Post script

Alright, enough blogging for today! :) One last thing, our Otesha website has been updated, so if you are interested in more of a diary of the whole group's tour, you can read about it at http://www.otesha.org.au/biketours/victour/blog and there is a movie of our launch (and more to come with interviews of each crew member) here http://www.allaroundyou.net/video/otesha-project-aus-victorian
Cheers,
Candice

Photo update!

At the port in Warrnambool, enjoying a day off to explore!


Swimming in a volcanic crater in Camperdown, 46 degrees that day!


Our tin-roofed shed that we slept in... no one complained about getting up at 4 am and getting out of this place!


On the shores of Lake Colac... or what WAS Lake Colac! The whole crew here. I'm in the middle with the white and pink tank top on.

Heat Wave Hits Victoria

Hi all,
It's been a tough few days over the last little while on the tour. A heat wave has hit Victoria (the worst in 150 years!) and my misplaced stereotype that "Australia is 40 degrees in every part of the coutnry every day at every part of the day" has actually come true. We stayed in a tin-roofed shed in Camperdown and, while grateful that there was a roof and showers, the temperature was reaching the high forties inside. We actually had +46 in town! I am surprised at how much I'm affected by the heat - it's tough to move! One of the highlights of Camperdown was joining a community lunch put on by one of the churches... they try and promote people who may not eat well very often to at least have one healthy meal a week. We put on an impromptu performane of a couple scenes from our skit. To beat the heat, a few of us rode to a couple lakes that formed in volcanic craters. One lake is freshwater and the other is salt water. It was a straight uphill ride to get to a lookout point where you could see both lakes, then we plummeted down the side of the crater to get to one of them. It was beautiful water - clear and crisp and very salty! The ride back was tough, climbing out of the crater, but totally worth it!

We woke up at 4 am on Thursday and were on the road just after 5:00 am trying to cycle as much in the coo0l, dark night as possible... it was mostly just dark though as the temperatures were above 30 degrees by 6:30 am (though it was really nice to see the sun coming up as we rounded the 25 km mark). Our 70 km ride that day was verging on unreasonable craziness. I was in a fast group, so we made it into Warrnambool by quarter after 9. A northerly wind (very hot and fast) was picking up just was we arrived and made the last 10 km quite difficult. As the other groups made their way in over the next hour and a half, signs of heat stroke were becoming apparent in a lot of the group members. Getting electrolytes and water into people became my job - I was like an eDisc fairy! It was definitely a little scary to see people so disoriented and breaking down. I did really well - I think having spent so much time running and using gels and the electrolyte discs really helped.

Unfortunately, one of our groups had major mechanical difficulties with one of the trailers and two flat tyres and getting stuck out in the hottest part of the day was pretty disastrous. Luckily, some motorists who had heard of our arrival pulled over and asked if they were the Otesha project and a few trips managed to get the last four girls back to the house we're staying at. One crew member was severly dehydrated and we ended up taking her to the hospital. It was a long long long day and hard on everyone. We all recovered pretty well and the next day was fairly productive - temperatures cooled a bit and we had a performance of our skit for the South West Sustainability Group near the Civic Centre. We also had a meeting with one of the shire councillors who wants to make this area more "bike friendly" and was hoping to get our input of the experience in Warrnambool so far.

Today is a well-earned day off for everyone - completely Otesha free. While I'm enjoying our crew so much, I am so much looking forward to some down time alone, exploring this town. It's so beautiful here! It is oceanside with a small historical fishing port that has been rebuilt from the olden days. I spent a little time this morning op shopping (checking out the thrift stores - "opportunity shopping") and decided that my new goal for when I get home is to outfit my entire new work wardrobe through op shops.

Tomorrow we're off on our 100 km ride to Portland and our first two school stops!

Gotta jet!
Cheers,
Candice

Colac to Camperdown!

