I’ve been over in Kalgoorlie working at the Nickel Smelter for the past 8 months and have become an institution riding the 23 km to work each way wearing my famous fluorescent yellow sox.  It was a challenge at first, but now it has become routine, as well as rides of 70 – 80 km on weekends out to remote derelict gold mining towns.

The main hazard on the way to work is the traffic doing 110 km/h past you; and the tonnes of broken glass and bindis (3-cornered jacks) waiting to puncture your tubes. 

You also get road trains with 4 trailers; they snake all over the road and could flick you when they ease back into your lane; and wide loads – eg bulldozers on flatbeds with blades waiting to skewer your kidneys.  Part of the entertainment is finding and picking up things on the road: lots of coins; ocky straps; tools – spanners, socket set bits; mobile phone (still working); paper overalls; shackles, pins, bolts off suspensions; etc etc and dodging the lumps of timber, stones etc.  My autocooling limit was exceeded one day when I rode home in 42°C heat against a stiff wind; flaked out only half way home and was kindly given a lift.  Had to have a sickie the next day to recover from heat stress.  Now I bum a lift home if it’s over 36°.

Because of the heavy traffic at night you also get a lot of road kill: emus; one day there was a dead adult; then another adult; then soon after 3 chicks – whole family killed off; roos: I bring a string to haul them off the road by the legs.  On my long rides on the quiet roads at dawn (to beat the heat) it’s much more pleasant and you can see plenty of wildlife: emerald rosellas; crested pigeons; crows; live roos and emus; feral goats.  The vegetation is typical of WA and very attractive: dark olive gimlets; deep pink salmon gums; silvery olive saltbush with red sandhills

I trundle past huge tailings dumps from 100 years of gold mining, built up into 20 m high rectangular hills covering 20-30 hectares each.  And vast mullock hills.

Done 4000 km in training for Great Escapade so far; but here there are only a few low sandhills – so I won’t be in shape for riding in the hilly bits in the Blue Mountains! 

Jim Happ