: to Mohammad. A great effort to go from 0 kilometers per day to 116/113 per day in a week and a half. And a great idea… lets pedal from Melbourne to Sydney. Rolls off the tongue quite quickly.
: to Chris. for the encouragement, support, expert advise and organisation. Plus the proof that he can still push out the K’s.
:to those who came with us in spirit. I will most certainly miss someone if I try for a list. Your interest kept us going.
:to those who thought we couldn’t make it. You were half right. I got to Bega which was 600k. Mohammad did the full bit.. every meter from Fed square to Mrs Macquaries Chair.
: to Mel Taylor. Thanks for the training. I was thinking of those step ups yesterday morning.
:to Toni. Thanks for letting me do the second crazy plan.
:to Melanie Christiansz for lending your bike to Mohammad. A more worldly bike will be returned.
:to those who donated to White Ribbon. Domestic Violence is a very important issue in our society and it deserves more attention.
: to John and Fran for the hospitality on your farm
:to Anne and the delightful breakfast.
:to the Kiama Cycle and Sports shop for opening for us after hours.
:to the Shoalhaven Tuckerbox for one of those special moments of generosity.
This shows the camping places between Melbourne and Sydney.
pdhansenhansen 
It was a privilege to support Mohammad in achieving his dream to ride from Melbourne to Sydney.
Mohammad is a young Ajdwi Iranian who has experienced far more adversity in his short life than any ordinary Aussie might hope to undergo in ten lifetimes. That is a separate story to be told at a different time.
This story of this journey was about a young newcomer to Australian society making a determined effort to work at and achieve some personal goals and dreams.
Peter and I could have easily facilitated everything needed for the journey but that was not part of Mohammad’s dream.
His dream included learning and experiencing as much of the Australian culture as possible in a short amount of time.
He also needed to be part of the team not just a recipient of our services. His home made date and nut balls provided much needed energy over the ride.
Whilst Peter and I used some of our skills and experience to make some things happen, Mohammad determinedly (and sometimes stubbornly) provided the driving force to make the whole event happen.
We all learned much about ourselves and each other over the duration of this journey.
Some of the highlights observed by me were:
1. Growing old can wait on the backburner while there are experiences/expeditions like this to get involved in.
2. It’s easy to get lost in the Aussie culture, it was good to hear the stories and descriptions of life in Iran. Mohammad has taught himself to speak fluent English and he is a good story teller. We helped with Aussie slang and many stories of our own.
3. Mohammad always sets stretch daily goals. I don’t think we met any of his daily kilometre targets. The reason was not always because he didn’t have more gas in the tank but maybe because we were pretty ragged by mid afternoon and were forced to call an end to the day’s activities..
4. Camping out, though a little more automated these days is still one of the best ways to see this great country of ours. Eastern Victoria and the south coast of NSW are beautiful places which Myrna and I will have to revisit some day soon.
5. Although we experienced a little price gouging around the Easter weekend, after ringing around we almost always found someone who only traded with a fair holiday margin.
6.Old workmates, though pretty competitive during their careers, can have much in common and can work pretty well towards achieving common goals after all.
7. Some people cook the best rubber porridge, others like theirs creamy smooth.
8. Some of our best meals were stewed up in the pot over the gas stove.
9. Hospitality of friends en route was special. The night expedition around John and Francis’ Bodalla property was neat. Although we did not see much wildlife (wombats and wallabies are the most prolific occupants) we were able to observe their habitats. The orchard provided some sustenance for us explorers.
10. The breakfast and tour of the art studio at Ann’s place at Merimbula was a needed diversion from the daily grind of the chainwheel.
11. We met many neato people at the caravan parks we visited. They were all interested in our expedition and all wanted to assist. The Irish guy and his English girlfriend who were biking to Cairns were super nice people. They were holed up in Eden for a while while the young lady recuperated from a leg injury from a fall from her bike.
11. The traffic, though hectic over the Easter break, was considerate of us riders. The Monday grind back home after Easter at the coast for the Sydneysiders was particularly helpful as their progress slowed to a standstill for most of the day. We passed many cars more than a few times around Ulladulla. We even offered a couple a lift.
12 Joyce and Chris, the mother and daughter team who run a truckstop on the Shoalhaven coast were a great encouragement. I crossed the road to buy a drink ready for when Mohammad caught up (he wasn’t always behind). However I realised that I had no change and they did not take cards and had to excuse myself and head back to the bike. Mohammad caught up and we were ready to leave when Chris made her way across the busy road and invited us to partake of their wares at no cost. As we were relaying more of our story to them they kept loading us up with free tucker. They were besotted by Mohammad’s charm (and probably also good looks) and wanted to hear more but we had to drag ourselves away and get back on the road.
13. The Guys at the Aussie Disposals at Bairnsdale were a fun lot. We had a ever escalating conversation about their great service and the economical cost of their goods that ended up in them offering to charge us an extra 30%.
Thanks to Peter and Mohammad for inviting me to be part of the adventure
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Thanks again Chris. I’ll never understand what runny porridge is.
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