dislocation

April 27, St george to cunnumulla was going to be my first 300+ km day.

April 27, St george to cunnumulla was going to be my first 300+ km day.

I probably should've gotten an earlier start but was rolling just after six. The sun wasn't up yet. The sky was brilliant in it's absence though. I crossed over a small dam on my way out of town. Already fine temperature for shorts and a T. I would be traveling due west on hwy49, adventue way, the outback, all day. That put the sun pretty much directly behind me till after lunch. I had a nice tailwind kick up that you only knew was there when you stopped. It eased me along. Seemed I was merely encouraging the bike to glide along at 30+ all day, not working for it. At about 120k, stopped in the small town of Bollon for lunch. Drank a 2l bottle of water, ate a chicken and salad sandwich ( truly, if you order this anywhere in OZ or NZ, you get a salad. Lettuce tomato, onion, beets, carrots etc) a real treat. I bought a plum, banana and an orange for later too.

On my way again, the road quickly changed, the solid shoulder lines and dotted center line disappeared. The grade got rougher which slowed me down a bit, and width narrower Very little traffic on it though. The amount of roadkill was amazing. I started seeing dead wild boar in abundance as well as kangaroo, emu, goat, snakes, dingo, uncountable varieties of birds, and a horse.

At 4pm, and 200kms, I stopped for dinner. I had the fruit I mentioned, a liter of Lemonade, and a can of libbys baked beans, cold. With a little over 100k still to go, I knew I'd be arriving in cunnamulla in the dark. With the amount of roadkill on an unmarked narrow road, I knew I'd be slowing down considerably after dark. The sun went down at 5:30, but it was still bright till 6 or so. After that, dusk. A bad time as shadows play across the road, the sky ahead is still brighter than close up surroundings, and bike lights are ineffectual except to alert vehicles of your presence. But it's bright enough to still make out the road well and as such tempting to hammer off as many k as possible before true dark sets in. I was at about 250k when Suddenly, I mean I didn't even see him jump in front of me. Suddenly a mid size kangaroo was right in front of me. I didn't have time to break. I hit him head on. The bike fell hard and fast to the right. The kangaroo being pushed along by me acted as a break and we only slid for maybe 10 feet. He scrambled up and hopped away with me cursing him from the ground. I knew before assessing anything that this wasn't going to be good.

Right away I saw that my right pinky was pointing off on a very unnatural angle and bleeding badly. My forearm was bleeding too. My feet and legs seemed fine as did hip etc. Surprisingly, the bike was fine too. So...just this finger... It hurt but not as much as it looked like it should. Figured I was in a bit of shock maybe. All I felt was anger actually and at myself mostly. Suddenly, I started wondering what nocturnal animals might be atracted to the smell of fresh blood and decided to get riding. This was tough to do under the circumstances and took a bit of practice. After maybe 20 minutes I spotted oncoming lights. When a road is flat and straight forever, it takes that long for the vehicle to finally get close. Forever. At last it was close enough for me to get off and flag it down.

3 blokes heading back towards St George in a pickup loaded with outback gear said they'd give me a lift to Bollon. Bollon was that small town I had lunch in so many hours ago. I so wanted to just cave and let someone take over. These guys seemed friendly enough and wanted to help but weren't going back to cunnamulla. I thanked them, but said I was going to keep riding. This impressed them some. I'd already shown them my hand by then semi dried blood was everywhere. Legs, shirt, face... They all got out of the truck and came around to see the bike and my state. They were drinking and offered me a beer. I accepted. They offered rum too but I declined. We all stood around shooting the breeze like best buddies. I have to admit to feeling a certain sort of bond with them. Maybe I just didn't want to see them drive off. Anyway, I finished my beer and thought I'd best be on my way. They promised to alert the cunnamulla police as soon as they got cell service.

Suddenly, I was alone again. I rode for awhile, hand beginning to throb a bit. Rode for awhile more. It was a beautiful starlit night but I was very focused on not riding into any more animals. Dead or alive. I saw lots of both. A cars lights appeared in my rearview mirrors, I stopped and waited. Finally they were beside me. I could see right away they had no room for a bike so just showed them my hand and asked them to send help when they got into cell range.

I rode some more. Realized that I lost my buff. For some reason, at the time, this seemed the most terrible of things to have happened. All the rest I could accept but was totally broken at the thought of having lost the buff. Funny huh, I'm over it now:). Sure was a nice one though.

