Emerald Springs roadhouse accommodation has been booked and they are holding 3 cabins for those that want to upgrade on these nights.
We will no longer be staying at Pine Creek.
Doon Doon Roadhouse is closed so YES we have added another bush camp onto the itinerary and we hope to be camping on the Durham River. There is a rest area that allows 24 hour camping.
Itineraries have been changed and should appear on the website this week.
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Friday, 25 January 2013
Changes to accommodation- Pine Creek & Doon Doon
Just received an email from Doon Doon Roadhouse in WA on the Darwin to Broome ride stating that they are sorry for the inconvenience but their camping ground will be closed for the year of 2013. Collis rang them straight away to confirm and it is true. Apparently they were having work done on the toilet blocks when something drastic went wrong and it will take the whole year to sort it all out.
There is a spot on the Dunhum River but it is a 24 hour public rest stop and these aren't always very pleasant. It is about 20 kms short of Doon Doon making the ride on that day around 90 kms (was 110 kms) and the next day would go up to 115kms (was 95 kms). Too far for the riders to ride for a meal so therefore I will have to add another bush camp meal onto the itinerary. Hopefully there will be some water in the river, not too much though. Here are some pictures from the internet showing some of the extremes of the Dunhum River.
If the rest area is not too busy and the water is not too high then we probably will give it a go for camping.
Pine Creek
We have been trying for months to contact our friends in Pine Creek re- accommodation at their small intimate caravan park but without success. They are still living at the park but they do not seem to be taking any guests.
Collis is currently investigating a night (on the way to Darwin and one night on the way from Darwin) at a different stop called Emerald Springs. It looks very nice as they have renovated the roadhouse and are continuing to update with a swimming hole and a lake. We are waiting for a response from the owners as to whether they can cope with a large group of rowdy cyclists.
Will update the itineraries once these changes have been confirmed.
Monday, 21 January 2013
Training ride completed.
Well, the training ride has come & gone so quickly and my main concern is the cycle around oz, which is 6 months long, will fly by just as quickly. Previous rides have been an average of 5 weeks long and because we are all so busy, the time flies by without you even realising it.
We all arrived in Bairnsdale on Wednesday afternoon/evening and met up for the ride discussion at 6.30 pm at the Big 4 caravan park. We ended up with 12 riders and 8 in the support crew. The discussions were centred on the forecast of 38C the next day. Jacquei had flown down from Brisbane with Qantas but her bike went to Mackay; then they lost the bike in Brisbane but eventually it arrived at midnight via courier. Very frustrating time for her and worry over in what state the bike may arrive. Theo & John arrived late as they drove down from Pt Macquarie in the one day.
The plan was to leave at 6.30 am on Thursday morning so as to miss some of the heat. The wrong morning to sleep in but it happened. 5 riders headed out at 6.30 am but the rest left about an hour later. The morning weather was quite pleasant with an undulating ride through various types of landscapes. Morning tea was between 9.30 and 10.30 (at the 50 km mark) with all riders, bar one, arriving as planned. Unfortunately Theo's bike (3 months old) had a fatal break on the derailleur hanger. He was taken to Bairnsdale by his wife but no-one was able to fix it for him. So disappointing for Theo but unavoidable and he was then not able to continue with the ride. After morning tea the weather heated up dramatically. The hills increased, the wind got hotter and in their faces and the water supply became luke warm. They arrived at Swift Creek in dribs and drabs for lunch with 1 rider pulling out at lunch break. We were down to 10 riders out in the heat. 2 more riders plus one of the support crew (who rode out to meet them) were brought in via car. At 4 pm we were down to 8 riders with 7 safely arriving at the Omeo caravan park. One rider was still out there on her own so we decided she needed to be brought in before she collapsed. She was disappointed but was not thinking straight at the time.
It was a tough, tough day and everyone of those riders should be proud of there achievements. Great dinner with the whole group at the Golden Age hotel. Early to bed.
11 riders left Omeo at around 7.30 am. The female support crew went shopping for food supplies for the nights dinner at Mt Hotham. Today there were very few (if any) down hills, it just seemed to be one steep hill after another all the way to morning tea. It was hot out on the road but cooler than the day before. Most of the riders were looking stronger today but 4 were still suffering from the ride the day before and pulled out at morning tea break (which was at the 25 km mark). One rider described his problems beautifully stating "I have no petrol in my legs". This left us 7 riders to complete the ride up the mountain without any further dramas. They stopped at Dinner Plains for lunch before riding onto the lodge we had booked for the night. All riders were in by early afternoon and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at the pub, walking the area or reading in the lodge. Lorraine cooked a lovely spaghetti sauce with Jacquei doing one of her famous Coleslaws and Jan & Allen doing a great tossed salad. Plenty of food with quite a few leftovers- where was Robbo when we needed him. Everyone kicked in with the clean up and it was all finished before we knew it. A small group had a competition at the pool table with Kathy & Collis as the champions until Tim challenged Collis in a solo match. Tim won 2 games in a row before we all headed off to bed.
