| Myrons Daily Journal - Page 9 April 10-11, 2004 I am enjoying my stay in Coffs Harbor. Meeting the people is what it’s all about. It seems that at the coffee shops you tend to meet the nicest people. Yesterday I met Jeremy Carter, whose wife is a horse whisperer. They don't whisper to horses, but they understand them well. I have been invited to stay at their place in Nana Glen on my way out of Coffs Harbor to Grafton. They live inland somewhat from Highway 1, which means a much more enjoyable ride over a more quiet country road. Today, Sunday, I met Terry and Barbara Wilson. He is an accountant with an office and another house in Newcastle. Terry invited me to stay in their spare bedroom, but since I was already settled in the YHA, I declined. I had phoned ahead and reserved accommodations at the YHA to be sure of having a place to stay during the Easter weekend here at Coffs harbor. It would have been nice to have joined the Wilson’s while here instead of staying at the hostel. I am somewhat disappointed with this hostel. I suggest the hostels rate themselves on one criteria that I don't find being done. They should rate the loading factor for their bathrooms. They always brag about their amenities but don't say they have 50 beds for each washbasin and toilet. They also let people arrive at times like midnight. This doesn’t make for a pleasant stay when you are sleeping in a dorm environment. I will be looking ahead for more motels where I can have my own bathroom and someone won't be throwing their packs on the bed above me at midnight, with, o yes! The light on. Again, I must say, it seems most of the travelers at youth hostels are from either Germany or England. Some of these travelers are very concerned about others, while some need to grow up. The latter are trying to discover what the rest of the world is like, while at the same time the rest of the world is discovering what they are like. I am writing this while having a flat white coffee at Gloria Jeans here in Coffs Harbor. When I stepped up to the counter to order my coffee they said, "What can we get you, Myron." Am I starting to fit in or what! The Aussie here are learning a new answer to their greeting of "how you mate?" They all smile when I say, "I’m hanging in there." Might be starting a new greeting down under. April 12, 2004 Glad to get away from the Coffs Harbor YHA. Again, loud noises, Guitar playing at 1AM. I did complain to the owner. Told him his bathroom loading was way too high at about 50 people for one sink and toilet. He agreed but didn't offer a solution. He had asked me yesterday if I was checking out before 7:30 AM. He said most cyclist check out early. Today I asked him how they do that, with all the noise way into the night. It was interesting to note that just about every one of the young people smoked. One German girl I talked to said that in Germany she had gone to the market when she was about 8 and picked up wine with no problem. Hardly anyone asks today to see if you are 18. Will have to check this out. This morning I had the thought of sneaking into the office and turning on the radio, which feeds speakers around the building. But first I would turn up the volume and tune the radio away from the semi-rap to a religious station. The stay wasn't a total waste. I got to see how the other half lives. I wonder how many of these young bums will just get older and turn into old bums. Don’t get me wrong, there were some nice kids there too. I promise, this is all I have to say on this subject. Today I am starting out by getting fueled at Gloria Jeans before heading out on a quiet country road to meet up with the Carters in Nana Glen. Everyone says there are lots of hills on this road. I will be traveling through banana fields that cover the hills. I tell them I love hills. I just find the right gear and grind away. I truly love my fold gold recumbent. April 13, 2004 Yesterday I had one of those funny feelings while biking near where The Carters live in Nina Glen. The Carters were to be getting back in the afternoon from a day at the beach on Monday, so I did not rush riding to Nina Glen. I was a few hundred meters from their driveway when I knew the next car to pass me would be them. I only knew it, there were no indications telling me so. Sure enough, they yelled out to me as they passed. They said they were looking for me as they rode back from the beach. I had a wonderful stay at their home. I learned all about Jeremy’s plans concerning his jewelry business. They sure have it all planned out. I am sure they will make it big time. I watched his wife while she worked a horse. She was commanding the horse by just hand motions. The horse did everything perfectly. They are a real together family. Both kids were really good riders. They live across from the actor who starred in gladiator. They knew what a bike rider needs when they had a big spaghetti dinner last evening. I slept in an old English motor home converted from a school bus. Jeremy uses it