Its been a LONG while between blogs - beacause we have not actually had access to the internet! However, that doesnt mean that we havent been writing them! So if you are so inclined, you may want to read through the below montage of blogs - between then and now.... We have had LOTS of fun and met LOTS of amazing, supportive, wonderful and inspring people as well as have had numerous wonderful experiences within all the truely amazing towns we have visited... so much so that we seem to have written ALOT about it all! We hope you enjoy the read....   Otesha blog 3rd May   Well we made it through our first two performances! Performing to a year 9 and a year 10 class at Preshill. We found the audience to be very knowledgable about the issues we touch on. Since these are our first performances, we asked for positive feedback as well as what could be improved on. One of the big issues was the flow of the performance. Ensuring that our lines are all learnt will help there. Also the jokes have to be made clearer and some of them did not like the rap at all but then again it was a bit out of time and we need to make sure we all know the words so that the message comes across clearer. By the second performance we felt like the energy had dropped a lot but I thought we got more applause. Something to think about for future performances are different aged audiences and how different schools are going to receive the performances.   Josh.    Wed 4th Melbourne - Melbourne to Sunbury, to Bulla A Poem about John Knox   John is our shepherd, he guides us with light He leads us to places and helps us take flight He pushes our peddles with motivation And helps us to ride without hesitation. With trailers attached, a rose in our cheeks We raced up the hills along Merri Creek When hunger struck us just like a pest Our shepherd he noticed and stopped us to rest Our bottles were empty a  thirst from the soul He ushered us down to a watering hole A fence on the path could not block our way Our shepherd he lead us away from the stray The roads they are scary threatening to wreck All of our spirits and bikes on the trek. Encouraging and keeping us far from harm While with our shepard, no cause for alarm. Racing along with the cars, trains and planes He was able to keep us all safe in our bike lane Then it was time to send us on our way He trusted us to survive the rest of the day So we started to ride off in single file With a "You guys are awesome!" he left with a smile John is our shepherd, he guieds us with light He leads us to places and helps us take flight   Thanks to John Knox for shepherding us along on our first day of riding!    Thursday 5th May   Sometimes, when you're involved in the organisation of something like an Otesha tour, the stress of logistics: planning, administration, finances, fundraising, grant writing, and community bookings can, little by little, build a wall around the heart of why you're doing it. It isn't until you meet people who believe in what you're trying to do and extend warm hands of help that you start to believe again yourself. As blog writer today I'd like to reflect on some of the people, businesses, organisations and companies that have so far supported us in this journey of ours. Because without them Otesha simply would not exist as it does.   If Otesha had an official sponsor it would certainly be CERES Community Environment Park in East Brunswick. Not only did they donate office space for the six months leading up to our trip but they also generously donated: acccommodation in their seven star (energy rated!) Eco House; training space in the new Van Raay meeting rooms; the cafe space for our Community Dinner; the Village Green for performance rehearsals; and the market for end of day produce. We also hosted our Meet the Experts evening in the Eco House where five guest speakers came to talk to the crew about sustainable production and consumption of energy and water. The night was a great success and we'd like to publicly thank: Neil Faragher from CERES for shining light on all aspects of solar energy; Wilson Lennard, also from CERES, for opening our eyes to the sustainable world of aquaponics; Ross Richards from Origin Energy for humorously providing a look into the wind energy industry; Cate Kennedy and Chris from Green Renters for giving us the low down on reducing energy in the home; and John Knox from ATA for passionately sharing his experience about cycling around Australia.   We were well fed throughout the entire week from food we received from local businesses such as Foodworks, and local grocers and cooked by our amazing support crew of volunteers from Melbourne. Castlemaine Dips and Mix My Museli also need special mentions for not only donating their organic, locally sourced produce but for being ethical and responsible companies.   