The Impromptu Support Team in Perth

Long-distance solo bicycle touring is not accomplished by one person. This is a truism on just about every long-term endeavor. With me, four citizens from Perth, the city from where I start my trek, unexpectedly appeared who gave me help without which my trek across Australia could not have come to pass.

To this day, I have never met Yohei and Alan; I don’t even know what they look like. Yohei and Alan each separately heard about my ride across Australia through cyclingtouring.org, a site where one posts tours in case anyone else is interested. Even though they couldn’t do the ride, Yohei and Alan (they don’t know each other) chimed in and a camaraderie resulted. Alan, having had experience bikepacking on many routes in the Outback, gave me all kinds of possible routes to use. Yohei knew the ins and outs of bike paths around Perth and was able to suggest a good calm path out of the busy city. Yohei and I have been in constant contact, even hoping to get together for fun while I was in Perth– although the meeting never materialized because of the tight schedule I was in to get the bike tour ready. Thirdly, Serge was a man who rode from Perth to Alice Springs and he advised me on what to do with logistics and permitting. I could not have done without his advice on the route.

And then there is Jane. She has been my lifeline here in Perth; the support she gave was immeasurable. An avid cyclist (she once rode from Beijing to Europe on the Silk Route– among the many tours she does), she offered her home for me to stay in where I could put my bike together. She even offered to pick me up from the airport, a gesture for which any airport traveler would be eternally grateful. Knowing what one needs at the very beginning of a tour, Jane drove me around to various camping and food stores, saving me the work of having to research where they were and finding transportation there. And on the night before I was to get on my bike and start the journey, she declared, “Tonight you will have pasta because you need all those carbs” after which she got busy making dinner. (After I leave, she is heading off on her own bicycle tour in Europe.)

I didn’t know any of these people before I stepped foot on Perthian soil. But as I start my ride, I know I have new friends I can count on.