After all of the excitement and adventures of the last several weeks I'm a bit disappointed that my day for blogging writing has been comparatively uneventful. We had a rare day of no presentations and no riding but not an official day off. We woke up in the guide hall of Port Macquarie to a sunny day. After a delicious breakfast of pancakes and fruit prepared by Vicky's cooking group we all headed off in several directions to take care of laundry, bike repairs as well as taking advantage of the rare opportunity to check e-mail. After an afternoon of meetings, performance workshops, more delicious food and donated sweets we had the pleasure of discovering who our secrect friend's were. Shane was convinced his was Rhiannon or Dan and was surprised to discover it was me (Sherida). Vicky decided she didn't want to know who's her's was so it remains a secret, at least to her. Yon was quite shocked to discover his was Shane. We had a lot of laughs and it was a great way to end the day.
We came to the realization today that a week tommorrow we'll be in Newcastle, our bike riding journey complete and only a celebration of our tour will remain. How quickly the time has gone by. There's so much that all of us will miss. The beautiful friendships we've formed, riding everyday for multiple km's, a community based on respect and caring. So many memories we've created; days riding in the rain and in the heat, swims in the ocean, performances, kids, wipe-outs, meetings, lentil meals, muesli breakfast, big hills, car parks, hail storms and the list goes on and on.
It has been and will continue to be, for me, an amazing journey. I've loved every minute of it. While the long bike rides day after day have fueled me physically the beautiful people have fed my soul. Each and every person on this tour will always hold a special place in my heart.
A full day off at Bello was bliss!!! A gorgeous farm, lots of room to move, sunshine, quiet quiet quiet, except for the morning chorus and continual chimming of bell birds, ginger tea on Sue and Col's verandah overlooking McGrath's Hill, veggie gardens, three dams, a composting toilet, solar panels, chooks, and best of all loving and generous hosts, Sue and Col Lennox.
The day off was well needed and utilised. The sleepy town of Bello with it's wide main street and pleasant absence of a big multinational supermarket was overrun by Oteshian's drinking fairtrade coffee, long pots of chai tea on lounges and enjoying the luxury of the laundry mat. There are sooo many cafes in Bellingen. In the evening we returned back across the river into town to partake in some local playback theatre called Climate Change.
Saturday saw us begin our mid-tour retreat which started with a couple of us welcoming in the day with a 5 am sunrise followed by mediatation led by Sue. The day that followed was one of reflection. We pondered our breakfast in silence and spent the day goal setting, thinking about the progress we'd made so far and where to next. In the avro we jumped in the dam and paired up for some pampering which involved faces, mudpacks and chocolate. The fire baths that Col prepared for us steamed hot and looked inviting in the cool drizzly evening. Yes, again we had LOTS of rain (did we mention the leeches). Amy our personal chef extraordinare dedicated her week-end to filling our hungry biker bellies with warm tasty vegan delights. Thanks Amy, you made our retreat tops!
By Jodi and Barb
Sun, sand, sugarcane, school performance, Sherida's House, beautiful sunrises and good times in Evans Head, Yamba and Grafton.Read more >>
~ The world has an amazing way of putting things into perspective. ~
Today began with a delighted cheer around our breakfast bowls as we discovered a poem left for us from our lovely host Silve:
You rode, you glowed, upon our hearth.
Your smiling, compiling, One Blooming Path.
The beds, for heads - Who could ask for more?
Sustainably creating, artistic initiating - These beds are (were) yours for sure.
You cooked, we looked (and smelt!)
And into 'tum it fled (and busted belt!)
Tomorrow, you'll follow, with hill defying speed,
While we are now sleeping - we're comatose,
we dream, a ream 4 you - of love, tea and toast.