I rode some more. Slowly to be sure, but determined to get there on my own steam if I had to. At 275kms I could see dim light on the horizon. The tell tail sign that promised to become headlights soon.

Just after 8pm, 2 very nice cops and myself jockeyed my bike into the back of the police vehicle and we headed to the cunnamulla hospital. Like myself, they both thought the finger was fractured maybe in two places. With all the blood it did look grim. They said if it needed surgery, I'd have to be flown out. I was fearing the worst now. Could this be the end of my ride? Could I maybe convince the doc to just do the best he could and send me on my way...if bad, I'd deal with it when back home?

We talked about the ride, my attempt at the GWR, cunnamulla, motels, etc. When we got to the hospital they insisted having pictures taken with me standing in front of the police vehicle and holding up my hand. They came in with me and stayed awhile. We exchanged email addresses, mostly so I could send them the pics, and said so long.

The young intern.. I forget his name already.. S something, was really good at his job and very friendly. His family is all back in Brisbane and I felt he really missed them. He cleaned me up and took down all my info. He said to me... You seem to be taking this well, it must hurt more than you are letting on. I said it hurt but i was still waiting for the real pain to kick in. Peter, the X-ray tech, was there and he too was very friendly. We talked quite a bit. The doctor had been called and was on his way.

When he got there, he injected a nerve block on either side of my pinky which felt like how an inner tube must feel when pumped up to 120psi. Soon everything was numb. 3 X-rays were taken... I held my breath waiting to hear the results.

To my, and everyones amazement, it seemed to just be a bad dislocation.
You can imagine my relief. I could've cried.

Peter stood behind me. I sat in a chair and was held by Peter while John the doctor manipulated the unit back in place. I heard a pop and had to smile.

3 more X-rays indicated success but as my pinky still wanted to point off on it's own it had to be splinted to my second finger.

By now it must've been 10:30 or so. There was a red cross unit set up on property that was used as an overnighter for visiting family of patients etc. Peter walked me over and said goodnight.

I'd been txting Jess, letting her know how it was going but hadn't been thinking about how early in the morning it was back home.

Finally, everyone got to go to sleep.

I had to get a quick checkup and pay my bill in the morning. Said good bye to everyone and was on my way.

I'm not sure, but I think I might be the only guy on a push bike to collide with a kangaroo and need a police escort to medical attention. I think it was probably pretty amusing for everyone. I sure enjoyed the friendly, personal treatment.

I got a late start leaving town. Heading south towards New South Wales I was into a strong headwind all day. Whereas yesterday I felt I was coaxing the bike along, today it felt like I was forcing the bike forward through jello. Dusk came again, the wind died down. It got dark. There was a fence on either side of the road and no roadkill. I stayed on the centerline and arrived in Enngonia around 7:30 and 165k. I had a huge Tbone steak loaded with salad and veggies. Just might be the best meal of the trip do far.

Bruce Gordon
www.globebent.org

Well maybe it's time for some random thoughts on the first leg of the ride. Guess I might as well start at beginning. When I left home, both Jessica and Nisha where already gone, one to work, one to school. So it was a quiet, thoughtful departure. As I took the first step away from the front door, I had to stop, turn around for one more look. It struck me that I was at once, both the closest to, and the farthest away from home i would be for quite awhile. At once, 3 meters, and 43,000,000 meters. (or whatever the earths circumference is)

Well maybe it's time for some random thoughts on the first leg of the ride. Guess I might as well start at beginning. When I left home, both Jessica and Nisha where already gone, one to work, one to school. So it was a quiet, thoughtful departure. As I took the first step away from the front door, I had to stop, turn around for one more look. It struck me that I was at once, both the closest to, and the farthest away from home i would be for quite awhile. At once, 3 meters, and 43,000,000 meters. (or whatever the earths circumference is)

That was the toughest moment of my trip so far. Then it occurred to me that if indeed I was as far from home as I would ever be, then every step west I took for the next 4 months was bringing me closer.
That cheered me up a bit.

My good buddy Tony saw me off. i was ever so greatful he was there. During the bus ride, and ferry crossing to horseshoe bay I was super aware that I was seeing all this for the last time in quite a while. Made me really appreciate everything. after the flight to San Francisco, it was 14 hrs to NZ. It was something to imagine nothing but the pacific below me for so long.

