Leaving Sydney

That was Sydney. One of the most beautiful cities I've seen. The coastline is fantastic. Beautiful clean coves with yellow sandy beaches dotted along the coast. And quiet bays filled with sailing boats. Wonderful. It rained a lot though and the public transport was complicated and irregular so I felt a bit marooned in Bondi beach. It took 2 hours to get into town and longer to get back in the evening. We had a few shows but no one came. Looking forward to getting back to the small towns where everything is easier. 

The Felice brothers

The boys are big fans of the Felice Bros. from New York, and busked outside their Sydney show last night. Farley and Christmas from the band came out and put them on the guestlist. I had a quiet one. 

Sydney

Sydney for a week! I'm staying in Bondi beach. The boys are in
Renfern. Great to have a rest.

Berry

We rode from Milton to Nowra, which wasn't so hot, so we took the train to Berry. It's train now to Sydney as the roads are dangerous. We passed about 20 crosses and wreathes on the side of the road to Nowra.

Busked in Berry in the late evening and got a few tips and dinner. Then moved onto a bar for an impromptu show for beers and a bed.

Recording with David

Ulladullah

After the Market we road 50km up the coast to Ulladullah. Bit of a routine now. Swim in the sea. Then hustle some food with a song or two. One place gave us chips (fish and chips for lunch too) another fried rice, and bought vegetable soup in another.

None of us felt like playing but there's not much else to do. Either that or sit in the tent. Some rugby players pulled us in a pub and were all half cut so an enthusiastic audience. We camped in the back of the pub, near the mad homeless guys lair it turned out and his mad utterances were heard occasionally. Had a shower in the hotel in the morning. First ina few days

Markets

Good busking in batemans bay

Post-ride cooldown

Bateman's Bay

Another day, another bay

We did the Market in Maroya in the morning and then had a lazy ride up the coast.

Yoga boy

Rocking the ice cream parlour

Broken spoke and axel

BBQ

Still in Moruya. Gil (we'd misheard it as Bill) threw a BBQ for us last night.

Venezualans

Carlos and Louisa

Ups and downs

Riding out to Bills, I hit a bump downhill and one of my panniers, with the guitar in it, flew off, ripping my mudguard.

While fixing it on the side of the road, Michelle, a lady with a holiday home in the area, came over and offered us all a house to stay in, instead of camping.

Bill

South American day

Another day, another reel of too many things to remember. We came back into to busk after the night in Congo (that really was a beautiful spot Jeff showed us. The sunrise was amazing with huge waves casting shadows on the beach. An iconic surfspot. The Chilly Peppers have a house there in the shape of a drumkit.) a cafe offered us lunch if we'd busk outside for an hour. And another one later for coffees. We were thinking about moving on when the first other touring cyclists we'd seen on the road turned up. They were a venuzualan couple cycling from Sydney. We got chatting and the swapping stories and Bill, the Chillian cafe owner brought out grappa. Eventually we all decided to camp on his lawn and stay until Saturday when there's a Market and good busking

Bermugui

Alec's riding and really strong so that's great news. We're on the road together at last. We left Bega before lunch and got into the next town Bermugui as it was closing. A beautiful place overlooking a bay and an old volcano. The pub gave us a room for an impromptu show but nobody much listened and the beds we're already taken - by bed bugs. We should rather have asked for the meal as we have the tent.

In the morning we did yoga on the beach and then swam in the sea. All the cycling and sea air and quiet small towns means no night life so we're often in bed by 9 and then up at 5.30 with the sunrise. Makes you feel great.

Narooma

Another beach town. We had good busking outside the supermarket but they moved us on after a while so we went down to the front and played outside a cafe who looked after us. For dinner we asked at closing time in other cafes if they had food they were throwing out and collected a feast. Rory met a friend from Melbourne who showed us an island we could camp on in the estuary. We set up and made a fire and he came back later with some beers. Alex and I crashed while they went to jump off a bridge.

Morya and Congo

We busked outside the cafe again in Narooma first thing but no one was around. They still gave us breakfast. Then rode to Morya. 3 punctures. We're riding on the highway by the cars come so close that we have to ride in the gutter, hence the flats.

