Moonlight Rode.

I got the timing slightly wrong with the Mandorah ferry on Thursday. "There is no 4pm departure...!" The perplexed deckie told me when I arrived an hour and 10 minutes early!

"No 4 - 0-clock ferry? But you don't understand, I've planned this trip!" (says I, scoffing and ridiculing my own ineptitude while she just huffs and continues loading supplies for the bar)

OK, time to grab some supplies after all. Keen to be moving, legs full of energy I pumped it back up the hill from Cullen Bay and purchase some bubbly caffeinated drinks and a double shot of coffee from the servo. Satisfied I would be properly charged up for the ride I rolled back down the hill at about 4:30 ish for take two of 90% Moonlight Ride.... Whooo hoooo (For reals this time baby!!)

Moon rises over town

Of course by 5pm the ferry was chockers with Mandorahites and Wagait Beach commuters. So I ride at the back of the ferry with the smokers and pet owners beside ventilation pipes for the onboard toilet. Actually despite the woft of whatever the passengers ate last night drifting up past our noses the trip was quite pleasant. They're a different breed over there on the Mandorah side. The atmosphere on the boat was a bit like I imagine Darwin must have been like 30 years ago. From the moment the boat left it's mooring in Cullen bay I felt as though I'd been set free. I could sense from the mood on board that everyone was happy to be leaving the town behind them. Relieved and grateful to be heading back to their own little piece of paradise. Bloody well good on them I reckon!



When we arrived at the Mandorah jetty I could see a young fella struggling to land a decent sized tuna! He was pulling too hard on the line and his rod was bent over on itself, looked like he was trying to muscle the fish right out of the water from the moment it took the bait. I saw the flash of silver in the water and was mesmerized. I wondered if the fish was warn out enough for him to real it all the way from the water to the top of the jetty... Nope! Not this time.

Looking back on Darwin from Mandorah... That's close enough for most people here

Twilight moon at about 90% full.

Although there's quite a few stairs from the boat to the top of the Jetty, it wasn't too hard to lug the long bike up there. Looking back toward town the moon had well and truly risen above the city skyline. I stood and enjoyed the view and a bit of banter with some locals before setting my wheels to the road. Starting out is such a great feeling! One hour before sunset is a magic time to ride.

My main concern about riding at night was the possibility of coming across wild dogs or a pack of camp dogs. It turned out I didn't come across any packs of wild dogs. I did see one dingo while it was still daylight just before I reached Belyuen community. He was a skinny scrawny fella and bolted when he saw me.

Still plenty of light as I passed Belyuen community, where they serve ice cold slushies. Good to know on a hot day.

During the day it's as if there is absolutely no shade and so the scrub looks harsh, but between 5:30 and 7:00pm it's like riding through a magical forest of exotic looking trees and mystical Cycads.  In the light of the setting sun tree trunks are highlighted with horizontal light, an orange tinge gives the whole environment a completely different feel, like a stage lit from below. Birds are going wild the forest is alive! I looked to my left and saw my own shadow growing long in grassy verge beside me.

When the sun sets and moon takes dominance of the night sky all the hues and angles of lighting change again. They don't call it twilight for nothing. You have to be in it to truly appreciate the end of sun and birth of moon. To be 'On the Road' with none of the usual constraints of time or family responsibilities, at this time of day can elevate the imagination and free the spirit! I peddled on for an hour or so after sundown without using my lights. All the traffic was coming towards me. Commuters making the long journey home from work in Darwin.

Another hour on the road passes and the cars were coming from behind me. Time to put the lights on! I need to be seen! For a little while I wondered where they might be going... then I remembered. The Mandorah pub has been demolished. They must be driving to Litchfield pub! For the rest of the journey along Cox Peninsular Road (from about 8:30 - 10:30) a car came from behind me at least every 15 or 20 minutes. Very fast and some a bit too close. I took the message and got off the road whenever I saw one coming. One fella stopped to see if I was OK. he was a friendly bloke, 'just on his way to the pub for more beer...' Good reason for me to be off the road when he and others make their way home again I reckon.

Crossing Blackmore River (Half way mark about 60km) I was flagging and needed a rest. I pulled up under the school lights at Berry Springs and scoffed some food and most of my water. From here on the traffic became far more regular. Another 15 km to Noonamah (getting hard to peddle now).  Every 5 acre allotment has a dog to guard his master's territory... not every 5 acre allotment has fencing to contain said fanged guardians. As the barking grew closer my legs pumped harder. I reviewed my pre-ride bicycle maintenance schedule. Yes I pumped the tyres... No I didn't oil the bloody chain! Now the bloody thing is making so much noise I'm drawing the attention of every dog along the way! After about 90km of constant travel I could feel the resistance of every stubborn link!

Hoons on the road passed too close, one hero leaning out the passenger window of a car thought he'd put the wind up me... he seemed to lean a bit too far, if he fell out my conscience would probably dictate that I stop and help clean up the mess... fortunately it didn't happen. 

