All Good in Australia: Part 1 of 2 Tasmania and Victoria Adventures By: Jamie Bianchini Photos courtesy of Shutterfly at: http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EegNXDNoxbtGOY Pages: 8 Suggestion: Print out and read casually

Ah, the "Land Down Under". For years I've dreamed of adventuring this magical place and meeting the wonderful people. On March 1st I arrived in Melbourne and, having just arrived from the natural beauty of New Zealand, I was eager to stay connected to nature thus my desire to explore the city was virtually non-existent. I did, however, need to take care of some administrative and mechanical tasks before starting my Tasmania journey so I managed to soak in the thriving nightlife and artsy cafes of Melbourne for a few action packed days around colourful St. Kilda. I was pumped to reconnect with a good friend Dean who lives in Somerset, Tasmania and who was the first mechanic to work on our bikes back in the USA where he and his wife Mel lived for 3 years. I took an overnight ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania and slept like a baby under a table on the calm ocean. I was awoken by the announcement that we had arrived in Davenport and my first vista of Tasmania was one of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen; gleaming red, orange, pink and yellow with the awakening port town in the backdrop. I also awoke to a message on my new cell phone confirming that Mel, Dean's beautiful wife, had made the early morning trek to the ferry station and was going to by my first Tasmania guest rider on the tandem for an 80KM ride to their home in Somerset! Day one of Tassie was off to a great start! Half asleep I pedaled the loaded tandem off the boat waving to the crew and saw Mel's smiling face and bouncing body waving on the other side of the fence. I liked her immediately. Mel is a pretty avid mountain biker so I was excited to have some strong legs and no extra weight to breeze us along the quiet roads of Tasmania. She hoped on the bike and off we went, chatting away about our different adventures of life and feeling strong and happy to be alive indeed. Now adversity has it's way of arriving when you least expect it and it's rarely when you expect it. This morning was no exception. As Mel and I were cranking away up a steep hill I was shifting gears and we failed to back off the power while changing to the biggest rear cog. An almost satanic grinding noise followed and we both knew this was not minor breakdown. Next thing we knew we were staring at a rear cassette that looked like a steel taco. The ride was over after only 10KM! But our spirits were surprisingly high, at least mine were, and within minutes one of Mel's coworkers Steve was there with a truck to take us to Mel's place. Now Dean just happens to be a pro bike mechanic and was actually excited to work his magic and within 24 hours the bike was fixed, so we though. I've learned to surrender to these small doses of adversity and trust that there is some reason for it's arrival. Perhaps we missed an accident up ahead, maybe I had something to learn from Mel's friend. As it turns out Steve's wife arranged a video presentation to dozens of smiling Cub Scouts and a article in the newspaper so it was all good in the long run! It was great to see Dean and and to meet his wife Mel. They live in a beautiful house overlooking the ocean and I had my own room with a view with the company of their two amazing cats Pablo and Cruise. It was not long before I met Dean's friends Steve, Sam and Josh and I cooked a huge barbecue the night before we embarked on our first of many Tassie adventures. It was a three-day weekend in Australia celebrating Labor Day and Dean and Mel had already planned a drive down to the capital of Tasmania Hobart for a birthday boat party of their friend Billy. We arrived Hobart and quickly made our way to the boat where I was greeted with open arms by Dean and Mel's lifelong friends and we danced the night away on a boat to live music. We spent the weekend in Hobart surfing in front of our good buddy Joppy's pad where I was treated to my own board and wet suit from my good pal Steve. Again, I am amazed by the karmic wonder of toys that come my way just when I need them--perhaps it's because I'm sharing my bike toy with others every day around the world. Something to think about, the power of Karma. The surf was just right and we sucked up the waves for a few days, drinking fine Australian wine, and taking in the holiday weekend nightlife. It was a perfect welcome to the wonderful state of Tasmania. The next adventure of Tassie was the wild West Coast. I had a lot of training to do before my next long term guest rider came, my 62 year old mother, and the steep terrain of the west seemed to be a perfect place to build some strength and endurance, as well as to give myself some time alone in nature. Steve and I were keen to catch a day of surf in the epic break of Murrawah so I did a peaceful ride on the quiet back roads for about 80KM. Steve took off after his day of work yielding two surfboards, his tent, a cooler of beer and some yummy food! So in one day I got to experience my first taste of west coast riding, a sunset surf in the uncrowded waters with a cool local buddy followed by a yummy meal