Each day during our training week we cycled from CERES to The Kilbride Centre in Albert Park which donated their training space. We also squeezed in a cycle to, and performance at, the Port Phillip Eco Centre where  Bede (Centre Director) had the honour of being our first ever audience member. We made him laugh in all the right places which was encouraging and we thank him for his positive feedback and for all the cups of tea.   And last but certainly not least each night we had a wonderful group of volunteers come to the Eco House and cook up a feast from our donated food items. We ate like kings! Thank you.   The theme of eating well has continued right into the tour. On Wednesday with the assistance of our amazing friend John Knox we cycled from CERES to Bulla. We stayed in the John McKenzie Community Hall and then set off for Sunbury. Hello legs! Out of Bulla we zoomed down the hill and were faced with the first of many mountains!    We've been on the road almost a week now and already it has been an incredible experience in not only sharing life with a group of incredibly passionate and committed change makers but meeting wonderful people along the way who have showered us with generosity and kindness. Particular mentions need to go out to Vic's Restaurant in Sunbury who despite having a restaurant full of hungry lunch diners cooked and donated vegetarian pizzas and risotto. What a magnificent lunch to power us up those daunting hills into Riddles Creek! And what an amazing community Riddles Creek is. The local bakery and FoodWorks provided us with a bounty of food, and Nick from the Riddles Creek Primary was so full of enthusiasm for our project we performed for the grade 3s and 4s, and again for the 5s and 6s. What a ball we had. And thanks to PlanBig a photographer from the local paper came and photographed us for an article in the local paper. Then just as we didn't think it could get any better Anne and Steven from Gisborne who had read about us in their local paper a few weeks' ago invited us all over for an absolutely amazing dinner on Saturday night. What generous hosts they were. And now, here we are in Woodend, having performed to the fantastic kids at Macedon Grammar and ridden from Gisborne early in the morning. Our next stop is Kyneton. Check out our posts on Facebook for our future performance times!  Vanessa Hewson  Friday 6th   8.30; Tout le monde se reveil dans la bonne humeur avec un petit dejeuner sensational prepare avec amour par Kate! Jogging pour certain, un peu plus de reve pour d'autre dans le sleeping bag. Apres toute cette bonne humeur nous sommes pres pour aller rencontrer les enfants. Un journaliste est present, après un court interview nous presentons notre  piece de theatre.Apres avoir fait cette representation avec success le dejeuner nous attend. Pas trop de temps pour discuter car dans une demi heure d'autres enfants nous attendent. Hopopopo "tout le monde dans la piscine". C'est reparti avec enthousiasme et bonne humeur notre representation se passé "finger in the nose". Retour a St Johns Anglican Church Hall Riddles creek ou nous sommes heberges. Café, the, biscuits beaucoup de biscuits qui nous ont gentiment etait donne par la communaute. Nous prenons le temps de discuter de nos deux representations et de reflechir sur les critiques prononcees. La journee n'est pas finie, direction le Pub pour se retrouver autour d'un verre ou conversations folles et serieuses s'entremelent, pendant que certains sont en train de preparer un incroyable diner . C'est autour de 20h00 que nous nous retrouvons autour de la table pour deguster ce que les copains nous ont prepare. Entre joie et fatigue nous partageons, emotions, souvenirs,musique  (mandoline, flute). Les yeux remplis d'etincelles,nous nous endormons tous paisiblement. Youuhouuouou Viva La Buena Onda. 8.30; Everybody woke up in the right mood with a sensational breakfast lovingly prepared by Kate! While some went jogging, others stayed warm in their sleeping bags dreaming. After a great morning, we were all ready to go meet the children. A newspaper reporter was present and after a short interview and photo shoot we presented our piece of theatre to the grade 3 and 4 children. After a succesfull performance, lunch awaited us. With only half an hour until our next performance, there was not so much time to chat.  Hop hop hop - tout le monde dans la piscine! ("Everybody in the pool!) It was all too easy!!! We performed once again with enthusiasm and energy!   After, we returned to St Johns Anglican Church Hall where we .were kindly offered accommodation Coffee, tea, biscuits and cake (which were kindly donated by the community and the fabulous Riddles Creek Bakery)   We took a bit of time to discuss our two presentations and reflected on ways to improve areas of it.  