Cycle of Learning. Anne Fitzpatrick

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ of falling into a pit of worrying about what I’ve taken on, Christine and her excitement has helped things feel positive and achievable and worth doing.

      Adelaide Coordinator of Cycle of Learning is what we decided to call Christine’s role for this project, which she is balancing with dashing off a PhD. She is doing all the things in Adelaide that I can’t while I am on my bike and out of range of phones and computers.

      For all her logistical support to me today, Christine forgot to remind me not to sweat on screen. By the time I inched my way up the hill, I was dripping with sweat and – checking in my handlebar mirror – an almost fluorescent shade of pink. It was not the image I had hoped to start my life in the media with. The interview began before I’d even got my helmet off, and was over in a few short minutes.

      Perspiration issues aside, today on camera I came face to sweaty face with one of the biggest challenges of Cycle of Learning.

      “So, what are you riding your bike around Australia for?”

      “To raise money to help support disadvantaged young people in India through high school and tertiary education. And to raise awareness for Australian students about the role that education can play in overcoming social disadvantage … and to promote bike riding.”

      It’s not exactly a cause that rolls off the tongue, or keeps the listener’s attention past the to help support … part. I feel quite envious of those cycling fundraisers that can answer with “for an orphanage”. Or “to stop animal cruelty”. Even something like “for world peace” would be more three-minute TV interview friendly.

      As well as my dishevelled brush with local TV, I had two schools to visit in town, an invitation to speak at a Rotary club and – in a departure from the caravan parks I’ve been staying in – accommodation with two families for my time in town. One is the parents of Christine’s housemate and the other is a colleague of my mother’s. It was quite lovely to have the hospitality of these families that I had never met before but who were willing to offer their support through loose and stretched out connections.

      Now that I was starting to line up speaking gigs, and had people hosting me on my journey, Cycle of Learning was finally being transformed into something real and tangible. In the months leading up to the ride it was at first just an idea-seed, then an abstract future event incubating while I put in hours behind computers, sent out information, looked at maps, got advice, made phone calls and shopped for camping gear I didn’t know how to use. Even once I mounted my bike and left Adelaide, I still felt like I was trying to conjure something out of nothing by claiming “I will ride around Australia and raise fifty thousand dollars”. After 500 kilometres or so, I no longer felt like I was pretending. I was over the first hurdle now that Cycle of Learning had a life – albeit, a very young one – of its own. I was just not entirely sure what it would grow into, and if it would match the ambitious plans spun for it.

Wednesday 16 February

      Geelong to outer Melbourne, Victoria

      84 kilometres – 3 hours 59 minutes

      I rode the freeway from Geelong to Melbourne this afternoon for the second time in as many days. I had been staying in Geelong with my cousin Heidi and her husband Tim. As much as they have to love me because we’re family, I think I may have outstayed my welcome by a few days, half a dozen burritos and a garage break-in.

      Heidi made a pre-emptive phone call prior to my arrival on Saturday to find out what I wanted for dinner. I rolled in to a Mexican extravaganza and warm welcomes from hosts I knew well enough to borrow clothes from so I could do a 99% wardrobe wash (I felt asking to borrow a pair of undies would be overstepping a certain line, even between cousins).

      On Sunday, Heidi and Tim had some commitments in Melbourne so they left me alone in the house for a few hours with the leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. On their return they were polite enough not to mention the large gap in the fridge where those leftovers had been, or the salsa stain on their t-shirt I was still wearing.

      I could sense a renewed confidence in me when they had to leave for work on Monday morning. They must have felt it was OK to leave me since there was no opened food that I could demolish and I was back in my own clothes. Also, they knew I would be kept out of mischief since I had a visit to a school nearby which would take up much of my day.

      I watched some morning television until it was time to leave for the school. It was at this point I realised I had somehow misplaced the keys to Heidi and Tim’s house and shed where Bike and Trailer were safely locked away.

      After a lot of general panicked rushing around followed by some inspired work on the louvred windows of the shed, I got us all to the school, but it was lucky that the police hadn’t driven by while I was breaking into the shed and bleeding all over its windows. At least the visit went well with the local primary school, where I visited each of the classes. We spoke some Tamil to each other (the language spoken in Kodaikanal) and thought of lots of reasons why bicycles are a great way of getting around – not least because it’s easier to drag a bike out of a shed window than a car.

      Tim found another set of keys and gave them to me so I could lock up on the way out when I left for Melbourne the next day. In the morning, I waved Tim and Heidi farewell as they drove off to work and sat with the keys in my hand until my departure time. Proud of myself, I locked the doors, hid the keys in the nominated spot and headed for the highway. My plan was to stop at a school in Werribee before riding the rest of the highway into Melbourne by nightfall.

      After the school visit and a photo shoot for the local newspaper, I pointed Bike north, ready to hit the bright lights of Melbourne. Luckily, I decided to check in with Christine in Adelaide first, and received instructions for a new assignment. I turned Bike 180 degrees and headed back to Geelong since the assignment involved speaking at a school there the next day.

      After my unexpected return, I suspect Heidi and Tim were considering changing their locks (and if that failed, their address) to avoid the possibility of me continually turning up at their house unannounced. They may have had to change their locks anyway if they weren’t able to find those keys.

Chapter 2: Dirty and Altitudinally Challenged

      Melbourne – Bonnie Doon – Benalla – Albury – Jindera – Walla Walla – Walbundrie – Culcairn – Morven – Holbrook – Tarcutta – Bookham – Canberra – Goulburn – Wollongong – Bundeena – Sydney

      Totals: 2,537 kilometres – 144 hours 16 minutes – $4,197 raised

Sunday 20 February

      Bonnie Doon to Benalla, Victoria

      73 kilometres – 3 hours 39 minutes

      I learnt a lot in the past two weeks – how to outride flies, how to eat and ride at the same time, and how to go to sleep with dirty feet – but yesterday showed me I still have some troubling gaps in my cycling know-how.

      In the morning I farewelled Diane and Neil, the hospitable second cousins I had met for the first time only the evening before, packed my bags and headed for the hills. These lasted a long time but weren’t too steep, and there was lush national park and forest around to take my mind off my legs.

      I was feeling rather sunny and happy with my crew. In the kilometres from Adelaide to Melbourne, Bike, Trailer and I had settled into a functional working relationship СКАЧАТЬ