Uluru Day 1 - Disaster

I was all set to go this morning and timed the departure to be just after the local peak traffic period with school runs etc. Saying goodbye to my awesome wife Carla and our cats is never easy, especially when she only just got back from a trip herself.

Off I went down the back local roads, the bike felt good and everything was running as smooth as silk, but there was a bit of a headwind right from the start. I always get terrible anxiety leading up to the start of a big challenge like this, but it quickly disapears as soon as I actually get going, so it was nice to be on he move finally after so much planning an preperation.

Getting out from a big city on a bike always has its challenges, and Melbourne is no exception even when one lives on the fringes. But after a couple of hours I was out in the fields west of Melbourne and heading gradually uphill and into that wind. It could be a mental thing but the pannier bags felt like sails resistant to forward movement, so it was a bit of work. Probably, I just need to get used to the heavier bike...

But on the back roads I only saw a few cars and only briefly crossed a main road before the incline increased as I ascended the Brisbane Ranges (nothing to do with Brisbane in QLD).

About 50 km in my old ankle injury started getting sore and I stopped at a bus shelter to check it out. And it was not good. After that stop, I couldn't put my body weight on it. The shoe felt all tight so I switched to thinner socks and removed the brace I was using. Hmm better but still not good.

Due a lunch break, I could either keep going but the only town on my route with a shop for water, was still 25km away and up hill. Or, I could detour off rote and go 4km downhill where there was a general store. I had no water left, so kind of had to take this option.

But getting back on Beatrice I had trouble even clipping in to the pedals…this is really not good.

With the darkest possible thoughts in my mind I got to the general store, got a coffee and some water and tried to think things through clearly. I msg'd my wife with an update. First thoughts were I would try and keep going, get to Ballarat and sleep on any decision. I could get a train back to Melbourne in the morning if it is still no good...Ballarat was the lats place on the trip with an easy way of getting backt o Melbourne.

So I tried to get back on Beatrice, clipped in in great pain and tried a few pedal turns going just KM down the road. Nope...there is just no way I should be riding solo anywhere remote like this…so with great shock realised I just have to abort this trip while I still can safely.

It's difficult to write any more about this so I will leave it here for now, and am awaiting a rescue from my wife, followed by a Dr visit tonight.

--

The Next Day

I aggrevated a chronic sprain from last year. Although I have ridden some 7000km since that injury, perhaps it never fully healed and I had felt some warning signs leading up to this trip. It must be the heavy workload of a touring bike that is the difference. I'm told no cycling at all for 3 weeks, and back to physio followed by a potential visit back to the surgeon.

I am so gutted, so much prepation went into this, but it was the right call to pull out. Now I've got to decide what to do with this time off work, or to go back.

A Journey To the Centre

I begin today by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I will be passing through on this adventure, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. 

Uluru is an incredibly sacred site for First Nations people, whose presence in the area can be dated back a staggering 60,000 years. Over this time many people both lived here, and travelled to the area for ceremonies. There are more than 500 indigenous nations across Australia, and in the Uluru region the Anangu people call this home. Uluru and its neighbour Kata Tjuta aren’t just rocks, they are living, breathing, cultural landscapes that are incredibly sacred. Known as being the resting place for the past ancient spirits of the region.

Since living in Australia I have dreamt of visiting this place, and what better way to do it than an epic journey by bicycle? So, I will soon set off on an ambitious challenge to try and ride from my house in Melbourne, to Uluru. As usual, I plan to do this solo and unsupported, but I will be taking some safety precautions, of course.

I plan to do this trip as much "off grid" as possible. By that I mean, I will avoid plugging into any power. I'm not sure how achievable this will be, but I will carry a single portable solar panel and I also generate a small amount of power from a Hub Dynamo on the front wheel. 

Intended Route

My plan is to ride an inland route. I have ridden the Great Ocean road coastline before from Adelaide back to Mebourne, so this time heading in the opposite drirect I intend to head into the interior:

• I'll head to Ballarat, over the big hill at Halls Gap through the Grampians, veer north to Horsham, then just west of the Little Desert National Park before crossing the border into South Australia.
• Once across the border it's North, over the Murray River towards Peterborough and into the Flinders Ranges. I'll then join a few bits of the Mawson Trail but only briefly, before the last settlement of Maree and the challenging Oonadatta track which will be the hardest part of the trip.
• All going well I then join the Stuart Highway for just a few days before turning West to Yulara, and Uluru at the finish. I'll fly home from there if I can. (The logistics are complicated, I may have to fly back from Alice Springs).

