Sandy Blight Junction track

[saronmcm1]

Hi,
Just completed the Sandy Blight Junction track on the WA/ NT border this is one of Len Beadells tracks.
I rode a pugsley with ibex bob trailer.
Great track but sandy and corrugated in places has 2 good water sources on track.
I carried 35 litres of water due to not knowing water availability etc.

Some of the problems I encountered
Trailer would plane thru sand due to different widths of tyres.trailer has 3 inch tyre.
I carried to much weight on front of bike, this caused issues with bike steering.
My seat was definitely not my best friend after a days ride. Can any provide feedback on Brook seats off-road and over corrugations.

Getting there and back
I caught the bush bus from Alice Springs to kintore, the guys running this service were fantastic with carrying bike and gear.
I also caught the bus back from Docker River.
This company runs buses( they are trucks with a bus like back end) all around Alice Springs areas out to aboriginal communities. This would be a great way to get dropped off somewhere and ride back to Alice.

Anyway if any wants any info maps etc, please drop me a pm.
This track is a good way to get into off road remote touring in a sandy environment on a fat bike.
Cheers
Ron

[Aushiker]

Thanks for the post. I hadn't heard of the Sandy Blight Junction Track before. For those interested there is a Wikipedia entry on it. Did you ride the 332 kilometres or did you do a longer ride? How long did it take? Water availability? All useful information for those that want to follow.

You might want to post the details of the transport company you used so others can consider using them as well.

On the subject of a saddle, I have used my Brooks B67 (Flyer) on well over a 1,000 kilometres of dirt roads of which it seemed the majority where corrugated. I have also ridden a fair bit of corrugations on my B17. I haven't used others saddles so cannot compare outside of the Brooks range but I really cannot recall any real benefit of the B67 over the B17 so if I was buying a replacement saddle now I would probably stick with the B17.

To me corrugations are corrugations and I don't think the saddle makes a huge difference to the "joy" of ridding them. I tend to focus more on trying to find the smoothest line. That seems to work better.

Andrew

[il padrone]

Really BAD corrugations - when the speed has to drop to 5-6kmh to get through them comfortably, you may as well walk - easier on you and the bike.

[Leaf T]

I reckon that the springs on the Flyer may make it easier on your spokes.

[Warin]

Thorn/SJS recon the 'thud buster' seat post is better than the flyer saddle. I've just the B17. The flyer weight some 500? g more.

Len Bedells tracks .. well I've the complete set of his books (6).. and you should really read the relevant one before you travel along one of his tracks in order to get some of the history and features you might find. Think he thought the Sandy Blight Junction to Giles track was the most scenic of his tracks. Not been along that one (yet). Think you can still buy new books off the web - soft cover. And one of his daughters was running tours out along his tracks too.

'Bush Buss' sound interesting .. is this them ? http://centrebushbus.com.au/routes/schedule/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;