Week 5: 11 - 17 April

Week 5 mileage

Day 29-31: Broome
Day 32: Broome to Warmun: 848kms
Day 33: Warmun to Timber Creek (with some beautiful detours): 505kms
Day 34: Timber Creek to Darwin: 603kms
Day 35: Darwin: 0kms.

Week 5 mileage: 1,956kms
Total trip mileage: 8,513kms

Hi all, happy Easter to you all, and welcome to the Week 5 blog.

Week 5 has been long, hot, but still a blast. I spent the first few days of this past week relaxing in Broome, and what a beaut spot that is! I bought myself a famous Broome pearl, explored the multiple beautiful white sand beaches that Broome is famous for, and was fortunate enough to witness the “Staircase to the Moon” phenomenon.

This phenomenon occurs when the full moon rises over the exposed mudflats at extremely low tide and creates a beautiful optical illusion of stairs reaching to the moon. It was truly amazing and photos cannot do it justice.

Staircase to the Moon in Broome - a beautiful sight.

I also visited the town markets that occur on these nights. I had met a fella at Sandfire Roadhouse some days back, who was on his way to Broome and runs a food truck. I tracked him down and got a feed, it was nice to bump into him again!

After some R&R in Broome, I took off on what turned out to be a massive day of riding! Passing through Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek, I had planned on stopping, but was confronted with some pretty dodgy scenarios. Unfortunately, the indigenous population throughout these areas are experiencing a bit of an ice problem, and both stop offs for fuel were met with some overeager characters trying to touch my bike and fiddle with my luggage when I was inside paying for fuel – forcing me to run out to ward people away!

These stop offs led me to decide to make camp at a site a bit away from Halls Creek, a lovely spot I had looked up that was on the river.

Alas, when I arrived, a man came sauntering up to me and explained that there had been a few big croc sightings at this campsite so if I was setting up a tent (especially my tiny one man tent) I might want to do it a bit away from the water!

Strangely, I suddenly felt a lot more energetic and decided to push on and keep riding!

At another rest stop, I met a lovely couple from the Netherlands, Bart and Ellen. We had a good chat (they were doing the drive from Perth to Darwin) and I got to share my journey with them. They shared with me a tragic story about some friends of theirs, who have two children who have BOTH been diagnosed with cancer, not too far apart from each other. I can’t even imagine how difficult that would be. I gave Bart and Ellen my details and they were excited to share my ride with their friends back in the Netherlands.

This interaction was just another reminder of a big aspect of my ride – meeting as many people as possible and really trying to get the word out there about supporting ill children and their families.

I made it to Warmun, which is another indigenous community. It had been a long and hot day so I decided to make camp there as the day was wearing on and I was starving! A roadhouse with hot food sorted me out, and I set up my tent behind the roadhouse.

It was unfortunately a very uncomfortable night of camping. It was extremely hot throughout the night, very humid, and there was absolutely no breeze! There were again a few overeager locals throughout the night hanging about my tent which required me to jump up and make some noise to keep them away from my bike/tent.

I felt lucky that I had spent such a long day on the bike and was exhausted, else I do not think I would have slept.

The next day I made it to Timber Creek, and was finally into NT!

Conquered the West Coast! Crossing into NT.

 Timber Creek is a beautiful area. Another indigenous community, I stopped in at the roadhouse to organise a campsite for the night. I ended up watching Rocky II with some of the locals, got hustled at pool, and had a very enjoyable afternoon sinking beers with the locals while all the other residents of the roadhouse campsite were out competing in an annual Easter fishing competition!

The locals found it quite amusing that I was the only “white fella” in the bar drinking with them – the bar staff had originally asked me if I wanted to be drinking in the bar or sit around the other side in the restaurant! I was surprised when they asked me this, and was also surprised to see a giant whiteboard behind the bar, placing restrictions on certain patrons for what strength beer they can purchase, and whether they are allowed to take drinks outside/away from the bar.

Liquor restrictions are alive and well through the Kimberley – I had heard about them and seen the signs, but this was the first time I had seen some sort of restriction mechanism in action. The locals seemed to take it in good faith though, and I witnessed multiple attempts throughout the afternoon of patrons trying to trick the bar staff into bypassing these restrictions!

I also managed to wrangle my bike up a dirt track to a local lookout, and what a sight it was, a truly beautiful area!

Just out of Timber Creek, NT - Beautiful.

