It's is always difficult when I have a short ride planned. Not difficult because of things I have to do but difficult because of lack of time pressure. It's that whole thing about not having any deadline, so I faff about and just don’t get going. And I reckon that’s the hardest thing I’ve had to learn overall; that there is no time pressure on me and things don’t have to be done at certain times just because I’ve always done them then ( usually because of work, picking up kids, cooking dinner etc)
I’ve now got into a routine of when I know I’m going somewhere particular and there is accommodation available - YHA or the like - I book it in the morning. Then that takes the pressure of me having to ride somewhere, do stuff then look for a place to sleep. It gets dark by about 1800 hrs here, so if I have to ride then find somewhere to sleep, I need to think about that by about 1600 at the latest. So this morning, because I booked the YHA in Pemberton for two nights, I had all day to potter about and stop at things that interested me without having to press on.
The first bit of the ride today was along highway but passing tree farms. That sounds so much better than ‘plantation’. And being a tree farming area, there were quite a few logging trucks about.
Because the trees are planted in rows, shafts of light shine through them and light up the tree trunks. Sounds a ridiculous thing to say but as the day progresses, the light changes colour as it climbs up the tree. And there is always a certain eucalyptus zing in the air by the tree farms, especially after rain or early morning dew. Its something that I really notice on a bike, and one of the things that I love about being out there in the open air.
I had been riding for about an hour, when up ahead, I saw somebody walking along the highway. Then I realised they were pushing something, but I couldn’t quite comprehend what it was or what they were doing. You see, people just don’t walk out here, not because they are lazy but because of the distance between places. But here was somebody out in the middle of nowhere, doing exactly that, walking.
I rode past but then circled back, and was so glad that I did; there was this woman - Terra - pushing along a trolley which she’d designed, on a walking journey around Australia, raising money for Lifeline. It’s a Samaritans type thing, a telephone help line for desperate people with desperate issues - suicides, depression, can’t go on sort of stuff. The sort of thing that I guess you never really think about until you need it, and sadly for many people, its not there when they do, or they don’t know about it.
I was dead impressed with her. Walking! Bloody what?! 32000kms too. It’s hard enough for me on a little bike, pottering along from place to place, trying to plan getting water, food, fuel and a place to sleep, but she’s walking it! And she reckons it will take her seven years.
She designed her own trolley and had it made, all her stuff fits in it, and she spends her days walking, chatting to people, raising awareness and money, and then sleeping wherever she can. I so love people who just get on and do stuff. Many talk but not many actually do more than that, but she has; good on her.
The dog is called Winston, after Winston Churchill and his black dog ( depression) And there is also a Black Dog M/C ride which helps Lifeline. I'd actually seen some of the riders a few weeks ago when I stopped at a servo and there had been no electricity to pump fuel.
Meeting her really perked me up, not that I was down or anything but it really appealed to me and my mojo went up a gear. I stopped off at the falls some falls ( cant remember what they’re called though but the water flows over the edge of the Darling fault and a dodgy rope bridge crosses the gorge thing).
I tripped as I stepped onto it and the whole thing swayed from side to side rather alarmingly.
Then I read something about a disformed tree that was painted 135 years ago by Marianne North, an English artist whose carriage had broken in half alongside it. Twice. She was one of those intrepid English woman who also just got on and did stuff, and wandered the world painting pictures of flora. The picture of the tree - a kurri gum, one of the huge white trunked things that tower above you round here - is now at Kew gardens. But the actual tree, I discovered, was not far away, so I went to find it.
Easier said than done though. It was down the old Vasse Road, a dirt track which has now been bypassed by a sealed highway. I love riding on dirt and do it as often as possible, but this road was a bit of a bugger, although it looked quite nice.
Fairly deep dry dusty soil, being whipped up by the wind, and in the process of being graded. It was a bit slidey with some quite steep descents, so I took it slowly as I really didn’t want to come off, and picked my way along until suddenly, there it was: Marianne North’s tree.
It is massive, and distinctly disfigured. No wonder she decided to paint a picture of it. I just took a photo.
Not far down the road was the Dave Evans Bi centennial tree. No, I didn’t know what it was either, so I went to investigate. The trees in the Great Southern Forest are massive. Really huge, and there is no way of seeing over them to spot fires etc. So a bloke called Dave Evans (born in Wales apparently) came up with the idea of using the tallest of trees as lookouts, and pegged them. Literally, metal pegs spiralling up the side of the huge trunk to a platform at the top.
This tree was pegged in 1988 - bicentennial year - and is the tallest at 59m. It was quite hard work getting up it and not for the faint hearted, but my back started to tweak a bit as I reached about 30m and it was either down was the same way as I’d gone up or jump, I decided that was far enough. But I guess jumping from that height would have cured the back ache.
It was worth a quick look before riding into Pemberton where I was confronted by a huge pall of smoke.
Not what I wanted to see in a small town surrounded by bush and full of wooden houses, while I was riding a slow bike, but it turned out to be a farmer doing something or other and we’re still alive and kicking, so it was all good.
G'day!!!! It was wonderful meeting you too :D You put a bounce in my step
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