I hate reef booties!! Reef booties are these wetsuite boots that you where to protect your feet from sharp coral reef, i had not felt the need to where them until we got to a spot called surangin with some ausy guys from our hotel. The tide was dead low and you needed to walk across a coral lagoon filled with sharp coral and ton of sea urchins to get to the waves. I saw lots of locals tip towing across the reef bare foot to get out and thought i would just send it anyway but on closer inspection of the urchins gnarly spines i decided to play it safe. It was still a fun surf and i kinda got used to the booties by the end, it will definitely be a shock wearing booties full time when i get home but im sure i will get used to it. After the day trip to surangin we set our sights north west around the coast for the town of Balian.

not a bad view from our front porch in Balian

After making the 2 hour car ride to Balian we checked straight into a little home stay at the restaurant AYU’s. The waves looked really fun and i was out there, after having a fun surf i settled into our room and had look around.  Balian is way more like a small beach town in some place like mexico or costarica. The vibe just doesn’t feel like bali or at least not like kuta, where everything is so crazy and full on all the time. It was so nice to just relax and chill out and surf all day.  The wave at balian is so consistent there wasn’t a single day in the week i was there that i surfed less that six hours in a day. Evenings were filled with reading and early bed times , since derek and zack had to depart after only a day to head home, i spent the the week surfing and making friends with all the surf travelers in town. Even linking up with a group of bros from Tofino, such a small world.  The break at balian is a river mouth with 4 different sections to surf even if it gets crowded you can always find a wave. My favorite section became the inside left and on some of the days it was so good i surfed some 4 hour sessions. Balian is epic so im sure i will find my way back there next month!

the inside left on one of the smaller days

After my last morning surf in Balian i loaded in with some people i met who were heading back to kuta, i apparently got some water in my left ear during the last surf because by the time we got to kuta it was already getting sore, Im sure going out that night didnt help but these things cant be avoided, haha. Waking up with a hangover and the worst ear infection really sucked, i got some anti biotic ear drops and headed back to my hotel room.  That was yesterday and ive decided to stay out of the water until it gets better. I have just been reading lots and drifting around town. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow so i cant get in the water and let the good times role. I plan to go stay out at uluwatu for a week and find out how good it really gets. Then on the 21st i fly to Malaysia for 8 days to renew my visa and im sure let my ears dry out again. Then its back to Indo for another 27 days in which i plan to head east and explore Sumbawa.  Im so stoked for the rest of the trip and definitely looking forward to coming home.  Until next time prey for waves!

I arrived in Bali at Denpasar airport at 8:30 in the evening, my driver was little late but it was nice to just
hang around and soak up some warmth because i was freezing from the flight and highly air conditioned airport.
After getting picked up by a driver from my hotel we started the drive into kuta the main tourist destination of
Bali. The driving here is insane, with little to no road rules its a free for all on the roads at all times. After making it to my hotel safe i was all checked in and really hungry and ready to explore. I headed out to the main street near my hotel and started looking for a place to eat. Going through culture shock and trying to figure out where i was, wasn’t any easier in the dark, i ate a cheap little Indonesian meal and retreated back to the safety of my hotel to get some sleep and prepare for the day to come.

After waking up and making the 5 minute walk to the beach to meet my friends Derek and Zack who were also
visiting bali. I convinced them to come stay at my hotel because with the three of us it would be cheaper and my
place had a pool, unlike theres. Not bad for only 8 dollars a night each. While we were at the beach i noticed some
of the outer reefs out from kuta had a wave on them and i was frothing for a surf, so we waxed up our boards and
started the walk down the beach to grab a boat out to a spot called airport lefts. The waves were really clean and
super fun and i knew it was going to be an epic trip in indo!

airport lefts so fun!!

over the next couple days we surfed airports a few more times and made a scooter trip into the mountains to see a volcano unfortunately that day turned into a total disaster when zack crashed his scooter and we had to go to the hospital to get him all stitched up. Add in corrupt police officers pulling us over at every chance they got to have us bribe them to piss off, it was definitely a stressful day. This famous rice patty is as far as we got into the mountains.

the famous rice patty

Still just drifting around kuta and making a few boat trips in the area to surf we decided to get a transport van out to the famous surf spot of Uluwatu and experience one of the best waves in the area.  When you arrive at Ulus you walk
down these steep stairs and through these alley ways between restaurants and surf shops to make your way to the uluwatu cave which you have to paddle out of to access the surf. Magazines and movies describe paddling out of the cave at Uluwatu to be a right of passage for travelling surfers. It was a big moment for me and one i wont soon forget.
the waves werent super big but they were definitely really fun. I cant wait to surf Ulus again when its pumping,
Ive got the right boards and im ready to take it on.

