17 days. Ann reminded me (not that she’s counting down the days, of course).
March 28 – 29 – “Bloomin’ marvellous”
Matt, Brooke, Grace (nearly 4 years old) and Sophie (18 months) helped us celebrate our one year anniversary of being on the road. Being Hobart, we had to celebrate with a glass of Cascade, one of our favourite beers, and brewed up the road! The beer was great, but couldn’t compete with the stunning drawing presented to us by the resident artist. Thank you so much, Gracie.
The next day Brooke drove us in to the Botanical Gardens. We spent most of the day there, but we had to start at a very special place – Pete Cundall’s Veggie Patch – “bloomin’ marv’lous!” as he would say. The Gardening Australia presenter’s veggie patch was packed – standing room only. No autographs though, he was probably having a cuppa.
March 24 – 27 – Easter on the Heritage Highway
Thursday was also a short ride, but it was still busy, and (being Tasmania) hilly (and being us, headwindy). The Easter weekend was starting tomorrow, so there were many trucks doing the last load before the holidays. We spent the time at Longford at a bed and breakfast, this time complete with log fire. Tasmania is full of b&b’s, usually historic. Perfect atmosphere for drinking tea and reading, so we dropped into the local second hand book shop.
Despite the drought effects, the country back roads are great riding. We had just turned back onto the main highway and could see a cyclist in our mirrors. Within seconds she was speeding past us even before we had time to say hello. Serious cycling! Further down the track one of our chains jumped of its rings. Another cyclist, travelling in the opposite direction, came over to see if he could help. Jake was from California and was riding to Sydney, then heading north for another week before going home. We offered him a place to stay, but he might beat US home! It’s the thought that counts.
We had two more pub stays as we rode through Campbell Town and Oatlands, where we spent Easter Sunday. If you get the chance, have a look at the old mill windmill they’re slowly restoring. Nice little town. Finally it was time to roll into Hobart, with its standard capital city traffic volume, but we had easy directions to our host’s house.
March 22 – 23 Design, art, and culture in Launceston
We said goodbye to Mary, jumped onto Argo, and were suddenly in Launceston. Maybe Ann’s idea about “doin’ nothing” has infected Argo. The engine hadn’t even warmed up, but that did give us more time to explore. We checked into a pub in the centre of town, had lunch in the park, then spent some time at the Tasmanian Design Centre.
As you’ve probably guessed, I have a keen interest in all things wood, so we spent a couple of hours in the new, architect designed building. Beautiful building (designed by Rick le Plastrier, for those in the know), fantastic exhibits, and great individual pieces. I would’ve still been there, but the door closed at 5 PM.
The following day included more “art stuff”, this time at Launceston Art Gallery. The Tasmanian Government had one a tussle with the ‘Big Island’ to win the “French Masters” exhibition, eighty seven small works done by emerging artists at the turn of the century. Picasso, Matisse, Rodin, Chagal and more. Not bad!
We walked back to the main shopping quadrant and went hunting for a special shop. Fourteen years ago, when we walked the Overland Track, we found a small wholefoods shop selling the best dried fruit we had ever tasted. Success! Despite having changed hands ‘Beulah’s Bulk Foods’ was still there, so naturally we stocked up on necessary cycling munchies.
Thursday, 24th March, 2005
March 19 – 21 – A cottage by the river
It was a quick ride from Deloraine to Exeter along the old highway. Just a couple of steep hills, but hopping off to walk rests your bum. So far the weather here is cool, but all the locals are still walking around in t-shirts and shorts.
We arrived at Groombridge Cottage at lunch time. Brian and Mary’s self contained cottage sits on their property, with a stunning view of the Tamar river and valley. The valley is a touring route, the main attractions being local wineries and ‘historic’ towns. Lots to see and do, and each day we were here we made plans to see and do everything. But just thinking about it was so tiring that we decided to stay another day and do it tomorrow. We were so comfortable here in the cottage that our one night stay suddenly became three, and we ended up doing my favourite thing of all: nothing.