The day was far from over though. We headed for the pub to meet for a drink or two and to have some very fun, or sometimes serious, conversations with the local green group . D back at the church to prepare an incredible dinner! It was around 20:00 when we found ourselves around the table enjoying  the food that had been lovingly prepared for us. Between joy and fatigue we shared emotions, memories, music (mandolin and flute).  Eyes filled with sparks, and we all slept peacefully. Youuhouuouou Viva La Buena Onda.   Alison Gent    Sunday 8th May  Our first day off !!  And what a day! We got to sleep in for the first time in a week - and most of us managed to stay in our little beds til at least 8am! What a sleep in!   We had a really special family day planned for our first day off in Gisborne - as it was Mother's Day after all - we had invited members of our families and friends to catch the train up to Gisborne and have a picnic in the park.  Some of us even managed to sneak in to the Op Shop at the Church on our arrival the night before and pick up some little bargains from the lovely ladies who kept the shop open - just for us - and after closing time!   It was so good to see so many of those familiar faces in our lives outside of Otesha - and to see how they were so happy and supportive of us and impressed by how far we had managed to get already on our journey in one piece! ;-)   The food was yet again in abundance with vegie burgers, home made delicious fritattas, salads, dips, and even AVOCADO! What a luxury! As the rain poured down on the BBQ area shelter we laughed and talked and had some quality time with our loved ones  and met some new friends well into the early afternoon.   After lunch and our goodbyes, some of us decided on hitting the local swimming pool for a relax and more importantly a warm shower! It was apparently blissful and the warm water plentiful. Others relaxed at the church hall with a good book to catch up on some down time, some played some music and jammed on guitars that had been specially brought up for those of us used to having one lying around. Others went exploring the town. We all met up at the local Wine Bar - Vines - and shared a local bottle of wine - all the way from the other side of the hill in Gisborne!   Afterwards, as an Otesha family, we prepared dinner, and lunch and settled in on the couch to watch a FILM on the giant TV that conveniently came in the donated space! Trying to chose a film by consensus is an interesting experience, but we got there in the end. We enjoyed the wonderful Disney animation - UP - and most of us had a tear in the eye by the end of it - (and some even at the start!)   What a lovely, relaxing and happy day all in all. Can't wait for our next one!   By Kate   Monday 9th May   Up at the crack of dawn to be ready and raring to go by 8.30am. The temperature was so cold inside the hall we had frosty breath when we talked!  It was a little bit warmer outside when the sun broke through the clouds. So we had 10kms to travel to Macedon to  perform at the Grammar School and we were almost ready on time! ;-) We only spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out the route that we should have planned the night before and then we were off and cycling. Through the town, past the park, past the swim centre, and over the bridge - and then we hit the first hill - before we even had a chance to warm up! And boy it was a killer...just kept going up and around.... Gisborne is located in a valley for some reason!! Must be something to do with all the water that flows through the valley Anyway, lets just say, we all made it - and were glad that it was mostly flat from then on.   We took the old highway that ran alongside and under the new freeway. In no time the first group had made it to Macedon - the cute little town nestled by the mountain. We asked a local for directions to the school and were told that he hadn't heard of it!! he added he had lived there for 20 years... not a good sign!! That's when the second group called and told us to come back the way we had come! We were only 4 kms off track and it was mostly downhill!! We finally made it to the grammar school - located at the end of a long undulating road in the middle of a forest. A beautiful setting and a beautiful welcome from our contact Jaquie.   We were shown to the spotless gymnasium and given the morning to rehearse and enhance the skit before the year 7 to 10 students arrived. The skit went well and the discussions afterwards were very interesting to hear with the broad range of ages and all students having their opinions and comments ready.   It was then a spectacular uphill ride along the highway through the forest watching the sun setting above the trees with the wind behind us all the way to Woodend. We all managed to find our rhythm on that road and everyone said that it was the best ride to date. We arrived glowing to the Neighbourhood House. We were given the keys and a tour of the facilities - which included a computer room and a shower - heaven!!   