Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:26 am
First of all....PHOTOS ARE AMAZING!!!! WOWWWWW!!!
Thank you for your informations about Canberra and surroundings, now I have to decide which route to go to the east coast, if I'll pass from Canberra surely I'll use your tips!
Really, it's incredible the beauty of your photos! Thank you for suggestions about the tree highways and I think I'll follow your opinion;) Don't like trucks! What about this route??
I'll land in Melbourne, visit of the city and then Great Ocean Road, instead to return to east towards east coast I'll follow towards Adelaide (without visit the city) and then up to Broken Hill and I hope the real Australian's outback. Then Dubbo, Orange, Blue Mountains National Park & Sydney. Later I'll make the east coast.
In the last days I was thinking to the opportunity to bring with me a GPS or not. Seeing the roads I have decided to not bring any instrument, only paper maps created at home with Google Maps or similar. In the last trip I did in this way and the result was excellent! You think will be enough to travel around Australia??
What about my outback experience??
- RonK
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby RonK » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:43 am
Bring warm clothes Monty - it's going to be very cold on that route.Montgomery Brogan wrote:What about my outback experience??
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:07 am
In the next days I'll buy Lonely Planet "Australia". The "cycling" version wasn't so good for me, I downloaded some chapters with maps and indications but I'm not satisfied. In the classic version I'll find many informations about interesting places and what to see. With the guide and your precious suggestions will be more easy to build my route.
- il padrone
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Sat Oct 15, 2011 5:43 pm
Try Adelaide, then you have lots of roads to choose heading into the SA Mid-north. Mix the country roads with the Mawson Trail. It's mostly suited to a touring bike -lots of gravel roads of various quality, leading you eventually to the near-outback experience of the Flinders Ranges. Just skip the first bit out of Adelaide into the Mt Lofty Ranges - extremely steep.
My tour heading north from Adelaide - follow on pages for the next 3 weeks. We rode it in May/June - cold in the Barossa Valley at night but lovely days and warmer up north in the Flinders Ranges.
Some bits can get 'orribly muddy after rain
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Max » Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:08 pm
Max
Cycling is sometimes like bobbing for apples in a bucket full of dicks. - SydGuy
- il padrone
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:23 pm
On this one short section of the Mawson Trail, the red mud was so bad, such a gluey mess, that it clogged up the guards and even the front forks and rear chainstays, stopping the wheels from turning at all. At one point I was removing the bags (all six) carrying them on 200m, then returning and carrying the trailer and then the bike !! Rinse and repeat I almost set up camp for the night to wait for the mud to dry out, but did press on. 3kms took 3 hours
Lesson: never ride outback red clay tracks after rain. Wait at least 2-3 days.
Note, Montgomery Brogan. This is not normal for the Mawson Trail. One section was a mudbath after rain. Most of it was reasonably good quality gravel roads. The hard shale track north of Wilpena Pound (single-track and double-track) was a true delight to ride, through native pine woodlands with the panorama of the Flinders Ranges.
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:09 pm
Interesting! I need GPS to do it? As I said I would prefer to do my trip without. It's clearly marked?il padrone wrote: Mawson Trail.
- il padrone
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:43 pm
In some places they were really thorough signboards, but mostly smaller direction markers
The trail does wind about quite a lot (900kms and we took 3 weeks to ride it, where a direct route could take as little as 4-5 days on the roads) but most of its winding and loops take you to scenic and historic sites and attractions.
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby RonK » Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:36 pm
No, it is colder inland during winter. Look at the chart I linked - you will see that overnight temps along your planned route will average just above zero in July.Montgomery Brogan wrote:I understood it was hotter in the inland areas, also during the winter! Cold during the day or in the night?
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:00 pm
Ronk, fortunately cold don't worry me I'm a strange italian..I prefer cold at hot! Of course I'm not looking for a frozen holiday but also in my last trip towards Scandinavia and Arctic Polar Circle the temperatures were the same you told me. During the day 10/12° and in the night also 0°. Sometimes I slept in tent and sometimes in cottages of camping. I'm more worry for rain honestly. What do you think about Barrier Highway towards Broken hill, Wilcannia and the east coast?? I read many good opinions on the web..
p.s. You are ALL very kind with me, if one day you will come to Italy and in Tuscany, I will be more than happy to bring you to discover the most beautiful places in my region!!
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Sun Oct 16, 2011 12:40 am
Mountain bike or sturdy touring bike. The Kona Sutra should be fine. You might want to make sure you have some wider tyres on it - I ran 26x2.00 mainly for later riding in Central Australia, but some 1.75" tyres would have been fine for the Mawson. The Kona Sutra is 700c so I'd say you could see about fitting some 40mm tyres and you'll be fine. Even 35mm would be quite rideable for most of the Mawson (maybe not the section north of Hawker to the beginning of the Morolana Scenic Road).Montgomery Brogan wrote:only a question, on the BIKESA site is clearly indicated as Mountain bike trail...will be ok my Kona Sutra??
The Barrier Highway has never grabbed me as an ideal touring route. It's a long flat ride through very open barren country, but it's a major transport route = lots of trucks. But I've only driven the section from north of Burra to Broken Hill, I haven't cycled it. Maybe it really is good cycling ??Montgomery Brogan wrote:What do you think about Barrier Highway towards Broken hill, Wilcannia and the east coast?? I read many good opinions on the web..
Planning to tour Italy in 2013 myself at this stage, so I may take you up on thatMontgomery Brogan wrote:p.s. You are ALL very kind with me, if one day you will come to Italy and in Tuscany, I will be more than happy to bring you to discover the most beautiful places in my region!!