After a much better sleep with a bit more of a breeze about/cooler weather, I made tracks for Darwin! I was keen to arrive Darwin, having never been, and first impressions of the city are good. It is much smaller than I expected, but the people I have bumped into are friendly, and I am off to visit the Royal Darwin Hospital tomorrow to make my next donation.

I will spend a few days in Darwin, relaxing, before I make my way South to Alice Springs.

All the best for the week ahead.

James

Week 4: 4 – 10 April

Week 4 mileage

Day 22: Geraldton to Carnarvon 576kms (via awesome lookouts!)
Day 23: Carnarvon to Exmouth (via some beaut detours): 563kms
Day 24-25: Exmouth: 0kms
Day 26: Exmouth to Karratha: 647kms
Day 27: Karratha to Sandfire: 513kms
Day 28: Sandfire to Broome: 322kms

Week 4 mileage: 2,612kms
Total trip mileage: 6,557kms

Happy Monday all

Welcome to the Week 4 blog!

This week has been a crazy one.

Leaving Geraldton at the beginning of the week, I made my way up to Carnarvon. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right gear to make it out to Shark Bay, but had some great detours on this route. The ride up the West Coast was fantastic. Rode up to a look out (the bike handled it ok thankfully) to snap this beauty – it truly is a vast landscape out here:

Look out on the way to Carnarvon, that's the ocean in the background!

I also encountered many road trains, they are straining the fuel economy on my bike, as I need to overtake them to stop traffic banking up behind me when people catch up to me. I don't have a lot of wriggle room with my fuel capacity so it's something for me to keep a look out for.

One of the many road trains. Heading up Karratha/Port Hedland way, I have come across some with up to five (5!) trailers on the back. For these, I have to get a run up on my bike and slingshot past them. Fun (sometimes scary) stuff!

Carnarvon is a decent sized town (for where I am!) of about 5,000 odd. Arriving later in the evening due to my excessive detouring, I was made to feel very welcome at a local site.

It had been a massive day on the bike for me and I realised I hadn’t eaten! I found an amazing all-you-can-eat diner at the Gateway Hotel, where for $30 you could eat as much as you can. After my fourth heaped plate of food I think the staff were getting concerned I had been lost out in the bush for days – I had yet to shower or clean myself up from the day and felt what I hoped was an appropriate amount of guilt when I examined my shirt and gave myself what I hoped was a discreet whiff; the results of that self-examination were not good.

I reassured them I was of sound mind and ended up having a lovely chat. I recommend dropping in if you ever find yourself up that way! I made it back to base and promptly slept for 10 hours.

Another huge day on the bike followed, with more beautiful landscapes. Today was the day I was to arrive in Exmouth, somewhere I had been looking forward to visiting for a very long time. Hitting the peninsula, the red dirt and never-ending scrub combo transforming to a sea shrub and turquoise ocean panorama was pretty special.

Stopping at a few places on my way to Exmouth, the main takeaways were that amazing contrast in landscape, the interesting termite nests (can be hundreds of years old, and the king and queen of each next can live to 30-odd – who'd have thought) and, unfortunately, the flies. When stopping for a drink, I had to cup my hand to my mouth the breathe and keep a seal on my water bottle – they were everywhere!

My artistic interpretation of my new found friends that have been following me up the West Coast.

One of the huge termite nests en route to Exmouth.

There had also been some light rain, and the change of smell, from that freshly watered outback smell (though one I am still certainly fond of) to a coastal one was invigorating.

Now, Exmouth itself, what a welcoming, chilled out place. I was so excited to swim with the Whale Sharks, and managed a relaxing beach day beforehand to rest up for the big day. Diving with the Three Islands Whale Shark crew, we headed out for a full day on the water. And what a day it was! These creatures are incredible, very graceful, yet massive! The team on the boat were wonderful, full of knowledge about, and respect for these animals.

Me with one the amazing Whale Sharks. Thanks to Aimee from the Three Islands crew for getting this shot.

After Exmouth, it was time to continue North and make my way to Broome, via Karratha and what would become an unplanned stop! The ride to Karratha was interesting for me, as again, there was some massive infrastructure projects, huge mine sites, and the monster road trains of the Pilbara that had 4-5 trailers behind them!

I was exhausted after navigating this stretch, and after popping down to the pub and having a good chat to a lad behind the bar over a pint, then dealing with the agony of Port Power losing the Showdown, I was spent (physically and emotionally).

The next day was to be the day I reached Broome! However, unfortunately, not all went to plan.