The total distance will be at least 2600km with a significant part of this being off road, especially on the 620Km long Oonadatta Track.

The Bike

I will need to be totally self sufficient, and that means that I will need to carry enough water, food and camping gear to get between supply points, and so that means quite a heavy load. Therefor, I decided against doing this "Bikepacking" style, although it is possible I'm too risk averse to do that in hot outback conditions.  

The good news is, I have Beatrice:

Beatrice

This bike served me beautifully well cycling acorss the Nullarbor plane. She is an absolute beast, can take a lot of punishment, can carry a heavy load and is a wonderful ride, if a bit slow. She is also very low maintenance.  The photo above was from a test ride today "fully loaded" to check my packing. This includes a 10 litre waterbag strapped onto the back.

Bagelnotonabike

What Are My Chances?

Its a long way and I'm not young anymore, but I have ridden many multi day tours before and know what I'm in for. Once I get used to the weight of the bike, the body should adjust OK. I have a few health niggles with dodgy knees and an ankle that did not 100% recover from a cycling prang last year. Hopefully those hold up...but both are manageable.

I did not do any specific training for this, but, this year I have cycled over 7000km already so have had plenty of time turning the pedals.

But the main thing here is the unknowns like weather and motorists. The Oonadatta track is unpassable if it rains, so I don't want to get caught out on that. Its also late in the season for this ride and it could get hot. It can also get very windy out there, and a will be a mental battle with its remote nature.

If things go severely wrong, I have a spot tracker with SOS functionality as an absolute last resort.

But on the whole I'm confident I've got a good chance. I cant wait to see the outback, and to do so in a way that connects me back to nature, and respects the area by minimising my impact. And I'm also very much looking forward to the isolation, and to totally get away from work life.

I will update the blog as I go, if possible, so thanks for tuning in!

Bagels Alpine Crossing - Day 3

It was a much warmer night and I didn't even need my sleeping bag till the early morning hours. Best of all there was no dew either, and I got moving just after 6am. The pack up went a lot faster as a result and I was on the move an hour later having returned my key for the campground at the general store and had a chat with a curious grey nomad who came over to investigate the weirdo with the world's smallest tent [especially when compared with the sprawling motor home + gazebo set ups, not that I'm jealous].

I had 2 options today, dictated by the train timetable from Bairnsdale back to Melbourne: Option 1 was to go hell for leather and try cover the 100km by lunchtime. The benefit of this is a 5pm arrival in Melbourne and getting home for a proper meal without having to ride the last bit in the dark. Option 2 was a more leisurely paced ride to make a 4pm train and get to Melbourne at night. I think you can probably guess which option I took...

The road was really quiet and my legs ok on the flat bits but still a bit pumped with lactic acid from all the climbing yesterday, so I was in Donkey mode again for any climbs. Although there was lots of downhill from here there was still 900m up so I was only 50/50 confident of making option 1.

After the hamlet of Ensay the road drops into a tight gorge next to the river, and is totally spectacular riding. I only took 1 photo here which I will probably regret later, but did film sections with my little handlebar mounted gopro.

The Tambo river

Mostly I focused on keeping moving, there were no supplies the whole way till Bruthen, but one could probably stealth camp on this section if you were stocked up with provisions.

Lower quality still from GoPro - not much space in the Tambo gorge

At Bruthen I had my only short break, necking 3 drinks from the servo, and another musli bar. From here you can either get a rail trail which is, 32 km to Bairnsdale on unsealed paths, or stay on the b500 which was 25km.  I had actually ridden this section of the bike path before on my Melbourne to Sydney ride many years ago.

I took the slightly faster B500, and it was not a good option I might add. It's hairy, very not ok for cyclists even with a small shoulder. There are 2 reasonable hill climbs as well. But at least  25km is not far at all and soon I hit outer Bairnsdale, in time for the train even with a quick cafe stop included which turned out to be lucky as there is no food on the train. 

Back in Melbourne I ended  up riding home fromt he station , adding another 30km to the total.

So that wraps up Bagels Alpine Crossing, 2 days riding in the end, but 3 days elapsed with the train trips. Mt Hotham fully lived up to all expectations, beautiful, tough, rewarding..even as a day rider. Carrying a heavy load it's a notch harder, but the scenary coming down the valley on the southern side is well worth doing a whole crossing and nice camping.