We cooked a lovely vegie burger dinner with the leftovers from Gisborne and managed to fit in some computer catch up time and some of us even  showered!   By Kate    Wednesday 11the May   Hi there! It's Inca here.   We've had a busy few days and, until now, I haven't had time to write my blog entry from a few days ago. So here goes...   On Wednesday morning we awoke at 5.45am, thinking we could get ready in 1 hour and 15 minuets. This, however, seems to be impossible, as 11 people need at least an hour and a half to get ready in the morning. It sounds crazy, I know, but we have to take trailer packing into account and the fact that everyone has to carry everything they own as well as the potential flat tire, which Michael had left over from the day before. We ended up leaving Woodend in groups, some heading along Cobb and Co Rd and others along the freeway (on a bike path of course).   At 8.30am we all wheeled in to Sacred Heart College in Kyneton and found out that we were supposed to be performing to year 10s! Our theatrical performance isn't really meant for kids that old, so we were nervous, to say the least. However, one of their teachers gave us a gloriously welcoming introduction and we began optimistically. As far as I am concerned it was actually our best performance yet. The kids were really receptive and laughed in all the right spots. That, and the fact that we were performing on a real stage, gave us heaps more energy and boosted our confidence to improvise (I particularly liked Josh's comment about his shirt smelling like he had been on a bike for a week).   The performance ended with an in-depth Q&A session, where we were asked quite a variety of questions about how we travel, what we carry and why we are all doing this.   We left Kynton rejuvenated and revived and had a lovely relaxing ride to the Malmsbury Bakery for lunch. Afterwards we left for Castlemaine, where we would stop for a few days.   The afternoon ride started well but the wind had started to pick up and the temperature dropped. In addition to that, it soon started raining. Despite trying to take care of ourselves and one another, it didn't take long before we were tired, hungry, wet and extremely cold - it wasn't very fun by the end.   Just out of Elphinstone, Michael got his second flat tire for the day and was picked up by two enthusiastic people who, once realising who we were, said "Oh, you're those famous bike tourists". It turned out that they knew of our project and had done a similar bike tour 20 years ago. They dropped Michael at the bike shop in town where he was able to finally find the wire that was causing the flats and stock up on new inner tubes.   I was a couple of minutes behind the others at this point, as I had been helping Michael with his flat tire. But after scaling the first couple of hills I came across three bikes stopped on the side of the road. I yelled "What's wrong?" and was answered with "Apples!". Despite the terrible weather and numb limbs, when Rahkel spotted a heavily laden apple tree on the side of the road, she stopped the people around her and started picking. She brought one over to me and as I bit into it, the juice ran down over my chin - it was seriously the best apple I have every eaten in my life! Most of the others agreed with me, except Alison, who is from Normandy in France. According to her, the best apples are, of course, from her hometown.   One of the stories that convinced me to apply for this tour was told to me by Ania. She described to me how on one of their riding days last year, someone invited them into an orchard to pick apples. Ania told me about the people you meet and the circumstances you find yourself in on tour and inspired me to join. However, up until Wednesday I had been realising that I was not going to have the same experiences as her - I would not be invited into an apple orchard to pick fruit. As such, the apple tree brought quite a bit of excitement into my cold afternoon - I had finally been invited to pick and eat apples from a tree on the side of the road! I can't wait to find out what else Rahkel spots for us :-D.   About 20 minutes after the apple tree appeared in my life I got a flat. I was behind the others and got off my bike to walk, hoping that someone would be able to give me a lift into Castlemaine. However, after only a minute of walking I bumped into Emily, Rahkel, Vanessa, Josh and Liz huddled around Alison's bike, which also had a flat. Once Alison was back up and running there was no need for so many of us to stay out in the cold, so the others went on and Rahkela and Emily stuck with me and changed my inner tube - thanks guys.   Arriving cold and slightly distressed at our destination I was greeted with a bowl of warm water and a heat pack to defrost my hands as well as tea and crumpets with honey. Wow. I just want to say that Libby (who provided for us for 3 days) is one of the most generous and beautiful people we have met so far. For the next three days her kitchen and exquisite food were the centre points of my life. Thank you Libby.   