Monday, February 17th - London, England
Conrad arrived back in England and was enthusiastically met at Heathrow by his family
and friends. His trike traveled on the plane as personal luggage but his trailer was
shipped as cargo and will hopefully arrive in a few days.
Friday, February 14th - Sydney
I spoke with Keith & Marg this evening after they returned from exploring
Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. They continue on to England tomorrow and expect to
arrive on Sunday afternoon.
Apparently Anthea & Albert, Wesley and his friend Simon (and Keith & Marg of
course) were at the Opera House to welcome Conrad back.
Conrad is staying with Wesley for a couple of nights before leaving Australia on
Sunday and returning to England via Japan. He expects to arrive at Heathrow at about
3pm on a Japanese Airlines flight.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - Sydney
I received word from Don Clark that Conrad made it back to the Opera House this
afternoon after completing his epic 15000km ride. The QEII was alongside the dock blocking
the webcam so there are no immediate pictures of his return but I am sure I will receive
some photographs shortly. Conrad's parents were there to meet him and I am sure there were
other friends and media as well. Keith & Marg leave Australia on Friday and Conrad
leaves on Sunday.
Saturday, February 8th, 2003
I received this informative e-mail from the ever helpful Don Clark:
"John,
Working on 80km a day with no breaks I reckon he may be nearing Narrandera or maybe
Wagga Wagga if he's using the Sturt Hwy. Wagga is about 2 1/2 hours West of me by car.
From Wagga, the likely route to Sydney would be via the Hume Hwy. This am I drove out
there, from Yass to Coolac and back, without a sighting.
If for some reason he's chosen the more Northern route, its harder to tell though he
could be nearing Cowra. That's about oh 3 hours north of me by car: I'm doubtful I'd
"catch him at work" on that route.
I've rung his mobile no, Mobile number: 0439 914 575 Thursday pm and again this am, the
message back is on but no return of call.
I know his email address list included one or two ABC radio contacts, if getting
worried I'd be tempted to ask them, or perhaps via Local ABC Radio: in the Central West
(Cowra etc) orange.regional@abc.net.au or in the Riverina (Wagga, eg) wagga.regional@abc.net.au There's no story on
him recorded on the Local ABC pages.
I'm loth to leave another message on his message bank. I'll keep an eye out as best I'm
able. There's thunderstorms coming so I'd best get off the line.
By the way, here's a link to the National Parks current map of the bushfire burnt
country hereabouts.
http://www.npws.nsw.gov.au/MediamapA3_08_0830_Feb.pdf
Fires are stillburning in the Snowy Mts at last report. No more dramas here.
Don Clark"
Friday, February 7th, 2003
No news from Conrad or any other sources.
Saturday, February 1st
I received this progress report this morning:
"Hi John,
Conrad stayed with us a couple of nights last week and left here on Tuesday morning, 28th
Jan. He seemed to be in good spirits and ate a good meal of nearly 3 serves of spaghetti
marinara the night before he left so I think he was well carbed up and it should have
given him plenty of energy for the first leg of the journey to Sydney. I don't know where
he puts it all, he must have hollow legs. I am hoping very much to see him if and when he
returns to South Australia and he will always be welcome at my home. I think he is looking
forward to finishing his
journey, if only because he will then be able to start planning the next one.
The guy really has some balls. (or he's a nutter, I still haven't decided).
Regards
Haydn Powell
Holden Hill,
Adelaide SA"
Thursday, January 30th
An e-mail arrived from Don Clark who has been in the middle of the Canberra fires:
"Hope you're enjoying the last leg, you'll be crossing the great plain
of the Murray-Murrumbidgee, an ancient landscape indeed. It can be
damned hot, 40+C, around Hay and Narrandera, do take great care and don't skimp on the
water!
Today it was 39C in Canberra with NNW winds at 45km gusting to 60km, very dusty and after
the last 10 days rather frightening, but no fire or wind damage in Canberra, so all seems
OK now. Right now at 6:37 its 37C and winds from the WNW at 26km.
The fires to the South gave some anxiety in Jindabyne (the Snowt Mts),
and closer to Canberra threatened Michelago and the ranges to the
East. The Monaro Hwy south to Cooma and the Smowy has been closed since this pm to allow
the firies max access, but all seems well
enough now as the evening draws on and winds drop a little.