Another option might be to travel light and sleep inside but you would have to book ahead for this most of the year round I suspect.

Thank you Mt Hotham for seriously testing my limits and letting me pass through safely!

Day 3 Stats:

• Distance: 95.03 + 32.07 = 127.01
• Elevation gain: 923m
• Calories: 5308

Trip Total: 396.7km

Bagels Alpine Crossing - Day 2

I had a long rest last night with some crazy dreams. It was cold, but I was pretty snug in the end, just not keen to get out the cozy tent during the night for the bathroom haha. Anyway, I got up with the daylight which was a bit late really. There had been a very heavy dew and the tent was pretty soaked. There was no chance of the sun hitting this valley so I just had to pack it wet, and unfortunately very heavy. It took ages faffing about getting all the bike bags sorted, but eventually I was fed from my provisions and turning the pedals at 8:30am. There is no warm up from here, you go straight into a steep climb.

Mentally this is tough when your lungs are heaving after 1km and you know the climb is 30km! I just hung on to the fact that the average gradient for the whole thing is 4.6% so it had to get better eventually, Right? There is a fantastic guide written here by the climbing cyclist for this route, highly recommended if  you are planning to have a go.

The first section of the climb is all in the trees and was very beautiful, but it's not long at all before you get some breaks in the tree line as you get higher which revealed awesome views across the valley. I took this all in, that is, during the gaps where my lungs weren't exploding from the effort.

About 8km in I heard some chatter behind me and 3 cyclist in tight formation closed in behind me. The 3 women were in amazing shape and zoomed past with a friendly hello, they asked where I was going carrying so much stuff.

Onwards and upward I chugged, there was indeed some relief from steepness especially between 10-15 km in and I was surprised to go past 3 the 'superwoman' who were stopped at what looked like a support vehicle. This dance would be repeated a few more times as it turned out! (I call them superwomen out of respect for the ripping pace they were achieving up hill when on the move).

Miners referred to the Valley this way as its so cold and damp lower down

After 20km of climbing my legs were pumped with lactic acid but I started to believe I could make it...then I hit "CRB Hill". It's always ominous when cyclists have especially named a section of the climb, and this bit is a 10% incline that lasts for 1.1km.

It was brutally hard given the climbing already done beforehand, and I had to pull over twice to get my breathing under control. A few thoughts of "give up" began to emerge. But I did keep going, and just at the top of the this section I caught up with the superwoman whom gave a massive cheer of encouragement as I passed them...no way would I turn back now.

At this point the views are off the charts, looking all the way back down the valley, the hills blueish in colour. Snow poles marking the route for winter drivers. It is all super exposed and I was really glad it was not windy, although it was getting chilly.

For the final few kms things get steep again, and I saw 2 riders tearing back down the hill to Harrietville, obviously successful. They both yelled out words of encouragement also, love the vibe up here! Soon I saw "The Cross"..and suddenly I was at the top! 1845m.

Lower quality still from GoPro - the final stretch

The ski village of Hotham Heights is just a few kms down the other side so I kept going hoping there might be a place to rest. There is just 1 cafe open it turns out...bliss! I had a long break and several coffees there.

A group of 4 grey nomads sitting next to me had questions galore, they were a nice bunch although the questions a bit repetitive. After a while the 'superwoman' and their film crew turned up. They had to walk into the cafe a 2nd time for the cameras. Weirdly the grey nomads totally ignored them, I was trying to comprehend why given the curious grilling I had. I can't be certain but suspect the reason is that I'm a man :/

I wish I'd asked what they were filming for now, it was probably spectacular and a lot better than my gopro footage. They were asking how heavy my gear was, but I had no clue. Anyway, after a good rest I was getting cold sitting  still so I jumped back on Casper towards Omeo. The road is a bit uppy downy and every little uppy bit I was riding as slow as an old Donkey. But what scenery! Awesome Highland bush gradually turning into farms.

Omeo eventually revealed itself nestled tightly in the valley floor. It seemed like a nice little town full of cafes and probably all year round tourism. I had a snack and a cold drink debating where to stay tonight. I really want to get the tent setup while there was still some light, and more showers are forecast. Swifts Creek looked not too far and there is campsite there so I pushed on.

In the end a lucky decision, it was mostly downhill and the camp ground sits next to a beautiful little stream. You pay for your camp spot at the only shop in town, the general store [Later I would discover this is in fact only place you can get provisions before Bruthen.]. 