The Uluwatu line up

After a trip out to the famous Uluwatu monkey temple we headed back to Kuta for some dinner and relaxation. Bali is
so cheap and beautiful i cant to wait to spend more time here and venture out to the outer islands. In the last couple days the swell has been pumping and the waves have been sick. Surfing the middle reef out of kuta yesterday Derek broke his board and disappeared over the reef and into the inside passage to the beach which on only half a board
is a solid hour paddle, luckily a boat was coming by and picked him up. I heard he was ok from some ausy mates
we met at our hotel so i kept surfing and I bagged the biggest waves of my trip to indo so far. It was the sickest day
and to cap it off we had a few apre bintangs the local beer of bali. With Derek leaving in a few days i think were going to make a short trip around the coast to a place called Balian. The indo leg of the trip is going really well so far and i cant wait to surf more and hunt more Tubes!! 

Uluwatu Temple

just after arriving in Forster

 After arriving in Forster from an 80km day of riding on the hottest day of the trip so far i was sunburned and ready for bed.  The swell had dropped again and the wind was houlling on shore.  I woke up in the morning and the surf looked about the same so i had a quick swim and hit the road, i was so close to New Castle i could smell it!  Since there was no swell i basically just buckled down and rode two hard days, camping whereever to make it to New Castle and meet up with Sean my good friend who i met in whistler and let the party begin!

I would have to say that during this bike trip would be the most freedom i have ever felt in my life. Not having to worry about any responsibilities, just me, my bike, the road, and the surf.  Doing what i want when i want, skating and surfing whenever, no one to approve of anything, all my own choices leading me somewhere, anywhere it doesnt matter, because im doing it and i know im going to have fun.  It was an incredibly liberating experience, it taught me things about myself, life, and other people. Even simple lessons that transfers into life, like every time i would come to the bottom of a huge hill, i would get bummed out, but then after a few hills i realized that after most hard up hills there was always an easy down on the other side and even if there was another up hill after it, theres always at some point going to be a down hill.  The point im trying to make is that no matter how hard something is you always have to try and see the light at the other end of the tunnel, because eventually you will make it. 

Australian beauty

 One of the best things i experienced was from not knowing where i was really going each day, seeing it on the map following signs and hoping i didnt get lost.  But i figured out that it is in those moments when you are lost that you figure out what your really made of.  Its a truth that people who dont  go out and experience life  will never learn about themselves.  The reward of making it to each destination along the way was always enough to keep me going on the hard days of riding.  As well as the thought of what amazing waves might be hiding just around the next headland.  This bike trip was one of the best experiences of my life so far, and i encourage everyone to go out and do some exploring on your own, get lost and see who you really are.

After arriving in a small town south of Yamba called Woolgoolga, a funny name i know, i met up with my friend Ed who i knew from whistler and was kind enough to have me as his house guest.  Woolgoolga is about 25km north of Coffs harbour and has lots of nice beachs.  Unfortunately the swell had dropped completely and it was a struggle to find even a rideable wave.  We surfed anyway though and had some fun in the small surf, one of the days there was even a massive pod of dolphins playing in the waves with us, it was scary but so fun at the same time.  The waves were fun but small here is a photo Ed took af me on a fun day at mullaway beach.

small but fun, little top turn

After hanging out with Eds family for a couple days and waiting for his weekend to begin we headed down to Crescent head for a little camping trip.  This of course counts as cheating on my part by not riding this part of the trip, but it was worth it to keep on schedule and to hang out with Ed and his friend Briah who drove down.  Crescent head is a really cool place with a sick right hand point break, there wasnt much swell while we were there but we made the best of it.  We camped for 2 days and waited for the swell to rise, it was on the charts but just didnt want to show up.  On the last day in crescent there were some bomb sets coming down the point and it was clear the swell was coming but Ed and Briah had to return home for work and i needed to get heading south. We parted ways and i rode south in search of Port Macquarie.

