Australia Bike Tour/Packing Ideas for a month?

[Adam Alphabet]

Hi guys,

Asking for a little help from all the Ausie's out there.

Timeline: November and December 2013. Around 28-33 days from flight in to flight out. Ride around 25 days total, could be more.
Goals: Ride lots, mixed terrain; trails, dirtroads, paved/asphalt roads, everything. Focus on long pedaling days. Totaling in the range of 2500-4000km depending on the range of terrain. Ideally not a loop, point to point preferred.
Bike: steel, rigid 29er with bikepacking kit slightly optimized for touring. Probably 2" schwalbe touring treads (mondials) and aerobars for the roads, this is what I've used the last couple years for mixed terrain and has worked well for me.
Safety: bivying out and camping most days preferred. Getting bitten/stung by all the critters that Australia has to offer not preferred    Water water water availability will be dealt with as needed.

I've been poking around on crazy guy for some ideas.  http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=266918&v=pr

An example would be something like flying into Perth riding the Munda Biddi and then continuing on the road along the south towards Melbourne, chill for a couple days and fly home from Melbourne. Although the Eyre highway might be a little too much of the same thing long, dry, straight, not ideal wind direction etc.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in Advance!
Adam.

[Area54]

Mid summer and winds not ideal. Water is a big issue in the areas you listed. Lots of nothing on a very busy interstate, with huge trucks (road trains - prime movers with up to 4 trailers on them - think ice road truckers and you have the same mentality of the drivers - they stop for nothing)

Fly into Cairns, then ride down the Bicentennial National Trail (BNT) to Melbourne. Spend a bit of time riding some of the coastline around nsw north coast - maybe head for Byron Bay to reach the most easterly point, beautiful beaches south from here and plenty of stealth bivvy options. Spend a bit of time in the Victorian high country (think Man from Snowy River) as well as east Gippsland. Great Ocean Road (west of Melbourne) - similar to Big Sur or Oregon coastline. Tasmania. New Zealand even. Cairns, Port Douglas and the Daintree is very rainforest pretty. There are trees in the rainforest that sting too...

The BNT will take you through a diverse range of landscapes that I reckon would be better than an east/west crossing. Plenty of re-supply points, national and state parks to bivvy in.

A mate of mine did a coast to coast a few years back - started at Perth, ended at Byron Bay, same time of the year you mention. Headwind, through some desolate, featureless landscapes and boiling hot. Coming from your BC winter I reckon you'd be battling the temps and UV more than the distances.

[Adam Alphabet]

Lot's of reading to do on the BNT, 5000km+ of trail requires a lot of studying. I read a trip report on here this morning which made it seem like there are definitely more user friendly sections of trail than others. Are there any preferred or 'must do' sections of the trail that would be foolish to pass on? I won't have enough time to cover the whole thing end to end, nor would I really want to as I like road touring as well but would obviously pick the better sections of trail where permitted.

I really like the idea of riding trail/dirt for a while, popping out to the road for a bit to get to the east coast, surfing a few days and then jumping back onto the trail further south, out to the road again etc...

Thank you for taking time to provide some ideas, lots of reading to do!

Anyone else done any riding on the BNT that can make any recommendations?

[Area54]

Rhino should be able to assist with some of the Victorian sections 

I've heard the BNT around Armidale section is pretty. There is a pretty good train link from Brisbane to Cairns (Sunlander - http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/railservices/travelnetwork/pages/thesunlander.aspx No distance train services south from Brisbane (only metro train to Gold Coast) I would probably ride Cairns to Mackay, then train down to Sunshine coast (north of Brisbane) and ride around Noosa and North Shore. You could hop off in Gympie and head east to Rainbow Beach township, then ride south along the inland track (Cooloola Way) to Noosa, unless you wanted to bring a fatbike (we have some of the best beaches in the world to ride a fatbike, on the east coast) buuut, you could still ride your planned bike on the low tide sand with some fatter tyres. I've driven the Brisbane to Townsville section quite a few times for work, just featureless bush from Mackay south to Sunshine Coast.

