A mountainbike and unlimited time: suggestions ?

[VinceMD]

Hi folks,

I'm so excited to post on this forum. I've finally made the decision to quit my job and go bike-packing in Australia.
I've got a MTB, a little bit of money, unlimited time.

I will leave from Sydney either end of August or end of September. I need to work around the seasons, especially avoid riding in the north part of Australia in the summer. I wish I had left already

In essence I'm thinking of going done from Sydney to Mt Kosciuszko via the Bicentennial trail, then take Murray River track in SA, then Mawson trail, then the Oodnadatta track, up to Finke road followed by the Great central road http://www.cycletrailsaustralia.com/2_trails/#. Great central road is a dream of mine, but by the time I reached it it might be too hot. And I don't want to rush to get there.

Fantasising on the possibility, starting with what is marked as 0 and 1 on this map (courtesy of cycletrailsaustralia):


My goal is not really to go from A to C, but rather explore Australia, stop frequently, work in fruit picking or do any other job that can keep the finance up and allow me to buy food and supplies for the next 6 months or even a year. I don't mind taking a train, or getting a lift here and there. As long as I keep the cost low (and avoid airlines and big cities as much as possible)
I will be un-supported, travel light with a camping tent, and alone. I don't mind a little extra weight to get the comfort. But I need a well balanced bike due to the terrain.

If it was you, where would go from September onward, if you had all the time in the world ?
What do you think ?

[il padrone]

If heading south from Sydney in September the Snowies will still be under snow, so don't count on getting too close to Kosciuszcko. Tining is everything with a tour like this. With your route I'd actually consider making a later departure - around December, or maybe even January. Go south to the Snowies, then through Victoria's mountains and coast in summer, maybe even do a loop of Tassie. Back to SA in autumn, do the Mawson Trail, then the Oodnadatta Track taking you up int the Centre by May when it will be a lot cooler.

The Murray River route is generally outstandingly boring to ride

I don't see why you are not going through Victoria. The high country, South Gippsland, the Otways, Shipwreck Coast and the Grampians are some of the best rough-stuff cycle-touring in Australia, and will lead you nicely through to Adelaide. There is even more if you explore (Strathbogies, the goldfields ironbark country).

Going up the Mawson Trail and Oodnadatta Track, be sure to take the side trip into Arkaroola. It is a beautiful and remote place that is well worth the deviation.

[thecaptn]

I don't see why you are not going through Victoria.

Victoria's the best bit!

[il padrone]

Yeah, I forgot to say, welcome on here. Good to hear from people taking on a great journey by bike.

Beware however, standard bike-packing rigs are just not going to cut it on the Oodnadatta Track, and the other even more remote trails you have on your map. You will be looking at carrying up to 20L of water (enough for 3 days) and food for up to 6 days. The full pannier rig is really the only way to do this.

For example, heading up the Oodnadatta, there is a big supermarket at Lyndhurst, your major supply point (we bought up and freighted extra to Oodnadatta by mail). Then there is a small store at Lyndhurst, another small store at Marree - not much range in either. After that it's about 6 days ride to Oodnadatta and only the William Ck pub en-route. They sell some foodstuffs but not much more than snackfoods really. The Pink Roadhouse and the general store at Oodnadatta stock groceries, but even there you may find it fun, eg. maybe able to get pasta, but only in 2kg bags, same for rice; probably very limited range of sauces, fairly scabby looking vegetables (depending on how long since the last truck delivered).

How we were travelling in the Red Centre




As for the Great Central Road, here is GJ Coop and Mirjam, the cyclingdutchgirl, out there.





Bikepacking is fine where you are going to be able to resupply every 2-3 days, and have reasonable water supplies available. Not the case in much of outback Australia.

[VinceMD]

thanks "il padrone" for so much info + great pictures, that is great. I will definitely consider Victoria and not do the boring Murray River!

One of my friend (who has some experience touring in Cap York and in SA) was also advising to get a rack and panniers.
I don't actually fully understand the benefit of a saddle bag vs rack + panniers. I understand with the latest we tend to put more weight up high, which is less good for the balance on a MTB trails (especially downhill).
I guess I thought of bike-packing because of the challenging terrain along the Bicentennial trail and Munda-Biddi trail, that I really want to do at some point. Also heard someone said near the Snowies can be very challenging with a fully loaded touring bike (step descents).
However, you are right one cannot compromise on water, not in the outback!