and great conversation at our campsite. Next morning I embarked on a four day solo run that would take me through some of the most beautiful, remote, and physically demanding terrain of my life. I rode through the endless eucalyptus forests with red, green, orange, browns and smells that kept a smile on my face all day. I camped on isolated beaches, sang with the birds, and did not see any other person for several days. I did have my first experience with the famous Tasmanian Devils outside my tent that gave me a scare, then just a chuckle as we screamed back and forth to eachother. These guys can really yell, but I felt safe and they took off after I took the pan of rice into my tent. This wild area of western Tasmania tested my physical endurance beyond words as the steepest hills of my life pounded my legs while I hauled my heavily loaded tandem up and down for 80KM and often 5,000-7,000 feet a day of climbing. I was getting ready for my mom, AKA: Mamacita. With the isolation comes truly unspoiled nature and I was able to experience encounters with countless birds, insects, snakes, kangaroos, wallabies, possums and more. At the same time, I experienced sun, wind, rain, waterfalls, rivers and I had them all to myself with no car exhaust whatsoever, a luxury I could only dream about in most parts of the world. Now my mom was bringing a new drive train for my bike and Dean and I hoped the replacement cassette he put on my bike would work on this west coast expedition. But then it happened. My little chaining went out and I was stuck with just a middle and big front chaining! For those of you non-bikers out there, that means my "granny gear" or "easy gear" was shot--I was in deep you know what. Luckily my Tassie angels sent Cecilia, a lovely elderly lady travelling these backroads by herself. This delightful woman, dressed in white with white hair, offered to drive all my bags to the next junction and allow me to hammer out the hills with no weight. Go Cecilia my Tassie Angel! But the steep hills turned to dirt and mud up ahead and the going got just brutal and mean, I was no longer having fun. The angels delivered just in time as I found a group wild 4x4 driving Aussies who strapped my bike and took me, my bike and my gear to the pavement up ahead in Savage River. I was able to hammer out the endless remaining hills to Waratah in a state of physical exhaustion never felt in my life. By far, the west coast was the most challenging part of my tour to date, but also one of the most awe inspiring. After a huge feed and nice rest in Warratah, I was picked up by Dean, Mel and Steve in their car for a weekend trip to Cradle Mountain. The car came just in time. I must have consumed too much back country water or blew some internal fuse in my exhaustion as my stomach was in bad shape. I was weak, lost my appetite, and was quite pale. I did my best not to spoil the fun of my Tassie buddies and somehow managed to soak in a sunny, breathtaking day at Cradle Mountain National Park where the scenery of steep mountains and high lakes kept my jaw hanging open all day, not to mention the temperate rain forests that found their way amongst the dry arid terrain. Cradle Mountain--just go there, it's world class! Rather than try to continue riding the steep terrain of this region with no granny gear, Dean took me to his place to rest my "Tasmanian Devil" belly for a day before I took a bus down to Hobart to meet my Mom, cousin Shannon and her best friend Heather to start our trip up the stunning East Coast of Tasmania together. This would be my first time being the "leader" of a group of first time cycle tourers, especially three women. Now one of the benefits of being a Peace Pedaler, among the many, is that each guest rider who comes on the tandem is from somewhere on my trip. And usually, these guest riders have great friends scattered around the world. Nic Kain, a guest rider and great friend who rode with me in Cambodia, is a native Aussie who unfortunately was in Korea during my Oz adventures. But his best friends Andy and Stuie live in Hobart where I was meeting these 3 colorful ladies. He was eager for me to meet these guys so I reached out to them and was warmly invited to stay the evening before my mom's arrival. On my ride from the Hobart bus terminal to Andy's house I was at a stoplight when I spotted a warm, chubby fella next to me sanding a wooden spoon by hand with a piece of sand paper. "Are you going to my house by any chance?", he asked with a real Tassie accent. "Are you Andy or Stuie?" I replied. "I'm Stuie, you must be Jamie", he replied with the warmest smile. We were friends immediately and walked the bike, now in single mode, to his house chatting away and sharing the wonders of life. Andy, Stuies's roommate and my guest rider Nic's best buddy turned out to be like a brother to me instantly, and we all enjoyed a mellow evening together sipping fine Kiwi brews and eating scrumptious local cheeses. Along Comes Mamacita! My mom has always been my best buddy and the biggest supporter of Peace Pedalers. Now it was her turn to experience being a long term guest rider of her son. I picked her up at the airport in Andy's classic car and we enjoyed a huge welcome meal at Joppy's amazing restaurant in downtown Hobart. The next day my