RECORD TIME
L ife I s A D aring A d v enture
M
y rear tyre had just blown,
and the back of my bike
was wagging like the tail of
a dog. I hadn’t shaved or
changed my dusty clothes
in over a month. My feet
were blistered and my eyes blood-
shot. The girl on the security gate
had a look on her face, one I’d seen
before, one I’d become accustomed
to. I met her gaze with a big cheesy
grin. She looked confused …
“What the hell are you doing out
here mate?” she questioned. “Where
the hell have you been?”
“I just came out of the desert,” I re-
plied, a grin on my face like a crazed
man.
“Jesus, you’re bloody game. Why
are you so happy?” more questions
from her.
“I just set a new world record,” I
boasted, I couldn’t help it. “Fastest
man to cross all ten Australian des-
erts, solo on a motorbike.”
I had a 2008 Yamaha WR250R
TRAVERSE 89
dirt bike with a home-made set of
panniers holding my postie bags on.
The panniers empty weighed nearly
9kg. I had only been riding bikes for
18 months, and in the lead up to my
departure date, I had taken the bike
out three times in training for the
journey.
The bike was underpowered and
overweight. I was overweight and out
of shape for the trip. The odds were
stacked firmly against me, and every-
one knew it. And secretly, I revelled
in that fact. I loved being the under-
dog, I wanted it to be hard, I wanted
to be challenged. In fact, I would
have been more likely to quit and give
up if I did get bored and it was easy,
that’s just me.
Fear and uncertainty crept into my
preparation for the ride. How could
it not when society conditions you to
put limitations on yourself?
I am not some cowboy who want-
ed to hit the dunes wide open on the
back wheel. No! Everything about