Text 38697, 54 rader
Skriven 2006-09-09 08:00:10 av David Drummond (3:640/305)
  Kommentar till text 38668 av Björn Forsström (2:203/614.61)
Ärende: How big is Australia
============================
Björn Forsström -> Bob Ackley wrote:

 BA>> Every year the Des Moines (Iowa) Register (which is a newspaper)
 BF> sponsors
 BA>> a bicycle ride across Iowa, Called 'RAGBRAI' - Register's Annual Great
 BA>> Bike Ride Across Iowa.  There are usually more than a hundred
 BA>> participants, and the ride takes a different route each year.  The
 BF> state
 BA>> is approximately 300 miles/550 km east-to-west.

 BF> That sound more reasonable.

He is talking of bicycles. My motorcycles can travel somewhat faster than a
bicycle, and my legs don't get so tired. I can do 550km in one day easily -
even on sand/gravel/dirt roads.

The bicycle ride only crosses one state, I crossed one country.

As I said in an earlier post, it's all relative. If one lives in a smaller
place, one only thinks of smaller distances.

For instance, my weekend property is over 300km from here. I drive there on a
Friday evening after work, lounge around all of Saturday, and Sunday morning,
then return to Brisbane Sunday afternoon. Over 600km in the one weekend.

I've even been known to go there and back in one day to check on something (but
I did that on the sports bike, not in the Toyota utility).

Remember that there are no really big mountains in Australia, just a few hilly
bits.

(Note: The USAians think Texas is big - they haven't been to Western
Australia).

Some comparisons:

Belgium        30 510 sq km
Denmark        43 094 sq km
Sweden        411 620 sq km
Texas         696 241 sq km
Western Aus 2 529 875 sq km (yes, over 2 and a half million for just one state)
Australia  7 682 300 sq km

Australia is a seriously BIG place. To look around much of it, one has to do
seriously BIG distances.

-- 

regards

David

---
 * Origin: So where the bloody hell are you? (3:640/305)