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:50 am
Count on me friend!il padrone wrote:Planning to tour Italy in 2013 myself at this stage, so I may take you up on that
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:06 am
rifraf wrote:Hi WarrenH,
even though many of your posts show my shortcomings as both a cyclist and photographer
I always look forward to your next one.
Thanks for sharing
Warren, I'm going Off topic but, can I ask you which is your reflex photo camera?? For my great travel I need a new camera. Australia deserve the best!
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby RonK » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:32 am
Hehe - well I would expect that you are accustomed to cold weather, but many visitors have the same misunderstanding about the inland. Yes, it is warmer than the coast in summer - but not in winter. If you are properly prepared and don't mind camping in frost, it won't bother you. The warnings have been to alert you to prepare with appropriate clothing and equipment.Montgomery Brogan wrote:Ronk, fortunately cold don't worry me I'm a strange italian..I prefer cold at hot! Of course I'm not looking for a frozen holiday but also in my last trip towards Scandinavia and Arctic Polar Circle the temperatures were the same you told me. During the day 10/12° and in the night also 0°. Sometimes I slept in tent and sometimes in cottages of camping. I'm more worry for rain honestly. What do you think about Barrier Highway towards Broken hill, Wilcannia and the east coast?? I read many good opinions on the web.
The Barrier Highway? I have crossed it once, by car. I wouldn't want to cross it by bicycle as it would probably be (to me) one of the least interesting parts of Australia. You, as a visitor may find it otherwise, but I don't think it is anything like Scandinavia. This is what you can expect to see, for kilometre after kilometre. Some of that red (ish) dirt you are dreaming of can be seen here. No cottages or hotels to stay in, just nothing for hundreds of kilometres. To give a helicopter view of the route, on this map click the 3D button on the left in the driving directions. You may need to click the pause button to let the aerial photographs render.
Since you propose to go as far north as Cairns, the plan that comes to my mind would be to get a train to Warnambool and ride the GOR back toward Melbourne, cross Port Philip Bay by ferry at Queenscliff and follow the coastal route to Queensland where it will be warmer, then take an inland route to Cairns. This would get you off the Bruce Highway, which is not a nice road for cycling. Like this perhaps. Even inland Queensland will be cold overnight but the days will be very pleasant.
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:44 am
Surely to do GOR (with the disappoint of Il Padrone! I'm ready to all weather conditions for GOR ) from west to east and then follow the coast toward Queensland and, as you said, warmer temperature could be a good option.
I have already seen Bruce highway in Queensland.. I think where will be possible I'll choose secondary inland roads to go to north.
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby ColinOldnCranky » Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:12 am
Previous posters are remiss in not warning you about Drop Bears. 120kg landing ona bike already loaded up with rider and gear can make for a very bad holiday.
You will find what you need to know on the Australian Museum site at http://australianmuseum.net.au/Drop-Bear
After that you should check out wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_bear)
- il padrone
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:19 am
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Aushiker » Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:34 pm
Thanks for that Ron. I wasn't aware of this cool feature in Google Earth.RonK wrote:To give a helicopter view of the route, on this map click the 3D button on the left in the driving directions. You may need to click the pause button to let the aerial photographs render.
Andrew
Aushiker.com
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby RonK » Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:23 pm
It's a new feature, only added quite recently, but invaluable for surveying routes...Aushiker wrote:Thanks for that Ron. I wasn't aware of this cool feature in Google Earth.
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:16 am
Thanks for the precious informations, I assure you that I just bought a ton of Vegemite and toothpaste ..should be enough to survive. Also in Italy we have an animal similar to Drop Bear...we usually, to save us, we go around with Fusilli on the headColinOldnCranky wrote:Hi. Previous posters are remiss in not warning you about Drop Bears. 120kg landing ona bike already loaded up with rider and gear can make for a very bad holiday.
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:22 am
Here some random photos for you! The last 2 days trip along the Appenninoil padrone wrote:Planning to tour Italy in 2013 myself at this stage, so I may take you up on that
Tuscany countryside
Tuscany countryside
Vallombrosa
Vallombrosa
Pratomagno
Ice on the top of Pratomagno (Tuscany) 1600 mt. s.l.m.
Tuscany and its delicious food
The refuge at 1400 mt. s.l.m.
Ice on the top of Pratomagno (Tuscany) 1600 mt. s.l.m.
Pratomagno mountain. 1600 mt. s.l.m.
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sun Nov 06, 2011 10:30 pm
I think is the better solution but....on the railway web site there is written that bikes can be carry only if there is space available?? Do you know if I can do a reservation for the bike? I talking about V/lines, in service from Melbourne to Warrnambool.RonK wrote:Since you propose to go as far north as Cairns, the plan that comes to my mind would be to get a train to Warnambool and ride the GOR back toward Melbourne.
Monty
- il padrone
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Sun Nov 06, 2011 10:39 pm
But travelling solo you will have little problem getting your bike into the guards compartment (luggage space), especially if you are travelling on a weekday. They can easily fit 6-7 loaded bikes as long as you are politely determined towards the conductor that it can be done.
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
- Montgomery Brogan
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby Montgomery Brogan » Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:45 pm
- il padrone
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Re: Hi friends! Australia 2012 is coming;)
Postby il padrone » Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:06 am
In the extremely unlikely scenario that you don't get on, you'll just need to take the next train. You can change over your ticket at the booking office.
This couple had a good time travelling in SE Australia. We toured with then for a long weekend.
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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