Initially the day started with a cool experience. As I was riding along, I found myself needing to pull over to use the "Bush Toilet".  I had yet to see any dingoes, yet, upon answering Nature's call, I looked up to see two of the inquisitive specimens checking me out. Now, I had been keen to see some dingoes, so understood that they would be unlikely to attack me. Naturally, my mind wandered to who would win a fight between myself and two dingoes. Long story short (I deliberated on this for the next few hours on my bike), I'm quite sure I would – you'll see why when I get around to eventually putting up a photo of the literal suit of armour I'm getting around in. My preference is to never test that conclusion though.

Anyhow, the past few days of riding had been incredibly hot, in the high 30s. This heat, amplified by the road heat and me being in full leather gear, was having an effect on not only me but my bike. After pulling over for fuel a few times, my bike was going into overheating overdrive! Rather than risk pushing my faithful steed too far, I made it to Sandfire Roadhouse before calling it a day.

With cheap campsites out back ($10) and friendly backpacker staff, I was content to set up at the Roadhouse Bar and have a few cans before it cooled down enough for me to set up camp.

I was joined by all sorts of wildlife, as you can see they have clearly laid claim to the place!:

A friendly local - Sandfire Roadhouse, Eighty Mile Beach. 

Finally, the day arrived to reach the far North-West Coast Mecca that is Broome. A very popular coastal destination, I had heard great things from travellers who had been heading both to and from Broome. This leg would not be without its dramas though. I had miscalculated distances and was resigned to the unfortunate fact that I would need to nurse my bike the required distance between the Roadhouse I found myself and the next petrol station, less run out of fuel. With the weather still crazy hot and the attractive thought of breaking down under the baking sun in full bike gear buzzing around my head, I set off at a leisurely 90kmph pace early in the morning, both to save fuel and dodge some traffic. I had to speed up when cars came up behind me to help their overtaking judgment, holding at 100km to let them pass, and deal with the occasional road train.

This is where the closest thing to a disastrous accident of my trip to date occurred. Not too far from my fuel oasis, a road train came roaring toward me from the opposite direction of travel. With nothing but open road behind me, I saw a car duck out from behind the road train, only to return behind it immediately. Assuming the car had seen me, I continued to bop my head to the revolutionary tunes of Mr West streaming through my headphones, looking forward to treating my bike to a drink and not being resigned to melting under the WA sun.

Suddenly, when only a few hundred metres separated me from the road train, the car that had been behind the road train came slingshotting out from behind, having adopted a similar run up tactic to mine I assume (it seems quite common).

Things happened very quickly, but a combination of a few factors saved me. One, I was already far over to the left of my lane, to help with the constant buffering the road trains give me. Secondly, the road train driver was a good bloke, as many of them have been, and had also begun pulling over to the far left of his lane (many even put their wheels slightly on the dirt to create as much distance between me and them as possible to also help combat the wind battering they give me).

It was too late for the car driver to react, and I'm almost glad they didn't, as if they had locked their wheels who knows what way they would have gone skidding, but what happened next is that myself, the car, and the road train all shared the road for a split second. The car blew past me a metre or so to my right, and the road train carried on (as if it could have stopped at all), although, rather than giving what is often a welcome toot and wave to me, absolute sat on his horn until it faded in my background in what I hope was a big 'F you' to the car driver.

I am very lucky I am only a metre wide on the road, and again, if I was further to the centre or right of lane, I would have had to swerve very hard and I am truly not sure if I would have managed to miss the car or, if I did, manage to not lay the bike down on the road.

After a bit of a shake, I reached my fuel oasis, only 35 odd kms from Broome, yet spent the next hour there calming my nerves and getting some food into me! Spoke to Mum on the phone yet didn't mention this story... was contemplating not sharing it but hey, a lesson learned and an important reminder of a message that both my parents often mentioned when telling us boys to drive (in this case ride) safe – you need to both drive safe yourself and be mindful of the actions of other (sometimes dickheads) on the road!

However, all is well that ends well and I am now parked up in Broome, with a beer in my hand, looking forward to a big rest tonight before exploring all that Broome has to offer over the coming days.

Donation update and call to action

As at time of writing, you kind people have donated $18,819 to the Children's Cancer Foundation. With my matching amount, this means that, as a team, we have pledged $37,638 in the battle against child cancer.

I don't mean to pester, but donations have dropped off a little on the way to the $50,000 goal. I have been starting to pursue strategies to get this ticking over again (and I am on my way there!) but would like to mention that, if you have not yet donated and can consider doing so, the Children's Cancer Foundation, the kids the Foundation supports, and certainly myself, would be most appreciative - you can click through to the donation page here.