Thursday 12th May, Castlemaine.   Another cold day in Castlemaine and another early morning. Made even earlier when someone (who may or may not have been me...) forgot to change their alarm from 6.00am to 6.30am. 'It's only 30minutes' you may say... but after a week full of riding, performing, eating and enduring a particularly massive day of beefing out 60 km in the pouring rain after having awoken at 6am, 30 mins is like another full night's sleep for the Otesha crew!Luckily however, last night, we were all fed till busting point, and allowed to sleep in a room that was higher than 0 degrees, and with a maximum of 3 snoring people! This made sleeping a little easier than previous nights! Except for the annoyingly early alarm!   So, after guzzling breakfast and quickly packing our things (which we are all becoming experts at) we scooted outside to find two of the crew had flat tires! So half of us scooted off to Castlemaine Steiner School, joined shortly by the those who stayed to fix tires. Here we performed twice, firstly to grade 5/6's who us welcomed into the class rooms for home made ginger biscuits, chocolate cake  and tea with the kids and teachers! During this little break I was enthusiastically taught how to finger knit, which the kids were thrilled to teach me and I in turn was thrilled to learn. I'm not so sure the Otesha crew will be quite as thrilled when I am forcing them to wear little poorly made finger knitted scarves though! Secondly we performed to the 3/4's who thoroughly enjoyed the show, and again we were invited back to their classrooms for beautiful home made soup! And so we ate yet again! Having all transformed into fairly large eaters since embarking on the bike tour, we all stayed a little longer than planned and ended up having to sprint ride to the next school we were performing at. So with a hasty goodbye to the lovely people at the Steiner school, we raced off to Castlemaine Secondary College!   After arriving 30 mins late for our scheduled performance, the kids were restless to say the least. Lets not forget to mention also that it was the last period of the day... Our performance was, for want of a better word, awkward. However, we all put on our acting faces and soldiered on with loud voices, large actions and bright smiles. I was so impressed and proud of my lovely new found Otesha family because it would have been so easy to become intimidated and unsettled by the room grouped with impatient, wrestles teens! But we all stayed positive and delivered the play brilliantly! Afterwards however there was a need for the de-brief and heart circle to make sure everyone's self esteem had not sunk through the floor! This discussion time was valuable in allowing us to discover that everyone needed a little bit of free time and personal space away from the eight people who's pockets they'd been living in for the last 2 weeks. So we all got some free time (which most of us spent in the company of each other anyway) before we headed off to another wonderful dinner, this time organised by Michelle, the minister Castlemaine Uniting Church. Once again, we were provided with an abundance of beautiful home made vegetarian dishes that filled us all to bursting point... again. The group of elderly folks who hosted the evening were delightful and one man , Alan aged 70+, informed us that he still competently road 80km every so often! This was a great inspiration for us! One aspect of Otesha is to raise awareness about importance of community and to be surrounded with a supportive network of people. In this church group, it was easy to see the value placed upon this ideal off community. This church group happily and willingly pulled together their resources and provided us with a wonderful meal to show their support for our cause, in turn we were able to provide them with a small piece of entertainment (an extract from our performance), and of course, the wonderful company of 11 awesome riders! So thank you Castlemaine Uniting Church.   I have discovered that, I personally and the group collectively, have absolutely no self control when it comes to eating 'responsibly'. Similar to responsible drinking, responsible eating refers to a moderate quantity of food consumed by one individual. And similar to the term binge drinking, binge eating refers to excessive or over consumption of food, which strangely seems to occur at every meal. Needless to say, we were all very well fed by the time we left the church. Don't get me wrong, we are all riding and exercising daily and need an abundance of energy to we can pedal on! But I think that maybe our mouths are bigger than out stomachs... If we are lucky enough to continue to eat as kings and queens as we have been so far, I will not be surprised if we look like a bunch of florescent (due to our high-vis vests) hippos on bikes as we ride into Canberra.   