Crescent Head small but serious potential

This ride turned out to be a lot longer than i thought and i was so tired from having a few beers the night before and surfing twice that morning before departing.  By the time a got to Port Mac i was so beat i just set up my tent had dinner and went to bed, because it was already 8 oclock.  I woke up in the morning feeling a lot better so i walked down to the beach to check the surf.  I wasn’t sure if the swell had picked up and how good it would be, when i first set eyes on the beach i could see there was a big outer sand bar way out in the middle of the bay i could tell there was a lot of water moving but couldn’t see because the sun was directly in my eyes.  I walked around to the side of the bay where i figured out you paddle from to get to the sand bank where the waves break. With the sun no longer in my eyes and from the side view the sight i saw in the water nearly caused me to scream out in excitement.  The waves were perfect, lefts running down the outside of the bank, the setup looked like an Indonesian reef break that you see in magazines.  I ran back to my camp site grabbed my board and headed straight out there.  It turned out to be a lot bigger than it looked and some of the barrels weren’t entirely make able.  On several of the waves i got into some of the biggest and best tubes of my life unfortunately not coming out of any of them.  Its a surreal feeling taking off and pulling up into a big tube, everything goes quiet and nothing else in the world exists, until you see down the line and watch the lip pitch over and realize oh shit I’m not gonna make it!  Going down in the barrel in big surf sucks you don’t just go under the water, a lot of the time you get sucked up and go over the falls inside the wave, the best way i can describe it is falling off cliffs underwater.  I decided to stay in port macquarie for another night because the waves were so good.  I had a great surf in the afternoon on the high tide when it was more just like big shoulders moving down the line and not tubing as much.  I woke up and and the swell had dropped a little but it still looked so fun, i was out there and actually managed to get a few clean little barrels, with no question the best waves i have surfed all trip!  This photo was taken just after i got out of the water on the second day, the waves were so good, but i had surfed for 3 hours and my arms felt like lead it was time to pack up and move on.

Port Macquarie's best Indo impression

After riding to a small town called Laurington i realized it wasn’t on the beach so i decided to head down the road in exploration of the next town with a decent wave.  Heading to the coast i ran into a national park and gravel roads,  i found a map of the park and saw that i could save time by cutting though and camping at a place called diamond head, after some bumpy roads i made it to the campsite had a quick surf and posted up for the night.  I woke up and road another 15km on gravel roads to get back out to where it was paved for my trek south.  I must have had my lucky horse shoes on because through all the gravel riding i didn’t get one flat tire.  I set my sights for the town of Forster and i was off!

the Diamond Head

It turns out waiting for the rain to pass was a great idea because day5 riding to Evans head was some the best riding weather i could have hoped for.  A bit of cloud cover to keep things cool and no rain!  One thing that has surprised me so far along the ride is the scenery, lots of forest and especially after the rains, lush farm land.  Its a nice environment to ride in apposed to the dessert land scape most assume covers Australia.

Ausy farm land

After a short 40km ride from Ballina i arrived in Evans Head for the first night of camping on the trip.  With the swell still pumping the main beach at Evans looked big and stormy, still a few waves around but not that inviting.  All the rain had caused a serious amount of run off, the river and the ocean surrounding it were all brown.  Which is not good considering most shark attacks occur in water with poor visibility, since no one was out i decided to wait on the surf and explore Evans head.  That took about 5 minutes, the town is so small, with one main street.  I went back to my campsite and grabbed my skateboard and headed down the road to a little park that may have been made in the late 80′s.  It was a small funny thing but still okay to pass some time.

Evans head skatepark

After a quick afternoon surf in the muddy water, i returned up to my campsite then headed up to the pub for a beer and to watch Australia play cricket against the West Indies in there first match of the season.  After that it was bed time and an early wake up to start the 65km trek south to Iluka.  On the road between Evans head and Iluka i spotted this sign it was a beautiful beach but i didnt surf, for obvious reasons!

yup sharky!