March 17 – 18 – Chocolate heaven
After riding out of Devonport our first stop was only after eight kilometres. No, it wasn’t a flat tyre. We’d pulled into “House of Anvers”. Now if you don’t eat chocolate, this will make you start. Igor was trained as a pastry chef but started making chocolates after work. Now he exports truffles, pralines, fudges and plain chocolates worldwide. It’s the best we’ve ever tasted and our rationed bag only lasted two days!
We arrived at Deloraine that afternoon, booked in at the local pub, then immediately decided to stay another day. This is partly because the area is very pretty, but also because it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to meet the timing on scheduled stroke group meetings. The pub hamburgers were huge. Ann was feeling the cold snap, so went looking at the op shops for some long pants. She’s now wearing a pair of jeans costing three dollars! Stylish? Mmmm.
Wednesday, 23rd March, 2005
March 15-16 - The Nut
Today was a “driving around the countryside” day. We hired the old car from a local service station for 24 hours and drove up to Stanley, a small village at the base of the Nut, a large volcanic plug. It can be seen for kilometres, looking like something out of Close Encounters.
When you arrive you can either walk up, which is fairly steep, or go by chairlift. Nice view, but very windy, so after the uphill walk it was a quick trip back to the warm car (one of the attractions of a car).
The roads up this way were carrying a lot of traffic, mainly logging trucks heading to Burnie, the largest log milling town in the state. These are literally the ‘largest logs’, giant old growth hardwoods, nothing like the sticks from the pine forests on the mainland. The towns seem to be divided, either for or against logging, but I’m not abreast of the politics.
We then headed east of Devonport to the ‘historic’ town of Latrobe. We’d only been in Tasmania for one day to realise that every town here is ‘historic’. Latrobe is also connected to tree felling – it is where you’ll find the ‘Axeman’s Hall of Fame’. There are many past champions, but if you think ‘axeman’, then you have to think ‘David Foster’, the Tasmanian world champion who has won more competitions than anyone else. In fact, all 4,000 winning ribands are housed in the hall. Hang on, I’ve just heard on the ABC news that he’s won the sawing competition at this year’s Sydney Easter Show! Make that 4,001 ribands when he gets home.
March 13 - 14 – Bon Voyage
It was time to leave Melbourne, and tonight it was by ferry. When we arrived to board, the ‘Spirit of Tasmania’ had its bow opened wide, gobbling up cars, caravans, motorcycles and at least one bicycle with trailer. Before you do board, your vehicle has a security check and then you play ’20 questions’ with a quarantine officer. “Hi guys. Are you carrying any lettuce, potatoes, pears, or apples?” “Apples, to Tassie? No, mate.” ”Enjoy your trip, guys.”
After bedding down Argo in Garage Level 3, we found our way to our cabin. Not bad – very roomy. The engines were humming, so we headed for the top deck bar to wave goodbye to Melbourne. One of the pursers met us on the stairs, recognised our cycling gear and asked us to follow him. Kim led us to the check in desk, where Bevan up-graded our cabin – one at the pointy end of the ship, and with a window (square porthole?). Peter the chief engineer (remember, the day we rode into Melbourne?) had be ‘talking’. Bevan wasn’t letting on. “We know all about you two. Enjoy your trip.” Thanks guys.
By the time we’d finished chatting and arrived at the top deck, Melbourne was just city lights a couple of kilometres away. The sea was flat so the trip was relaxing and quick. We rolled off just before sunrise and dropped in at the visitor centre. We tried to organise a ticket on the bus to Stanley, and start our ride from there, but they wouldn’t be able to fit the bike on the bus. Looks like we’ll be starting from Devonport. Oh well, we’ll hire a car tomorrow and have a look at the north west anyway.
We found a close caravan park and Ann rested while I went for a walk around town. It was the labour day holiday so it was easy wandering. Historic buildings, local gallery, have a look at some fine local woodwork and clothing. But to top it off – a café where I bought a great coffee. And it’s Tasmanian. I’ll pick some up in Hobart and post it home.
March 10-12 – City living 2
All that mental activity wears you out. Just kidding, but if you do need to do an MRI scan, make sure your ear plugs are nice and tight. It’s noisy in there!