Remember, with your donation being matched by me with my personal donations directed toward hospitals, your dollars really are doubled!

If you have already donated, or are simply not in a position to do so, I would ask of you that you consider extending details of my ride and how to donate within your network or to whoever you may think would be interested and are comfortable with contacting. 

Another huge part of my ride is raising awareness, and I would appreciate your assistance with that enormously!

All the best for the week ahead

James

Week 3: 28 March - 3 April

Week 3 mileage

Days 15-19: Perth!
Day 20: Perth to Geraldton: 432km
Day 21: Geraldton

Week 3 mileage: 432kms
Total trip mileage: 3,945kms

Hi all

Welcome to the Week 3 blog post.

I have ended up spending a lot of time in Perth this past week. I had never been, and I have loved the city. Post Nullarbor stretch I am also ahead of schedule kilometre wise so it has been nice to take a break from the road.

Special thanks to Emily Hoffmann who was the best tour guide I could ask for. From a night of rock climbing, to bar hopping in Subiaco, to trekking down to the Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, I saw a lot of the city and will definitely be returning.

I also had the chance to catch up with old friends for multiple meals and drinks. Unfortunately, yes, beers are more expensive in Perth –  the rumours are true. I won’t shame a certain pub I visited as otherwise the service and tunes were brilliant, but I assumed there was a mistake after ordering a pint and being charged $14 ($13.50 but let's round up out of protest)… ouch.

I finally bade my farewells and trekked up to Geraldton. The ride to Geraldton was very nice. A cruisy ~400km stretch, I passed through many small, interesting towns. Unfortunately, my commitment to follow our National Highway and ride every kilometre of Highway 1 means I missed the coastal route, but I am glad I stuck to it.

Plenty of wildlife/bugs on the road, and I have had the chance in Geraldton to spruce up the bike without feeling rushed, both cleaning and carrying out the responsible maintenance. This involves the unfortunate task of cleaning/lubing the chain with no centre stand – no fun but a necessary evil.

Has come up a treat though, and now is as good a time as any to post up a few photos of the pride and joy doing all the work for me and carrying me around Australia. A few people I have encountered on the road have asked about the engravings on my bike, so here they are:

The beauty that does all my work for me, I just hang on.

The PSJ 7/8/1960 – 17/5/2015 is a shout out to the old boy. Paul Stephen John was the great man’s full name, born 7 August 1960, passed 17 May 2015. ‘Fortune Favours the Brave’ is a favourite quote of mine, and one which I often threw in Dad’s face whenever he accused me of doing something reckless or not entirely thought out *cough* setting out on this trip on my learner’s licence.

The ‘Eyes Open Ride’ is obviously the tag I have given to this endeavour, and a reminder that what I am doing is not just a holiday and a chance for me to take off and cruise around Australia, but an opportunity to give back, and to raise money and awareness (PS that is the ‘Eyes Open’ part) for what I believe is a great cause.

Both engravings keep me honest, and keep me from doing anything stupid on the road.

Shout out Avenue Fine Jewellers in Renmark for the engravings. Andy Mac (Macca) was a good friend of my father’s, and when I turned up to pay for the engravings I was met with a firm ‘not a chance’ by Macca. I appreciate it, and look forward to a few beers down the Paringa Pub when I return.

While in Geraldton I am very fortunate to be staying in a lovely beach shack. Massive thanks to Sarah, a lovely lady from ABC Geraldton who had called me for an interview, then promptly offered me a bed at her amazing shack in Point Moore, just out of town.

Unfortunately Sarah is out of town so I won’t get a chance to meet her face to face, but it is generosity like this that I am thankful for and it is nice to have a roof over my head. The shack is right near the ocean, and comes complete with two very generous neighbours, Tony and Faye, who invited me round for beers the first night (yesterday) that I arrived.

Faye works at the regional hospital, and Tony has owned in the vicinity of 5-6 motorbikes in his life, so we had a lot to chat about. Tony’s stories of his motorbike accidents and close encounters, while interesting to hear about, are best relegated to back of mind while I’m on the bike.

Geraldton is a bit of a gem. I am staying right near the port. Bit of a boring insight, but hey, it’s my blog so I can write what I want – in my past job I worked on a number of large scale infrastructure transactions, so the scale and economics of structures such as ports has always interested me (I can see you yawning). The Geraldton Port is a massive iron ore/grain port and I have rode down to watch a few huge vessels cruise in. Good way to pass the time, though perhaps I need a new hobby.