cousin Shannon and Heather arrived and we all were invited to spend the weekend with Andy and Stuie at their pad. Hobart quickly became one of our favorite cities and we spent three days cooking amazing meals, sucking in the nightlife with our new friends Nigel, Andrew, Billy and crew, and hit the stunning weekend market that is not to be missed if you ever visit. We also had some time to get properly packed for the adventure of bicycle touring and my three ladies had a lot to learn about what to bring on a bike trip, especially my mother. For about an hour I scanned every item these woman had brought. This process of thinning I knew would lighten our loads as we eliminated unnecessary items. This process was truly comical as I assumed power to veto such items like an electric toothbrush, mom's 5 shirts and 4 underwear, lethal amounts of cosmetics and glass containers, duplicate soaps, unnecessary books--the list goes not. By the time we were done this one spare duffel bag was barely liftable and luckily we were able to send it up to Dean's house, our final Tassie destination. After a final dinner with the crew, a creation Stuie spent hours on that was just to die for, and new friends Fin, Addie and Oliver it was finally time to start our east coast ride of Tasmania. We gave our final hugs to Andy and Stuie that morning then pedaled to the boat harbor. As we made our first few pedal strokes I felt the excitement and anticipation of these three virgin bike touring ladies as we left the safety of our Hobart family and were off into the unknown of Tassies east coast. We boarded a boat to Port Arthur that was truly wild--the first thing they offer you before boarding the boat is ginger tablets to keep you from getting sea sick on the wild waters. We passed huge dolomite rocks, seals, and stunning coastline to the port where we were greeted with a festival called Harmony Festival celebrating diversity in our world. From that day forward my mom, Shannon, Heather and myself were "Team Harmony" and sported orange bows on our gear. Before we left my mom pulled out bright yellow smiley face balloons that we blew up and stuck to our panniers. We were a comical site indeed, especially after Heather and I found our stuffed animals and put them on our helmets: mine was Ichibubu the Echidna and hers was a Platypus. Off we went, smiling and loving the mostly flat terrain the first day delivered through quiet roads. We rode from the port through rolling farm lands, lakes, bays and cute towns to the town of Marion Bay. Heather and Shannon were hooked to touring right away and just the gentle rush of touring. It was a huge success for the first day of bike touring for my cousin, mom and Heather. My mom only cried once on a steep climb. Marion Bay is a huge crescent moon beach where we prepared a three course meal and slept like babies under the endless stars after a brilliant sunset. It was just Team Harmony and nobody else but good old Mother Nature! I shared my new MSR tent with my mom and luckily the waves drowned out her normal snoring. Gotta love Mamacita! The next day we used some advice from the locals to ride an off-road coastal route north to stay off the highway. I should have learned my lesson by now NOT to trust others unless they have actually toured the route fully loaded. The route was by far the most strenuous tandem ride of my life. The road led us through numerous steep mountain roads, descending into private farms, providing endless coastal views in between rests. Mostly it tested all of our physical and mental limits. The reward was a secluded beach campsite where we swam in the ocean under a purple and another peaceful night sleep under the stars. Our morning routine on day three was getting more streamlined and efficient as each of us were getting more accustomed to the routine. One person made the coffee, another breaking down tents, another getting food ready and stuff like that. We gave ourselves some morning stretching and gentle yoga too before we pedaled onward. The next day continued to amaze us with the limited traffic, rolling hills along the ocean through pretty farm towns, and nature in every direction. It was a long ride, especially after the grueling day we had previously. It was also the first day that we began to feel the various emotions that long days in the saddle stirs up. Heather has a baby boy at home Skye who she missed, Shannie had some tears and Mamacita and I were beginning to butt heads a bit. To help smooth the waters Heather sprung for a nice room so we could all finally clean up as these gals were not used to going 3 days without showers and a bit of pampering. We also had a wonderful meal with fine Tasmanian wine to celebrate our first 3 days of touring Tassie. The last day before our break took us through the hills once again where we stopped at a stunning winery for lunch. Now in all of my travels I have never had a dog bite me, even in southeast Asia! But for some reason the local dog at the winery decided to chomp my leg and, although it was not a real painful event, the owners of the winery took pity on me and we all were able to enjoy free wine and fine Tassie cheeses in the sunshine surrounded by the vineyards. We finally made our way to Fricheno National Park where we would take a rest day and