My name is Robert Klei and I live in Osoyoos, BC, Canada, where I operate my seasonal business Roberto’s Gelato. It is open from April to October, allowing me to do other things (travel) in the off-season.

I rode the Bicentennial National Trail on my mountain bike and BOB trailer as a solo expedition from November 2003 to April 2004. It was in celebration of my 50th birthday. Five months it took me to ride the full length of the trail from Cooktown to Healesville. I tried my best to follow the actual trail as much as possible, even though it would have been much easier to detour certain sections that are really more suited to horses.  Or goats. My old travel journal is still available at Rob ‘n BOB. Some sections were almost impossible to navigate by bike and I had to detour sections along the Guy Fawkes and Macleay River.

This time I will be celebrating my 65th birthday (Ouch! that sounds soooo ooold!) and I am planning to ride a major part of the BNT again. Since I have a little less time available I will stick to Queensland and New South Wales. Even though last time I did manage most of the Australian Alps section, it was really, really tough. Too tough to be able to say I enjoyed it, so I will give that a miss. Also, I will take it a bit more leisurely, more rest days, and I will opt for more bicycle detours instead of following the trail verbatim. So it will be Cairns, QLD to Wallerawang, NSW. I might even make it as far as Canberra, we’ll see.