So I guess if I get a rack and a pannier, I can be careful to not overload when heading to difficult terrain, assuming I can get supplies every 2 days. However it would allow be to carry a decent water container and more food when I need it (foldable or disposable) . I think of something similar to Gary Theiss's setup http://cycletraveller.com.au/australia/ ... onal-trail

My friend today recommended I take a bus from Sydney to Cooktown in September and start with the Cap York trail before the wet season. Then make my way down south along the Bicentennial trail. Then just like you said "il padrone", go to the Snowies in December, then Victoria mountains and up Mawson Trail when it starts to get cooler. I guess I just wanted to avoid going back to NSW for a while. I've lived here for the past 4 years, and right now I need change (ok, it's not super rational, but not everything has to be logical )

I'm very temped to do the bicentennial trail sooner in my trip, but I haven't fully committed to this one, I've heard it's super super hard. I need to work on my navigation skills and being unsupported.
Well I could also depart from Sydney in September making my way north on the bicentennial and hope to reach cook-town before it's too wet and hot ?

Any other ideas where to go from August or September ? Just keep in mind, I'm not trying to do all of what is on my map. I just need to start somewhere and be conscious of the coming seasons

[WarrenH]

I will leave from Sydney either end of August or end of September ...

An excellent time to take on the BNT.

I'm thinking of going from Sydney to Mt Kosciuszko via the Bicentennial trail.

Can I suggest a change to your thoughts for your BNT starting point? Consider taking NSW Rail Inter City Line, North West to Aberdeen. Then start the BNT at Aberdeen (or even Scone) ... boxing the bike on this rail line isn't necessary until reaching Scone.

From Aberdeen follow the BNT's Main Trail over Bells Gap. The BNT's advised cycle route along the main roads to Sandy Hollow over Castle Gap is cool but it isn't intrepid. Go over Bells Gap, this then justifies staying at Sandy Hollow and visiting the vineyards. Then after leaving Sandy Hollow, at Phipps Cutting TSR, don't just follow the Bywong Valley Way into the beautiful Widden Valley, which is the quick cycle route. Enter Phipps Cutting TSR, and then take to old hand built convict road above the TSR towards Widden. It is only a relatively short diversion here, and it is actually staying on the BNT Main Trail, before re-joining the Bywong Valley Way and then turn into Widden Valley Road. This is a different and better route to the advised BNT cycle route from Aberdeen to Widden. Different to what most riders are doing nowadays on the BNT ... the old convict road is magic.

Honestly, don't start the BNT west of Sydney, at Rydal, Wallerawang or Lidsdale, ... start further North at Aberdeen. Don't miss-out on doing the most spectacular ridable sections of the BNT in NSW. Start with the best.

Another reason why I suggested starting at Aberdeen or Scone as Il Padrone has already mentioned, is snow. The Ski Season finishes on the October Long weekend. It will take at least 3 weeks of solid riding to reach Oldfields Hut, and 4 weeks allowing for good rest days. When you wrote Kosciuszko, I'm guessing that you meant staying on the BNT North of the Main Range. Jagungal and the Main Range will be still under snow. You shouldn't encounter snow until the Grey Mare Fire Trail. The trail from Manjar to Black Jack Fire Tower, past Jacumba and Tooma going towards Khancoban may still have snow. Hopefully the melt will be underway by then. It will still be cold in the Naas River Valley and before crossing the Yaouk Bill Range and very cold when you reach the Frost Plains of the North around Oldfields Hut. There are plenty of high country huts, from the Naas River Valley on ... to make life even more pleasant.

Warren.

PS, Some shots from the BNT, in the ACT, taken during this last week ... http://s225.photobucket.com/user/WildWa ... t=3&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PSS, The beautiful Widden Valley area was once home to the Kamilaroi tribe, and ‘Widden’ meant ‘stay here, go no further’ ... but that was before people had MTBs. Now Widden means 'keep going, go a lot further'.

[Warin]

Think you'll find you'll have more than 2 days between supplies on the BNT. Unless your supper fast .. and don't see much except the road in front.