Theo, Caroline & John left us in the early hours of the morning as they wanted to get an early start back to Pt Macquarie. Planned a 'sleep in' the next day as it was all down hill with only a few ups & downs before the main descent. Very steep descent which required alot of concentration to prevent a nasty fall. Arrived at Harrietville in time for morning tea before racing into Bright where the ride was completed. Robbo was here to meet us but refused to take some of the leftovers.
The ride was enjoyed by most although some were bitterly disappointed with the bike performance, a couple disappointed with their own performance and most disappointed with the weather dished out to them. None were disappointed with the views or the experience. All riders have a much better idea of how much training they will need to do before they start their stage of this years Cycle Around Oz.
We could not have asked for a better training ride- everyone has gained some knowledge from the experience.
We all arrived in Bairnsdale on Wednesday afternoon/evening and met up for the ride discussion at 6.30 pm at the Big 4 caravan park. We ended up with 12 riders and 8 in the support crew. The discussions were centred on the forecast of 38C the next day. Jacquei had flown down from Brisbane with Qantas but her bike went to Mackay; then they lost the bike in Brisbane but eventually it arrived at midnight via courier. Very frustrating time for her and worry over in what state the bike may arrive. Theo & John arrived late as they drove down from Pt Macquarie in the one day.
The plan was to leave at 6.30 am on Thursday morning so as to miss some of the heat. The wrong morning to sleep in but it happened. 5 riders headed out at 6.30 am but the rest left about an hour later. The morning weather was quite pleasant with an undulating ride through various types of landscapes. Morning tea was between 9.30 and 10.30 (at the 50 km mark) with all riders, bar one, arriving as planned. Unfortunately Theo's bike (3 months old) had a fatal break on the derailleur hanger. He was taken to Bairnsdale by his wife but no-one was able to fix it for him. So disappointing for Theo but unavoidable and he was then not able to continue with the ride. After morning tea the weather heated up dramatically. The hills increased, the wind got hotter and in their faces and the water supply became luke warm. They arrived at Swift Creek in dribs and drabs for lunch with 1 rider pulling out at lunch break. We were down to 10 riders out in the heat. 2 more riders plus one of the support crew (who rode out to meet them) were brought in via car. At 4 pm we were down to 8 riders with 7 safely arriving at the Omeo caravan park. One rider was still out there on her own so we decided she needed to be brought in before she collapsed. She was disappointed but was not thinking straight at the time.
It was a tough, tough day and everyone of those riders should be proud of there achievements. Great dinner with the whole group at the Golden Age hotel. Early to bed.
11 riders left Omeo at around 7.30 am. The female support crew went shopping for food supplies for the nights dinner at Mt Hotham. Today there were very few (if any) down hills, it just seemed to be one steep hill after another all the way to morning tea. It was hot out on the road but cooler than the day before. Most of the riders were looking stronger today but 4 were still suffering from the ride the day before and pulled out at morning tea break (which was at the 25 km mark). One rider described his problems beautifully stating "I have no petrol in my legs". This left us 7 riders to complete the ride up the mountain without any further dramas. They stopped at Dinner Plains for lunch before riding onto the lodge we had booked for the night. All riders were in by early afternoon and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at the pub, walking the area or reading in the lodge. Lorraine cooked a lovely spaghetti sauce with Jacquei doing one of her famous Coleslaws and Jan & Allen doing a great tossed salad. Plenty of food with quite a few leftovers- where was Robbo when we needed him. Everyone kicked in with the clean up and it was all finished before we knew it. A small group had a competition at the pool table with Kathy & Collis as the champions until Tim challenged Collis in a solo match. Tim won 2 games in a row before we all headed off to bed.
Theo, Caroline & John left us in the early hours of the morning as they wanted to get an early start back to Pt Macquarie. Planned a 'sleep in' the next day as it was all down hill with only a few ups & downs before the main descent. Very steep descent which required alot of concentration to prevent a nasty fall. Arrived at Harrietville in time for morning tea before racing into Bright where the ride was completed. Robbo was here to meet us but refused to take some of the leftovers.
The ride was enjoyed by most although some were bitterly disappointed with the bike performance, a couple disappointed with their own performance and most disappointed with the weather dished out to them. None were disappointed with the views or the experience. All riders have a much better idea of how much training they will need to do before they start their stage of this years Cycle Around Oz.
We could not have asked for a better training ride- everyone has gained some knowledge from the experience.
