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Date: September 11, 2003
I have been waiting for my second shipment of bicycle parts from Sydney. It
seems funny that I am busy wearing my butt off to bicycle to Sydney while I have
a second plane flying parts of my bicycle to me. Indirectly, I've had another
500 Aussie dollars of parts shipped to Darwin for my bicycle.
I have: a Wisconsin bike that I bought in San Francisco, German panniers that
I bought in America, German tires that I bought in England, water bottles from
France that I bought in Greece, an Italian bicycle seat that I bought in Slovenia....
The list is long. Consider my Australian rim: The metal and fuel used to build
it were scrapped together from all over Australia. Then, most likely, this rim
was sent to Las Angeles on a cargo ship from Sydney. From there it traveled by
train and truck to Waukesha, Wisconsin. Then from Waukesha over several flight
connections it arrived via FedEx in San Jose, Costa Rica. Then after a bus ride
I carried it on my head for 3 kilometers to the hostel where I put it on my bike.
Then I bicycled approximately 20,000 kilometers, taking the rim back to Australia.
If I had more time I would write something philosophic about whether or not
it is still the same bike or not. And, I'd write something poetic about how my
bicycle have become one. I have been tinkering with it for years and slowly upgrading
the parts to fit my body while my body has adapted to the bike. For instance,
the seat causes bed sores and my butt grows new veins to restore circulation.
When everything is working right, riding my bicycle is effortless and exhilarating
akin to flying in my dreams.
Anyway, I'm chugging very slowly through Australia. The headwind, sun and
flies are really sapping my motivation. Not to mention the boredom. But I am trying
to make a meditation exercise of the thousands of kilometers of nothing, that
is unless you are a tree and rock aficionado. I am trying not to indulge in daydreaming.
It is very dangerous to be lost in my head!
Well, I gotta go. Australia is costing me a fortune and it's getting
hot out there. The temperature is getting hotter everyday. Averaging
35 degrees Celsius.
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