The end of the road

// December 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

After a home-cooked meal and a good night’s sleep, the rode-ragers prepared for take-off for the last time this morning, meeting at Damascus junior campus at 9:30am. With only 118km to travel to Melbourne, we knew that a single rider could comfortably complete the distance in a couple of hours. Instead, we divided the distance equally to give everyone a chance at one last ride. Clancy, who had completed the leg into Ballarat yesterday, felt he had already finished on a high note that couldn’t be surpassed, and elected to act as front-bus co-pilot for the day instead. The smooth Victorian roads allowed very high speeds, and before we knew it six lightening rides were behind us and we were pulling up at Parliament House. This officially completed our 3775km ride, which has generated over three quarters of a million website hits from 68 different countries, along with an as yet unknown amount of funds raised for our nominated charities.

We were greeted on the steps of Parliament House by The Hon. Gavin Jennings, State Minister for the Environment and Geoff Howard, Member for Ballarat East. We were also joined by the directors of two of the major charities for which we have been raising money – Reverend Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision and Anton Vikstrom, Director of the ATA International Projects Group, along with a collection of friends, family and staff. For those of you following at home, it is not too late to support us and them, by donating online or forwarding donations to Damascus College Outback Rode Rage Team, 200 Victoria St Ballarat 3350.

We finished the day with a trip to the Starlight Room at the Royal Children’s Hospital, where some of the patients came to have a look at the vehicle, climb inside and blow the horn. Afterwards, we had a chat and played some games together, during most of which the Rode Rage team were convincingly defeated by our young opponents.  Our team was given a stark reminder of the wonderful opportunities that we have been given in completing our great adventure, whilst simultaneously having enormous fun with some wonderful kids.  After goodbyes and a late lunch, we left for Ballarat at about 4:30pm, arriving back at Damascus junior campus at 6:30. A bit more unpacking and a short team meeting to wrap up our time as a unit, and we were off home again with much satisfaction and pride.

At the end of the epic journey, we are reminded of Churchill’s famous quote:

This is not the end
This is not even the beginning of the end
But it may well be
The end of the beginning

And we hope that the lessons learned by our team (and by those with whom we have shared the experience) will be the start of a life of positive action and development for all of us, as we attempt to make the world a better place.

View photos here.

GG

There’s no place like home

// December 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

Despite the challenges we faced today, we managed to stay true to our word and arrived at Ballarat Town Hall just after 3:30pm. We were blown away by the number of people that had turned out to help us celebrate, including Mayor Judy Verlin, and crews from Win News and The Courier. The City of Ballarat had provided us with a green-themed afternoon tea, which we shared with family, friends, teachers and sponsors.

It was a great feeling to be home, but the journey is not over yet. We will spend this evening with our families and meet again first thing in the morning, ready to complete our final leg into Melbourne, where we will officially finish at 2:00pm outside Parliament House on Spring Street. We will be greeted there by Minister Gavin Jennings, and you are all invited to attend.  Afterwards, team members will proceed to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where we will be displaying Adimov to patients in the Starlight room.

For now, Greenhouse Guerilla is tucked up in his own bed after a good-night banana, looking forward to a strong finish tomorrow.

View photos here.

GG

Raindrops keep falling on our heads…

// December 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

It’s never wise to count your chickens before they’re hatched, and as it turns out we were right to leave plenty of time up our sleeves for our ride leg into Ballarat. We had allowed ourselves a sleep-in until 7:00am, and awoke to the sound of heavy rain pounding on the tin roof of the football club. The techies did their best to waterproof Adimov and we installed a demister before hitting the road. Conditions were not ideal, but we were able to maintain a safe level of visibility – if not a high level of comfort for our increasingly damp riders. After about 30km we were forced to make some repairs and alterations, replacing a blown fuse and changing a water-damaged motor controller. We also took the opportunity to drill some extra holes in the floor of the vehicle for water release, as Adimov was quickly turning into a mobile bath-tub.

The weather has now cleared, and consequently our speeds are picking up and our riders are feeling much more comfortable. Our indefatigable techies are also glad not to have to stand in the rain for rider and battery changes.

Due to the set-backs we have faced, our ETA in Ballarat is now between 3:30 and 4:00. We are close to home, and hope to see you when we arrive.