Good surfing beaches start at the Sunshine coast (Noosa) and south from there. I'd skip the Gold Coast. Head for Byron Bay - pretty beaches, good choice of north and south breaks, protected headlands and a culture that is geared towards the traveller - lots of backpackers/hostels to choose from, but just a short ride south you'll be able to stealth bivvy on beautiful beaches.

Tasmania you've got the Tasmanian trail, or road tour as well.

Some sections of the BNT can be a bit frustrating - you can do a heap of climbing and descending all day to cover a 3rd of the distance you could if you followed the road right nearby.

I'll come for a pedal if you need some LK.

[Adam Alphabet]

Thanks again this is a great start.

Any info further south in the alps?
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=259512&v=5H

I know it's a huge country and info is hard to come by. If someone asked me about riding in and around Toronto all I could answer would be...cold and crappy hockey team ;P

This is still a long ways away, still in the idea generating phase but if things materialize that'd be awesome if you could join for a ride!

[RossC]

An example would be something like flying into Perth riding the Munda Biddi and then continuing on the road along the south towards Melbourne, chill for a couple days and fly home from Melbourne. Although the Eyre highway might be a little too much of the same thing long, dry, straight, not ideal wind direction etc.

Area 54 is spot on there: I've ridden Perth to 100 mile straight on the Nullabor (knee packed it in) which is a little over 1000kms and if I'm honest, it's freaking boring. unrelenting head winds, exceptionally hot in December and the scenery is so same-same that there isn't a whole lot to look forward to each day. The BNT is likely to be a much better option.

If you are riding it and get as far as Newcastle (or the Hunter Valley), look me up and I'll bring beer and pizza.

[Adam Alphabet]

Thanks for the reassurance on the route selection Ross. Pizza and Beer sounds great!!

[Area54]

Animals  you may encounter- Emus (may chase you if you disturb them with young) kangaroos (big reds may engage in boxing type behaviour, also some will hop into your path if they are startled, but they are delicious) long haul truckie (long haul truck driver in both male and something that closely resembles a male but may have been female many generations previous) Cassowary (mainly up north, territorial birds similar to emus) snakes and spiders (King brown, red belly black, tiger, Funnel web, redback - too many to mention, I'll leave you to google the joys of our reptile and arachnid collection) crocodiles (yes, they are actually pretty smart and have more chasing stamina than 'gators) the aussie redneck (they come in both male and female genders and closely resemble humans, mostly recognisable by their smell and almost un-intelligible dialect, often greeting each other with 'howzagarnyacarn') Possums and other small marsupials (will steal your food if left out some are bold and cunning like a raccoon) swooping magpies (during nesting season they will swoop riders, will slice open ears and people have lost eyes from encounters) ticks (lyme disease) mosquitoes (ross river fever) sandflies/midges, marchflies/horseflies, leeches, stinging tree (okay, not an animal) B&S uter (cousin/sexual partner of the redneck and nephew/grandfather of the truckie - possible to be all of these roles at same time, but strictly hetero)

Australia is very multicultural, so bring along your stereotypes - they may help you in deciphering the language, the culture (search for spisodes of Housos VS Authority, Swift and Shift Couriers or Fat Pizza to get you up to speed on the vast equality that is multicultural Australia) and your sense of humour. You'll need that.

The UV is killer, so lots of sunscreen and broad brim hat, or cover up. Something about some ozone hole thingy and latitude whatsiname.

[Adam Alphabet]

Hahah Thanks for all that!!

A few year ago I had contemplated touring in Australia then I typed 'animals that can kill you in Australia' into google. The list was long and frightening. I then typed 'animals that can kill you in New Zealand' into the same search field. My computer actually started laughing at me, out loud. Long story short, I flew into Christchurch and toured the South Island for a month in 2010.