I’m off to Carnarvon tomorrow, before making my way to Exmouth later this week for a lot of sightseeing and the swim with the Whale Sharks, both of which I am very excited about.

Has been nice to shack up at Sarah’s abode in Geraldton, but back to the tent for the next few nights so will touch base when I am back in civilisation and can charge up the electronics.

As always, head on over to the donation page here and donate if you can – your support has been amazing and I appreciate every dollar. We're currently at $17,744 from all you kind folk, so $35,488 with my matching donations – go team.

Best
James

Week 2: 21-27 March

Week 2 mileage

Day 8: Esperance to Albany: 483kms
Day 9: Albany to Margaret River: 367kms
Day 10: Margaret River to Perth: 271kms
Days 11-14: Perth: 0kms!

Week 2 mileage: 1,121kms
Total trip mileage: 3,512kms

Welcome to the Week 2 blog post!

After an awesome, refreshing time in Esperance, I came to the realisation that I had stayed far longer than I had planned and had to make a bit of a mad dash for Perth to make my first hospital visit. Esperance is truly beautiful and I highly recommend putting it on your list of places to visit if you are a fan of good beaches, great local produce, and very friendly people.

I will post up photos of my Albany and Margaret River experiences in the future once I have had a chance to reflect and compile those but, for most, it was combatting some average weather at times, detours due to wet roads and a washed-out bridge, and trying to make Perth in time.

Perhaps it is me hanging onto my youth, or perhaps it is because I grew up with Dad being a member of, and serving as President for a time (of which he was particularly chuffed) of the Renmark Wine Club, Australia’s oldest continuous wine club, but I have always seen wine as a bit of a ‘wank’ – not understanding a lot of the ‘nonsense’ coming out of Dad’s mouth in respect of the particular tasting notes and qualities of wines.

Logically following that well researched self-held opinion, Margaret River has never held the same allure for me that it has for many friends and colleagues of mine (fun fact: I have avoided every invitation to a wine tour to date).

However, in my older age (read: closer to 30 than 20), and after attending a Wine Club dinner for the presentation of a posthumous life membership for Dad, a touching and proud night for my family, I have generally appreciated both wine, and what the Club does a lot more – I certainly felt a bit foolish about my past opinions.

I am solely onto reds now (unless it is a particularly nice champagne) so I think I would enjoy a future jaunt to Margaret River, perhaps with some unlucky lady, and without a motorbike in tow. However, for now, fine for it to be in my rear-view mirror.

I made it to Perth no problems in the end and, on Wednesday 22 March, I visited the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children to make my first of ten $5,000 personal donations of my ride.

Walking into the hospital hit me quite hard. I had not been into a hospital since Dad passed back in May 2015 and had never been inside a children’s hospital. Seeing families dealing with grief and worry, and seeing a sick child being wheeled around on a stretcher bed was quite confronting for me.

However, after a quick gut check, I made my way up to the ‘Megazone’, the entertainment precinct of the Hospital, to meet with Jess, the Community Fundraising Manager, to deliver my first donation.

The Megazone is a place where kids and their families can hang out and escape that hospital feeling some of us may be familiar with. Picture arcade games, crazy decorations, face painting, BBQs etc.

A truly fantastic initiative and one which I believe very strongly in.

Entering the Megazone really drove home to me how important areas like this are in children’s hospitals. I am no longer a child (unfortunately – ‘adulting’ can be hard am I right?) and am not sick nor have anything to complain about, yet even I felt immediately better walking into this place.

Thank you to Jess, Ian, and the team at the hospital for showing me around the place and filling me in on all the fantastic work being done there.

What brave young souls these kids are, and what a fantastic team of people they have at the hospital.

My personal donation will be going toward the new Megazone, to be named 'Fun on Four' at the brand spanking new Children's Hospital that is soon to open in Perth.

Here's a photo of me with one of the little troopers collecting the cheque (don't worry I did hand over a real one), with the hospital mascot Stitches Bear bouncing around doing his thing.

Delivering my first of ten $5,000 personal donations. First cab off the rank - The deserving Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth.

I have enjoyed some down time in Perth and will be taking off later in the week to head up the West Coast, riding through Geraldton, Carnarvon, Exmouth etc.

I will also be swimming with Whale Sharks in Exmouth, something I am particularly excited about.

Remember, please click this link to support my ride, every dollar helps: Eyes Open Ride

As I write this, you generous people have donated $17,394 to the Children’s Cancer Foundation. With my doubling amount, we have now, as a team, pledged $34,788 in support of the battle against childhood cancer.