View photos here.

GG

An EBT victory: 360 to Nhill

// December 7th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blog

We were back into the old routine this morning; awake at 5:00am and ready to leave Imagination Studios at 5:30. The plan was to find a bakery for breakfast, before completing the 360km leg to Nhill. Unfortunately, the tradition of early opening hours for bakers does not seem to have extended to Adelaide, and it wasn’t until we had reached the small town of Hahndorf at about 7:30 that we were able to find somewhere to stop for food. It was decided during the planning of our trip that leaving the city by the Princess Freeway was not safe, and we had mapped out an alternate route with the South Australian Police. You can probably guess the punch-line – suffice to say that despite all the bemused U-turns and consultation of maps, we managed to keep our good humour and by 8:30 we knew where we were going. Happily, the beginning of our journey took us through a very beautiful region in the back-roads of the Adelaide Hills, surrounded by sub-temperate rainforest and an early morning mist.

Emergency riders Chloe and Rory had their third ride of the trip, helping to keep our average speeds high, and once we had left the hills the day on the road passed very smoothly. Crossing the Victorian border, we were immediately reminded of home as the temperature dropped by 10 degrees and it began to rain.

Upon arrival in Nhill we made our way to the Nhill Recreation Reserve, where we were met with an unprecedented level of friendliness and hospitality. Gary Driscoll, president of the Nhill and District Sporting Club, and a number of his associates had kindly organised accommodation for us, as well as a dinner of roast duck and salad, provided by local business Luv-a-Duck. The generous community nature of small country towns is very much in evidence here; the Sporting Club also permitted us to enjoy the use of their sporting facilities and members are even returning at dawn tomorrow to provide us with a cooked breakfast. Morgan and Lucas spoke to the Sporting Club committee, who expressed their envy at the opportunities we have enjoyed that were not available when they were at school. They also discussed possible partnerships between Nhill P-12 school and Damascus, in the hope that similar programs could be developed here.

After dinner, we had an extended team meeting, during which we reflected on the adventures we have shared, our highs and lows and our lessons learnt. The principal low-light seemed to be that the trip is coming to an end. However we have refocussed with two very important days to go, during which we hope to continue raising more awareness and funds (hint hint), as well as to make the most of the final stages of our journey.

View photos here.

GG

Sunday in the City of Churches

// December 6th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Blog

Today we have enjoyed our first real sleep-in, and had a relaxed brunch followed by a swim at the local aquatic centre, where every lane of the dozen or so pools seemed to be closed for swimming lessons. We passed half an hour or so of leisurely exile in the babies’ pool, then made the most of the high diving platform when it opened. Following showers and a much-needed visit to the laundromat, we then set off to explore Rundle Mall to spread the word about our adventure and raise some funds for our charities. We also had some visitors today; Jenifer and Dean (relatives of Glen) dropped by, and Neil and Ard (Ryan and Brad’s parents) gave us some much-appreciated help with our jobs.

Our attempts to attend the Adelaide test were foiled, but we enjoyed the warm weather and sightseeing. Tomorrow we will return to Victoria; we ride to Nhill and stay the night there before riding home to Ballarat on Tuesday.

On our arrival there will be a civic reception with Mayor Judy Verlin at 3:00pm at the town hall in Sturt Street, and we would love to see you there. You are also invited to help us celebrate the end of our journey the following day; we will be completing the final leg of our trip, finishing at Parliament House on Spring Street, Melbourne, at 2:00pm, where we will be welcomed back by Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Innovation, Gavin Jennings. The Victorian Government’s Black Balloons campaign has been a major supporter of our Rode Rage programs and we have been glad to spread their message of saving energy around the country.

View photos here.

GG

How can we pedal when our seats are burning?

// December 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

The crossing of the red centre is behind us, but those who thought the ride would be all down-hill from Port Augusta have already had good reason to rethink that theory. We had a tough day yesterday, facing headwinds and challenging terrain. After many days of good behaviour, Adimov was also feeling capricious, and threw up a few mechanical challenges to keep us on our toes. Luckily, we had indulged in a sleep-in at Port Augusta, and we were feeling well-rested and prepared to meet the challenges that came our way. We found that our home-made carbon fibre seat had slipped back and engaged in combat with the motor. The seat emerged victorious, having gouged holes in the steel motor without suffering any injury. Our techies resolved the problem as we ate lunch and battled the flies, and we were back on the road in no time.