Friday, 21 December 2012
Bike boxes
We have received an email from one of our forward thinking cyclists who will be travelling from Melbourne to Broome. His suggestions are good and could be incorporated with some coordination. Collis and I are contacting cycle shops in the major cities regarding assistance with the assembling of bikes and we will also ask if they are able to supply bike boxes as required. We will forward on the names of these shops as they reply in the positive to us.
Here is the letter:
Here is the letter:
Just wondering if there’s been any thought about getting bike boxes as people finish stages. In my case, I’ll be looking for a bike box to fly back from Broome. I’ll have a bike box when I arrive in Melbourne which someone else is welcome to use when they leave Melbourne – either at the end of the ride, or to join one of the stages. What would be ideal is if someone Melbourne who’s joining the ride in Broome could use my box so I can use it from Broome to home!
Alternatively, any thoughts on obtaining a bike box in Broome would be appreciated (My bike has a big standard frame and is difficult to pack into a bike box typically available from bike shops - an ‘airline’ full size box is good (140cm long x 80cm high x 30cm wide) – or a bike box from a cycling organisation (eg. Bicycle Vic, or Bicycle Qld) that organise bike transport for tour events).
Would you think about shipping (new?) bike boxes to ride departure points (stage ends) for people leaving the ride at the stage points (with cost to be paid by riders using the ‘service’)?
Riders who are interested in these suggestions can let us know and we will see how we can organise this.
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Xmas shopping list for 2013 ride.
If family and friends are having trouble thinking of something for you for Xmas then this list might help.
From past experience, riders do tend to bring more equipment than they need. As we are limited for room, it is important that you keep equipment to a minimum.
Cycle Across Oz will only carry a maximum of 15 kgs per rider which includes all camping equipment but not your bicycle.
Essential items are:
Multi tool
Patch kit and spare tyre, 2 tubes, spare cables, spokes and nipples.
Bike lock & pump
HELMET- must be worn in Australia whilst riding.
Minimum of 2 water bottles.
Tent
Sleeping mat & sleeping bag
Crockery & cutlery for one
Insect repellent, bum cream & sunscreen
Clothing & toiletries
All bicycles must be fitted with a mirror or helmet mirror.
This all MUST fit into one bag per rider- sausage bag or equivalent. If using panniers, no more than four will be carried in vehicle. No bicycle boxes, bags or cases will be carried by Cycle Across Oz.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Xmas is nearly here and then it's 2013!!
While Collis doses quietly in front of the TV watching Australia get slaughtered by South Africa, I thought I would just summarise where we are up to in our preparation for next years trip.
Number of sleeps to go before we leave Melbourne: 110
We leave Melbourne 23rd March 2013
Number of sleeps until the training ride: 45
Training ride is 17th January to 19th January 2013 inclusive.
Number of weeks before the final payments due for the first three stages: 8 1/2 weeks
Stages 1, 2 & 3 full payment due by January 31st 2013.
Stage 4 full payment due by June 1st by cheque or cash.
Stage 5 full payment due July 1st 2013.
Total number of riders officially booked into the ride: 27
16 males- one more male is very interested.
11 females- one more female recently enquired.
Number of riders doing the whole ride: 6
Six riders so far booked in for 14,000 plus kms.
1 rider booked in for 4 stages.
Stage that is full and still receiving enquiries: Stage 3 Darwin to Broome.
If further riders wanting to do the whole trip they will still be able to do Stage 3.
Average age of riders: 54
Number of nights with confirmed accommodation bookings: 128 nights
Number of bush camps for the whole trip: 16 nights
2 further bush camps recently added due to NO other accommodation available.
Number of meals provided: 37
Cycle across oz has added some breakfasts into the itinerary this trip and some BBQs.
Number of Rest Days: 27
We organise a rest day at towns that are places of interest and normally every 4 or 5 days.
Days under 50 kms: 3 days
50 - 100kms: 21 days
100- 150 kms: 58 days
150 kms plus: 31 days
Longest stretch: Mt Isa to Three Ways Cairns to Darwin
Mt Isa to bush camp 150 km, Bush camp to bush camp 150 kms, Bush camp to Barkly150 kms and finishing with Barkly to Three ways 185 kms.
2nd longest stretch: Kalgoorlie to Eucla (Perth to Melbourne)
895 kms over 6 days then a rest day.
Need lots of bum cream here.
Number of sleeps to go before we leave Melbourne: 110
We leave Melbourne 23rd March 2013
Number of sleeps until the training ride: 45
Training ride is 17th January to 19th January 2013 inclusive.
Number of weeks before the final payments due for the first three stages: 8 1/2 weeks
Stages 1, 2 & 3 full payment due by January 31st 2013.
Stage 4 full payment due by June 1st by cheque or cash.
