Slowly, as my budget and buying impulses allowed, I built up the equipment that enabled me to expand my horizons. Initially, the gear included gloves, waterproof jacket, rear rack, a water bottle cage, front and rear mudguards, and a basic Tioga bike computer that cost $35.

I lived in the suburb of Como, eight kilometres from The West Australian newspaper offices in the middle of Perth. I had no problem finding a secure place to store the bike at work. But I was seriously deflated to find that my first trip to the office took a whopping 40 minutes. A generous part of the trip was downhill, so I was astounded that my fitness, five months after the heart attack, was still so poor.

My first long trip, two weekends after I bought the bike, comprised a 28km return journey eastward along the Swan River. I had to get off the bike four or five times, and push it up hills that were neither onerous nor long. I was exhausted when I returned home.

I then sought out as much information as I could on what was available for cycling in Perth and surrounding suburbs. I started to use the bike paths around the Swan River all the way to Fremantle on both sides, and found a little book published by BikeWest that showed the best river rides. I then came across a BikeWest fold-out map that graded the roads in the Perth metropolitan area on their rideability.

I was enthralled, and my weekend journeys became longer and more challenging. At the same time, my fitness started to improve, along with my outlook on life.

Then I was told that my contract with The West Australian would not be extended beyond my second three-month term. At that point, I decided to return to my home city of Hobart, in Tasmania, on the other side of the continent. Even if work was not forthcoming back there, I believed I still had a better chance of getting journalistic work in the Eastern States than in Western Australia's insular media industry.

My idea would see me arrive in Hobart fitter than ever, having seen parts of the continent I had never visited before, having added a rare achievement to my life's CV, and having spent a comparatively minor amount of money. Basically, I intended to ride my bicycle across Australia to Melbourne, thence travel to Tasmania by the Spirit of Tasmania and continue by bike on to Hobart!

I made the decision some six weeks before departing. I knew I would finish up at The West Australian on 5 September 1997, so I set the departure date as 10 days later, on Monday 15 September.

The lead time for such an undertaking might not seem long, but I figured that I had been cycle-commuting, and riding longer distances at weekends and on my days off during the week. I set out to find longer ways to work, covering up to 13km one way on occasions. I became adept at riding at night, as my commutes home started anywhere from 9.30pm to after midnight. The weather was reasonable, and I found that cycling in the rain was enjoyable with adequate protection.

I've also always been quite a keen camper, but work and family often prevented me from getting out in the bush. The acquisition of camping gear for the trip would be a bonus at the end of the trip. I became very excited about the prospect of getting the gear together, finding out more on the conditions I could expect to encounter, and getting down to the detailed planning.

I was on a tight budget, so the acquisition program involved many visits to bike shops and camping stores to browse and price-shop. It all came together very well, though. Fortunately, I could access the newspaper's electronic library for information on riding across the Nullarbor Plain, about conditions on the Eyre Highway, and cycling generally. The articles on cycling the route were limited, but there were enough to build my faith in the plan.

I rang BikeWest and spoke to a senior manager about touring. I outlined my plan. He gave me some information which in general was useful, but in one instance, caused me concern. He said I should be on the road by at least 8.30 every morning, and should have completed 100km by lunchtime. Okay, the starting time was not a problem, but I had enough trouble covering 70km in six hours without worrying about 100km in the morning... and with a load! Still, I consoled myself with the belief that conditions on the road would be better and flatter, and that he knew what he was talking about, even though he had gone only as far as Merriden, and not all the way across.

I found out much, much later (five years later, in fact) that this senior manager's interests lay entirely in bike racing, not touring. His advice was theory only. It showed me not to put faith in what anyone says unless they share my touring philosophies.

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