as his workshop. Hated to leave this morning, but I did not want to interrupt their work schedule. I had biked only 12 clicks when I found a nice spot for my second coffee break of the day. While there, five Aussi bikers arrived from the other direction. I got to talking to them and most took a ride on my recumbent. They had two others riding sag for them. They were in their 50's and 60's. 4 guys and one gal. Just as they were leaving, the gal asked how old I was. She couldn’t believe 72. Her husband stuck behind for a moment and told me he must bike more. His wife had called me a hunk. That made my day. Continued on into Grafton on a great road with little traffic and very nice scenery. Checked into the Crown Hotel. It will be great to have the bathroom all to myself and nobody stumbling around in the middle of the night. April 14, 2004 I am finding the roads quiet. I left Grafton at about 1 PM and rode out to Maclean on highway 22. In the first 30 clicks not more than a handful of cars passed me. The road meandered through country farms and sugar cane fields as it followed the Clarence River. This is the start of sugar cane country. Soon sugar canes were all you could see on both sides of the road. I have learned that next month is the start of the burning of the fields. I am glad I will miss the burning. I have seen burning cane fields in the US on one of my rides, but I was not riding through them like here. The canes are about double my height. Maclean, as the name implies, has Scottish roots. All the telephone poles are painted with different clan tartans. I am staying at the Maclean hotel in the center of town. I find all the towns have at least one very old pub and hotel left over from the good old days. I can see where the gas fitting for what must have been gas lamps were. I have a very nice private room with a sink, but must use the common bath facilities. The double bed has clean sheets and towels; even an old fireplace not used anymore. With all this privacy, the cost is 25$AU. This is cheaper than most hostels I have been in. they charge the same for a room with only bunks for 8 people and usually charge extra for sheets. They also always require a deposit of $10 for the bunk room key. I am finding out what someone told me while I was in Sydney at a hostel; try the hotels; they are a better deal. I think the young people like the togetherness of hostels. Some hostels have mixed bunkrooms. A few times I was the minority; I was the only male in a bunkroom filled with females. I remember when Shiangold and I were in a hostel in New Zealand. The room had bunks for 4 people and its own bathroom. I had gone out to have dinner with Claudia and Shiangold was in the bathroom having a shower. When he finished his shower he emerged into the bunkroom without even his towel. It was funny listening to him explain the fact that to his surprise, he ran into a German girl who had come into the room because she had the bunk below his. He said she handled it well; he said he didn't. He had quickly learned about hostel life. April 15, 2004 Nothing special about today. I find that I never get started on my bike until around 12 noon to 1 PM. Today was no exception. Went to a coffee house/restaurant to have breakfast here in MacLean. Got there around 9 AM. Left about noon. Plan to stop in Woodburn next. Got to talking with a gentleman who works with troubled youth. He explained that there are a lot of dysfunctional families living around Grafton. That is where I spent the night before McLean. He kept talking about the jail in Grafton. I soon figured out he was talking about the NSW pen, not a jail. All these families move to the area to be near their relatives who are in the pen. These families are mostly dysfunctional themselves and have dysfunctional kids. This is where he comes in; working with these kids. I asked about the needle depositories in the bathrooms. They are mainly for drug users. I now have the answer to my question: why would a drug user get rid of his needle? The reason is because they go beyond needle exchange here. You can get a new needle without turning in a used one. In fact, there is a place (I forgot where) where they are experimenting with an official drug dispensing area where you can get a "fix for free." I did not get the details on this. There must be more to this than first impressions. I am definitely going to look into the details. I am also told that gambling is a big problem here. Last night at the hotel there was a TV room. A mate (I’m starting to use this word: I hear it a 100 times a day) was watching the horse races when I left for dinner. He was still watching the horse races when I came back 3 hours later. It seems like everywhere you go; there is a TV with the horse races on. Many bars you pass have the banter of the race announcer coming from it. This is something else I am going to get more details on. I am getting to know Australia, warts and all. |
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