Cabin lights came on about 3am and breakfast was served. Landed few minutes ahead of schedule but it took awhile to get my bike box, get through customs, get it built and get on my way. Then awhile more to get my bearings.

While parked on the shoulder at an off ramp debating direction, a polite, relaxed, amused copper pulled up behind me, came over and joined the debate. We discussed the pros and cons of riding illegally on the motorway amongst many other things including feijons.. An in season fruit id never heard of or tasted before. In the end, I took his suggestion and the off ramp, headed for the "Great Southern Roadway" which twisted and turned, rose and fell, crossed the #1 back and forth through wonderful countryside past grazing sheep horses, cows, and even a road bike race which i somehow found myself in the middle of. Rather amusing for the spectators i imagine. A good bit of road to practice getting used to riding on the WRONG side.

It's a bit unnerving when your looking around and suddenly a car comes around a corner at you from up ahead and it's in the right lane. Even more so when you notice a kid is sitting where the driver should be and isn't even paying attention to where he/she is going.

Day one was a fun initiation. The climbing was tougher than anticipated but I enjoyed it. Day two was even tougher and day three tougher still. By then my legs were pretty worn out. Was loving the pure freedom of being able to just get up and ride all day everyday though. That's really what it's about.

New Zealanders (kiwis) are a friendly helpful bunch. I didn't get one finger, or FU out a car window. No frustrated honks as cars raced by. Nothing like that. Actually, lots of thumbs up from truckies and bikies. And lots of encouraging honks from passers by.

Twice I had police go out of their way to help orient me in the right direction. That was a huge help in Wellington.

Roundabouts are amazing in their simple efficiency. I would stop, pull over, and watch at some of the larger ones that served as a hub for many lanes merging and exiting.

The 3.5hr ferry ride from north to south island (wellington-Picton) was entertaining. It was mostly full of 20something travelers resting up for the next leg of their adventures. That occasion, and a night I spent at a backpackers reminded me that there is a whole world of people, traveling on the cheap and I just want to say here, now to everyone in their 20s reading this. Get out there and see some of the world if you can. Make it a priority over that new car you've been eying, or any other of the many distracting trappings.
The network of people you will meet and the infinite possibilities of how that might impact your life far outweigh the 3-500 dollar a month payments you are thinking about tying yourself to for the next few years. Just sayin:)

My first night on the south island I spent in a caravan. It was at a motel and was only 25 a night. Clean and cool. There was a communal room with laundry, cooking and chilling out facilities. Second day I got to ride along side the ocean most of the day. It was awesome. The rollers coming in would make such a crash and an explosion of white spray mist. At times right across the road. In other spots, seals dominated the rocky beach for miles. Frolicking in the tidal pools. And in others, suffers were out taking advantage of the swells

The weather was great for the first 4 days but then got cold and wet. Was still scenic and fun... But less so. It slowed me down some and I decided to make Christchurch rather than Invercargill my exit point.

While in Christchurch, a 5.3 aftershock struck while I was in motel lobby. The whole building was moving, we all ran outside and were joined by everyone who'd been indoors in the neibourhood. The trees and bushes were all shaking. The fear and concern was apparent on the faces of those around me. Two more small tremors happened later that night and had me planning my escape route and what to grab if I had to rush out the door in the wee hours. This is what the people here must do and feel every day.. Very stressful...and brave

I had a day to get bike box etc. Wasted day as far as the attempt goes but it blew by fast. I got to see some of the city. Not as much as I wouldve liked but..

What else..big diversity tween north a d south island. Big temp dif too. So much to see and do. Could easily spend a month on each island cycling around.

So roughly 1100k in 7 days. Just a tad shy of 160kpd. (approximate)

Bruce Gordon
www.globebent.org

Actual itinerary.

Actual itinerary.

