On March 15, 1900, Karl left Melbourne.

"After spending a week exploring the city and reassembling my bicycle, I set off toward Sydney, more than 600 miles to the north. The journey through the bush was gruelling—endless stretches of sand, relentless hills, and an oppressive heat that made 100 degrees in the shade feel mild. The dry, scorching winds from the north made each mile a test of endurance. It was a harsh and desolate landscape, deep into the autumn season, with the earth parched and lifeless."

Karl’s first impressions of cycling through Victoria would have been vastly different a decade earlier.

Described as a rebel and outlaw by some and a folk hero by others—bush battler, underdog, part-gentleman, part-larrikin, and fiercely loyal to his family—Ned Kelly stood as a complex figure. Wearing makeshift armour fashioned from plough mouldboards, he became an enduring legend. No, dear reader, this isn’t Crocodile Dundee—it’s Ned Kelly, the man who has inspired more books than any other in Australian history.

Between 1878 and 1880, Victoria was the stage for the infamous exploits of Ned Kelly and his gang. His early brushes with the law involved assault and horse theft, but soon his crimes escalated. In an attempt to protect his younger brother from arrest, he attacked a police officer. What followed was a series of violent encounters, including the ambush and killing of three policemen, along with two high-profile bank robberies.

As the authorities closed in, the Kelly gang took an extraordinary step to defend themselves—crafting suits of armour from thick metal plough parts. The iron plating shielded them from gunfire and contributed to their mythic image, making them appear larger-than-life, almost ghostly figures in battle. But the armour was also cumbersome, limiting movement and making escape nearly impossible.

At Glenrowan, the final confrontation unfolded. Kelly was hit multiple times in unarmored areas while the rest of his gang perished in the siege. Captured and taken to Melbourne, he stood trial and was sentenced to hang on November 11, 1880.

I can only imagine how Karl might have reacted had he encountered the sight of the Kelly gang in full armour on his journey—an eerie vision emerging from the dust of the Australian outback.

As for me, knowing Kelly’s legacy is now just history, I seized the chance to visit the town where it all came to a dramatic end. The museum there offers a glimpse into the past, with a replica of the Kelly homestead and artifacts from when this region was the domain of Australia’s most famous outlaw.