The idea of riding more than 1,600 kilometres in one go intrigued me, and after a short time (especially after I realised it meant riding almost all the way from Brisbane to Melbourne) that intrigue turned to full on obsession.
The record is currently held by Gethin Butler at 2 days 7 hours 53 minutes and 7 seconds, or an average speed of just under 28.8kmh.
I am intending to ride from Brisbane to Melbourne through the centre (Goondiwindi, Dubbo, Narrandera etc, to avoid the hills on the coast) and have set a goal to average 30kmh, or a little less than 2 days 5 hours 39 minutes. The distance between Brisbane and Melbourne (depending on the exact route) is considerably more than the required 1,609kms, but after reading Poole's story, I want there to be no doubt whatsoever, and after riding all that way, it seems silly to just stop somewhere in Victoria and not carry on into Melbourne. As far as I can tell, there is no record for Brisbane to Melbourne, so there's 2 birds with 1 stone.
The intention at the moment is to attempt the record around September next year, to hopefully take advantage of cooler weather and favourable winds. Weather will be absolutely critical to success, so the timing will depend almost entirely on getting appropriate conditions. I'm targeting next year as I feel any further out leaves me more open to the uncertainties of life (though plenty can still happen in a year!) and so that I am still young enough to be sufficiently foolish to go ahead with it
.Today I rode from Coolum to Kilcoy and back, and did 259k at a moving average of 32kmh, which is a reasonable start. Within the next month or two I will be riding from Coolum to Kingaroy and back, approximately 450k depending on the route.
With the right training I don't feel there is any reason for me not to get the job done, though as one of my favourite sayings goes "If your dreams don't scare you, you're not dreaming big enough".
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