‘A tiny ant crawling on a map’: Lael Wilcox on her epic cycle from Perth to Brisbane

Lael Wilcox takes a well-earned break in Kingston, South Australia, from her round-the-world cycle odyssey. Photograph: Rugile Kaladyte

In a small town in the Shire of Banana, a 38-year-old Alaska woman jumps on her bicycle in the chill of the early morning and is about to set off for a day’s ride through the central Queensland countryside when a stranger approaches.

The man, in his 60s, has driven hours and slept in his van for this moment.