| Myrons Daily Journal - Page 7 March 30, 2004 Just a relaxing day here in Newcastle. After breakfast I went to the shopping center in town to purchase a swimsuit. I plan to do some laps in the local outdoor saltwater pool that is right on the surf at the beach. While at the shopping center, which is a long bricked pedestrian area. I was approached by a person named Matt. He is working for Diabetes Australia, trying to make Australians aware of the diabetes problem in their country. I am sure he mistook me for an Australian until he heard my accent. He explained that 1 out of every 4 Aussies has diabetes and that many are unaware they have the condition. I thought the US held this title due to our obesity. He said the Aussie's are right behind us. He was with a group trying to spread the word about knowledge of the ailment and how healthy living can help. I told him he was "preaching to the choir." It is refreshing to find some one out there with a passion for correcting the physical ills in a society. Oddly enough, yesterday I was talking to someone about Australia and he kept trying to swing the conversation over to my religious beliefs. My telling him I was agnostic about religion did not put the breaks on his determination. Today is the first time someone has stopped me in public and tried to convert me to a healthy lifestyle. Thanks Matt, I’m with you. I wish more of the church folks would "convert" themselves over to this form of "speaking the gospel." I am watching Matt stop people as I write this. I went for a swim today and will go to the pub for a Guinness and a free meal. Tomorrow I will start out again. Looks like I will make it to Nelson Bay, or maybe beyond. Depends on when I get started and how many distractions the day offers. March 31, 2004 I am leaving Newcastle today. It is interesting how I see a city. I need to get to know the city (and area) in a way that is different than most people. It is hard for me to just enter a city, see the points of interest, and than leave; in fact, these point of interest for most people, may hold little interest to me. I have to create an association. This includes the people, as well as the area itself. You can't do this in just a day. As I said earlier, it is like getting to know the soul of the city. Just sitting here writing this, I am across the street from a shoe repair shop. I have seen quite a few shoes repair shops while traveling here. Since I am in the downtown outside mall area, hundreds of people pass by. I have noticed that most people wear shoes or sandals made of leather. Only a few wear the sports shoes we see all the time in the US. This is just an example of getting to know the soul or sole of the city (pun intended.) another interesting fact; a Singer is performing across the street. He has an Aussie accent while talking, but looses it while singing. Interesting! I have found this to be true with other Australian and New Zealand singers. I spent so much time in Newcastle before leaving that I just made it to Shole Beach next to Nelson Bay before dark. I will take the ferry over to Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens at the other side of the bay tomorrow at noon. I will determine then whether I want to stay over or continue on. April 1, 2004 Today I took the noon ferry from Nelson at Nelson Bay to Tea Gardens on the other side. It was a little over an hour ride. Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest, 2 very small towns across a bridge from each other, are at the southern end of the Great Lakes national parks. Do not confuse the size of these lakes with the Great Lakes in the states. There are six brackish water lakes with a total size of 10,000 hectares. A hectare is just less than 2.5 acres. The lake system parallels the ocean with less than a kilometer of sand separating the two at times. Water flows through all the lakes, ending up in the Myall River before it flows into Nelson Bay. My ride today consisted of just 44 clicks. It was a very pleasant ride with 3/4 of it in National Park land. I rode in a forest of eucalyptus trees and cabbage tree palms. In the total 44 clicks maybe 5 vehicles passed me. Half way through the ride I had to ride a ferry for maybe 200 meters at the narrows between 2 lakes. The ferry was the same type I had to use when crossing Lake Champaign in New York State. The ferry can hold a few vehicles and is directed by a cable on the bottom of the lake. I remember asking the pilot of the ferry in New York a very important question. He was standing there talking to me; paying no attention to where the ferry was going. I got concerned and asked him: aren't you concerned about where this thing is going? There was a very strong wind at the time. This time the pilot was again standing there looking at my bike while under way. This time though, I felt comfortable with the knowledge I had learned in New York. I got a room at the Plough Inn Hotel in Bulahdelah and will continue on to Forster tomorrow. Am looking forward to the ride since some of it will again be in the park, with all of it being next to it. April 2, 2004 After breakfast at the hotel this morning, I stopped at a market for something for lunch. It looks like not many stops today where I can get food. I miss oatmeal and pancakes. As I have said before, food seems to be expensive here compared to the states. I can spend 15$AU and still be hungry. I can basically say the Aussies do not have a healthy diet. Yesterday I was lucky; the restaurant had fruit, yogurt and honey. I added muslich, which is similar to uncooked oats. Also a small iced and watery OJ and 2 cups of coffee. Price: 20$AU !!! Normally there is no fruit, yogurt or muslich at any restaurant. I would say the Aussies still hold the English food traditions (at least what I have heard about the English.) I have discussed it with some locals in Sydney. They said that the influx of many other ethnic groups to their shores has brought an exciting variety to the local quisene. I sure would like to corner the market on just a few items here. I would only ask for a corner on expresso machines and deep fryers; and maybe just one commodity, cooking oil for the deep fryers. I would have Australia in a tight grip. I would be the fish and chip king. Anyway, back to why am I writing this. After having breakfast and buying food at the market, I was still hungry. This meant I had to stop at a spot called streets which sells sweets and coffee just to get enough energy to bike for a few hours. About 10 minute down the road I stopped to put on my SPF30 top and cap at a petro stop. I noticed they sold malts. Great. $2.20 reg, $2.40 for extra thick. got an extra thick. No luck; it was nothing more than milk with malts all shaken up. When I used the bathroom I noticed a funny pink box on the wall. Upon closer inspection, I found it to be a used needle receptacle, it was empty. I assumed it was not for diabetics. Do they believe people shooting drugs would be responsible enough to properly dispose off their needles? ! I would think most would not have enough money to buy new ones. Is this a sign of a massive drug problem here in Australia or just an anomaly: I shall ask. I was told about a triathlon that will be held this Sunday, April 4 in Foster. This is the second ironman triathlon I have come upon in my travels. The other was at Taupo on the south island of New Zealand. That is where Shiangold and I met Claudia. That time we came into town while the race was on. This time I was coming into Forest, about 12 kilometers out when I saw tri bikes coming and going on the highway. They were doing training rides for the race Sunday. I got in the competitive mode and kept up with the riders. I am sure they were not going at racing speed, but they were going fast for me. I did not let any pass me for the 10 kilometers into town. I was drenched with sweat upon arriving in town. Luckily I got a place to stay at the youth hostel, since I was told there are 1500 athletes in town. I may have to move tomorrow since the officials take over the youth hostel for this race every year. April 3, 2004 It’s Saturday and everyone must vacate the hostel today in foster. Every year the officials for the Australian National Triathlon will stay here. The race is being held on Sunday 4/4. There are about 1,500 athletes in the event. There are triathlon bikes everywhere you look. They have taken over the town. The ones who qualify here will go to Hawaii. This is the counterpart to the triathlon we ran into in Taupo in New Zealand. I believe you must finish the race in less than 8 hours to qualify for Hawaii. That is quite a feat. You swim 4 kilometers, bike 180 kilometers and run a marathon which is 26 miles, 300 yards. I stayed in town until the afternoon and then started out for a leisurely ride into Taree. I try to stay off the Pacific Highway when ever I can. It is like biking on hwy 101 in California. I will be stuck with this highway for the last 10 clicks into Taree and will be on this busy road for half the ride tomorrow. |
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