We’d been in Melbourne for four days now and hadn’t actually done any Melbourne things, such as shopping and eating out. Well our version of this was very low key. Ann needed to replace her dead cycling shoes, and we both needed proper waterproof jackets, not like the thin, slight breeze protecting pieces of plastic we have been using. We found it all at an inner city cycle shop, and spent the rest of the day doing research at the Tassie tourist bureau and Bike Victoria’s office.
The next day was Eating Day. After visiting staff and patients at Royal Melbourne Hospital's rehab centre, we walked down to Victoria Markets. We never get bored here, just walking around the quality fruit and veg and taking in the deli smells makes you want to do a fair amount of taste testing. So we did!
After a very late progressive lunch we walked down to the National Stroke Foundation office to finally say hello for the first time on our trip. It only took us 17,000 km to do it. We helped finish the working week with a bottle of bubbly, before we caught the train home with Jan, Erin’s mum. Jim, Erin’s dad as well as a great fisherman, cooked us a fantastic meal. King George Whiting, what can I say?
March 7 – 9 – Brain research with Prof. Leanne
Enough bike riding for the time being – here comes the interesting science “stuff”. Early Monday morning we caught a cab to the National Stroke Research Institute in Heidelberg. We were meeting with Prof. Leanne, Principal Researcher, to run some clinical and functional tests.
While these tests would be carried out, Stephen and ABC TV’s Catalyst team would be filming footage for a brain recovery story. One of our passions is to spread the word that you can recover from brain damage (even if you have to learn different ways of doing things) so we volunteer to be guinea pigs as often as possible.
Following the baseline tests we did in Perth, we thought it would be ideal to do similar tests ‘down the track’ to see if there were any obvious neurological changes to match the physical changes which have occurred over the past five months.
Prior to leaving Sydney I had heard of Leanne’s research, so I was very keen to meet with her in Melbourne. We had also met Stephen in Sydney and he later contacted us when we were in South Oz, with his story idea. Needless to say, the next three days were interesting, exciting, and a lot of fun!
Monday was spent doing clinical tests to find out how much of my right side sensory and motor skills were still functioning. These were some of the left areas of my brain (the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and vice versa) which were damaged by the stroke. In one of these sensory tests that Leanne has designed, I was asked to run my right side finger tips over a set of grids and describe which are fine and which are coarse.
Another test I did was to determine if I still had proprioception on the right hand side of my body. This sense enables you to know where different parts of your body are, in relation to others. An example of this working is when you catch a ball, while an example of this not working is waking up not knowing where your arm is, only to realise that it is underneath your body! How numb can a numb arm get? This has changed significantly over this trip for me. From initially not having a clue where my right arm was, to being now able to catch a tennis ball in my right hand and also knowing when my right hand is holding the handlebar, rather than looking at it every few seconds to make sure it’s still there. Very mundane tasks for most people, I know.
At the end of the day we were picked up by David, a friend we met in the Northern Territory. Remember the Victorian Variety Bash last August? David is one of the head honchos. We were staying over that night and met Alison, his wife, and daughter, Amy. The BBQ chef cooked a fantastic meal which continued late into the night. David will soon be heading overseas to organise and do another Variety Bash, this time finishing on Anzac day, at Gallipoli. And this is just his charity work!!
Tuesday was spent doing ‘functional MRI scans’. Leanne asked me to do a very simple task – tapping a finger on the left, then the right. Then Todd, the radiographer, uses the MRI machine to take many ‘slices’, horizontally through the brain. These scans enable us to see which parts of the damaged sensory and motor sections have recovered, or which areas of the brain have now taken over these tasks. The rest of the day was spent being involved with filming for a couple of hours.
Wednesday was spent talking to a number of researchers, while Leanne was being interviewed. She was also being filmed working with another patient, Mark, who had a stroke at the same time I did. Over lunch we talked about successes, failures, and had plenty of laughs.
Well, at the end of the day, it was time to analyse the MRI scans. Good news, readers – the left side of my brain still works! The scan of the sensory area shows I have lost some activity within that area. However, when doing the grid tests, I was getting many correct answers, which suggests that a different type of ‘feeling’ is now compensating for the numbness. Clearly, that area is being ‘assisted’ by other areas, an indication of how ‘plastic’ the brain is in recovery.