Busking was good outside Woolworths in Morya. I called up Jeff, a local busker and protest singer who Matt, the manager of the mini-golf (and an ex-muso) put us in contact with. He came out and told us about a place to camp. Congo, a surf spot between two national parks nearby. I dumpster dived for dinner outside Woolies, and he took us over there in his van. We swapped songs and he gave us busking tips.

Audience participation

Biggest little fan

Alec bought a violin!

Our growing armoury

Tethra and Bega

Just coming to the end of four nights in hotels. Beats the tent. Two in Tethra, a beautiful peninsula. The first sunrises on the east coast, magical. We played the hotel there and then the Grand Hotel inland in Bega. Plus a benefit for instruments to go to East Timor. And on local radio. And busking. All went really well. A big thank you to Andrea for setting them up.

We're starting to gel as a band and the set has lots if highlights, including Alec's French rapping and Rory's keyboard solo. We've already got a catalog of songs, hope we can record in Sydney.

Busking is good fun. People don't know quite what to make of it. It's an eccentric act.

It's all a bit full-on though, always hustling and pushing. It takes effort to tune off. Mini-golf was good and I played in a pool tournament. But mostly it's music music cycling music.

No idea where we're going to be tomorrow. Just heading north.

ABC radio in Bega w/Jen

Mini-golf international tournament. England won

Hotly contested

Post-breakfast jam

Downtime

Actual size

Breakfast by the bay

Chef

Walking along the cliffs to breakfast

Lyrics on whiteboard, permanent marker by mistake

Today we ride

Happy thumb, not hitching thumb

Tony and his paintings

Fishermen

Mudbrick home

More wine fir the captain

More wine for the captain

Boating with John

View from John and Joyce's place

Mallacoota in the power cut

The strum club

Merrimula

We're staying in a hostel/camp in the forest a few miles out of Merrimula. Veronica found it through the eco-village network. We were going to play a show but only one guy turned up so we got drunk. Even better! Our host Tony who runs the place is a real character. He was a protester against the logging industry for many years and even took on the state and won an action in the supreme court against the state, representing himself. A crusader. And a painter. Renaissance man. We busked in Merrimula yesterday. Alec is going in again today to get his leg looked at. Poor guy still can't ride. The ride to here from Mallacoota was tough. Only 85km but up and down and took us 7 hours. It's always harder after a day off. I've kept moving on this stop, borrowing a mountain bike and checking the trails for Tony. The boys raked a lot of it. Nice to be helping out. Today is chilled with the hangovers. Only 20km on to the next town and a pub gig.

Mallacoota

We're just about to get on the bikes and leave Mallacoota. Alec is going to try and ride today. It was raining all night but now the sun is out. We should be on the road by 9. We had a great time here with John and Joyce. John runs the strum club, which is a community music group here. We played with them on Sunday and then did the open mic afterwards in Lucy's. Besides that we just rested in front of the log fire in their beautiful homemade mudbrick house, overlooking the bay. John took us out on his little boat and we did some fishing, and then had a BBQ on one of the islands.

 

Developers were trying to build a big breakwater here to increase boating and tourism, but it would ruin the surfing and the beach. I wrote a song inspired by it and John took us over to play it for the protest organisers. It is a great community they have here.

Correction

It's the Port Peddlers, not the Pot Peddlers.

Cann River

We rode about 75km up and down from Orbost to Cann River, a tiny logging town. It was good riding with the sun out through the trees all day. Rory is strong on the climbs and waits for me at the top. He used to work as a cycle courier so even though he's on an old racer and rides in sandles he's still got it. Alec hitchiked ahead and when we rocked in he'd sorted us out a gig in the hotel pub for food and drinks, a place to shower, and somewhere to put the tent. We didn't even have to play very long as people were talking a lot but they still put goldies in the hat. It's funny walking out of a pub with more money than you went in with, just because you play a tune or two. People are really looking after us and everyday we meet so many people who want to hear our story.