Stage 5 full payment due July 1st 2013.
Total number of riders officially booked into the ride: 27
16 males- one more male is very interested.
11 females- one more female recently enquired.
Number of riders doing the whole ride: 6
Six riders so far booked in for 14,000 plus kms.
1 rider booked in for 4 stages.
Stage that is full and still receiving enquiries: Stage 3 Darwin to Broome.
If further riders wanting to do the whole trip they will still be able to do Stage 3.
Average age of riders: 54
Number of nights with confirmed accommodation bookings: 128 nights
Number of bush camps for the whole trip: 16 nights
2 further bush camps recently added due to NO other accommodation available.
Number of meals provided: 37
Cycle across oz has added some breakfasts into the itinerary this trip and some BBQs.
Number of Rest Days: 27
We organise a rest day at towns that are places of interest and normally every 4 or 5 days.
Days under 50 kms: 3 days
50 - 100kms: 21 days
100- 150 kms: 58 days
150 kms plus: 31 days
Longest stretch: Mt Isa to Three Ways Cairns to Darwin
Mt Isa to bush camp 150 km, Bush camp to bush camp 150 kms, Bush camp to Barkly150 kms and finishing with Barkly to Three ways 185 kms.
2nd longest stretch: Kalgoorlie to Eucla (Perth to Melbourne)
895 kms over 6 days then a rest day.
Need lots of bum cream here.
Friday, 2 November 2012
20 weeks!! OMG, we better pull our finger out.
We had a lovely catch up last night with the Princess. She just reminded us how special and life changing these trips can really be. Our last trip from Broome to Perth was pretty amazing with some great friendships forged and some spectacular scenery and some just down right wonderful moments of "I am so glad I'm alive and witnessing this". I could be exaggerating just a little bit but it depends on who you talk to and their attitude to the whole 'journey'. There will always be moments and some that I may just contribute to but on the whole it was fantastic. Thanks Princess for your enlightenment.
Looking forward in catching up with Princess' side kick next month and I hope we can go out drinking and get in some dancing while she's here. Princess will be joining us and hopefully maybe some of the other past riders in Melbourne can catch up with us as well. This lady helped save my sanity a couple of times last ride, so I owe her alot.
Training ride in January is all organised and we have booked our accommodation, so hopefully all riders have booked theirs as well. The itinerary has changed slightly due to accommodation costs and availability but we don't actually change the route. The boy from Shep is riding up and over on his own and hoping to catch us on our way over from Bairnesdale to Omeo and then ride with us to Bright.
Collis and one of our newly recruited riders did a ride last weekend up to Mt Dandenong and back to test her skills and his as well. Collis will be riding the training ride as this is one route he has always wanted to do. I will be providing the morning tea and back up on my own for this so I also had a test run with driving the truck around sharp corners, watching out for riders along the way and providing morning tea and lunch. I was pleased that I had plenty of left overs after the trial run but of course I was feeding only 2 people. I will have to learn to use the generator before the training ride too. All these new skills!!:))) By the way our new rider impressed Collis, we will call her Miss Determination. This is one lady that is in her 60's, had not ridden a bike for many years, did not own a bike before she signed up to do the whole round trip and is now comfortably riding up mountains and doing 100kms+ rides. Proud of you Miss D.
Haven't found anymore roadhouses, pubs or caravan parks that we are planning on staying in to have closed down. Thank God for that as it increases the workload and organisation time 10 fold trying to locate another in the vicinity of where we had originally planned to stay. So far 2 bush camps have been added to the trip as there just wasn't anywhere else to stay in the area we needed. No problems really as the bush camps are always enjoyable except for those who really don't like tent living.
Better go and get the next edition of the newsletter ready for editing.
Looking forward in catching up with Princess' side kick next month and I hope we can go out drinking and get in some dancing while she's here. Princess will be joining us and hopefully maybe some of the other past riders in Melbourne can catch up with us as well. This lady helped save my sanity a couple of times last ride, so I owe her alot.
Training ride in January is all organised and we have booked our accommodation, so hopefully all riders have booked theirs as well. The itinerary has changed slightly due to accommodation costs and availability but we don't actually change the route. The boy from Shep is riding up and over on his own and hoping to catch us on our way over from Bairnesdale to Omeo and then ride with us to Bright.
Haven't found anymore roadhouses, pubs or caravan parks that we are planning on staying in to have closed down. Thank God for that as it increases the workload and organisation time 10 fold trying to locate another in the vicinity of where we had originally planned to stay. So far 2 bush camps have been added to the trip as there just wasn't anywhere else to stay in the area we needed. No problems really as the bush camps are always enjoyable except for those who really don't like tent living.
Better go and get the next edition of the newsletter ready for editing.
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