"Don’t under estimate what it is you are doing". These were some of the last words that our Broadwater host, Tony, left us with as we pedalled towards Alstonville High to perform in their outdoor amphitheatre. Wow. Powerful words.  And over the last few days – while we've pedalled hard in the fierce heat of summer - I've been thinking a lot about what these words actually mean.

One thing I’ve realised is the multi-faceted nature of this project. I’m continually amazed at the way Otesha reveals new layers each day.

The penny dropped in a conversation I had with a kid outside Alstonville High as I was preparing my bike to cycle towards Lismore.

"Are you really cycling from Brisbane to Newcastle?", says Random kid.
"Yup, we’re about a third of the way. It’s sooo much fun", I said.
Random kid nudges friend and whispers, "See I told you it was them. The cycling people from TV." Random kid turns to me, "We saw you on the news..."
 

Aside from the ego-boosting realisation that I had turned into a television celebrity overnight, it occurred to me that our television moment had had a far-reaching impact. This was confirmed when we cycled around the corner and passed about 50 primary school kids standing outside their school waving, whistling and cheering us. "We saw you on Teeee Veeee!!", they screamed. While we didn't even visit this school, our presence seemed to have really inspired these young kiddies.
And even though the main aspect of our journey is visiting schools to present our theatre performance and workshops (which is proving super fun!), I'm beginning to really treasure the smaller interactions I'm having with other people on the periphery: a conversation with a young woman in the supermarket, a friendly "toot" from a car overtaking us on the highway, a friendly smile from some kids waiting at a bus stop, a subtle wave from oncoming traffic, small talk with drivers at traffic lights... and even if my smile, wave, friendly conversation or the image of my scrawny (but-growing-buffer-by-the-minute-thank-you-very-much!) legs hauling a massive trailer stays with these people for a few seconds, is that enough to inspire them to do something they've always dreamed about doing? ... (read more here)

xxDan