Finally reaching the Stuart Highway I felt I had made pretty good time, but my legs were aching, my knees and back were sobbing "Enough!" At Noonamah the servo was closed but the pub was still open. A few Impex workers and locals chatting outside. I slumped againts the servo wall hoed into an orange and guzzled more water. . As I sat there wondering if I would make it home my phone rang. A fellow cycling buddy called to check in on me. Of course Ego jumped in and a sufficient portion of bravado applied to assure him that this ride was a doddle for me. "I'm just cruising. Seriously why would I want you to come out and get me! Are you kidding?"

Another 15km to Coolalinga. I struggled back onto the bike and drank the remainder of my water quickly, my thoughts focused on a frozen coke at the new McDonald's.  (All my life I've shunned the golden arches, but as I progressed past the deadly Coolalinga intersection I felt myself almost praying it would be open.) As I drew close to the store a message appeared before my eyes... 24 hr. YES! 

Frozen coke and apple pie never tasted so good!

I took it easy the rest of the way home. Enjoying the bicycle path from Palmerston. Gamba grass fires had decimated a huge section of bushland along McMillans Road, I wonder what happened to the squatters camps in there. No traffic to bother me now, the moon so bright I could see the contours of every hill and tree, the familiar sound of Curlews and scrub fowl grew stronger as I approached my home the nights are not silent when the moon is so near. Rolled up to the gate at 12:15. Not bad. Ran a hot bath to ease my aching joints. At 1am I took one final look at my companion in the sky and slumped into bed with an immense feeling of gratitude for the freedom I have, satisfied with my effort, physically exhausted and spiritually renewed.  

Moonlight Ride

Super moon expected on the 30th August...

Plan: Cycle 130 km from shore to shore by the light of the moon, commencing by the sea at moon rise till I reach the sea again 6 or so hours later.

Not sure which bike I'll ride, probably not the one with the skinny tyres.
If I ride solo I'll do most of the trip in silence... But just in case I manage to muster some company I've arranged a bit of a playlist to take along... just need to sort out some amplification...

Will also include my 'Night' play list and the bicycle song and Fat bottomed girls by Queen.

Blue

Blue moon. The moon. It's a Blue Moon today. Not blue in colour but the name is stuck and it comes around less frequently than my bad luck... Blue.... Moon... It's the second moon in the month!

It's just so beautiful. The great waters flow and do not stagnate while the moon looks down on the earth... Great silvery weight in the sky shall not fall, not to ground or at all but to cast your cool light on paths late at night... moon, friend when we travel and loved by the night walkers by your light we shall see.

Long grass sinking

Long Grasser by Geoff McKenzie

There's a freedom you can't buy and a slavery you can't buy your way out of

There are a 1,000 sails calling me to sea and a crack in the earth keeping me here

I hug the earth

A bed of cans and foil plastic pillow

drinking sinking, no sailing today

Sun behind the moon

I had planned to drive with friends out to Ramingining for the Gurruwiling Eclipse Festival...

It seemed like a good idea to drive 900 km (the long way round... bottom Rd via Katherine to Ramo) to join them for a week of bungul. The  event looked like it would be a crazy combination of Dhuwa and Yirritja ceremony in the Yolngu system of moiety the Sun is Dhuwa and Moon Yirritja, an eclipse would be like some kind of union between the two, which must have some significance in Yolngu World view. The event would also be a combination of traditional and contemporary Yolngu culture and a blending of Yolngu with Ngapaki (Balanda.. Non indigenous) expressions of.... Party, bungul (dance) and celebration! They must be having a wild time right now, the eclipse has only just passed but the event has been going since the weekend and is planned to conclude today.

Of course I didn't go... I had mixed feelings about what would happen there, and too many responsibilities at home to justify going but the main reason was lack of money! It costs a lot of money to drive into Arnhemland!

So This morning at a quarter to six I roused up kid one who'd woken at 4 am and had since fallen asleep in front of a cartoon dvd... We jumped in the car and headed for Buffalo creek. Running late we decided to stop at the side of the road near the new subdivision where developers had buldozed the beautiful woodlands and we could get a clear view of the horizon.

Here's some snap shots I got of the event. Unfortunately I didn't have a tripod but, shooting into the sun means high shutter speeds so no chance of too much movement blurr.

Solar Eclipse Darwin 14.11.12

Solar Eclipse Darwin 14.11.12

Solar Eclipse Darwin 14.11.12 (6:15am)

As always we were unprepared. Nothing to look through, nothing to bounce the image off so we could look safely. So we glanced, peaked, and blinked at the rising sun and the moon. It was cool.

riding pre dawn

For most of my life I've been an early riser.

Even back when I was about 10 years old I'd wake up at 6:00am and take off on my bike. I remember being bored and totally impatient as I waited sometimes for hours outside one friends house looking for signs of life... waiting for someone to wake up and come outside...