The really interesting results though, are the motor scans. There were areas lit up everywhere! The damaged motor area is working just as hard as it used to, with an area in the front of the brain helping out as well. Now it’s not a case of doing something instinctively, but that of thinking through each individual motion. Now when I pedal with my right leg I have to mentally ask it to “push down, now pull up.” Boring, I know, but it allows me to ride around the countryside.
As we waited out the front of the hospital for a cab back to base, I was thinking of the report card, “Solid performer, but needs more help in some areas, 6/10.”
Tuesday, 15th March, 2005
March 5 – 6 – Swimming to Melbourne
The morning of our ride to Melbourne was wet, cold and windy. Our friends Bob and Claire, tandem riders from America, had put us in touch with John in Melbourne. John sent us detailed instructions on how to ride from Geelong to Werribee without dying of trafficitis. Werribee is about halfway to Melbourne and John was meeting us there to guide us in the rest of the way.
The only problem was that we arrived in Werribee an hour early, wet and freezing. A passerby who remembered seeing our picture in Australian Cyclist recommended a good coffee shop. And what a recommendation it was. The very kind manager brought us a blanket and after a hot cuppa and a toasted bacon and egg sandwich life looked good again.
John arrived on cue along with some more torrential rain. “I don’t usually ride on days like this”, John confided. We bore on soggily until suddenly our gear changer stopped responding. Ross suspected a broken cable. Luckily our one working gear was a mid range gear so we could still ride. (The gears mysteriously fixed themselves when we reached Melbourne, ours not to question why).
“Don’t worry, not far to the punt” said John. Things were looking up, and in a brief clearing in the rain we caught our first glimpse of Melbourne – looming huge and surreal through the mist. We made it to the punt, only to discover that it was cancelled for the day due to the high winds. So we weren’t imagining it, the weather really was bad.
Oh well, we’ve ridden so far, what’s another 20km? Besides, it wasn’t possible to get any wetter or colder. We made a mental note to get some proper waterproof warm jackets before we left for Tasmania.
We had arranged to stay in Erin’s apartment rigt in the centre of Melbourne. Erin was overseas so we had the place to ourselves. Only problem was we had to ride right through the city to pick up the key – Aargh – but the wind and rain and traffic didn’t kill us, although I suspect it gave it it’s best shot.
Just as we found the right address a cyclist stopped to chat. Peter was a keen cyclist and also the chief engineer on the ferry we would be catching on Sunday night. We wouldn’t be able to continue our conversation onboard because of security reasons. “Just mention my name to the purser when you get onboard, he’ll look after you.” said Peter. Cyclists look after each other!
Needless to say we spent all of Sunday drying off and recovering, with a healthy dose of food shopping and eating thrown in of course.
March 1 – 4 Welcome to Geelong
It’s never easy getting up in the morning after a big night out (or come to think of it, after any night) but we had with Clare in Geelong. Clare is the secretary of Stroke Victoria and also co-ordinates the Geelong stroke support groups (a full time volunteer). Clare warned us to make sure we get in to town before 3pm as the traffic would be ugly. And ugly it was. Ross took in his stride as usual, but I was an absolute ball of nerves by the time we arrived at Clare’s house. How will I ever make it back to Sydney? Anyway we made it through town alive and I guess I should take confidence from that.
Meeting Clare was very special for us, because she was the first representative of the state stroke organisations to get behind us and offer us encouragement and support in our journey. That was almost two years ago, and we have been in contact ever since.
We had decided to spend three days in Geelong: one business, one pleasure and one for the pleasurable business of updating the website and organising our Melbourne activities. Our business day included an interview with the local paper, a visit and talk at the hospital and a civic reception at City Hall. Mayor Shane very kindly put on afternoon tea for the stroke group, and the stroke group had a “Welcome Ann and Ross” banner made up. It started off very official with a master of ceremonies, a rostrum and formal speeches. I couldn’t see over the rostrum so we went informal from there and just had fun chatting. Everyone signed a copy of a Geelong picture book for us, which Shane offered to send home for us to save weight on the bike. Something else to look forward to when we get home!