Once that was sorted I got my tent up, got it nice and dry and did some maintenance on myself. 

Beatiful campsite at Swifts Creek

Currently I am writing this from the village pub waiting for a large pizza. I burned at least 5500 calories burnt today, probably more as the device doesn't account for the extra weight on the bike.  I reckon I have earned it. The only entertainment are the locals: One guy is a proper true-blue Aussie cowboy, complete with sleeveless top, cowboy hat, and potty mouth. I tried to follow what the group he was with were talking about, but could only pick out the swear words.

It's about 100km left to Bairnsdale, with 2 pretty big climbs involved. Hopefully the legs and lungs recover after this medicinal pizza!

Day 2 Stats:

• Distance: 113.26
• Elevation gain: 2055m
• Calories: 548

...read on for Day 3

Bagels Alpine Crossing - Day 1

I was experiencing the very 'first world problem' off having too much annual leave at work, so I thought I would have a crack at a ride that's been on my bucket list a long time, and one of the ultimate road cycling routes to do in Australia...the Alpine Crossing!

There has been a road of some kind over the Victorian Alps for a long time now, but it only became sealed in the late 90s, and currently it is the highest sealed road in Australia. But long before Europeans arrival, the Victorian Alps were a meeting place for First Nations people who would travel huge distances in difficult terrain to meet on high points for trade and ceremonies. Evidence of this goes back as far as a staggering 21,000 years ago, at a rock shelter near Birrigai in the area.

I really want to do this bikepacking style so I am carrying a tent, cooking and sleeping gear, some food, and enough warm kit to handle mountain weather. My plan is to get the train to Wangaratta and spend 3 days getting to Bairnsdale where I can return to Melbourne on another train.

A very clean Casper at the start of this ride

Day one started super early with an 04:45 alarm and I was out the door 20 mins later peddling into the city. I really like the idea of riding out the house without using a car, and anyway my wife needed ours for work, so I rode the 30 something km into southern cross station and boarded the vline train to Wangaratta. There were half a dozen other cyclists kitted out the same as me and probably doing a similar route so it was nice to know there might be other nutters on the route for some occasional company.

All the bike spots on the train were quickly full and you can't book bicyckes, so advice to others planning this is to pick a quiet day, or get there early. The train ride was nice, passing through a bit of back country Victoria I hadn't seen before. For entertainment I was watching a big thunderstorm roll through the state on rain radar, but it never was directly overhead (yet, as it turned out).

When I got off I realised I'd left a small bag on the train. There were no valuables in there but it had some food and my phone charger. I'm not really on a tight schedule so decided to wait 3 hours for the train to come back as a staff member kindly contacted the train for me and they'd located it. I would arrive late at my camp tonight but that is no issue beyond the inconvenience.

A kind lady heard me talking to staff to locate the bag and approached me offering money! I did not need it of course but blown away by the gesture.

In the meantime, what to do but have more coffee while I wait! There was a nice place accross the street from Wangaratta Station, the sun was out and the coffee delicious. 

I randomly got talking to a nice couple on their way to Sydney. The fella had cycled up Mt Hotham and had useful tips about the route and suggested a couple of nice places to stop, as well as a camping spot. Had I not left my bag on the train I would never have had these interesting interactions with locals, so I considered my stupidity to be a good win in the end.

I did finally get going, with the missing bag, and initially took the road before switching to the rail trail after about 20km. The sky got darker rapidly and it looked like there was no way to dodge it. Sure enough giant fat drops of rain started coming down and there was fork lighting not far away. It's quite intimidating when on a little bike with nowhere to shelter.

The Rail Trail

I got a proper soaking but it did pass quickly enough at least, the sun dried me off but the path was pretty messy as was I. It's s a great route, I can see why some folks would spend days doing what took me hours, and stop at the many food and wine options.

The path between Bright and Harrietville was especially lush but indirect, and I finally rolled into the camp ground at 7pm so a really long day in the end with that early start, and 155km cycled (including getting to the train station).

Approaching Harrietville

After getting the tent up and a feast of freeze dried pasta cooked, I had a chat to some other campers by their fire before crashing for an early night.

Campsite and dinner cooking

Tomorrow, it's the crux of the trip with a 30km ascent of Hotham, where the real fun begins.

Day 1 Stats:

• Distance:120.79 +  34.88  = 155.67km
• Elevation Gain : 526m
• Calories: 5994
• Here is the GPX (note I doubled back briefly)
  
  
  

...read on for Day 2