A collection of long distance ride reports by Melvyn Yap
May 12th, 2011 Melrose to Port Augusta Distance: 69km Total distance: 2879km Last night was pretty rough, if it’s not because I put all my bags in my tent, my tent would be blown away. As you can imagine, I had a hard time sleeping, the wind somehow manage to find its way into my […]
Continue ReadingMay 13th, 2011 Port Augusta to Iron Knob Distance: 72km Total distance: 2951km The morning saw me riding into the Eyre Highway when I left Port Augusta, and I shall be riding on this highway for the next 1700km until the end of Leg 4, finishing at Norseman. Moments before entering the highway, I saw […]
Continue ReadingMay 14th, 2011 Iron Knob to Kimba Distance: 98km Total distance: 3049km Last night I slept well, except once I woke up and checked my tent for mice because I thought I felt it running on my sleeping bag. Turns out it was just outside the tent. Phew! I’m starting to get used to spending […]
Continue ReadingMay 15th, 2011 Kimba to Poochera Distance: 183km Total distance: 3232km What’s with these small towns and their dogs, the dogs here seems to be barking so frequently all day and all night. I don’t blame the dogs but the irresponsible owners who god knows what they did to their dogs. Anyway, before I doze […]
Continue ReadingMay 16th, 2011 Poochera to Ceduna Distance: 146km Total distance: 3378km Today is another big day, though not as big as yesterday! I must ride 140km if I wish to get to Ceduna, and hence to finish riding Leg 3. I had a feeling that my body would not be able to match the speed […]
Continue ReadingOn my first morning in Ceduna, I had a swollen lower lip! This lasted for the entire 3 days I stayed in Ceduna. Don’t know what caused it, but it just went away by itself so it’s all good. I also had moderately sore legs, I guess this was the effect of pushing myself too […]
Continue ReadingMay 20th, 2011 Ceduna to Penong Distance: 78km Total distance: 3456km And so begins Leg 4: the crossing of the Nullarbor. Earlier, I made plans on where I should stay for the first three nights. I felt it was necessary because the first three days of riding are mostly farmland areas. Finding a place to […]
Continue ReadingMay 21st, 2011 Penong to 40km east of Nundroo Distance: 43km Total distance: 3499km I knew the weather in Nullarbor wouldn’t be so kind. Yesterday was just an exception. Today I faced the greatest and most gruesome enemy for any cyclists: EXTREME headwind. Flapping tent woke me up early this morning. Peeked out to find […]
Continue ReadingMay 22nd, 2011 40km east of Nundroo to Nundroo Distance: 42km Total distance: 3541km I dreamt of riding with a strong tailwind last night. God it was such a beautiful dream! Still, a dream was just a dream. The extreme headwind continues today, only this time it’s blowing from 11 o’clock instead of 1 o’clock […]
Continue ReadingMay 23rd, 2011 Nundroo to Nullarbor Distance: 151km Total distance: 3692km All hopes were not lost. Woke up in the morning to a silent atmosphere. No more tent flapping. A bit of drizzle and a one-off gust of strong wind while I was packing but that was it. Finally, Nullarbor seems to be calming down, […]
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