As Warren says above for the trains in NSW ... stay away from the 'Countrylink' services and you won't have to box your bike. The intercity services are fine.

[VinceMD]

Can I suggest a change to your thoughts for your BNT starting point? Consider taking NSW Rail Inter City Line, North West to Aberdeen. Then start the BNT at Aberdeen (or even Scone) ... boxing the bike on this rail line isn't necessary until reaching Scone.

WarrenH, thanks for taking the time to reply and providing so much info. I actually read again this post from 2 years back : viewtopic.php?f=5&t=49462&start=25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I wonder if that guy ever did the BNT..

WarrenH, I'd love to get the BNT books, start from Cooktown and ride all the way till the end of the trail. Or start from Sydney and make my way up to Cooktown. But reading about it, and reading your posts, it seems it should be attempted only by the most experienced riders and trekkers. Having to contact well in advance the property owners, mail the books to different locations for pick up... That sounds like a year in the planning for a one-off thing. I'm strong, fit, don't mind the cold and so forth. But it does not mean I will succeed. Failure is ok, but at the beginning of my cycling adventures, I need a few successes too . Maybe I should ride the BNT with someone experienced for a week to learn ...
What I had in mind was to be living with my bike, and riding, taking my time (like http://cyclingdutchgirl.com/), and doing a few 3 to 6 weeks epic MTB trails (such as Cap York or Munda-Biddi or even Great Central road).

However, at this stage, I'm eager to try something crazy. Looking at your pics, I'm blown away, being in the bush, and seeing all this. Being alone far from computers and cities (I work in IT ), I just need it. I get very frustrated if I don't go camping and hikking or MTB on the weekend. I can't stay still anymore..!

I'm indecisive , haha. It just look like September will be in between two seasons and I should not venture to the Red Centre or WA, nor NT: Although I know very little about those regions and I so badly want to explore them. So the East coast makes sense, and the best way to avoid civilization is to take on the BNT.

[WarrenH]

Vince, thank you for waiting for my reply.

I can see the BNT is the hardest ... Well Mate, if I can cope with the BNT, it can't be the hardest, from where you were first thinking about starting to head Southwards.

I could not see well on your pic, what panniers have you used on the BNT ? ... I have the Vaude Road Master panniers and a Road Master bar bag. I haul an Extrawheel Voyager Solo trailer as well, just perfect for hauling the long term supplies, for staying well away ... long term.

... do you have a blog with list of equipment ? I'm not a blogger, I'm a picture maker ... http://s225.photobucket.com/user/WildWassa/slideshow/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't have a list of my gear but I can recommend a road touring cyclist who I think is well worth reading, Mr Darel Stone. I tuned my off-road system (I'm not a three-day bike packer) by reading what Darel does ... http://home.pacific.net.au/~dasmero/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Alternatively do you live far from Sydney. I'd love to chat ... Vince, you're most welcome to call me or please leave a message and I'll call you back. I'm one of the co-ordinators of the Bicentennial National Trail, I'm used to phoning cyclists who call me. 02 62540295. I live in the NW of the ACT.

I heard the most popular ones (referring to panniers) are not good enough for off-road ... I would'nt know about that. I chose the Vaude Roadmasters because I like packs that have several pockets. It is an anal retentive type thing if one read the DSM5. Vaude make panniers like the roll-topped Ortliebs ... but I like to be more organised than having roll-top panniers that affords only one internal pocket.

Vince do consider doing the BNT from Sydney to Kosciusko, as you first thought. You would absolutely love doing it. I live right on the BNT in the NW of the ACT ... so drop by for dinner.

A few Winter shots from the BNT in my neck of the bush ... from last few weeks.




















Snowing on the ranges.

\


One cant see the trees for the frost.




Warren

[WarrenH]

Vince, I posted a ride on the BNT in my neck of the bush, posted on crazyguy, about 3 years ago ... https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o= ... =8470&v=jk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think that you might like riding on the BNT in the Southern Blue Mountains. The Southern Blue Mountains are somewhat special ... they're very peaceful and the light is stunning.



Warren.

[chillimagnum]

What a beautiful country.

Not sure if it's useful but there's a lot of free spatial datasets for Victoria.
https://www.data.vic.gov.au/data/group/spatial-data" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;