Hello all!
Made it to Camperdown this morning with the trailer... it was a lot of fun, actually, and a great workout! It was flat for most of the way and only a few hills, so I have my first 45 km logged out of the 300 km total I need to haul a trailer for. I'll have a break on the next leg and then the American girl, Kelsey, and I will split trailer duty for our mammoth 100-km ride to Portland (we hear it's uphill and into a headwind the whole timem yikes!).

We stayed in Colac for the last couple of days. We had accomodations in a scout hall on the shores of Lake Colac... though we didn't see a drop of water as the lake dried up entirely this year. The area has been in a drought for the last five years and the lake has slowly receded until, finally, this summer, it disappeared entirely. It's very sad for the town as it used to be a popular sailing area and the scouts hall was very much water focused. Derilict kayaks and canoes are parked in the basement and the piers just run off into fields. It's a scary reminder of climate change!

We had a great Australia Day in the town of Forrest yesterday, just 30 km south of Colac. A lady from the town volunteered to drive us out there, which was a nice break from riding. We sat in the sun, listened to drumming from the Sudanese community living in Forrest and even the band leader from the bush dance that we attended was there, playing an acoustic set. He gave us a big shout out from the stage when he saw our crew. We had a little hike to Lake Elizabeth in the Otways National Park. The lake was formed in the 50s when a landslide dammed the river and wasn't discovered until people finally hiked up wondering where their river had gone! It's now home to duck-billed platypus, but apparently you have to be there pretty early in the morning to catch a glimpse of one. Australia Day was our first day off from any Otesha duties and I think everyone has recharged for Week Two!

Campersown is a really cute town with a population of around 5000, I think. We're staying at the show grounds, which is has a field ring for rodeo stuff and we're staying in a little barn. It's going to be super hot for the next week (+40 ish) but up until now we have had cold nights and very cool mornings... I could even see my breath this morning!

Hope all is well! Cheers,
Candice

Melbourne to Geelong to Winchelsea to Colac!

Hello all,

It's been a while since I've been able to update this blog, but we've completed the first few legs of our trip! We started in West Footscray (just outside of Melbourne) after a wonderful launch party on the river bank with a BBQ, a rehearsal of our skit, a fundraising raffle and auction and much well wishing from cyclists from around Melbourne. We took the train to Werribee and officially started out first 42 km ride to Geelong.

Geelong is a really relaxed beach town with a pier and swimming area on the Eastern Beach that was a great way to spend an afternoon. We stayed in a Girl Scouts' hall for two nights, rehearsing and working on our workshops. We enjoyed a wonderful evening hosted by the Geelong Sustainability Group at Beav's Bar, where we heard a lot about some of the sustainable initiatives going on in Geelong and other areas.

Our next stop was a 38 km ride to a small town called Winchelsea (population 1336!) We stayed at a Boy Scouts' Hall which was like a renovated barn... it was pretty funny to have all fourteen of us in there! It was such a cute town and the locals invited us to a "bush dance" which is very much like going to a square dance... the dance card was up at the front near the band and everyone knew the steps to each dance that was called! Little old ladies and old men where having a hilarious time teaching all of us how to dance. It was a bit hopeless, but such a fun time!

This morning, we rode on to Colac, another 36 km away. We have just arrived and are working on getting lunch together. We'll stay in another scouts' hall and enjoy Australia Day festivities tomorrow in a town called Forrest. Coming up is a 45 km trip to Camperdown, then 68 to Warrnambool and then a 100 km hill climb into the Grampians National Park! (I've already volunteered to haul a trailer for that one!)

Hope all is well!

Cheers,

Candice

Training Days

Hello all!
Just finishing up day two of training with the Otesha crew in Mentone, Victoria - a small suburb outside of Melbourne. We're lodging in a girls school with gorgeous grounds, a full kitchen and a gym with mats to sleep on (and stuff to play with!). We've been discussing the logistics of the trip, doing a lot of team-building exercises and talking about consensus decision making. We're walking the walk of living sustainability so far: letting things mellow (if you know what I mean), staggered showers (if at all) and eating mostly vegan and donated food. Something that has really been blowing my mind so far is how much totally delicious and comepletely wonderful food is being thrown out - or bakeries and grocers will gladly donate because it's going out otherwise. A lot of the people on the tour eat almost entirely for free by getting to know their local organic food shops.

