Time for Plan B: Oceania Odyssey Week 16

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

Short of a crocodile sniffing on the other side of the nylon, the most panic-inducing sound to hear in a tent in the middle of the night is a wretching six-year-old – especially when you realize there isn't a barf bucket.

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The week we turned into Aussies, by Heron and Sitka, Oceania Week 15

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

Heron: Is it true that daddy gets himself treats on blog night? Jocelyn: Yep, he bought gf chocolate chip cookies for this one. Heron: So if we write the blog instead, can we have the cookies? Jocelyn: I don't see why not...

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Glamping our way through Australia: Oceania Week 14

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

“Um, Daddy,” whispered Sitka, who had just stepped outside to take his morning ‘bush wee.’ “There’s a kangaroo outside our tent.”

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Boats, barfs, hikes and airplanes: From NZ to OZ (Oceania Week 13)

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

Maybe we love cycle touring so much because it's a mode of travel with little chance of puking. Put us on a ferry across the choppy Southern Ocean, or a three-stop, 12-hour air travel day and we’re begging for two wheels on solid ground.

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“Sweet as”: New Zealand Week 12

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

There's no worse sense of meteorological dread than spotting a raincloud teem down a kilometre away, and watching it creep steadily in your direction. You feel soaked already as the hazy grey sheet of water unloads on its target, revving its drenching engine for...

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When you almost pee your pants in the morning because the tent zipper is frozen shut: New Zealand Week 11

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

Two of a cycle tourist’s favourite words are “rail trail” – smooth, quiet paths converted from steam power to pedal power, far away from car traffic and, best of all, no climbs or descents steeper than one or two percent.

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Moseying merrily through our many-month marathon: New Zealand Week Ten

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

Even Sitka could tell we were hooped. “We've already been this way, like, a thousand times,” our six-year-old groaned as we darted determinedly around a corner and into yet another dead end.

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Forget Ms. Frizzle, we’re riding the Magic School Bikes: New Zealand Week Nine

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

Sometimes parenting is like a hyperactive game of Trivial Pursuit. “Where does water come from?” “What's my blood for?” “When did the first human happen?” “How are glaciers formed?”

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The simple art of spoiling your kids (and yourselves) on the road: New Zealand Week Eight

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

For two months Sitka has been compiling his 6th birthday activity checklist: ride a horse (must be a cute horse); eat a kiwi fruit cake on the beach; cross the 2,000 km mark for our trip; set a family one-day distance record; and pet...

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How we fuel four famished bike bodies

by Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy

When we stop for groceries on a family cycling tour, the whole store knows it. After biking, camping and running wild in wide open spaces for a few days, our feral boys charge through the aisles like they've been licking moss off rocks on...

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