Adelaide to Darwin

[rubblequeen]

Hi Guys
had lots of good info from you when I was last here planning Perth to Adelaide. My next trip I plan to go Adelaide to Darwin can you give me any advice and especially the best time of the year.

I'm from the UK so appreciate any help, point me in the right direction for good info.

Thanks
Tony

[WestcoastPete]

One of the most inspiring journals I've ever read...

[flippant]

One of the most inspiring journals I've ever read...

Quoted for truth.

[thomashouseman]

One of the most inspiring journals I've ever read...

Sheesh, looking through his photo's.... did he ever wear a helmet?

[GJ_Coop]

.... did he ever wear a helmet?

Yeah, once I got a warning, ie, in the last 3000k as I was approaching civilisation after coming off the Birdsville track.

On the other hand my average speed on my transcontinental zig zag worked out to be less than 14kph, the roads were generally flattish although people who say Australia is flat generally haven't spent much time on a bicycle out there, traffic, sometimes 4 vehicles a day.

I did in fact take my mountain bike style helmet and found it quite useful: to pop under the trailer to stand the bike up out where there were no trees to lean against.

And I did, however, always wear a hat and whack some sunscreen on my face. Skin cancer is a real problem if you spend a few years outdoors.

Now, back where it matters, ie amongst plenty of others, I always wear that well travelled helmet.

Cheers

GJ

[GJ_Coop]

Rubs

Just to answer your question it's undoubtably better to go Adelaide to Darwin, ie, south to north as the prevailing winds will assist generally during the southern autumn/winter.

Timing is important: leaving Adelaide between April and early August at the latest, depending on how quickly and what route to take.

There's a Wet Season up north which can vary a bit year to year but basically for the cyclist October to April is not the time to be touring north of Katherine: high temperatures, high humidity, possibility of extreme rainfall and roads being flooded.

You don't want to get to Darwin any later than earlyish September because for someone not acclimatised it will be getting too humid and hot for all day cycling, that's more than 35ºC for most of the day, W Pete will know more about that as an ex-Darwinite.

On the Stuart Highway, the most direct way, the distance is just over 3000km but while the terrain is undulating there are really no big hill climbs. Just note it can be cold down south and in the centre at this time, ie winter, frosts first thing in the morning, but once you get inland a bit the days can be sunny and windy. For instance Alice Springs is at an elevation about 550m so with clear nights it can be frisky trying to get going in the morning.

Just like the Perth to Sydney route there's quite a few others doing Adelaide to Darwin although many will, should, be going the same south to north direction so you might not run into them. Plenty do the bike ride out to Uluru but it is a long way and you have to backtrack. There's quite a bit of traffic out there as well including roadtrains.

If you want to know how long it will take you can just extrapolate form your P to S trip, it's pretty similar terrain, but at this time of year there's not so much daylight: up north the sun sets around 6pm and it's fully dark about 20 minutes later, no twilight in the tropics.

Have fun out there.

[thomashouseman]

.... did he ever wear a helmet?

I did in fact take my mountain bike style helmet and found it quite useful: to pop under the trailer to stand the bike up out where there were no trees to lean against.

Lol, love it.

p.s. Loving the blog. Up to approx pg. 100. Glad you made the most of all the winery regions you visited!

[isabella24]

One of the most inspiring journals I've ever read...

That blog is fantastic... I just read up to page 371 and now they've just shut down the website for maintenance. I've been toying with the idea of touring and this just makes me want to get out and do it.

[thomashouseman]

One of the most inspiring journals I've ever read...

That blog is fantastic... I just read up to page 371 and now they've just shut down the website for maintenance. I've been toying with the idea of touring and this just makes me want to get out and do it.

LOL, I got to pg. 263. Site's back up now though.

[isabella24]

One of the most inspiring journals I've ever read...

That blog is fantastic... I just read up to page 371 and now they've just shut down the website for maintenance. I've been toying with the idea of touring and this just makes me want to get out and do it.

LOL, I got to pg. 263. Site's back up now though.

Aaahhh, I just finished! What a fantastic read!
Sorry OP for the thread hijack. I'm afraid I can't contribute to planning for your trip as I have not done one myself, but I hope it all goes well.

[GJ_Coop]

But then there's the other half of the trip: Cape Leeuwin to Cape York etc hacking once again through the centre of Oz.

zzoz, ie, zig zag across Oz. More happy nights reading ...

[isabella24]

Alright, looks like I'm having a late night tonight, glad I've got tomorrow off work! Thanks GJ_Coop! I'm in awe.

[rubblequeen]

Thanks all info much appreciated.

Can you now point me to where I can find basic info like where all the roadhouses , rest areas, etc are with distances between. There was a great book and info from the Government for the Perth to Adelaide stretch but haven't found the same basic info on the web yet.
Cheers time to go and watch T de F

[}SkOrPn--7]

Thanks all info much appreciated.

Can you now point me to where I can find basic info like where all the roadhouses , rest areas, etc are with distances between. There was a great book and info from the Government for the Perth to Adelaide stretch but haven't found the same basic info on the web yet.
Cheers time to go and watch T de F

I use this on all my tours it has all the info you need it's called wikicamps if your using a phone on you and all the info can be downloaded for offline use.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... .wikicamps

[eldavo]

Bump for pre-holidays inspiration. Just found this looking for any ride reports by Flippant, so tag, pass along.

[Leaf T]

Yeah, where's the OP rumblequeen? Would love to hear how the ride went.