The 7th of January seems like a long time ago. There was a serious fire
burning near the Denison Range, but the enormity of Tasmania’s bushfire
crisis was yet to unfold. We changed our initial plan of cycling up the
Florentine Road because of that fire and stuck to the better-known
roads towards the mountainous west coast. At Tarraleah we watched the
clouds build and heard the rumble of thunder. Only a few drops of rain
fell. This was the storm that sparked dozens more fires from the
highlands to the south west. As we rode towards Derwent Bridge there was
a large plume of smoke rising to the north in the direction of Great
Lake. This fire was still burning when we passed it on the road through
Cressy a month later. After moving through the west coast town of Zeehan
and towards the tough Western Explorer road we learned yet another fire
had started, and the people we were talking to a few
days previous were now evacuating their homes.
Throughout this much larger story that has gripped Tasmania for the
past month we have continued racking up 30–50 km/day. We now know that
the year ahead, cycling with children in all conditions, is possible. We
are heading into Hobart for a few days to launch the schools component
of the expedition, and we have finally (gasp) released the curriculum
resources that we hope will help teachers turn this adventure into a
valuable classroom tool. For those, not just teachers, that have jumped
on Facebook and Instagram to check in and support us on the way so far,
thank you.
The website is now starting to fill up with video updates, statistics,
and a fantastic interactive map. If you’re keen to see how this
adventure has unfolded in more detail, that’s the place to go.
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