In all seriousness though, and I'll have to get my research in order before I go but are all these critters actually something to worry about? Or is it more fear of the unknown? Statistically speaking if you're out riding all the time, how often have you had a snake slither over your bivy and want to bite your face in the middle of the night or spiders in your shoes in the morning....etc? Not to down play the risks at all, but to get a more realistic perception on the 'fear vs. worry' one should carry out of respect for all things 8 legged and toxic in a foreign (to me) country.

Like here in BC between Vancouver where I live, to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton you'd be hard pressed not to see a bear out riding, eventually. Not every ride, but they're out there and you'll run into them. I know what to do around them and how to remain safe, so it hardly enters my mind. While conversely some people (maybe some people from Australia) are scared to death of bears, fear of the unknown perhaps?  We just don't have all the little critters with toxic bites and venom like spiders and snakes and....that can really mess you up.

Thanks again for the info! and thanks for the show recommendations. On my trip to NZ I learned of Summer Heights High, hahah. Not sure how it rates over there but I found some of it pretty funny.

[RossC]

You see Australian snakes with roughly the same frequency that you see BC bears. In winter, they are all sleeping, in summer they are everywhere and you will be hard pressed to go on a ride of any length and not see one.

If you are pedalling, you usually are right on top of them before you realise they are there - don't be the third rider in the line - the first ride spooks it, the second rider just makes it mad, the third rider is in trouble.

I don't really give snakes a second thought while riding in Aus although I know people who are really spooked by them and will plan their rides accordingly. Different strokes for different folks.

 Bogans - now those you have to watch out for.....

Bogan train girl from Blacktown FULL LENGTH

[Area54]

You are absolutely right Addy - we grow up around the fauna in our environment and develop the instinct, respect and knowledge over the years, automatically knowing how to act and understanding where they hang out etc. When in a different country it all seems foreign, and sometimes there is no shortage of locals that will give you false info for a bit of a laugh...'nah mate, those teeth are just for show eh, he's a herbivore, just go pick him up'


Common sense, be aware of your actions and your surroundings in high risk areas. Yes, snakes and spiders do curl up in boots, but they'll only bite you (the snakes/spiders) if you don't shake them (the boots) out before putting them on.  Snakes do curl up in bivvies, swags, tents, bags etc. I've been out riding and had several highly venomous snakes slither across in front of me. I've seen pics of snakes caught up in spinning wheels - the snake has lunged at a rider and become entangled in the wheel. Spiders will cast their webs across paths (look up the golden orb spider - some as big as your hand) and you get caught in the web and wonder where the f$6* the spider is.

Precautions like long pants and/or gaiters if riding in long grasses, watch where you put hands and feet, keep tents/bivvies etc zipped up at all times in risky areas - all the common sense stuff. Research the animals, understand what they're about, you'll work it out from there.

The risks are real (except from the drop-bear), but like most animals they are just going about their daily business of survival.

More animals to consider - feral pigs, wild dog packs (not wolves or dingoes) oh and the old story of the escaped mountain lion from the circus/old US military base. This last one may have merit, many hunters and old timeys in the high country report large felines. We don't have large alpha predators like bears, mtn lions/cougars etc, just crocs, sharks, box jellyfish, stonefish and localism at good surf breaks.


Great vid there Ross of the female, how about Trent to represent the male: (not work safe, language warning!)

Trent from Punchy

Nick Boshier is an actor, but Trent is real.  

Some places are scarier and more dangerous than any animals - ie like LA's Compton, parts of 'multicultural' western Sydney, or many microbeweries in Portland at night

[Mark_BC]

I'll take grizzly bears over this any day.

[Adam Alphabet]

Spiders will cast their webs across paths (look up the golden orb spider - some as big as your hand) and you get caught in the web and wonder where the f$6* the spider is.

The thought of this scares the s*#t out of me. That and sharing water/surfing with massive sharks wanting to bite my leg off. Outside of those two things I think I'm ready for Oz! hahah.

I'll take grizzly bears over this any day.

hahah me too!