These first few days has me wishing I'd brought an altimeter. Didn't want the responsibility of charging the garmin daily and didn't want to wear the clunky polar watch. So I've developed a sort of guideline chart you can use for future reference... You know... For your amusement:)

If max speed is high, and average speed low... It was hilly.
If to above senereo, total distance was less than 200k and ride time was tween 8-9 hrs... It was really hilly.
Over 9 hrs... Frickin hilly
If avg, max, and distance is low, but ride time high... Headwind

Day. / Date. / Destination / Distance / max speed/average/ride time
One, Friday apr 08, travel day from startline, 7723fawn rd. Hmb BC. Bus to YVR, flight to Auckland.
two, sunday april 10Auckland-ngaruawahia 154k / 67.78 / 19.24 / 7:48
Partial day, Day two began at 7:30 am...so.. 16.5hrs
three mon April 11 ngar-taumarunui 181 / 70.20/ 20.91/8:37
Four tues April 12 taumarunui-wanganui. 168 / 65.40/ 18.48/9:03
Five Wednesday 13 wanganui-Wellington. 202/65.17/ 21.51/9:30
Partial day, Got to terminal at 6:30pm...so.. Three days,11hrs, 699k
Six, thur, April 14 welli/picton-Ward 78.45/66.60/20.07/3:54
Partial day,Began riding from picton at 12:30...so..Three days, 22.5hr, 777.45k
Seven, Friday April 15, Ward-Chevoit 158 / 69.13 / 18.40 / 8:35
Eight, sat, apr 16, Chevoit-Christchurch 130 / 55.10 / 20.45 / 6:19
Total so far 1070k
Nine, April 17, rest day in prep for tomorrows flight. Will ride maybe 10k west to airport.
So.... If I've calculated correctly according to GWR rules.. Including rest day etc I will have completed aprox 1080k in 7days, 6.5hrs.
Makes for an average of about 149k. Disappointing, but I know how hard I worked for those. The short daylight hours don't help. A bit of poor planning on my part left me unsure of what was up the road as far as accommodations went and I often quit the day earlier than wanted to because of distance to next motel.
Expect to see some ramping up promptly:)

Bruce Gordon
www.globebent.org

Day two ( but ride day # one)

Day two ( but ride day # one)

8am BC time. Means 3am and 12hrs on this plane so far. It's still pitch dark outside. All cabin lights have been illuminated and an announcement about breaky choices has been made. We land in 2 hrs.

I had an ok night. Not fully rested but definitely had worse nights sleep in transit. Could've been better if the damn fasten seat belt warning bell didn't keep going off every half hr or so.

I watched a movie last night before sleep..The Way Back. True story bout a group of guys who escape a syberian gulag back in the 40s and walk to freedom. Now that would be epic.

Anyway, it's 10am saturday BC time now...5am Sunday morning here. So...19 hrs ahead? I am 19 hrs in the future. Ha! You guys are all livin in the past man!

Had a good cheese omelete breaky..we are about to land. Have to put this away.

This is going to be one long day:)

It was a long day. Gets dark early here too. Say by 7 I guess. Pretty knackered by then anyway. Only 150k...very hilly.
Was riding away from the auckland airport by 7:30am.
Was a bit confusing getting out of Auckland but didn't take too long to get oriented. Spent the day getting used to riding on the WRONG side of the road. In towns it take some concentration. Especially with roundabouts etc. But out on the road you get used to it pretty fast. Every once in awhile, I'm looking around at the surroundings, a car comes at me from around a corner up ahead and it's on the right hand side...sort of startling. Especially if you notice there is a kid sitting where the driver is supposed to be and he ain't even paying attention to the road:) your instinct isto swerve towards the right hand shoulder. Probably a fatal error that would be.

I had to exit hwy 1 almost right away as no bkes allowed. Idve gone for it anyway but had a polite conversation with a NZ copper bout the pros and cons of riding illegally on the freeway and wisely decided against it. Then a confusing bit of business trying to locate and stay on "The Great Southern Roadway". A very scenic but meandering hilly,bumpy road winding through the countryside passing grazing cows, horses, sheep, goats, etc. Signs indicated a possum problem and the number of possum road kill seemed to substantiate the claim. Lots of birds and forest. I kept thinking Pauls artwork of me riding the globe looks much like my first day in NZ. He even had the flowers right.

Doto an oversight, I had no idea what time it was all day. Just kept riding. Stopped around lunchtime and had a banana and an ice-cream. Did a long stretch of road between tuakau and ngaruawalia that did me in. That is where I spent the night. Had a burger close to motel. Was asleep by 9.

