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In 1995 my wife and I began a cycling odyssey around Australia. During our travels many people asked if we intended to write a book about our adventures, but we would shake our heads and say no. We had done nothing that had not been done before, and done faster, better, longer or harder, by people older, younger, or less fortunate than ourselves. We had set no records, performed no great feats, experienced no major disasters, met no famous people, received no earth-shaking spiritual enlightenment and set no momentous example. We had simply done a little bit of bicycle riding every other day or so, and after a while had finished up back where we started from, slightly older and perhaps slightly wiser.
Afterwards, however, while reading through our trip diaries, we realised that there was a story to be told. While it is not the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters or number one bestsellers, our small adventure had been rather interesting at times. We may not have made headlines, but we had crossed an entire continent under our own power. We may not have faced death every day, but we had certainly lived constantly with the dangers inherent in cycle touring. We may not have set any national records, but we had reached some major individual milestones and achieved great personal satisfaction. We may not have experienced any crippling disasters, but we had suffered the usual trials and tribulations that go hand in hand with touring anywhere, particularly in Australia and particularly on bicycles.
And although we may not have met any really famous people, we had met hundreds of fellow travellers who are just as important, and probably nicer. Many of those people are our friends today.
This online novel is the story of our Three Years on the Road ...
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