i was on the amazing race...

...okay so not really but it sure felt like it. i went to australia in 2004 with two friends i used to work with. it was a specutacular trip, full of laughter, tears, fun, with a mixture of extraordinary sights. byron bay was one of the best places on that trip. the age i was, the mentality i had and the atmosphere byron had worked well together. it had a hippie, relaxed feel to it, yet all those good tourist things i wanted were at my feet.

cut to the amazing race...the most easterly point on the mainland of australia was in byron bay (it already sounds like a destination that contestants would have to go to, right?). we decided to rent some bikes from our hostel, trek up to the lighthouse and then down the path to the point.

THE CATCH: the bikes had to be back before sunset (more on that later) all of us, having done so much walking at this point thought this should be a cakewalk, or not...

now comes the excuse portion of this story: our bikes ONLY had three gears as we rode up the hill...no no let me rephrase that: MOUNTAIN. that with the combination of the extreme humidity, one water bottle between the three of us, we were just slightly underprepared.

THE RESULT: one of us could go no farther up the hill/mountain. really it is just a point after all...it can be seen from a distance, right? the other two were stubborn, bound and determined to go to the actual point. i mean one million dollars was at stake!!! past the lighthouse, jumped off the bikes and running down the path towards the destination...weird from this angle it kind of looks like the sun is setting doesn't it??

needless to say we did not make it before sundown...and i think the importance on why we needed to be back before dark was the ride back down. one of us got accosted by a bush turkey. life flashed before her eyes as she was shocked that she would go out of this life by a bird eaten on thanksgiving day. swerved away just in time, life back on track. another, i cannot speak for how she felt, but by the blood curdling screams i think her bike lacked brakes (who needs brakes down a monstourous deathtrap of a hill~i mean mountain??) three girls, in the dark, on a winding road leading us to our end, screaming who knows what...

...we definitely deserved the million!