Stupidity rules today. Up to now I've had a bit of anonymity as no-one who happens to read this website would know who I am and hardly anyone visits this website yet. So if I got cold feet I could have just closed down this website and disappeared.

Now I have mentioned that I plan on cycling from Perth to Sydney to a couple of people at the office and also mentioned that I'd like to do a practice run from Newcastle to Brisbane sometime this year. I never had any intentions of not doing it, but now it's just official I guess.

Newcastle to Brisbane on a Bike
According to Google its 780Kms from here to Brisbane, so let's call it 800Kms. That means if I leave on a Saturday and get to Brisbane the next Saturday, I can fly back to Newcastle on the Sunday and only have used 5 of my annual leave days. To date the furthest I've cycled is 67Kms in one day and even then I walked up most of the hills, so I'm not quite ready for such a trip yet. This coming Saturday I really want to give it my best and see it I can do a 110km loop around Lake Macquarie. That will be a major achievement for me. Once I can do that trip two days in a row without having to walk up any hills, I can think of setting a date for a trip to Brisbane. However, after the 67Km trip I could hardly get back on the bike after two days.
Yesterday I almost conquered a relatively major hill (at least by my standards) and from tomorrow I plan on working that hill into my daily commute to work. Hills are my biggest problem, but if I cover this hill every day I'm bound to increase my legs' strength quickly.

For the time being I will aim to do the Newcastle to Brisbane cycle tour in August or September. However, in reality I'd love to do it before winter. If I can successfully complete such a trip within the next couple of months, it will just put my cycling on a completely different level. I'll see how I do with the hill over the next week and how I do with the 110Km cycle this weekend.

I keep a log of my progress here

Managed the hill again this morning and though it felt like it was more difficult today, I didn't feel light headed and knowing that I made it yesterday made it easier to push through.

Despite the hill, I was also able to average 19.5kph on my 23Km commute. Not very fast, but it's good for me. On the Newcastle to Brisbane tour I'll be happy if I can average a little more than 20kph. The idea will be to cycle 100-120km per day and finish early in the afternoon so that my legs (whole body) can rest for the next day. It could actually be a great holiday to spend an afternoon and evening in a new place every day.

Is it Saturday yet?? I'm so keen to break that 100Kms-in-one-day mark so that I can start planning weekend trips.

By the way, just in case someone finds this topic... I've completed this ride.

Ride Report