When I was a teen I helped friends with their paper rounds and really got a kick out of riding around the suburbs while it was still dark and most people were barely stirring in their beds!

When I left school and got a job, I bought a motorbike and found I needed a lot more money than the supermarket was paying so I got a second job cleaning at a local University.... 4:30am start!

Some time after that I hit the jackpot and got a job as a Postal delivery officer where I thought I had it made! 5:30am start and go home as soon as the mail is delivered! I loved it! There's so many stories I'd love to tell about that job but I've been sworn to secrecy! (I'm serious!) Somewhere along the way the Postal service went through what you might call a cultural change, the milk and honey ran out and one day I found myself in a field of thorns... 'Time to hit the road!'

I left that job and went back to school... learned to type and use the dreaded computer (Like I've written before), stupid machine! The next thing I know 10 years have passed and I've been working in an office, staying up late every night sleeping in... till 7:00am! Sleep deprived and forgetting how much I missed the dawn!

So now that I've nearly kicked that habit I've been waking early again and re-uniting with the bliss of 5:00am quiet streets, cool breeze and the scent of freedom! Sendiri saja!

On Sunday Saturday morning I was woken up at 4:30am, I wretched the Shogun Katana out from a tangle of vines, put some air in the tires and went for a quick spin down the bicycle path to Palmerston. Still too early to turn back I decided to head for Chanel Island when I discovered the new boat ramp and jetty at the Elizabeth River Bridge. I crossed the bridge then decided to turn back and gaze at the stars from the jetty. I've heard the planets are forming some kind of alignment, I don't know which ones I was looking at but there were about three clustered around a crystal clear crescent moon just before dawn. The rail bridge was alive with micro bats serenading each other in the dusky light. It was beautiful. I got home sometime around 7:00am just as everyone was waking up.

(Drawn impression -human admiring the moment when the night is met by the dawn)
(I forgot my camera!)

This morning there was far less moonlight for riding so I went for a shorter ride earlier in the morning. An early morning mission to collect Rosellas from a the scrub just a few kms from home. Unfortunately there appeared  to be no plants... strange because every other year there have been masses of them. Maybe Parks and Wildlife rangers sprayed them all? I'll have to go back in the daylight to check. Anyway there is only two days before the New Moon which meant the moon was waxing and only a thin sliver of light and to the right I think Venus? I don't know, I'll have to look it up. I came home without the loot I intended, but feeling the energy and lust for life entering my body!

This afternoon I surged home on my early 80s Mixte ladies bike and left a couple of licrad up speedsters to chew on my dust! I don't know if they were racing me but they must have felt pretty weak being thrashed by a fella riding a 30 year old ladies bike in the sitting up position. Arrgh!

Blood Moon ~ A lunar eclipse

A different moon looked down upon me as I cycled home last night. The radio had been buzzing with speculation about how it would look, there were suggestions we would be bathed in crimson moonlight a sight not to be missed.
When my class was over it was quite late and the moon had already begun its arc across the night sky but something was definitely different. Dark and and weighty with deep hues of orange, a dense and dark moon tonight. It was like looking at the face of a friend through the hazy, tumultuous shroud of bushfire smoke.
The street lights obscured my view and whether I was bathed in crimson moonlight or the mottled glow of electric street lamps, regretfully I have to say; the moon was present but did not dominate the light that shone my way!
I peddled on and eventually I found a dark and quiet spot, I turned naturally and instinctively toward the blushing moon. It did look different! It was clear in the sky but obscured by something foreign! Strange to see it like that. Shrouded... Painted? ... Smothered by Gaia it's veil.
What I could see was the reflection of us. Imposed on our small and faithful celestial brother! The shadow of the earth fully cloaking the lesser orb and imposing it's dominance over the helpless globe. Bathed in the deflected light of Sun, the bloody hues a reflection of a crowded and busy planet. Hidden too long from a precious golden star.
The quiet moon bulges in a crimson shade and reveals it's true endeering strength. Somehow shadow does not extinguish the connection between earth and moon but for a few moments they are linked and inseparable.
They travel together, connected but apart... each on it's own orbit but inseparable by nature. The fate of one is that of the other and on the night of the blood moon they may come together and share their secrets hidden from the sun.

Well if not this then something must be going on around here! When I got home I whipped out the binoculars and had a closer look at the moon. The angle of the light on its surface gave it far more depth than I remember seeing! It somehow seemed more dense or three dimensional. Like the lack of glare from the reflected light actually allowed me to see it more fully. I know it's a dumb thing to say but I felt like it was really out there! Close and touchable and big.



When I woke this morning it dawned on me that watching this event is a really special thing. I was actually watching the shadow of the very earth I was standing on cast on the only surface possible of carrying our shadow! That is really special! In that sense it must be more significant than a total eclipse of the sun!

Cool!