Prelude to Flight

It begins on a sweet day. New bike day is always a sweet day, but this one is even sweeter. As this bike is lifted from the box, I know it will be the bringer of adventure. 

The idea had been growing in my mind for some time; travel with no obligations, no plan, no car, no hotels, and very little money. This green beast of a bike is the first step. It is made for this purpose, and I'm sure it will serve me well. I will travel with only it, and a set of four panniers attached to the bike containing everything I need to live for five months. Australia is the destination, and the roads will be those of rain forests, flat desert plains, high mountains, island beaches, and primitive forests. I will start in Brisbane. Hopefully, I will meet some great peoplein each major city I travel to. From Brisbane, I have no detailed plan. I will just take recommendations from locals, or simply head off in some direction and see what I find. I know that I will also pass through Melbourne at least twice. Once on my way to Tasmania, and on my way back to the States. I will try to be in Sydney for the festivities of Australia Day, and I might take on the immense Nullarbor Plain, and try to cross it twice to Perth and back. I would also like to find a way to get to New Zealand without dismantling my bike for air travel. Maybe there is a way to travel by sea on a freighter. No matter what happens, my travels will be expansive, distances will be vast, my legs will ache, and the sun will burn me. Why, you ask? Because I can. I'm not on a mission, I'm not searching for anything profound, and I'm not expecting to find inner peace or enlightenment (although that would be nice to have). I just want to ride my bike, see beautiful things, and meet good people. So there you go, this is the beginning, and hopefully you will read on as I ride and get something good from these posts. Maybe I can convince one person to go do something like this, because I believe it will be worth it.