Bruce Gordon
www.globebent.org

Fwd: Globebent...the GWR challenge

>
> The idea is to challenge the current Guinness World Record for Fastest Solo, Global Circumnavigation by Bicycle.
>
> The time to beat is 163 days, 6 hours, 58 minutes and is held by Vin Cox from the UK.
> To beat the record I have to maintain a daily average of 178 kilometers but I'm shooting for somewhere between 200 and 260kms/day.
>
> The rules are simple.
> Start and finish points must be same location
> Rider can design his/her own route
> Journey should be continual and in one direction. Ie east-west / west-east
> Any distance travelled opposite to the direction of the attempt will be discounted from the overall distance travelled.
> Minimum distance travelled should be 28,970kms by bike and the total distance travelled should exceed the equators length. 40,075kms.
> Participant must pass through 2 approximate antipodal points during the attempt. Mine are Auckland NZ and Madrid SP.
> Though overall total time and distance must be recorded, official ride time is defined as the time that elapses between periods when the bicycle is being shipped, and only stops when the rider reaches the exact point from which it will next be transported.
>
> I am the first from the Americas to make the attempt. The first to choose to travel west. The first to use a recumbent, and the oldest guy to give the record a shot.
>
> My route begins and ends at the bottom of my driveway. I fly from Vancouver to new Zealand, then on to Australia, Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, England, the United States and Canada.
>
> You can view my route on my website.
>
> I am hoping to raise 56 cents per kilometer ridden for a charity event I have set up with World Vision. This will sustainably aid some 2500 children and there families in three communities along the southern boarder of Zambia.
>
>
> Bruce Gordon
> www.globebent.org

4 days till my trip begins.

4 days till my trip begins.

Mostly ready, but still much to do. Probably time to make a list.

There are so many people out there riding and blogging. So many fantastic stories to read. Funny, a year ago I was so naive. When I came across the website "Thisisnotforcharity" I had never read a blog and had no idea as to the global community of cyclists touring the planet. This discovery, though slow to clarify, has really come into focus for me. What a golden time we live in when people, whether solo male, or female cyclists, couples, friends, or entire families, can, after time consuming but relatively effortless Internet research, put there home lives on hold ( or maybe abandon them altogether), take to the roads of the world, explore, and near instantly share with anyone whose interested, photos, videos and their personal take on their adventurous experiences. That this is going on all around me while I toil away from one roof to the next, (don't get me wrong here, I love my work), has me eager to begin.

Eager, yet envious. For I have chosen, out of the blue and for no apparent reason, to race around the planet bent on beating a record for fastest global circumnavigation. Since making that decision i have discovered so many cyclists engaged in, or preparing for extended rides of their own. Tours that involve a much happier balance of riding and relaxation. This is an element that is missing from my mad dash. Ah well, plenty of time to relax when I'm dead:)

I have chosen (or did it choose me?)this race as my initiation into a global movement that I so admire and have begun to view as bigger than any one cycling adventurer. It's a network of people, many of them connected via the Internet, sharing their experiences, knowledge, and advice, with each other and anyone who's curious. They are spread out all over the globe and relentlessly riding through the political, and geographical barriers that one would assume folly to attempt.

Twitter seems to be one of, if not the best way to discover this global family. It is simply amazing how many enthusiasts are out there. It's comforting to know that though I'm embarking on a solo adventure, I am not alone.

Bruce Gordon
www.globebent.org

The secret to Kens climbing prowess

Today was a busy day and my last sunday here at home for some time. Up and out the door early to participate in the annual April Fools half marathon. It was a near perfect day for it. The course was fast with only a few gradual hill climbs and ended out front of Pier 17 in senic Davis Bay. I finished up 1hr, 43min, 38sec. A time I never would've achieved without Andrew Hansen and Chuck Steemers dedicated and determined training runs five days a week. Andrew finished around 1:34 and Chuck.. 1:40.
I practically ran from the finish line to my truck and rushed off to complete the last roofing contract still to finish before my ride. after that it was home to change and out the door for a "farewell to me" get together my good friend Tony P. organized. I saw a lot of friendly faces (some I hadnt seen in awhile) and really enjoyed myself. Thanks to all who dropped by. Meant alot to me. Ken Knight, my buddy and companion on so many awesome bike rides, the guy who introduced me to bike touring in the first place was there and before he left, presented me with a wonderful letter. I submit it here for all to read. It just may be the best damn letter anyone about to embark on a bike tour has ever recieved.