In the smoke, the M5 freeway into Sydney was brought to a standstill,
too. In a deep drought year, in the ACT we may still have some high 30s
days for another week or two but by mid Feb, we should be able to
sense the change of the days: a little cooler, a little more dew, and
some trees hinting at Autumn a month or so later, windy, cool and
maybe rainy.
It sounds like you're going to have to give ACT a miss, never mind,
you've acheived a helluva feat already and seen some magnificent
country. You'll know to check as you go about fires, sorry we've put
on such a dangerous season for you. Pedal on, look forward not back,
and let me offer you Clark's First Law of cycling: Every Hill Has Two
Sides.
I'll keep an eye on the page, as ever: I'll give you a call when you
get a bit closer, and see if we can get a roadside meet on the Hume
Highway, if that's your route into Sydney.
Stay safe, well done, warmest regards, Don"
Wednesday, January 29th - Renmark
A very brief e-mail from Conrad indicates that he is taking the direct rout to Sydney
through Mildura which will bypass Melbourne completely.
Friday, January 24th
My mailbox is full of pictures e-mailed by Wesley. I will be posting them here shortly.
Wednesday, January 22nd - Adelaide
As Conrad is coming to the end of his journey ( He has about 1.500 km to go.) the
schedule is getting rather tight. Keith & Marg Evans, his parents, leave England
on Monday and arrive in Sydney, Australia on Thursday January 30th. They are staying a
couple nights with Anthea and Albert Clay and then travelling up to Cairns to visit the
Great Barrier Reef and the rain forest before returning to Sydney on February 7th. They
will be in Sydney (Staying with Wesly Scrutton.) until the 14th when they are
scheduled to fly back to England.
Conrad is confident that he will be able to reach Sydney in this window between
February 7th and the 14th so that his parents will be there to celebrate his return to the
steps of the opera House. He is carrying a lot less water now that there are frequent
water stops so he is hoping that this will allow him to make faster progress. His plans
are flexible but I think he plans to leave Adelaide on Thursday January 23rd and take the
direct route to Melbourne and then the coast road to Sydney, missing out Canberra
altogether because of the time constraints and the fires.
While in Adelaide he had the opportunity to see some cricket, (I think it was the one
day match against England on the 19th.) and he also saw Lord of the Rings.
I understand that Conrad has a flight back to England booked for February 16th so that
is another deadline he is working hard to meet!
Tuesday, January 21st - Adelaide - 12,821km/8,013m
I received a brief e-mail from Haydn to say that Conrad arrived in Adelaide on Saturday
and was staying in the YHA in the city, presumably so he can be near the action as
Haydyn lives outside the city. He has spoken to Conrad a couple of times and is meeting
him on Wednesday evening.
I am beginning to piece together Conrad's story over the last few weeks. Apparently the
mechanical problem that Conrad had as he left Smoky Bay was a failure of something inside
his rear axle. It turned out to be a major problem that could not be repaired in Ceduna
even with spare parts. Eventually he conceded that he needed a "Plan B".
Somehow or other he managed to persuaade a bus driver to take him, his trike and his
trailer from Ceduna to Adelaide.
I also received this progress report:
"Yesterday afternoon, in the parklands of Adelaide, South Australia, Alan Wakeham
and myself, both from BAE SYSTEMS, caught up with Conrad.
We were pleased to hear that Conrad has really enjoyed his travels so far - even though
the Ozzie wind has been very strong. He is also enjoying is well-deserved break in
Adelaide. I think he is glad to be on the home stretch - with only 1,500 kms to go.
Conrad is a very friendly and courageous guy and he had many stories to share with us. We
couldn't belive he has only had 5 flat tyres so far - and he thinks that the Australian
Emu is "quite stupid".
When we left Conrad, he was on his way to watch the start of the Tour Down Under cycling
race.
We wish Conrad well with the remainder of his trip and thank him for taking the time to
catch up with us. Good luck Conrad!!
Chelsea Doughty"
Monday, January 20th
I have no direct news of Conrad's progress but next Monday, January 27th, Keith &
Marg Evans, Conrad's parents, are flying out to Sydney so that they can be with Conrad
during the conclusion of his epic journey. Hopefully Conrad has reached Adelaide and is
now on his way towars Melbourne. I suspect that the long silences are due to a problem
with his phone which may be broken or lost.
