You may be right... I could be crazy - Flinders.

[davefreer]

Comments

[brownkitty]

You may be crazy, but you sound happy. And at the end of the day, that's a damned important thing.

[davefreer]

Well, married Mrs Monkey I would probably be happy living in suburbia being a bank clerk :-). But on the overall I think I'm happier being crazy.

[alphastk]

Once you get settled and ready for visitors, I'm doing my damnedest to come visit.

[davefreer]

(grin) once we're settled we'll probably be going to the mainland and kidnapping intelligent and sf reading visitors, let alone welcoming them.

[reverancepavane]

Well the Nova Mob SF group isn't that far away from where you'll be living. Just a short flight away in fact (although it would at least be a two night stay given the flight schedules).
That is, if you get really desperate.

[davefreer]

Melbourne? Adelaide? (I somehow suspect it won't be Launceston).

[ext_64262]

To take a page from "The Tick": You haven't gone crazy in a sane world, Dave. You've gone sane in a crazy world.

:-D

[davefreer]

Well, I guess sanity is always relative (except my relatives) :-). The point is I never set out to do this sort of thing. I just wonder into places even fools fear to tread, and somehow muddle through. Back in Army I was the guy who volunteered. Yes. That sort of idiot. Got me into trouble a few times. And a couple of times it panned out amazingly.

[brashley46]

At least you'll be closer to the ocean than you are now! Are the local roads cyclable?

[davefreer]

Cyclable - yes indeed (my brother, who is a cyclist - mountain bike though - also went to have a look) It's quite a big little island - about 1/3 the size of Rhode Island state. There are about 450km of roads - maybe 150 or so are tarred. There is no logging and very few trucks, and almost no traffic so all of the roads we travelled on were in great nick. If you choose your routes the gradients are quite gentle (yes you CAN do a 1000 foot climb - if you choose. The eastern side of the island is very rugged. The west is nearly flat.) The one downside is that cycling would have to stop at sundown. The Wallabies jump at lights, and there are a lot of them

[brashley46]

Oh, hell, I've no idea. I've never rented a bike here, and there seems to be an adventure touring company established already so they might decide you were competition.

And I've no idea whether the scenery is worth going so far to pedal through. Need more pictures, to judge that!

If I got there? I'm a pensioner now ... I should win the lottery first.

[davefreer]

It was more by the way of something B could do to keep entertained and earn a little pocket money, and have a few bikes on hand for friends rather than a serious business venture. The one thing you do NOT want to do in a small community as an incomer is go into competition - if they saw it as competition I'd step out. Seriously. As a writer, living there, I'm bringing extra income in from outside. Growing the pie a lot than I'll take out. Possibly doing a little for their publicity, and making everyone in the tourist side a little better off. That's a very different beast to someone cutting another slice out of a pie that is not big and not growing.

And buy that lottery ticket. I wouldn't travel across the world to cycle flinders (If I lived in Melbourne or was going on a holiday and wanted a day of something different I might hire a bike) but we could have some very entertaining lively arguments if you did.

[mythusmage]

Any tasmanian devils around? If so, be aware that they do tend to bond with humans if given the chance. They're also fussy little beasts who bitch mightily when cross.

[davefreer]

They're not mentioned in the fauna list so I imagine not. And yes, being me I would end up with one...