Bicentennial National Trail

[Meditator]

Incidentally someone just told me they had the whole route on the vic section on GPS so if anyone wants a copy of that, contact BIG Nasty Track Michael on crazyguy.

Maybe the BNT people could do that.

[WarrenH]

Incidentally someone just told me they had the whole route on the vic section on GPS so if anyone wants a copy of that, contact BIG Nasty Track Michael on crazyguy.

There is no point in trying to trump the BNT Trail Coordinators ... they keep the trail route right up to date on the BNT site. What a rider rode last week will not necessarily be the trail this week.

Following the past rides of others, wont necessarily hold you in good stead nowadays. There are now 3 pages of track alterations for Guide Book 12 since Michael rode the track. The latest track updates have been posted on the BNT Site only 3 days ago. Likewise for Guide Book 11 there are updates.

I'll say it again, the BNT is a living trail. Changes to the trail can be forced on the trail by Mother Nature, forced upon the trail by properties changing hands, changes can be made to the trail by BNT coordinators making route improvements. The route improvements are mostly brought about to make the route safer for stock on the trail.

Warren.

[trailgumby]

$400 may be piddling to you, so send me some and the rest for all the postage required.

I doubt you'd pass due diligence on our charitable giving program, but what the hey: what value to myself or others will you provide in exchange?

[silentbutdeadly]

Anyhow silent, what tyres do you recommend for the journey? Have you ridden on Mondials? They are meant for off road as well on. On the basis of how tough i have found just the simple marathons (as well as the many recommendations), i've chosen to go with the mondials.

I mean in two outback trips (3000km around the kimberley and 2000 from cairns to darwin along the savanannah way (there are a lot of sharp rocks on that route), i've covered quite a bit of track that was really tough on tyres and they held up. I am thinking of taking them on one more trip on tar and then binning them.

The Marathon family of tyres are sensational touring tyres - you won't hear me diss them - they are as tough as old nails. But none of them are sufficiently aggressive tread wise for steep, wet, muddy East Coast fire trails. Have you tried climbing a steep, damp fire trail in your area? On a fully laden touring bike? What about descending? Any tyre slippage? Well the Mondial tread pattern isn't much more aggressive than the plain old Marathon. You might get some benefit from the Marathon MTB pattern but even that is quite an open tread....

[Meditator]

The Marathon family of tyres are sensational touring tyres - you won't hear me diss them - they are as tough as old nails. But none of them are sufficiently aggressive tread wise for steep, wet, muddy East Coast fire trails. Have you tried climbing a steep, damp fire trail in your area? On a fully laden touring bike? What about descending? Any tyre slippage? Well the Mondial tread pattern isn't much more aggressive than the plain old Marathon. You might get some benefit from the Marathon MTB pattern but even that is quite an open tread....

I wouldn't be riding up a steep wet muddy fire trail. I would be pushing my bike. Riding down would be a different story. There's more to the tyre than the pattern though isn't there. Are you suggesting that it is possible to ride up such a hill with a loaded bike? Riding down, when the going is treacherous, i'd walk my bike down it.

Andy Friend told me by email that he used bontanger but didn't say which one. He still thinks they are good quality! But he went through 10 tyres which means less than 500 km per tyre. That's outrageous. It has to have been the wrong tyre for the route. It would be interesting to compare with others who've done the whole route. I wonder if he rode the XDX cause i saw a thread comparing these and it seemed to be about mountain biking. It was compared with the schwalbe racer one. (sorry can't go back to find right name. You might know it).

[tdm]

G'day Meditator,
I have cycled with a supported group of 4 from Nowendoc to Nullo Mtn on a 6 day trip and several 1 day trips on other parts of the BNT in NSW. I also have done a 4WD reconnaissance of most of the BNT in NSW from the Qld border to Kancoban in preparation for future trips. I have a spreadsheet with fine detail of campsites, shops etc which may be of help to you.
Regardless of the cost (it goes to a good cause) The BNT Guidebook relevant to the particular section on which you are travelling is a MUST have. The more recent editions have much better maps.
The BNT is a great and varied ride with some long sections without major climbs.
L'iota

Hi L'iota,
Not sure if I can PM you, this is my first post here.
Any chance of you sharing the information that you mentioned above? I'm planning, with a few friends, on doing a section of the BNT from "somewhere west of Coffs Harbour to somewhere in SE Qld". This will probably be in late 2014, and we'll be taking a support vehicle. We have the guide books, but your on-the-ground info would be invaluable.
Thanks,
Paul.
tdm

[WarrenH]

I'm taking the train to Armidale next week. I'm riding/hiking/portaging the BNT Main Trail from Point Lookout, near Ebor, in the New England Ranges south to Canberra. If possible. I'm not going to take the alternate cycle routes, hopefully. After Georges Creek, is the real issue. If I can't cross the Macleay, at Little Georges and Macleay TSR, I'll head back towards Armidale. Then go back to the Macleay or maybe Kunderang by the shortest convenient route from the west. I'm allowing 6-7 weeks to do the Main Trail from New England to the ACT, including a few side trips.

I've been knocking out nearly 400 kilometres of hill climbing on the bike and about 40 kilometres of hill climbing on foot (jogging and walking) a week and about 10 hours in the gym each week, doing fast Tabarta style reps for my core, in prep for the ride/hikes/swims and portages. Done over the past 11 weeks. From tomorrow, until I head off, I'm upping the walking. It certainly takes a goodly amount of prep to take on the a BNT and to keep one's eye on the BOM's forecasts. The BOM is predicting a 75% chance of heavier than normal rainfall, for the next few months, on the Great Divide, in mid NSW. Ahh!, good water.

When I get back, I'll put a post on crazyguy called 'Riding from A to B' ... from Armidale to Belconnen. I'm still tossing up about having an alternate title too, called, 'Becoming a part of the Winter Wind'. ... or something stolen from Jimmy Ashcroft's iconic ballad about the wild New England Ranges, Little Boy Lost.

Warren.