G'day !
One of my friends asked me why the Australian cities are so nice, well ...
First of all they are clean, no graffity, just neat and well organised.
And the City Gardens are so beautifull and wel maintained, beautifull trees and gras lawns, many picknick spots and banks to sit on. And the banks aren't destroyed by vandalism.
It is all just very peacefull.
And the traffic is also more relaxed; one day I heared somebody blow his horn and I was actually surprised and looked up. Even when you make a mistake in traffic people stay cool and just wait, not blowing their horns. ( which is completely different to many asian cities where they do it all the time ! )
Also, and then I stop, when there is some roadwork and you are supposed to drive 15 km an hour, people actually do it ! Maybe even slower because I pass all the cars on my bike
So I rode out of Byron Bay on my way to my last big city, Brisbane.
Had one great campsite in a beautifull valley. I think I have a sixth sense for finding them, these camsites. I mean, when I ride on the way and I suddenly look back over my shoulder and see this track, for a long time not used, and a fence which I can open, behind it some beautifull spots to pitch my tent, unseen from the road ... Maybe even a 7 th, 8 th, 9 th and 10 th sense also I sometimes think, all these really amazing spots I did found on my trip !
And a great trip it was, riding almost 24.000 km through 11 countries, making my dream come true.
Met many interesting people, saw how beautifull our mother earth stil is in some places.
From the snow covered mountains in eastern Turkey, through the deserts of Iran and Pakistan, the crowds in India through lovely and beautifull Nepal. From the high mountains of Tibet and China into Laos, a two days rivercruise to Thailand which was easy and very pleasant to bike. The rains and very busy (motor)ways in Malaysia, but also the amazing Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and some great tropical picture perfect islands. The city state of Singapore with all the malls. Again very crowded but beautifull and friendly Indonesia, Java and Bali, and last but not least Australia. Riding trough the outback on the Stuart Highway, maybe 3 cars in an hour. The emptiness ... a route I will never forget.
Maybe when you sat in your chair, reading my stories, your thoughts drifted away, dreaming of your own journeys, your own deserted beaches ...
Maybe I created with my journey some of your dreams.
If so I guess you could say I rode for you, too.
Which I enjoyed very much, that's true
See ya, have a good one.
THE END
Special thanks to Natascha and Tescha with whom I cycled for 6 and 3 weeks and were great company.
My mom, dad and stephmom for doing so many, too much to name it all.
My little sister for giving me some great music.
My big sister for having faith in me ( you know sis, on my first trip to Rome, 10 years ago you gave me this book about Sirius ( a star ) When I sat in Sydney at the harbour, the end of my trip, this ship came sailed by, called .... Sirius
All my friends from de ' Wereldfietser' who gave me : a t-shirt, a dreamcatcher and a little white pigeon, skippy, send me a package to repair my peddal or send me jokes, who inspired me and encouraged me.
All my other friends who supported me with nice e-mails and positive thoughts, when time were hard.
Starring :
cyclist : Lars de Wit
du ( bicycle ) : trek 4300
shoes : mine - merrell
bikes - marathon XR
costume designer : de Hema
hairdresser : gilette mach 3
stunts : Lars de Wit
The australian police for not giving me a ticket when I rode 6000 km through Australia without helmet