Home!
the last day on the road - day 17 Dandenong to Footscray
My welcome home event was one of those 101 moving parts that my bike ride entailed. I had been kept in the loop with the organising our local Greens branch had been doing, particularly with the Tibetan community, and I had a definite time of arriving at Footscray Community Aerts Centre at 3pm - no earlier because things wouldn't be ready by then and no later because then everyone who was gathering would be kept waiting.
As it turned out we took a wrong turn along the path into Footscray and had to backtrack - things had changed on the Moonee Ponds Creek path since I’d last ridden it three weeks ago! So it was almost ten past three as I led our group of ten around the corner into Moreland Street Footscray, having done our final hill climb up the steep incline up Bunbury Street from the Maribyrnong.
And, despite knowing the welcome was coming, I was overwhelmed. A crowd of 200 people, Tibetan prayer flags, Greens triangles and banners, a stage festooned with the Palestinian, West Papuan, Tibetan and First Nations flags. And the most exquisite banner for me to ride under.
I was so moved by the lineup of people from the Tibetan community that followed, each presenting me with a traditional Tibetan Khata, or scarf. Khata are offered for many occasions including births, weddings, funerals, and the arrival or departure of guests. His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains :
“I usually describe the colour white meaning warm-heartedness, honest and true. The smooth texture of the scarf represents your non-violent behavior. If possible try to help others, if not at least don’t harm them.”
I have received many khata in the past, including a very special one given to me last year by His Holiness himself, but to be so appreciated by so many people was incredibly moving
I felt so loved by the gathered community, including Greens members, local folks, and members of other multicultural communities including the Filipinos who I have worked with over my time in the Senate
The Tibetans had pulled out all stops for my last day’s ride. We headed off from Dandenong Station after enjoying Tibetan tea and homemade sweets and baked goods, and hugs and love from so many wonderful people.
Two others I was delighted were there to see me off were Afghan refugee Shakila and baby Armin who I was meeting for the first time. Shakila’s husband Juma was one of the Afghans my staff and I successfully advocated for to be evacuated to Australia when Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021. Shakila was finally granted a visa early last year, and Armin was born last Christmas.
I had stayed overnight with our Greater Dandenong Greens Councillor Rhonda Garad We had had a delicious dinner at Rhonda’s with local Greens including prospective and seasoned candidates talking about the power of Greens politics and how we are building that power together with the community.
Rhonda rode out with us from Dandenong to meet the Djirring trail - the new shared pathway under the elevated rail lines.The shared trail and the parklands and community spaces under the railway were really impressive. I reckon a bike trip to experience it would be an excellent way to spend a few hours on a weekend coupled with lunch in thriving multicultural Dandenong where as Rhonda said, you could eat every day for a month with a different ethnic cuisine every time.
Our lunch however was even more special- another offering with love from the Tibetans. It was hands down the best lunch I’ve ever eaten as part of a bike ride - soup, Tibetan momo dumplings; vegetarian noodles, a special pasta-like dish and salad, with chilli sauce and garlic sauce on the side. And more sweet tea and butter tea. I spoke to the couple who cooked it for us at the welcome home event and thanked them. They are about to open up a restaurant in Footscray opposite the library - I intend to be a regular!
It was a bit hard to get going again after tsuch a lunch but the delights of the Scotchman’s Creek, Gardiners Creek and Main Yarra Trails awaited. I hadn’t ridden any of these trails for many years and enjoyed the ride, chatting to folks as we went along, and enjoying seeing Melbourne anew, and pinching myself as I remembered that I had just ridden from Canberra.
But it was after we left Southbank that it really felt odd. Here I was, riding the paths I know so well, the paths that are my arteries to get around my hometown, getting grumpy about the Footscray Road roadworks and detours as per usual and I had just ridden 900km to get here!
So it's Friday now, the day after my ride. I’m home. I had dinner last night with my family to celebrate my Mum’s 92nd birthday - the date I had to get home for. I rode my bike to Brunswick and back to get my haircut - it was such fun to ride without its heavy panniers on! I’ve caught up on the most urgent emails, bills to be paid and other tasks that I had put off during my ride.I’ve pulled out my pumpkin vines and harvested three pumpkins. I'm spending more time with my family tomorrow as we work to continue clearing stuff out of Mum’s old house. I’m only going to be home for a week though before I head off to Japan for an international meeting about Tibet - and to catch up with the Greens in Japan, and having a holiday with my partner Anne- we’re planning a bike ride as it turns out!
What am I going to recall from my epic bike ride home, now that my next part of my life is beginning? That it was possible, despite me being 63 with dodgy knees! My knees feel better now than they did three weeks ago - as does the rest of me! The gratitude I feel towards the friends, family, colleagues, Greens members and supporters along the way who helped out. They and the sense of community and connection we experienced were amazing and inspiring and uplifting. That being a community representative and advocate in the Parliament over a decade was appreciated by a lot of people. That I’m in awe of the resilience and love and care that the Tibetan community in particular have shared with me along the way. I look forward to reciprocating in whatever ways I can over the years to come.
That bike riding is such a fabulous way to get around and that more people should do it! And I’m still pinching myself at the generosity of Trek Australia to give me a bike with their only request of me to keep promoting the benefits of cycling. I hope the ride and this blog has done that!
And that 17 days on a bike was a great way to draw a line under my time in the Parliament. I’m happy to no longer be a Senator. The decade was amazing and such a privilege, but so is passing the baton on.
I’m going to finish this post with a final shout out for some donations to support the Australian Tibet Council, the Australian West Papua Association and the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network - all three organisations who are doing such good work on behalf of their communities and deserve our support. I feel so privileged to be healthy and well, and to have the freedom, and love of so many people who have supported me in my life - both personal and political. It’s been that web of people and privilege that has allowed me to do such a fun thing as this ride - and I am so aware that so many people in the world do not have these same privileges. The least we can do is to use our privilege for good!
I look forward to continuing to do just that.
Thankyou Janet for your loving commitment to community, truth telling and whole humanity!!