I look forward to sharing the next week of my ride with you all.

Best
James

Week 1

Week 1 mileage

Day 1: Paringa to Port Pirie: 400kms

Day 2: Port Pirie to Ceduna: 560kms

Day 3: Ceduna to Madura: 698kms

Day 4: Madura to Norseman: 529kms

Day 5: Norseman to Esperance: 204kms

Days 6-7: Esperance: minimal riding and maximum self-congratulatory food and beer

Week 1 mileage: 2,391kms

Total trip mileage: 2,391kms

Welcome all to my blog post rounding up the frantic start which was Week 1. I have decided to do weekly blog posts which may require more reading on your behalf (depending on your interest!) but will allow me to sit and reflect on each week in its entirety. I will post shorter updates throughout the week on my Facebook page. This blog will serve as a more in depth, detailed look at what I have been up to and allow me to catalogue my thoughts and experiences to create a bit of a memory for myself (a bit selfish – sorry about that).

Day 1

So, now that’s out the way, what a fantastic week it has been. I set off on Monday, 13 March, from the family home just out of Paringa, South Australia, after a lovely farewell with some family and close family friends out at the Wilkadene Woolshed Brewery the previous day.

It is hard to explain the feeling of saying my goodbyes to the family and setting off on this three-month journey. It felt in some ways like setting off on one of my overseas jaunts (of which I have been fortunate enough to have had a few) – knowing it will be some time before I see family and friends again but excited about what is to come.

Perhaps the key difference in this endeavour is that I have only had my motorbike for 5 months and am about to ride it around Australia, so there was a bit more of a ‘shit, what have I done’ factor as opposed to my (predominantly) fear-free overseas trips. Still, fortune favours the brave (let’s go with brave over foolish) and I was buzzing my entire ride to Port Pirie. The last time I was in Pirie was a year or so back, attending what was an extremely well put together Harry Potter themed party and, still being in South Australia, it was a familiar first leg. Arriving in Pirie I was relieved to have got through my first day and, still feeling some effects from the farewell the day prior, treated myself to a feed and an early bed time (wild).

Day 2

I spoke to Trevor at 5RM radio in the morning to give a quick download of my first day before setting off to Ceduna. Day 2’s riding was where I started to really feel like my trip was underway. Officially kicking off the beginning of the Nullarbor crossing, I rode through Port Augusta, Kimba, Wudinna, Wirrulla among others on my way to Ceduna. I went to boarding school with many people from these towns, and it was nice to reminisce on the old days while I rode along. I was on a bit of a mission on Day 2 to make Ceduna so I regretfully did not organise to meet up with people through these towns. The prospect of the upcoming Nullarbor stretches was keeping me anxious, and I really wanted to get it underway.

Arriving in Ceduna Tuesday evening, I spoke to the lovely Jess from Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth about my visit to make my first personal $5,000 donation (thanks again to you all for making this possible with your donations that I will be matching!). Jess was extremely helpful, and I will be visiting Princess Margaret’s on Wednesday 22 March to give my donation and meet the staff and kids!

Port Pirie (top) to Ceduna (bottom). Days 1 and 2 of riding.

Day 3

Began with a lot of nervous energy, knowing I would be tackling the Nullarbor proper. I jumped on the bike and set off. On reflection, this was probably the most challenging day of travel in my life, let alone this trip. There was a lot of wildlife keeping me on my toes, and it was a particularly windy day across the Nullarbor with winds reaching 70kph+. I decided to keep riding though (sorry Mum) – I certainly had a lot of adrenaline charged moments throughout the day. The winds were hardly cooperative, with no simple head or tail winds - rather blustering from all directions.

I stopped off at multiple look outs across the Nullarbor, equally to calm my nerves, slow my heart rate and take in the sights. The Head of the Bight and the cliff lookouts were something else. It is a strange feeling to know you are standing at the bottom of the Australia – the sheer cliffs create a real sense of our continent abruptly ending, as opposed to standing on a beach at another coastal location. I also met plenty of lovely people at these lookouts, as they are popular break points across the Nullarbor. I had chances to chat about what I am doing, hand out my cards, and have other travellers express a lot of interest about following my journey. This is part of what it is all about for me, getting some awareness out there and getting people talking, so these encounters were, and continue to be, very motivating for me.