In all our planning, discussing food mandates and organising the tour, it never even crossed our mind that  that our experience would consist predominately of eating amazing home cooked and plentiful meals! I am completely overwhelmed with the sheer generosity and kindness of the local people of the towns that we have visited so far.   Today I would like to give a shout out the, Libby Marty for again providing us with a warm place to sleep, amazing company, a washing machine, and a warm shower. I'd also like to shout out to Max for being a great trampoline buddy! I would also like to thank the Castlemaine Uniting Church for teaching us a little more about the essence of a wonderful community, and supporting our project with enthusiasm and kindness, and what better way than through our stomachs!   Em.   Friday 13th May - Castlemaine   I am not going to lie. I am exhausted! I wouldn't be surprised if someone pointed out to me that I was slurring my words. Then again I think everyone in the Otesha crew is in the same boat. We have had three very intense days; a 60km ride through rain, four flat tyres, five performances and all the manic, wonderful moments in between. It has, as usual, been incredibly fun and rewarding. You learn something new every day from one another as well as from the towns and people we encounter. Yes, the Otesha family is getting stronger and stronger. We are tired, sure, but far from tired of one another; rather we are fuelled to new heights of energy. How else could we handle these 6am starts?   It is the end of the week - phew! I am sitting in the Castlemaine South Primary School hall where we are staying for the night. For some reason the others are managing to do back-bends, cartwheels and handstands (we have three gymnasts about us!) More and more hidden talents are revealed.   Anyway, we awoke this morning still digesting a rather large dinner put on for us by the Castelmaine Uniting Church (Boy! What good food! And smashing company!)   We have also been staying with Libby (a close friend of one of our tour members) who has got to have the largest heart in the world for hosting and feeding all 11 of us for two days! We found her busily preparing a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, mushrooms, spinach and fresh juice this morning. Such food cannot be resisted, no matter how full we all already are!   We rushed off early this morning to our first school - the lovely Winters Flat. We performed to the entire primary school - a sea of small animated faces! Our play, presently, is somewhat ideal for this audience and we all enjoy being able to exaggerate our parts. Afterwards we were able to try out some of our workshops for the first time. Engaging with the kids on this smaller scale is extremely fun and insightful. We did some on 'choices' and a series of activities that stimulate discussion about 'need' vs 'want'. From cars, clothes, phones, make up, washing machines, food, newspapers and so on, it was up to the kids to debate and discuss amongst each other the place of these items in our world. We also had an opportunity to talk with the 'Eco-club' kids who were so motivated to live sustainably - I suspect they inspired us more than the other way around!   A short ride away and we arrived at our second school for the day with ample time to spare! (How refreshing!) Exhausted from little sleep and a busy few days, we struggled through some discussions on adapting the script and ended up taking a quick break. Then show time! We were all heartened by the wonderfully receptive year 5 and 6 audience we found ourselves before. They had an incredible level of concentration considering it was the final period of a Friday afternoon! Discussion and questions with them afterwards revealed a curious and clever group of kids....I was heartened to realise that I sat next to two girls both of whom had composting toilets at home. No need to flush!   We are staying the night in the school hall. There was a bit of a mad rush to move our things here, as well as going out and sourcing food donations (coming back with four or five panniers filled with fresh local veggies! Mmmm mmm).   Vanessa has just taken a small yoga class and re-aquainted us with our bodies (and boy are they sore!) I feel a lot better now for having stretched and just taken the time to really breathe. Others are relaxing in their own way - at the movies or the pub. Tomorrow we are helping with the school fete and transitioning into some much needed time off and a chance to explore the wonderful little town that is  Castlemaine! Alex      If you made it this far - yay! - and make sure you stay tuned for the next exciting episode of..... The Otesha Diaries.... xxxx