hike up to the famous Wineglass Bay. This park is amazing, with steep rock peaks in every direction, Oceanside hiking trails, pristine beaches perfect for afternoon yoga sessions, and calm camping after afternoon wind storms. This is another must if you make your way to Tasmania! Shannon and I went solo on the hike as Mamacita and Heather took the day to recharge by the beach and at the local lodge. After a relaxed rest day we were all feeling strong for the 40KM ride to Bicheno. Emotions continued to challenge us, but we were able to keep Team Harmony together, fuel up on heaps of groceries and make our way to our secret spot at Picaninni Point. I promised I would keep the accommodation a secret and will reveal it to those who ask me personally. But I will tell you this: it is a slice of heaven! We had a little cottage steps from the beach where we could cook, lay in a wood fired tub of essential oil water under the stars and sleep to the sound of crashing waves. The next day we were joined in this oceanside paradise by our good friends Dean and Sam who brought toys: surfboards, wetsuits and kite surfing gear. We spent the next few days in the water, cooking wonderful meals with our new cycling friend from Scotland Morag, and transforming our little cottage into a house of love and joy! Dean's wife Mel drove out the next day and we all hoped into her car and were transported to their house in Somerset on the only day of rain we found yet. Perfect timing Mel! We all enjoyed our last few days together in Tasmania at Mel and Dean's house before finally having to take my cousin Shannon and Heather to the airport where they would make their way to Bali after a few days in Melbourne. One thing about cycling touring with people is that you have lots of time to grow very close. And our experience together in Tasmania will forever be a happy memory for us all. Mamacita and I stayed in Tassie a bit longer as we just felt so at peace in this place. Dean and I were eager to get out mountain biking and I was able to convince both Steve and Sammy to take a "sickie", a sick day, and come out and ride with us. Dean was excited to show us his local trails in the hills of Penguin where Dean, Mel, Steve, Sammy and I all spent an unforgettable day on the stunning technical singletrack that left me grinning ear to ear for days after. If you want to ride some sweet singletrack, get in touch with Dean and check out Penguin! Steve's wife set up a presentation with the local Cub Scouts and the local newspaper was going to be there too so taking my mountain bike adrenaline rush we then made our way to the local town hall. I gave my first video presentation to about 30 kids and their parents and gave rides to everyone on the tandem. It was amazing to see all the bright eyes and smiling faces so turned on by the video showing of our travels. My mom and I had a few more days left in Tasmania to enjoy an adventure to the temperate rainforests at Lemontyme Lodge where we hiked and explored the forests of every hue of green imaginable in the day and played with the possums and wallabies at night. Dean, Mel, mom and I grew very close and our friends in Tassie will never be forgotten. The adventures of Mamacita and Jamie in Tassie sadly came to an end but we had another two weeks of touring the famous Great Ocean Road in Victoria ahead of us to minimize the gloom of leaving our good friends Mel, Dean, Sammy, Steve and more. Not to mention, leaving the serenity and conceitedness we both felt with the great state of Tasmania. Mom and I took a morning flight to Melbourne and made our way via train to start of our 8 day Great Ocean ride in a town called Warrombol. We arrived as the sun was setting and rode our way to a cute hostel to get a good night sleep for the first day of this epic Victorian ride. Mamacita was feeling strong on day one and we had a nice tail wind to woosh us along the picturesque road towards Port Campbell. We were blessed with a few stops where the views of the ocean were just beyond words with rock formations of every shape, gleaming sand beaches and perfect waves that got my surfing juices flowing hard. We decided to stop short of Port Campbell and we landed a free campsite right on a cliff with the waves crashing and had time to cook a great meal, do some yoga and check out the sunset. It was great to have some quality time with my mother in such an awe inspiring location. Truly a bonding experience of a mom and son. The next day we were up early for the long day of climbing that lay ahead. We caught a stunning vista of the famous "London Bridge" rock formation, enjoyed a coffee in Port Campbell, and rode our way up the long steep climb to Melba Gully State The climb was totally bonding between Mamacita and I as we turned on the tunes of my iPaq MP3 player and hammered away over 4,000 feet together listening to Jimmy Buffet sing to us about Cheese Burgers in Paradise. Well, when we arrived at the park totally exhausted we met a few delightful Aussie families who were grilling up burgers and other yummy food and, in exchange for giving their cute kids rides on the tandem, cooked us up a huge feed that our tired bodies quickly absorbed. Mamacita and I love kids, and especially acting like kids. We all took a night hike into the lush green