Monday 2nd Sep 2013
This is the ride I have been wanting to do for ages – Cairns to
Cape York, the northernmost point on the Australian mainland. I have
heard, and read so many accounts of other cyclists experiences along
this route and I'm really excited about it. It's going to be tough –
around 1000kms of dirt road, some very steep sections, and above all,
very little in the way of supplies to be had along much of the route.
I'd originally planned to do the ride in May this year, at the
start of the dry season when the roads on the Cape York Peninsula
become open. However an opportunity arose for me to spend 3 weeks in
Darwin that month, and by the time this ended, there wasn't enough
time to fit the Cape York ride in before a scheduled 3 month trip
back to the UK.
While in the UK I didn't get much time to go cycling, however I
did loads of skating including a
360km tour in Finland, plus more skating in St Petersburg, Moscow, and
Beijing.
Arriving back in Sydney at the end of August, I flew to Cairns
with my bike yesterday.Today was
spent obtaining a tent and some camping gear, as accommodation is
going to be very sparse on the route north.
About to set off from Sydney
There was time to do a bit of sightseeing in Cairns, which is
noted for not having a beach:
It's a big place, with masses of tourist activities on offer, but
the tourist industry has been in decline for some time and it seemed
much quieter than when I last visited, about 15 years ago. There are
a few heritage buildings, and some impressive banyan trees in the
town centre:
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