The reason i wanted to stop and surf in Iluka even though theres not much in the town is because theres a spot there called the wall, where a huge jetty creates a massive wedging wave.  The newly released surf film called the Modern Collective has a section at this spot and it looks so fun.  Unfortunately the swell and wind were all wrong when i arrived and there was no chance of getting a good wave so i decided to take the last passenger ferry of the day across the river to the bigger town of Yamba.  I ended up staying in Yamba for 5 days because the waves were so good! Making a couple trips 10 minutes south to Angourie with some boys from the hostel. I surfed Angourie point which is a famous right hand point that was pumping while i was there.  I have felt so fortunate to catch good waves at all these world class spots because there not that consistent and this past week since i started my bike trip i have surfed some of the best waves of my life.  With the swell slowly winding down i still stayed in Yamba and scored some of the incredible beach breaks near by.  One of the mornings there were glassy peaks all over town with punchy lefts running for ages.  I surfed for nearly 4 hours and only coming in because i was exhausted and sunburned.  Another Epic day on the Gigantic Bicycle Adventure.  After making plans to meet up with my mate Eddie who i know from whistler, on day 10. i still had time for another surf and a quick skate at the Yamba park which is so crusty it was almost to rough to skate.  Of almost all the places Ive been in Australia so far i would say Yamba in one of my favorites, Its the kind of place i would actually live, Great waves and nice people what else can you ask for? maybe some snow…

Less swell but still fun beachy's on my last day in Yamba

In case your wandering GBA stands for Gigantic Bicycle Adventure, its an acronym im sure i’ll be throwing around a lot in the next month.

The wreck pumping!! photo courtesy of surfingart.com.au

So i spent day 2 in In Byron bay because the surf was so good, i surfed the wreck in the morning and it was pumping.  Not all of the waves had a barrel such as the one in this photo, all though there were a few around. It was possibly some of the best waves i’ve had on my trip, at least the best lefts so far.  This week has definitely been the biggest swell thats hits the coast since i’ve been in Australia and with all the world class spots in area im sure the phrase “best waves of the trip” is going to be used quite a lot.

Day 3 found me waking up early a little hung over from a hostel party and some serious games of flip cup, heading down for another surf at the wreck, it was bit smaller but still really fun. Then returning to the hostel to pack up and head out down the road in search of Lennox Heads. I knew the swell was good and it would probably be going off, so hit the road for the short ride of around 20km and made it to Lennox in about an hour.  The waves looked fun but a little blown out thanks to an easterly wind.  I had made plans to meet up with a friends parents who live south of Lennox in a place called Ballina. Since i was really tired from all the partying, riding, and surfing, and because the swell was meant to pick up over night i decided to lay low in Ballina for the rest of the day.

Lennox point first look, a bit windy but swell on the rise!

After arriving in Ballina and at the house i was staying at with my great hosts John and Virginia, John gave me a ride down the road into town and to the ballina skate park which has recently been extended, it was a fun skate but really hot. after it was done i was ready for a shower and bed.

Ballina's New Bowl!

After spending the night in Ballina John gave me a ride down to Lennox for the morning surf, we checked another point along the way called boulders, its called that for good reason, at low tide the wave runs through some shallow sections with rocks all over the place.  Since i felt like keeping my fins attached to my board for the day we decided to drive just over the hill and check lennox point.  The swell had rocked up and it was pumping, some waves working the whole way down the point. It looked so fun i forgot to take any photos and went straight out.  I caught a few waves that with out any question are the longest rights i’ve ever surfed.  It was a really fun surf ending with a heavy rain storm.  I made the call to wait on the weather and hold off riding for one more day. On day 5 i will ride to Evans head and with the swell fore casted to stay good for the rest of the week hopefully i will score more good waves!   

Boulders, Looking good and rocky.

I got out of bed at around 5:30am, I checked the surf from the deck of the house i was staying at on palm beach on the gold coast. Seeing that the surf was still a little messy and knowing i was already 2 days behind schedule because of waiting on the goldy for the weather to improve and surfing some really fun waves in the area. I decided it was on, Day1 time to start this bicycle adventure, i loaded everything up had some breakfast and i was off!

The best part about this whole bike trip is i really only have a rough outline, no really time schedule so i can basically do what i want. Skate, surf, and take breaks when ever i feel like it, not having to worry about going to work or anything else, just riding and thats it. Its an incredible sence of freedom that im looking forward to for the rest of the trip.