forest where we checked out the glow worms in awe, giggling and jumping out from the dark forest scaring our new friends. An unforgettable experience. Next day we were making our way to ?? We had a long decent through the forest to ease us into the day with views high above the ocean. We got a taste of the coast but it was short lived as we both knew we had another steep climbing session that would really pushed our limits. After a nice picnic lunch by a river we began the hardest climb of our Great Ocean Road trip that took us up about 3,000 feet in a short 10KM. It was grueling! But Mamacita made it with only one cry and the reward was a long curvy decent to the pristine coastal town of ?? Where we found a nice room at the hostel and I treated my mom to a hot essential oil bath to chill her aching muscles and bones. I was proud of her and proud of myself. The hardest parts were now behind us, and the rest was right on the water and mostly flat! After a huge dinner, great night sleep, and relaxing morning we made an afternoon ride together on the most scenic section of the ride to Cumberland River. A tail wind pushed us along as we weaved right along the coast listening to the waves crash, checking out the surfers in the various bays, and sucking in the sunshine. We met heaps of friendly tourists on the road from all over the world as it was almost Easter and the crowds were starting to build. We eventually landed at our destination for the evening at Cumberland River caravan park and the place was jam packed--totally full! So Mamacita and I decided to just ride around and find someone to share a campsite with. And our Angels delivered big time. We met a wonderful group of road cyclists who not only gave us a great place to camp, but invited us into their lives to share their family tradition of camping there at Easter that they celebrated for over 30 years! One of the guys there Johnny is a former road racer and had legs of steel at 59 years old. At our camp fire he kept saying, "Ah, Mate! I really wanna have a go on that bike of yours!" or "If you and I could ride this thing together we would really get that bike moving, Mate!". He asked for it, he got it. I knew my mom was pretty tired so I extended an invitation to ride with us tomorrow for 40KM towards Torquay and have their car follow us with our gear and Mamacita so we could really wind her up. He was thrilled, and so was my mom! So the next day Johnny was up early and was smiling ear to ear. Mom sat leisurely in her chair sipping warm coffee and just relaxing her sore bum. Johnny was a real pro. He actually measured out the seat height, used his own pedals, and was out to really make this bike move. I was just as fired up as I now could really see what this bike could do with two strong riders and no weight! We set off in the morning with huge smiles and were greeted with an unexpected headwind but still managed to fly along at high speeds and drop all road cyclists that tried to get behind us and draft. We rode 40KM into a headwind and up several steep hills in just about an hour and a half and we were loving it! It was great to feel the power and excitement of a true cycling enthusiast hammering away behind me while we chatted about life. That's what Peace Pedalers is about! Mom and I had lunch and pedaled the last few clicks to Torquay where we we planned to take a few days off to enjoy the Rip Curl Pro surf contest at Bells Beach. I have grown to love the sport of surfing and it was a treat to spend a few days in the buzz of Australia's biggest surf competition. We watched the pros rip it up, I got a chance to party down with the locals, and Mom got some days to relax her bum some more. Our last day of touring was nothing super special in terms of scenery but it was still amazing. What we both experienced was the increased strength and power we both had after our two days off as we made our loaded tandem fly along at 30 KM/hr and effortlessly cruised the terrain between Torquay and Geelong while chatting away. My mom had built up some legs, lost several pounds of flab and we both were excited on our last day of riding. We took a train from Geelong to Melbourne to avoid the city traffic and we spent a few special days together checking out the city, going to a show, eating great meals, and meeting up with Dean's buddy Justin. The time finally came for Mamacita and Jamie to go our own ways. We both went to the airport together and she flew out to San Diego and I flew up to Sydney to begin my coastal surfing and biking adventure to Brisbane. I was sad to see her go, but more excited to check out New South Wales and hit the coastal rides and epic surf that was ahead. Overall, Tasmania captured a piece of our heart indeed--the people, the nature, the energy are like no other. And the Great Ocean Road is truly an epic tour offering a wonderful taste of rural Victoria. This first phase of my Aussie adventure was nothing short of perfect! Stay tuned for part two, Sydney to Brisbane! Over and out from Peniche, Portugal where I'll be living, working and writing my first book here for 6 months to learn Portuguese for the African Odyssey next year. Not to mention, the surfing, kite boarding and road riding are all world class. Visitors welcome… Big Love and Peace to you all! Jamie