As planned, Alan Strange joined the team at Port Augusta yesterday, and will travel with us for the rest of the ride. We were very glad to welcome Alan, our phone-a-friend expert from ASTEC equipment services, who has been involved in the EBT for many years. Within hours of joining us, Alan had effected a miraculous transformation in a pair of our batteries, which now appear to be inexhaustible. The suggestion was raised that he had simply traded a cow for magic batteries on the way to market, but either way we were able to battle through the difficult conditions without having to stop for battery changes.

All of our riders rode today except Alistair and Justin. Lucas tackled the entry into Adelaide safely and efficiently, avoiding potholes and negotiating capital city traffic. His masterful display was underpinned by a strong team effort, with the whole convoy working in unison, co-ordinated from the front bus radio by Clancy. We arrived at our destination in the late afternoon, looking forward to a rest day after 3 very long days on the road. We are staying at Imagination studios, the historic business premises of Mark’s brother Kevin.

View photos here.

GG

Please sir, can we have some more?

// December 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

Just a quick note to say that we are overwhelmed by the exponential growth in interest in our website, with more than 100 000 hits today alone. We have also had a number of Emails commenting on the picture taken by our resident photographer (and chef) Leon Beaton, and it is great that so many of you are following our progress and enjoying the journey along with us.

The donations are picking up, but we are still very keen to raise more money for our charities. One of our main aims in this program was to support the development of sustainable food and energy programs in third-world countries. It is these countries that will be hardest hit by the effects of climate change, and we believe that developing sustainable systems of food and energy is essential both in terms of human health and wellbeing, and of environmental protection. Embarking on this journey has been a way to make this happen, and we hope that you will support us in our efforts and encourage your friends to do the same.

It’s a long way from the top…

// December 4th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Blog

We have successfully crossed Australia, coast-to-coast! Late this afternoon we arrived in Port Augusta, an important milestone in our trip. It was an achievement that we had to work for – today was our longest day, of about 530km, and we faced strong head- and cross-winds, and innumerable cattle-grids.

We got through the day with 6 riders. It was Lucas and Alistair’s turn for a long ride and they kicked off today’s leg, completing 145km and 113km respectively. Later in the day, Justin, Ryan, Clancy and Aleece rode as far as their batteries would permit, around 90km each. Throughout the morning we rode through the flattest and most featureless stretch of desert we have seen so far, which gave way to some rolling hills in the afternoon. Chief hill-climber Ryan had occasion to put his skills to good use, and Aleece and Clancy were lucky enough to encounter a couple of exhilarating down-hills during their rides, which were duly paid for with some serious up-hill stretches as well.

With the monkeys still in charge, several team members took on new responsibilities today. Chloe took on the demanding job of managing road-side stops and rider change-overs, while Liam (our quiet achiever) joined Lucas and Clancy (our not-so-quiet achievers) to form a new cattle grid team, as well preparing our meals for the day.

After almost 12 hours on the road, we are spending the night in comfortable cabins at Port Augusta Big 4 Caravan Park, another of our generous sponsors. Just a few moments ago, we were celebrating our successful north-south crossing of the continent over dinner and a team meeting, when fireworks started exploding over the horizon. Co-incidence? We think not.

View photos here.

GG

We’re not in Kansas anymore…

// December 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

As we mentioned yesterday, today was the day we turned the team hierarchy on its head, giving students full control of all activities and letting the adults take a back seat. Having tumbled down the rabbit hole, we found ourselves in a nightmarish parallel world, where young people ruled with efficiency, maturity and a willingness to learn. Notwithstanding the disappointing lack of anarchy, we can declare the experiment a complete success. We faced many challenges (not of our making) and met them all, completing our biggest day so far of around 500km, from Erldunda to Coober Pedy. A few notable standouts included Jacob Holmes who acted as co-pilot, managing communication between the busses, and Brad Decker, who took control of all vehicle and radio batteries.

