Kiwi cyclist killed on Australian highway

Keith Liddicoat died on Eyre Highway in South Australia. Photo / 123RF

A former Christchurch man was killed on Christmas Day when he was hit by a truck while cycling on a major highway in Australia.

Keith Liddicoat, 57, died at the scene of the crash on the Eyre Highway in South Australia, which is about 10km west of the Nullarbor Roadhouse, 1610km east of Perth and 1080km west of Adelaide.

A big part of Liddicoat's life was spent travelling the world while cycling and blogging about his adventures along the way.

This included cycling 4700km over three months from the Black Sea to Murmansk on the White Sea inside the Arctic Circle.

Liddicoat recently blogged about his travels on the popular forum for cyclists crazyguyonabike.com.

His journal entries on the site date back to December 2018, and have clocked up more than 100,000 views.

In an "about me" section on the blog, Liddicoat described the reason he liked "bike touring".

"I like to travel. I need to lose weight. I can't fly. Driving isn't exercise. It takes too long to walk," he wrote.

A death notice said Liddicoat was an "intrepid traveller taken far too soon".

Keith Liddicoat died on Christmas day while cycling on South Australian Highway. Photo / crazyguyonabike.com

In a Facebook post, Liddicoat's brother Richard said his death was a shock for the family.

"At this time of year, most of us would have been thinking about going back to the daily grind," the post read.

"Not Keith - his was a life of intrepid travel, enjoying all the amazing sights and sounds and experiences of this earth.

"He started travelling early - like the time he rode a bike up the highest hill in Christchurch at the age of 8. He wore out the brakes on the way down. And needed some ointment.

"We are thankful and fortunate to have shared this planet with Keith, a person who spread kindness and knowledge, far and wide.

"He was living life at its best. Cycling freely, letting his mind roam. Sharing what he discovered along the way."

Liddicoat was living in Queensland but grew up in Christchurch's southwest in a family of eight children.

A celebration of his life is expected to take place in Addington next week.

The Guardian reported the highway was closed on Christmas Day for several hours to all traffic for almost 200km, between Eucla and the Nullarbor Roadhouse.

"Western Australia police were manning the roadblock at Eucla, which is just on the WA side of the border, and South Australian police were turning traffic around at the Nullarbor Roadhouse," it said.