Our pleasure day was a whirlwind tour chauffered by Clare. We visited Barwon Heads, home of our favourite thinking person’s soapie “Seachange”. We saw the famous bridge and Diver Dan’s shack, now a flash restaurant. We then wound our way along the Great Ocean Road, glad to be in a car and not on the bike so we could take in the view without bursting our lungs. We stopped to take in some spectacular views, like famous surfing venue Bells Beach, then raced baked to Geelong.
Then the admin day. No one wants to hear about an admin day so I will leave it there. But better admin than watching cars go round and round. Inexplicably Ross chose to catch the train to Melbourne and watch the Grand Prix cars practicing. Why anyone would actually choose to get their ear drums blasted by noisy cars escapes me, so Ross will have to write about it. I stayed home and gladly chose to do admin.
Thank you Ann, nice intro. A new experience is… well, a new experience. Besides, I don’t love admin days. I’m not convinced I’d recommend watching the grand prix cars to everyone, but it was a lovely sunny day and I had reached MELBOURNE!
Allan and Clare were going to watch the first practice day so I tagged along. We took the train to Spencer Street station and then a free tram to the track. Sitting on one of the many mounds around the track enables you to see some of the action. Unfortunately there isn’t a great deal on the first day of practice. The drivers spend the two hours they are allowed on the track becoming familiar with both it, and their cars. Reasonably fast and very loud. Don’t worry, I wore my ear plugs but some die-hard fans didn’t see the need.
The highlight was probably lying back on the grassy mound, looking at the buildings and realising that we had made it to Melbourne, even though it wouldn’t be until tomorrow that we actually ride in by bike.
Friday, 4th March, 2005
February 27 – 28 – On golden pond
We decided to ride to Geelong through Colac rather than taking the famous Great Ocean Road. We thought the road and traffic conditions would be more bike friendly, and we have already had more than our fair share of great ocean winds. It was a good decision – the inland route is just as beautiful, the towns rich in history and grand old buildings unmarred by tourism.
At Colac we decided to stay in one of these beautiful buildings, a magnificent bluestone b&b complete with dogs and cats wanting to be patted. It cost a lot more than our usual accommodation, but we were prepared to do just about anything not to stay in a caravan park tonight (last night’s caravan park was straight out of a Stephen King novel).
Despite last night’s Creepy Caretaker, our extraordinary luck with meeting great people is still holding up. Like Pam, Colac’s mobile hairdresser. We met her at the b&b when she popped in to do Carmen the owner’s hair. While Carmen’s colour was setting, Pam whizzed us around the local sights, dropped us at the supermarket (where we bumped into the local journalist and ended up in the paper), and arranged to take us sailing that evening.
Pam and husband Brian are active in the Colac sailing club. Pam also races competitively and usually wins! They opened up the club for us and took us out on one of their boats. Colac may not be on the Great Ocean Road, but it is home to Victoria’s largest freshwater lake (it looks like a great ocean) and that is where we went sailing. We had a wonderful time, and got back to our room at midnight, still in our sweaty cycling clothes from the ride in to town.
Feb 23 – 26 – Seachange in Port Fairy
“Victoria has really good roads” said Ross. Ross is not usually wrong, but perhaps he is running early. My bottom and rattling teeth are looking forward to getting onto the good roads soon. When we stop vibrating for a few minutes we enjoy looking at the scenery. Luckily South Western Victoria has plenty: winding, sweeping hills; pine forests; fat dairy herds grazing peacefully; dramatic coastlines with pounding surf.
We are heading for Port Fairy, where our friends Trudy and Ian have moved to escape the Sydney rat race. We last caught up on the road last winter in a chance meeting on the Barkly Highway, Northern Territory. They didn’t recognise us at first as they hadn’t seen us since Ross was in hospital in 2001, when they came to say goodbye before leaving Sydney. It was a big leap to take in the sight of Ross on a bike when they had left with an image of Ross in a wheelchair. They were still saying ‘wow’ when we arrived in Port Fairy.
They are building a straw bale house, and as Ian is doing all the work single handed it is not quite finished (nearly there). Ian was very happy to take time off to show us around their favourite beaches. Mind you, these are beaches you wear beanies and long johns to, not swimsuits. There is a distinctly arctic feel about this part of the coast.