The people on the crew are fabulous - everyone is very excited about the upcoming adventure and people are so welcoming and generous. It's really one of the most open groups I've ever met. We're already sharing fart jokes two days in to knowing each other, so I think we'll be quite close by the end of the trip. We're practicing a skit about sustainable living to put on at a lot of the schools and I've taken on the role of Mother Earth's lippy kid sister.

Tomorrow is a launch party and we'll put the play on for people in the Melbourne social justice/sustainable living community and stay at Ange's house for one last sleep before taking off for our first ride on Wednesday morning. We'll be heading from Melbourne to Geelong (sounds like juh-LONG, not GHEE-long like I have been saying all week, oops). It's about 75 km, but we'll be taking the train for about half of it to get out of Melbourne and on to less dangerous roads.

I'm still quite worried about the sun - I burnt my hands quite badly and they are still quite painful, but I have gloves now for them. I need to keep my knees covered (also already burnt) and ears! Outside of that, I have a couple things to pick up for my bike and I should be quite prepared for everything except actually getting out there!

Cheers,
Candice

On sunburns and being lost...

Hi all,
It's been a busy couple of days in Melbourne - got my bike, got a library card (don't ask!) and managed to get myself home on the bike... eventually. It's definitely taking some getting used to, having never ridden a road bike before, having never ridden on the left hand side of the road before and having never had to look at a map while on a bike! The good people at The Freedom Machine in Port Melbourne set me up with the beautiful Giant Avail you will soon see below. It was definitely my kind of place: they had me on the bike with a video camera so they could measure the angles my legs, feet and back were making during pedalling. It was very high tech and you all know I like to measure things!

My ride home was interesting to say the least. On the map, it looks like there are clear bike paths from where I was in Port Melbourne most of the way home to the place I'm staying in West Footscray. Not so! I was getting lost all over the place and had to stop for directions a million times! I saw many industrial things that I didn't expect to come across on my "waterfront ride" home... Getting into downtown during rush hour was a little stressful - they bike paths were wonderful through the city, but wow, there are hundreds of cyclists here who are all very competent (and wearing fluorescents!) and probably did not appreciate a slightly wobbly (very wobbly) nervous Canadian who was leaping off her bike ever 5 seconds to check the map. Managed to follow some people who looked like they knew where they were going and got into Footscray no problem... until I ended up in another industrial park with no more bike paths. Very long story short, I covered most of Footscray, Middle Footscray and West Footscray by trial and error (because at this point, I was off the map!) and eventually found my way home. Eep!

Riding today went MUCH better. I took the same path (well, the path I mostly meant to take) as yesterday down into Port Melbourne and, with only one oops into the industrial docks, I made it to the Freedom Machine to get the guys to add a bell and see if they could move my brakes in closer (my small hands were having a bit of trouble reaching them). I even tested out riding with the panniers 1/3 loaded and had no real trouble with them unless the wind picks up! Got the bike sorted and made my way further along the waterfront into St. Kilda, stopped for fish and chips and was thoroughly enjoying the ride until the bike paths ended and I was off-roading with my road bike - sand, gravel, grass, you name it! - and got myself terribly lost again. After a very frustrating walk/ride through a really trendy area, I finally made it to the tram station to head downtown... not realizing bikes aren't allowed on trams! A new adventure to find a train station and then finally made it downtown to meet with some Otesha team members at the office. Whew! At 35 km taking 3 hours, I am biking just about as fast as I can run! Eep!

All in all, it's been quite the adventure and I feel like I'm getting to know Melbourne through sheer determination - my navigating skills being horrific!

Hope you enjoy the pics!
Cheers,
Candice

PS> Yikes I am a bit sunburned! Hands, knees and calves, which I forgot to sunscreen. Oops!