And ride speedily we did, with some riding teams averaging 25kms an hour, as we wound through the countyside to Casino. I, on the other hand, had sore legs screaming at me to stop pedalling.Read more >>
Yo!!
as i write at 10.30 pm (waaaay past our bedtime) there is an army in the kitchen concocting museli goodness continuing the growing trend of generous, gourmet cooking by every single cooking team on tour. (!!!) my blog shall skip from vegetables to the sky and back to a moment shared.
we have spent the last two nights @ BeRad and Sherida's house in grafton, and have taken over the house with our belongings and the yard with our tents/bikes/drying clothes. today we performed at two high schools and ran two workshops then returned to our makeshift home.Read more >>
more and more we are developing as a group and as a team-which is only to be expected, but that we have one mint, one cherry tomato, one chickpea, one onion, one carrot-etc etc and that the beautiful reality is-we make a pretty good bunch!!im being continually surprised by the quality that i get to live with everyday.
the more time we spend the more i get excited that ive got to experience this with these people.there are days when some are tired and there are days where others just shine.but were making it.and we keep making it!
this is beautiful for me-but what is also beautiful is seeing how this works in the play and in relating to students/teachers/hosts.im humbled by who im riding with when i hear their answers or reasons as to why theyre here and am moved everytime people say that we are doing this because they believe we DO have a reason to dream.
Continued from last blog entry (read here)
Is it enough to give them the courage to reach inside and empower themselves to enjoy their time on this earth? To stop and think about what choices they have to build a healthy future for themselves and their families? Or, as Otesha always puts it: to be the change they want to see in the world? I choose to believe that for some people it IS enough!
One of the main things I'm loving about being on this tour (aside from discovering 101 ways to cook lentils and muesli, growing leg muscles and hearing Barb's snort every day) is that it has such a positive message: we all have the power to make change. And any small change we make can have a rippling effect! Having the opportunity to actually see school kids and community members respond to this message is priceless (one kid told me today that she's going to start cycling to the bus stop instead of driving, her friend told me she's going to get her vege garden back in action and another girl said she's going to fight animal testing by writing letters to companies. These girls are only 12 years old!).
Read more >>
"Don’t under estimate what it is you are doing". These were some of the last words that our Broadwater host, Tony, left us with as we pedalled towards Alstonville High to perform in their outdoor amphitheatre. Wow. Powerful words. And over the last few days – while we've pedalled hard in the fierce heat of summer - I've been thinking a lot about what these words actually mean.
One thing I’ve realised is the multi-faceted nature of this project. I’m continually amazed at the way Otesha reveals new layers each day.
The penny dropped in a conversation I had with a kid outside Alstonville High as I was preparing my bike to cycle towards Lismore.
"Are you really cycling from Brisbane to Newcastle?", says Random kid.
"Yup, we’re about a third of the way. It’s sooo much fun", I said.
Random kid nudges friend and whispers, "See I told you it was them. The cycling people from TV." Random kid turns to me, "We saw you on the news..."
Read more >>
20/11/08 - Nerang
Wicked! Well it's day II and i feel like i'm in a big share house. There's the cooking kids, the stretching kids on the floor and then our table - decorating things, writing on maps, drinking water and hanging out. We just finished a session of informal chatting with a group of girl guides - so much fun! Today we rode in the dry (as opposed to yesterday - heavy rain & weather warnings - all day 80km) which was rad too. We presented @ 2 skools today and met some awesome students who started thinking differently about a few issues - this was really rewarding. A touching thing also happened today - @ skkools we ask for a gold coin donation or a piece of fruit to help us on our way! People started coming out of the audience to give us their fruit! Really touching - thanks Benowa and St Hildas. And again - so grateful for a dry space to rest our heads (Nerang Scout Hall!) before heading to Murwillumbah and a Hare Krishna community that are letting us camp on their property! Here's Yon - i felt like rambling - it's actually his job for today - Mel
Today was rad. It felt awesome to empower so many youth today. This project is so positive! We are being the change we want in this world. Yon
23/11/08
Lots of sore butts tonight! It was an arduous ride from Mullumbimby to Broadwater with a head wind most of the way, but we had a fun ferry ride over the Richmond River.
- Robyn