Monday, January 13th
After a very long silence I finally heard some news of Conrad in this progress report
from Haydn Powell:
"I returned from my holidays in a little place called Smoky Bay just last week and
during my stay there my family and I spent a lot of time with Conrad. He is either the
most courageous person I have ever met or simply a nutter for doing what he has done. I
lean toward the former. I am expecting him in Adelaide sometime in the next few days and
have offered him a place to stay and rest up before heading to the East.
Whilst in Smoky Bay we went fishing in a boat in the bay and he managed to catch quite
a few King George Whiting, arguably the worlds' best table fish, which we consumed with
gusto over the following few days.
We also spent a night or two looking at the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere
through a 10" telescope which I took along with me. Conrad was asounded by what is up
there and vowed to take up Astronomy on his return to England. It was the first time I
have ever
heard anybody liken an image of Saturn to a pigs nose and I was intrigued by his
analogy.!It then dawned on me that we both wore glasses so the image was out of focus for
him when perfectly in focus for me! We soon made the adjustments and he saw the Rings of
Saturn for the first time, and also went back and looked at the other objects we had
looked at earlier which to me were beautiful but to Conrad were just blobs! By then he was
able to focus the telescope himself and see the same things as I was seeing and the
perplexed look disappeared from his face.
Early last week Conrad decided to set off to head to Adelaide but was back an hour or
so later with mechanical trouble and was still in Smoky Bay when I left. The replacement
part had arrived that morning so his plans were to leave the following day, all being well
with his trike. We expect his arrival on or around the 16th Jan. and are looking forward
to seeing him again if he decides to stay here.
Haydn Powell
Holden Hill, South Australia"
Monday, December 23rd - Ceduna
A Christmas e-mail from Con:
"G'day All,
It's Christmas again and another year is nearly over and I am still pedaling round
Australia. I have made it across the Nullarbor which is the last of the long stretches
with no services.
The Nullarbor, or the Eyre Highway is a stretch of 1209km between Norseman and Ceduna.
This stretch is not actually on the Nullarbor Plain except for about 40km around Nullarbor
Roadhouse.
The Nullarbor Plain is a 50 million year old 250000square km lump of limestone that
covers the area of England, Nederlands, Belgium and Switzerland and have 7000sqkm left
over. The Nullarbor comes from the latin for Treeless Plain, but the
are a lot of trees on it. This is because the Eyre Highway goes along the southern edge
of the plain and there are a few trees. Once you cross the WA/SA boarder the road is about
600m from the Southern Ocean and the Bunda Cliffs which fall 100m straight into the
Southern Ocean. There is a lot of wildlife on the Plain both dead and alive. Roos, Emus,
Budgies, Major Mitchel Cockatoos and Galahs along with finches. I saw no camels but have
heard about a truck hit 2 not leaving much of them and the truck.
Ceduna is rather strange in the sense that there are no Christmas decorations up in the
street and you
can very easily miss what decs there are in a few shops. I am here listening to Aussie
Christmas songs, now someone phoned the ABC to say they could not relate to Northern
Hemisphere songs about snow and cold, though cold here is below 20 degrees.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Best Regards, Conrad Evans"
Sunday, December 22nd - Ceduna - 12,074km/7,546m
Received an e-mail from Con with " Here is a bit of Christmas trivia: Did you know
that Jingle Bells does not mention Christmas or have a religious message, Yet we sing it
at Christmas." He obviously hasn't got enough going on to occupy his mind. He
also requested a summary of the year's news from his friends and family. The Nullarbor
Plain is now behind him. He has now been cycling for 282 days since he left the Sydney
Opera House..
Saturday, December 21st - Ceduna Forshaw Caravan Park
Friday, December 20th - Penong Caravan Park - 12,000km
Thursday, December 19th - Nundroo Roadhouse
Wednesday, December 18th - Rest Area 25km E of Yalata
Tuesday, December 17th - Rest Area 36km E of Nullarbor
Monday, December 16th - Nullarbor Roadhouse - 11,751km
Con is coming to the end of the last wilderness area that he has to cross on his
amazing journey. About three-quarters of the Nullarbor Plain is now behind him. As he says
in his own words: "Steruth It's Hot!"
"Yes, it does get bloody hot out here on the Nullarbor, I am currently at
Nullarbor Roadhouse at 10:45am and the temp is 34c and due to rise by another 10 degrees.
