Cycling the Earth by Sean Conway

Author:Sean Conway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

13

G’DAY MATE

‘Good morning ladies and gentleman. Welcome to Sydney. The weather is slightly overcast and 16 degrees Celsius with a slight southerly wind. Thank you for flying with Air Canada. Enjoy your stay.’

Sydney is a very, very long way from LA. Just look at a map – it’s literally across the world. I appreciate we probably flew around the other side of the world but still, it’s a long time to be in a small seat at 33,000 ft. The whole transfer took twenty-four hours, and because of the time change I lost an entire extra day. For me, 28 April did not exist: I left on 27 April, flew for a day and arrived on 29 April. My brain, although rested, was still too tired from a restless flight to work it all out. Also, 16 degrees and cloudy? I thought Australia was meant to be sunny and warm?

My flight had been pretty awful but at least I was feeling fresh and excited about starting my new leg. Although carrying on from the accident was a new beginning, America still seemed a bit tainted in my mind as I struggled to come to terms with the whole ordeal. At least now I was in a new continent, a new country and feeling revived and fresh again for a new adventure. Also on the map it now looked like I was cycling back home rather than away from it.

The first task on my list was to get to Brisbane, which was 620 miles away. One of my closest cousins Chris lived there and it would be great to see him and his new fiancé Sian. It was extra important to see them because I had planned on getting back to the UK in time for their wedding but due to the accident I was now going to miss it. This made me sad. I had originally wanted to get to Brisbane in four and a half days (today being the half day as I’d only leave the airport by midday), which meant averaging 140 miles per day in line with my new goal of getting back to London for the Olympics. I was feeling quite fresh and strong after my four-day rest so decided to try and make Brisbane in three and a half days, and therefore earn a day’s rest and catch up with family. The research I had done on this part of the journey suggested it would be flat and I’d have a tailwind all the way up the coast, which would make the 620-mile stretch just about doable. It was going to be tight, but I was excited about getting back on the road again.

I had by now mastered the art of putting Maid Marian back together and was on the road again by 11.30 a.m. I left the airport and started bombing down the road, excited to be on a new continent. I came around the first corner and a taxi driver was completely cutting it, so much so that he was literally all the way on my side of the road.

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