A Latrobe Valley resident has begun the first leg of a two-wheeled pedal-powered journey that will take him from Moe, across the central desert to Darwin, and then on to Europe.
Dan Procházka has packed his touring bike and is on his way through Gippsland on what he hopes will be a two-year cycling trek to Prague.
The keen cyclist aims to be in Darwin by late August after tackling the vast Flinders Ranges and the Tanami Track, before he hitches a lift on a yacht to East Timor to ride across the Indonesian archipelago.
Mr Procházka said he has no fixed route beyond Darwin, but planned to end his journey in the Czech Republic where he can explore his ancestry and meet family members.
“This has been a boyhood dream. I haven’t travelled much internationally as an adult and I couldn’t think of a better way to do it than on a bicycle,” Mr Procházka said.
Mr Procházka is an experienced cyclist and has ridden several times from Canberra to Melbourne across the high country. He has also ridden from north to south New Zealand and around Tasmania.
He also used to ride from Moe to Traralgon to get to work every day. He said he hopes to clock-up a “leisurely” 100 kilometres a day to complete the 7000 kilometre ride to Darwin.
“I did a three-month trip across New Zealand from the top to bottom without knowing too much about what I was doing. I made some mistakes and ruined my wheel,” he said.
“My bike is relatively light and is designed to go on rugged roads. I’m confident my bike won’t fail.”
Mr Procházka is kitted-out with a steel-framed touring bike and is carrying camping gear, energy-dense food, and about 13 litres of water that should get him across the remotest parts of his trip.
“I really enjoy the feeling of being on a bike and travelling across the landscape. I feel more connected to the landscape,” he said.
“Cycling is a great medium to cross long distances and still feel close to the environment. You meet more people, folks take you in, you are more vulnerable and you are at the will of the world.”
Follow Mr Procházka’s journey, at ramblinghome1991.wixsite.com/home.