Quick skate to stretch my legs

Most of the 80km ride was spent on beautiful coast roads hardly any cars just me and the road.  There was a 2okm section on the highway bike lane which seemed more like a desert. For most of the ride i was being chased by isolated coastal showers, you could see them coming and they would slowly catch you, rain as hard as you have ever seen then it would be sunny again.  Really weird weather but it kept the day interesting.  It definitely took a little longer than i thought it would to get to byron, the trailer is ok on flat but its a lot of work to haul up hills. The good news is that day1 is the longest day of riding on the whole trip so now that its out of the way things are only going to get easier!

Just me and the open road

After arriving in Byron bay i was completely exhausted, With breaks for lunch and a little skating the trip took some where around 7 hours.  A little longer than i had expected, haha, I checked straight into a hostel and would like to say i went to bed. However I met some really cool people and there was a big party across the road at the bar called Cheeky Monkey So i went out for a few drinks and had a really fun night.  I woke and wasn’t nearly as sore as i was expecting which was awesome, i grabbed my board and headed straight to the beach.  I had the best surf at a really famous spot called the wreck.  there’s an old ship wreck with big steel pillars sticking out of the water and you catch waves right next to it, its so cool.  Day1 was hard but now that’s its done i cant wait for day2 and to see what other adventures the road with bring!

So a couple of months ago, i was walking home from the pub late in the evening or early in the morning, I’m not to sure on the details.  But anyways, i was thinking about this article that i had read in a surfer mag a couple years ago about a couple guys who rode their bikes down the coast of California with trailers for there surf boards and camping gear.  I was thinking how great of an idea that was and how well it would fit my travel plans for Australia. To see an amazing amount of the coast, every beach, every wave and to not miss a thing because i’m doing it all from the ground.  It was set in my mind and i thought yup, i’m going to do this no matter what.

The Rig!! loaded and ready to go!

After some serious route planning and even getting off my wallet at k-mart to buy a new bike and trailer i am set.  I am planning to ride from the southern most part of the Gold coast at Snapper Rocks, heading south just over 800km to the town of Newcastle.  I planned the trip around places to stay and places to to surf. Keeping at a pace of around 50km a day and staying places when the waves are pumping. I hope to complete the journey in around 25 days.  I am going to miss the sunshine coast and all the friends I’ve made, but i am so excited about the adventure ahead, all the new places and waves, I cant wait to depart!!

carties, so fun!!

Carties also known as point cartwright, is a really fun surf spot located on the headland just south of Mooloolaba.  Its about a 5 minute bike ride from my house to the m-ba river mouth which you paddle across to acsess the spot, you can drive to it from the other side of the river but since i dont have car i’ll take my chances in the river mouth.  I say chances becasue its said that the river mouth is sharky as fuck.  Bull sharks are known for being agresssive and hanging out around river mouths, no one has ever been attacked but it can still be scary. The spot its self is a fun right hander that breaks on a rock shelf, its dependent on a lower tide, and is generally sheltered from all southerly winds so it can get really crowded, but sometimes you get lucky and can score it with just a few of your friends.  I surf it quite often and can directly credit my backhand surfing getting alot better just from that spot.  Its a really cool setting for surf spot with the light house up on the point and the view into mooloolaba. Its one of my favorite spots to surf on the sunshine coast.

Since ive been in australia ive really noticed that they are some of the fittest people on earth.  I have literally seen no more than 5 obese people since i arrived, as where if you drive into the United States from Canada you will see 5 obese people within the first 5 minutes.  The Ausy life style definitely has everything to do with it, there is a massive emphasis on being fit and healthy here.  A lot of TV commercials and billboards basically saying be fit.  Every suburb has there own little public work out station on the running path and they are used to an amazing extent. Just while walking to work in the mornings i see hundreds of people out running and using the workout stations.  I suppose all the work is really because everyone just wants to look good on the beach, there seems to be more pressure to look good here than at home.  The amount of women with boob jobs here may be an all time record, there most commonly called bolt-ons by the locals and there really everywhere.

Australia really has an unfair advantage because they can go out side play at the beach, in the ocean and in the outdoors all year long because of there nice weather.  Canada has some work to do such as getting off the couch in the winter. I know its hard but let get on it, because not much compares to cruising the beach and checking out the sights.

Outdoor Gym