Crossing the SA/WA border was another ‘OK this trip is really happening’ moment. I have never been to WA, and after the police border check I was on my way and riding off into the (not quite yet) sunset. I had originally planned to stop at Eucla, WA’s easternmost locality just across the border, but with the benefit of a 2-hour time zone change in my favour, I pushed on to Madura. I was feeling very energised and not tired at all, so I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Madura is a road house with a caravan park. I set up camp and ducked in for a couple of cans. I’m sure most of you have experienced the ‘what a small world’ phenomenon many times, and I ticked off my first of hopefully many such experiences on this trip. The managers of the park I was staying in had family in Paringa, and had just moved from managing the Paringa Backpackers, some 1,700kms away. Small world.

Day 4

The morning started with more nervous energy. After feeling stoked about getting through the initial part of the Nullarbor, setting up for the final stretch and the infamous ’90 mile straight’ had me bouncing out of my skin and keen to get on the bike. The straight was a surreal experience, being my first time (aren’t all first times a bit surreal?). 147kms of dead straight road, I felt like I was Kanye West in his ‘Bound 2’ music video, sans Kim Kardashian on the front of my bike – the feeling of remaining still while the hardly changing landscape flew past conjured up similar images (apologies to those to who this pop culture reference means nothing). Speed was hard to gauge, and I constantly found myself getting faster and faster (again, sorry Mum). It was exhilarating. Not seeing any wildlife on this straight made it more bizzare. I have confirmed that the lack of any wildlife sightings on this straight is a rare occurrence, and for that I feel very lucky.

Finishing the straight and pushing on to Norseman was fantastic. I rarely get carried away with completing somewhat significant tasks, but I felt genuinely elated at having crossed the Nullarbor and ticking off what I believe will be (touch wood) one of the most challenging stages of my ride.

One of many signs like this across the Nullarbor. Disappointingly, no camel sightings.

Day 5

I was on the road to Esperance, a beautiful coastal town on WA’s south coast. I had heard good things about Esperance, and what a special treat for those reports to ring true and arrive in a truly charming and beautiful place. Population 15k odd, it is a decent sized town (read multiple pubs). I had managed to completely coincidentally time my arrival with the ‘Festival of the Wind’, Esperance’s premier annual festival celebrating all things good about the south west coast. I was happy to take a swim at the main beach, and venture out to the famous Twilight Beach just around the corner - absolutely stunning.

Twilight Beach - Esperance

Days 6 and 7

Were a chance for me to relax, experience the town and the festival, and meet some of the locals. My past travel experience has taught me that I do my best socialising/meeting people in a pub, so with that firmly engrained excuse in hand I treated myself to nightly pub visits. Three of the more interesting lads I met were John, Nige, and Murts, Kiwis who had won a motorbike trip around WA. I knocked back a few pints with these great fellas and traded stories of our rides so far. They all seemed to find it significantly amusing that I am attempting the ride around Australia on the type of bike that I am (i.e. a learner restricted road bike). I also met a bunch of riders completing the Black Dog Ride, raising awareness for suicide prevention. Great cause and was good to meet and chat with them about my own ride.

It has been great to relax and reflect. There will not be many days of such long riding for the rest of my trip, so I look forward to stopping and smelling the roses more frequently over the coming months.

Support and donate

Remember, please donate if you can and thanks to those who have. I have also started to receive some interest of support from businesses. If you know of any businesses or community organisations that may be interested in getting behind my ride and supporting the Children’s Cancer Foundation, please feel free to share my ride with them – it is all very much appreciated.

I look forward to my next week of riding and exploring our beautiful country, and will be in touch soon.

Best

James

Launch!

Hi all

So, launch was three days ago and what a crazy three days it has been.

I have been overwhelmed by all your support. The generosity has been amazing. As I write this, $4,997 has been donated! Please remember that your dollars donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation are being matched by my personal donations spread across ten of Australia’s hospitals, so really, as a team we have raised $9,998 for the battle against child cancer!

I have updated the tracker on the website (was easier to make it read $10k rather than $9,998… nothing wrong with a little optimism).

The messages I have received have been something else. I appreciate them all.

The messages from those of you I don’t know but who knew my father have been particularly special. While hearing about Dad’s interactions with others obviously makes me miss the old man, they are amazing to read and I am glad that so many of you have fond memories of Dad. I am trying my best to get back to everyone, and I promise that I will, but I am a bit of a tech novice and miss some of the notifications across the different platforms.

Now that the website has finally gone live the reality of my upcoming departure date (13 March) has set in, and I am thankful that I can now focus on my trip preparation proper and enjoy my last 3-4 weeks in my hometown.