The long ride was also a chance for our emergency riders to step up to the plate once again. Rory Purdie rode 100km today, and Chloe Ridge-Burns gave another demonstration of her personal speciality – high speeds up hills. Lacey Peitsch had her third ride, completing 60km in tough conditions. With our telemetry down, she had no access to information about her battery and motor use. It was discovered after she finished that in fact she had used almost no battery for the entire ride, relying much more heavily on human power. Other riders for the day included Ryan Decker, Aleece MacPhail, Clancy Purdie and Lucus Brennan, all of whom opted for shorter, faster riders in the heat of the afternoon. During Clancy’s stint, we passed a man on a pushbike, who is completing an outback ride down the Stuart Highway. We all agreed that riding through the outback was a ridiculous thing to do, and that he was obviously some kind of madman.

Throughout the day, Leigh Taylor, Nick Hodges and Jay Matherson managed all cattle-grid crossings with military precision, even though the roads threw up some unwelcome surprises due to problems with an incorrect cattle-grid map. It has begun to dawn on us that Northern Territory road information comes with a fairly arbitrary level of accuracy, a realisation that unfortunately came at about the time we crossed the border into South Australia. The crossing itself posed several challenges. To begin with, we lost an hour of our day due to the time difference between the two states. (This did not however prevent us from getting to Coober Pedy on schedule.) Furthermore, we were not permitted to bring fruit across the border, due the risk of spreading parasites. Determined not to let our food go to waste, Matt Hill and Daniel Montgomery put their gastrointestinal comfort on the line and devoured 15 oranges between them. We are all fervently hoping that the story ends there.

Challenges aside, the entry into South Australia has not changed a lot for us so far. The landscape in the north of the state is just as arid; if anything it is flatter and less vegetated than anything we have seen so far. As we head further south we can expect temperatures to lower and the number of towns to increase. There has been much rejoicing at the prospect of temperatures below 30 degrees and real toilets.

In the mean time, however, we remain very much in the centre of the desert. Coober Pedy is famous for its underground housing, which protects against the astonishingly hot weather here. We were highly fortunate to arrive on a 38 degree day; temperatures here are regularly in the mid 40s or even 50s. The highest recorded is 56 degrees, and that was for 3 days in a row.

This fun fact and many more were presented to us at a mine tour at the Umoona Opal Mine, which will also serve as our accommodation for tonight. The building is a real opal mine, which is closed now but has produced millions of dollars worth of opal. We were able to explore hand-dug tunnels that date back to the 1920s, along with more recent machine-dug tunnels and a modern display home. It was entirely captivating, and I’m not just saying that because the Umoona Mine has been a generous sponsor of our project (although their support is also much appreciated.)

Speaking of support, we have been delighted by the interest shown on our website, with 200 000 hits so far. This goes a long way towards our goal of increasing awareness of everyday solutions to climate change. On the other hand, we are a little disappointed that the interest hasn’t translated into support for our charities, which are the other main reason behind what we are doing. We really hope that those of you who are following our progress with so much interest will donate to help support sustainable food and energy in communities that desperately need it. We know that some people are planning to donate at a later stage, but it would be greatly appreciated if these donations could be made as soon as possible, as it would be a great source of encouragement for us.

Meanwhile, we continue to be grateful for you support and enthusiasm, and for the experience we are sharing. We have discovered today that our younger team members are capable of great things; our trial in leadership roles was a success and we are keen to keep learning, so the decision has been made for students to continue to be in charge, with the adults taking on a more active teaching role.

Tomorrow is our biggest riding day. We look forward to the challenge.

View photos here.

GG

Lord of the Flies

// December 2nd, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Blog

A new challenge has been proposed for the Rode Rage team; for the next 24 hours the team will be managed and organised entirely by students. Our leaders have become monkeys and our monkeys leaders. Teachers and past students will act as enthusiastic and helpful underlings, but junior team members will be entirely responsible for bike maintenance, rider management, meals, transport, accommodation and packing, media liaison, internet updates and webcasting, and all other aspects of the trips.

Having been given 24 hours notice of what was to come, students have been preparing by meeting together, assigning roles and tailing older team members to ensure they are fully prepared to take on the adults’ positions in the team.  Now the fun begins…. we will keep you posted.