I am going to stay at the roadhouse until 3 or 4pm and then ride to Yalata 93km from here.
I walked out of the roadhouse and into an oven. The weather in Ceduna and Adelaide today
is 40c and the wind is easterly, direct from these two places. If this weather continues I
shall continue to ride into the night.
This weather is hot but not as consistent as up North where the weather is an
unbearable 40 degrees in the shade everyday. I made it south before the weather got too
hot and have found it chilly for most of the time. The wind off the Southern Ocean can be
chilly and blow a bit. I camped one night this week on the cliff edge at a lookout and the
wind blew to buggery all night. I had to get 3 people to help put my tent away as it would
have gone 90m into the Southern Ocean. I know you will say what the hell do you expect!
I met up with Sam Walker at the Nullarbor Roadhouse and have been chatting to him for
an hour or so.
That's All. Best Regards. Conrad Evans"
Wednesday, December 11th - Eucla - 11,565km/7,228m
Saturday, December 14 - Border Village - 11,622km
Today Conrad crossed over the border from Western Australia into South Australia.
Saturday, December 7 - Norseman - 10,847km
An e-mail from Con:
"Dear All
It has been a long time since I reported to you all.
Perth was where I had some R&R after my hard slog down the west coast. Perth is a
fantastic city with a very relaxed atmosphere where nothing really matters.
From Perth the Great Eastern Highway to Coolgardie is the main through route to the
Eyre Highway and the Eastern states. They pipe water to Kalgoorlie and Norseman in
pipeline along the Highway. The highway goes through the Goldfields. It was where several
gold rushes happened in the 1890s. The country got drier and drier the farther east you
go.
Northam is a lovely town and it is the only place in WA that has white (mute) swans. It
also has the largest rotary wheel in the world. This is a Rotary Club wheel.
Meckering was a bustling town until a Earthquake fattened it in the late 60s and the
town never recovered and they have not rebuilt it much at all. It is now a memorial to the
earthquake and you can take a walk round what was the town and now a plaque telling you
what was there and a concrete floor where the building stood.
A lot of the towns have very wide streets that enabled the Afgans (Camel drovers) to
turn the camel train round.
Best Regards
Conrad Evans"
Friday, December 6 - Norseman - 10,847km/6,779m
E-mail to the Thames Valley (Cycle Club in England ??):
"Dear Thames Valley
I do hope that this gets to you before your Christmas weekend at Jordans. I am
currently crossing the Nullarbor which is a 1200km ride between towns, a town being one
that has more than a roadhouse. A roadhouse is not much more than a petrol station with
cafe and accommodation.
The water out on the Nullarbor is all desalinated water and the roadhouses will only
give cyclist water, though some will make a big issue out of it.
My trike is holding up very well and the transission is still going strong after
11000km. I have had no broken spokes on my trike though I am breaking them on my trailer.
I have gone through one set of tyres on my trike and 4 sets on my trailer getting about
2500-3000km to a set of tyres. I replaced the handlebar stem while I was in Perth because
it had bent on the way down the west coast of WA. I was fighting strong headwinds.
Nothing catastrophic has happened to my trike and it must be down to Chris Hewitt's
mechanical expertise.
Anyhow, all is well and warm in Australia, Happy Christmas to you all.
Best Regards
Conrad Evans"
Thursday, December 5th - Norseman - 10,847km/6,779m
Wednesday, December 4th - Norseman - 10,847km/6,779m
Tuesday, December 3rd - Norseman - 10,847km/6,779m
Monday, December 2nd - Norseman - 10,847km/6,779m
I received a progress report today via the website:
"Hi all,
Met Conrad at Northam in Western Australia at the camp ground, where I was testing my new
tent. We spent two days together talking and riding and sharing our philosophy of life -
(cycle touring is the goal and aim of life everything else is subordinate to it).
He was really enjoying his trip, making many friends who visited and revisited him, the
trip across the Nullarbor was ahead of him but his quiet competence showed in everything
he did and everything he said.
He is capable of everything he has set himself to do and he brings joy to the lives of
those he touches.
We enjoyed his company so very much and envied him his trip while we had to return to
work,
Do not worry about Conrad, he is solid and secure and among friends in Australia.
Regards, Bruce"
Sunday, December 1st - Norseman - 10,847km/6,779m
More..........
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