I’m also happy to announce that I will be on the radio Monday morning (20 Feb). Will be having a chat on ABC Riverland radio (1062 AM) at 9:10am. I have been told I have a face for radio so if you have nothing to do and want to hear me make my first appearance on radio please tune in. Odds of me messing something up are high so you might get a laugh out of it.

Thanks again all, I’m excited about what’s to come.

James

Welcome to Eyes Open Ride

A bit about me
 
My name is James John. I’m a 25 year old South Australian native, being lucky enough to grow up just up river of a town called Paringa on the River Murray. 

I was lucky enough to have had an amazing childhood growing up in the country. I ended up at boarding school at Westminster School in Adelaide for most of secondary school before moving to the Gold Coast to study Law and Business at Bond University. Upon completing my studies at Bond, I moved up the road to Brisbane and have been working as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills (a law firm) for most of the past three years. 

Through both work and study I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in a number of charitable and pro bono causes and organisations.

The ride

I am riding my motorbike 18,000kms around mainland Australia(plus our good friends in Tassie) to raise funds, awareness and support for the battle against child cancer. My goal is to raise $100,00o for the battle against child cancer, with a fundraising target of $50,000 (Stream 1 below) matched by my personal contribution of $50,000 (Stream 2). In our journey together to reach $100,000, your dollar doubles as I personally match each donation dollar for dollar with my personal contribution of $50,000 until we reach the $100,000 goal!

Together, I hope we can smash the $100,000 barrier and help support kids throughout Australia in their battle against cancer.

The (hopefully $100,000, perhaps more!) will be split into two different streams.

Stream 1 - Donation to the Children's Cancer Foundation

So, where does your money go? 100% of all donations received through my fundraising page with the Foundation will be directed to the Children's Cancer Foundation to fund cutting edge research - specifically targeting gentler treatments for child cancer.

The Foundation have been fantastic in supporting my desire that 100% of any funds received reach their intended destination, and that no admin costs are to be incurred in the setting up and deployment of the fund's balance. The unique specially created funds that the Foundation are able to establish achieve this goal.

As a result, you will see exactly where your donation is being directed and see the potential for your money to fund research realised, not only for the benefit of children in Australia, but potentially children all over the world.

Stream 2 - Tangible gifts

The second stream is a donation of $50,000 (my personal matching amount) worth of tangible gifts to cancer wards/care centres (picture toys/entertainment/any much needed equipment). This stream will target the quality of life within child cancer wards, helping to cheer kids up and hopefully making what is a terribly challenging time a little bit more bearable. A big learning curve for me has been discovering that hospitals receive many "unwanted" gifts. I will collaborate with hospitals all around the country to target critical needs and ensure our pledge makes a big difference.  

 
The background
 
My father Paul passed away on 17 May 2015 at the age of 54. He suffered from Duodenal Cancer, a rare small intestinal cancer.

Dad was an incredible guy. One of the things he often said, and which has stuck with me, is that he was lucky to watch his kids grow up (I have two brothers) and complete school, attend university, and chase their careers. He was confident that we would be OK and that was very important to him.

In his view, and certainly mine, cancer in children is a darker tragedy. Kids who may face an uphill battle to grow up and have families of their own, and parents who experience the pain of watching their child suffer. When my father passed, a friend of his, Steven, wrote an amazing letter to my family. In this letter, Steven retold many stories of growing up with my Dad. In one of these stories, Steven shared how he and Dad had planned to ride around Australia on their motorbikes when they were younger, and how he planned to lobby Dad to do this when he got better.

Dad never got better, but reading this letter planted the seed for this idea and I will be doing this ride in Dad’s memory. I have always believed that if you have the capacity and means to help others, you should.

Mission

I hope that riding around Australia, stopping in at many cities, towns, pubs, and wherever else, can help raise awareness and encourage those in different communities to give back and support those in need. What I really hope to do is encourage dialogue between people about the needs of others all across Australia, particularly ill children, and give people another avenue to donate and support others.

Timing

After Dad passed, I have been reevaluating my priorities and decided it is time for me to take a break from law and try and make a difference in memory of my Dad. I resigned from my job at HSF (the firm was luckily very supportive!) to come back to South Australia, spend some time with my Mum, and put this idea into motion. I plan to leave on my ride in early March.
 
What I need your help with!
 
My goal is to generate $50,000+ of donations to the Foundation from corporates and the public (that's you!). You can hit the donate button on the main page, or click here. 100% of your donation will be put to use!

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss opportunities for your organisation or workplace to get on board.

I'm looking forward to this journey, and hope that you can join me on it to help battle child cancer.