The house in West Footscray, thanks Ange!





















Leaving the Otesha office today

My ride home yesterday along the water

The new bike! Her name is Blue!

The bike shop in Port Melbourne, thanks Tyson and James!

Keep up with Otesha

A note from out tour directors (in case you get tired of my blogging you can hear from the rest of the group!)
Cheers,
C

Hey there!

The Otesha Victorian Tour Crew (www.otesha.org.au/biketour/victour/) has setup a newsletter that will keep you updated on interesting stories, reflections, and other beautiful things along the road. If you would like to be a part of this list please follow the link below:

http://otesha.org.au/mailman/listinfo/oteshavicnewsletter_otesha.org.au- it's just that easy!

Thanks again for all your support!

With bike grease, fair-trade chocolate, and funny faces,

- The Otesha Victorian Tour

PS - Did you know that we also have a blog online - you should check it out from time to time as we will be uploading pictures and other goodies online as we go! It's at www.otesha.org.au/biketours/victour/blog

Meeting my bike: Attempt #1

Just a quick note from Day 4 in Australia. Made an unsuccessful attempt at picking up my bike today from the good people at The Freedom Machine in Port Melbourne (a train, a tram and a good hike away from where I'm staying in West Footscray at the moment). My foreign bank cards are not having very much luck, unfortunately, so I've got to figure out how to get them working and get a hold of this bike tomorrow. I did catch a glimpse of it though and it's VERY pretty! She is getting outfitted with all sorts of cool accessories for the trip and will be all set to go when I head back. Port Melbourne is a cool little area of town with a street full of cafes and little shops called Bay Street. I was back and forth from there and CBD Melbourne a couple of times today, so I am getting a feel for the city. Tomorrow, if I'm successful in paying for this bike, I'll try and bike along the ocean home!


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Australia Day 3: I've arrived!

I made it to Melbourne today after the longest travelling day(s) I've ever had. Thankfully there were no issues with flights or baggage or delays of any sort, though I did get "randomly selected" for additional screening both on my way to San Francisco as well as between Sydney and Melbourne for the first time ever. (They admitted it was the bright blue hoodie - they're going to keep an eye out for me on the way back in March!) 3 hours from Edmonton to San Francisco + 6 hours in SFO + 13.5 hours from San Fran to Sydney + 1.5 hours at SYD + 1.5 hours Sydney to Melbourne = a very long trip.

So far, I've noticed the following:
- it's REALLY hot... hotter than I expected, but much less humid than I thought it would be. I may manage to get my first tan ever here! (It is supposed to cool down in the next couple of days, but not before a signal that "summer has arrived" with +39 degrees C tomorrow)

- the cars drive on the other side of the street. I knew this before I got here... but wow, I can't believe how difficult it is to remember and to look the right way while crossing the street. This may be the most dangerous part of the cycling tour - I keep looking the wrong way while cars come at me from behind. It's already hilarious for one of the crew members.

Outside of that, I'm having a pretty low key day, hiding from the sun, eating nectarines off of trees in the backyard where I'm staying, meeting roommates and burning through the rest of the books I brought. I read Jamie Clarke's "Everest to Arabia" on the planes and was inspired for my own adventure with a team of people from different cultures. Working my way through "Greasy Rider" a story of two friends' journey across the US in a used food oil-powered vehicle. I've got Kapuscinski's "Shadow of the Sun" packed to take with me on the bike - if I've recommended this as my number one travelling companion book, I really ought to read it myself on a trip! :)

All in all, things are getting exciting! (Or maybe it's just the heat!)
Cheers,
Candice

PS> If you're interested in reading more travel blogs, a fellow cyclist Lalo Porto was in touch after he heard from the people at Twisted Rider Cycle (the place where I got my solar panels) about my own cycling for sustainability effort. He's riding to promote environmental conciousness and cycling in a loop through the Americas. InfinityCycle.blogspot.com