Blog 8 Days 24-32 Dates: 5th June – 12th July Woomera to Coober Pedy: 575km Total distance: 2486km I divided this blog into two parts because it is bookended by visits to two renowned opal mining towns – but there was too much information for one blog entry. Day 28 68km The ride from Beresford […]
breakingthecycle
Opal fields and the country in between – Part 1
Blog 7 Days 24-31 Dates: 5th June – 11th July Woomera to Coober Pedy: 575km Total distance: 2486km In Woomera we had to make a decision about which route I should ride to Coober Pedy – continue straight up the busy Stuart Highway for another 365km or take my preferred, longer and more interesting route […]
Following the Ghan Railways (Old and New)
Blog 6 Dates: 28th June – 3rd July Marree – Port Augusta – Woomera: 575km Total distance: 1961km — Day 18 Marree to Lyndhurst – 83km It rained solidly the whole time we were in Marree and with no chance of the Oodnadatta Track opening for at least a week, possibly two weeks, I had […]
The Birdsville Track
Blog 5 Days 12 – 16 Dates – 22th-26th June Total distance – 1386km The Birdsville Track – Birdsville to Marree – 527km The Birdsville Track was opened in the 1860s to walk cattle from northern Queensland and the Northern Territory to the nearest railhead in Port Augusta, which was later moved to Marree. Percy Burt was the pioneering drover credited […]
Birdsville, Don Rowlands and the Wangkangurru culture
Blog 4 Days 10 and 11 Dates – 20th-21st June Total distance – 859km Birdsville In Birdsville I arranged to meet Don Rowlands OAM, Wangkangurru elder and Munga-Thirri (Simpson Desert, Queensland) Park Ranger to learn about his lifelong commitment to re-connect and preserve the culture of his people. I learned so much over the two […]
The long way to Birdsville
Blog 3 Dates – 14th-19th June Distance – 519km Total distance – 859km — Day 4 Innamincka to the Dig Tree 58km On reaching Innamincka, the first thing we needed to find out was whether I could cycle to Birdsville from there. The planned route along the Cordillo Road was closed due to flooding and […]
Adapting from the start
Blog 2 Start (Toona Gate Road, 90km from Tibooburra) – Innamincka Dates – 11th – 13th June Distance – 340.1km Our drive up to Tibooburra ended up being quite eventful. We collected Gelareh from the airport and headed north but the main road was totally blocked due to flash flooding. After Martin winched a couple […]
Breaking the Cycle Across Australia 2023
Blog 1 Back out there Welcome to the first blog for Breaking the Cycle Across Australia 2023. Many of you will remember that in 2021 I began this 7500km journey from Cape Byron, Australia’s most easterly point with the aim of finishing at Steep Point, the continent’s most westerly tip. I started on 1st May […]
The Longest Day – to the finish
Day 5 12th February Distance – 54km Total distance – 201km Again the forecast was for good weather. Gale-force winds are a regular occurrence around Schirmacher Oasis/Novo so we were lucky to have the forces of nature on our side. As I was planning to do a longer day today to reach the finish, I […]
A Beautiful Day?
Day 4 11th February Distance – 40km Total distance – 147km Finally a beautiful day – sunny, clear and cold. It was still -17C when I set off and no doubt with the wind chill, it would have been much lower. The first 20km was the roughest part of the journey as the route traversed […]
