Tag Archives: nt

Bike the Outback, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 54: Australia / NT

Daly Waters to  Elliott
Date: 10-29-2014 Time: 05:58 h Σ Time: 307:10 h
Distance: 153 km Σ km: 6304 km Temp: 19/44°C
Up: 226 m Σ Up: 69734 m Down: 198 m
Calories: 2676 kcal Σ kcal: 141645 kcal  
Conditions: Another long and hot day, with strong headwind in the final third of the day.

Strategy today: Try to avoid the heat in the afternoon and get into camp as early as possible. Well said, however the first detour was a visit the old airfield at Daly Waters. The hangar and the small museum was not so interesting and very run down. But the ride into the rising sun was worth the little deviation from the original track. The Wallabies were probably not so amused with the early morning intruder.  It took me a while to close up with Henry and Nellie, and  pass them, so I wasn’t last on the road anymore. The coke stop at 52 km was very welcome as the heat was already building up. Lunch at 89 km or shortly thereafter was the end of cycling for most of the riders. The heat was almost unbearable as the vegetation started to change into low bushes, thus there was hardly any shade to find. A rest place at 130 km with water tanks was used to cool down for the final 25km to Elliott. Andreas came with the truck to offer water refills and apples to the remaining riders on the road. The road was turning south-east again, which means directly into the strong headwind. I managed to stay below 6 hours for the 154 km and at 1:30 am I was cooling down in the refreshing camp pool, enjoying a delicious and expensive ice cream.

Dinner was again very delicious. Tofu, with mangos, rice and vegetables in coconut sauce.  Mark is doing an excellent job to prepare vegetarian variations for me, as the only veggie on the tour.

Today I had my first encounter of the so-called ‘Australian No-Brainer’, a subspecies of the ‘No-Brainers’ found in other parts of the so-called civilized world. Whereas the road train and other motor vehicle drivers were really respectful with us cyclists in the past days, this road train driver passed me with the minimum space left, not to crash into me. It was on a long straight road, no other traffic in both directions, and this (I don’t use the proper word here) driver did not even consider to pull over the middle line of the road, but hooted on me and almost knocked me off the road. I don’t know what causes these guys to be so reckless and risk other’s lives, without reason. Obviously, no brain, no way to think about the consequences! Luckily it is a minority who reacts like this, but they manage to spoil the reputation of a wonderful country.

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Bike the Outback, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 53: Australia / NT

Mataranka to  Daly Waters
Date: 10-28-2014 Time: 06:41 h Σ Time: 301:11 h
Distance: 169 km Σ km: 6151 km Temp: 15/45°C
Up: 250 m Σ Up: 69508 m Down: 155 m
Calories: 2912 kcal Σ kcal: 138969  kcal  
Conditions: The longest ride in Australia. The Pink Panther Roadhouse was a highlight, besides the pub at the Daly Water camp.

169 km to go today. Almost impossible to finish it before the midday heat and strong wind sets in. So I decided to ride on my own and go a comfortable pace that allows me to stop here and there and still get into camp early enough to enjoy the pool and bar. The morning was very cool, but the heat turned on during the day. Actually it was the first night, that I had to unroll my sleeping back. There was a first and only Coke Stop at the Larrimah Hotel / Pink Panther Roadhouse 20km before lunch. A real oasis, with a little zoo. 1-DSC_7726Parrots and other birds in the trees and a tame wallaby. I could have spent more time, but the schedule to finish 169km was tight. Lunch at 95km and a refreshment with apple and iced water at 130km where the only major stops thereafter. The wind was turning into the face for the last 50 km, but I was still able to keep a 25km/h average for the whole day. Today the number of dead wallabies, cows and birds increased. The road side was full of bones and carcasses. Birds of prey in the air and on the road indicated fresh victims. I arrived at 2:30pm in the camp, quickly setup tent and jumped into the refreshing pool. Tomorrow is another long day, 153 km.

There was some confusion with the camp spots we used. I setup min tent next to a power outlet to charge my laptop and gadgets. However, soon after dinner I got a visit from the pub owner, who asked for 14$, if I want to continue to use power for the laptop. I could probably charge it the whole months and not even use energy worth 14$, thus I decided to get of the power line and work on battery. Australia is a very expensive place. They seem to make money with everything, because the have the monopole in these remote locations. Maybe I have better luck to upload more photos in the next campsite, otherwise I have to continue to recharge my equipment in the toilet or laundry, where you can always find power outlets. Not very comfortable, but the only choice …

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Bike the Outback, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 52: Australia / NT

Katherine to  Mataranka
Date: 10-27-2014 Time: 04:17 h Σ Time: 294:30 h
Distance: 104 km Σ km: 5982 km Temp: 19/41°C
Up: 207 m Σ Up: 69258 m Down: 184 m
Calories: 1927 kcal Σ kcal: 136057  kcal  
Conditions: Deeper into the Outback, away from ‘civilization.

No need to say it was again hot and dry and windy and not much of a change to previous days. Strategy: get to camp before the wind blows you of the road! Luckily the road direction changed from east to south-south-east, turning the headwind into a less annoying crosswind. Lunch was at a ‘termite mount plantation’, a place that was sometimes cleaned from bushes and trees, but then occupied by hundredth of termite colonies. After lunch I was attacked by a bird. I was cycling along, when I heard a bird’s cry and a shadow following me. I turned around and I saw a bird flying over my head, obviously investigating the bugs on my helmet. The bird tried several times to get one of these. I got my GoPro ready and luckily got the last attempt recorded before the bird gave up.  All day no wallabies to see, only the smell of them. However those you can smell, you don’t want to see -  too many road kills. And usually next to the dead ‘roo’ is a dead bird. I wanted to see some caves along our route, but unfortunately the park was still closed when I arrived, and not to open for another 70 minutes – too long too wait for. Later I stopped at a world war II heritage site, with a Stirling Mill steam engine. A wallaby as hiding in the engine body, but jumped into the bushes when I get off my bike. Mataranka is a small settlement. Highlight is the nearby fresh water spring in a National Park. Unbelievable to find a river in the middle of nowhere with crystal clear water at 33°C. Even at that temperature a real refreshment. Many of us did the extra 3 km from camp to the river to go for a swim. Tomorrow is another long cycling day. 169km and only one coke stop en route. We will further change direction to go straight south, thus hoping that this will slightly enhance to wind situation. 

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Bike the Outback, Misc, Photos, Sections, Trans-Oceania

Outback Sunrise

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The sunrise in the outback is very spectacular. I’ll will a photo or two a day from our current location to this gallery, if I am lucky enough to catch is with my camera …

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Bike the Outback, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 51: Australia / NT

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Pine Creek to  Katherine
Date: 10-25-2014 Time: 03:55 h Σ Time: 290:13 h
Distance: 94 km Σ km: 5878 km Temp: 18/39°C
Up: 306 m Σ Up: 69051 m Down: 399 m
Calories: 1622 kcal Σ kcal: 134130  kcal  
Conditions: A short and fast day into Katherine for another rest day. Same conditions as last two days …

Now that we know that the gusty south-east wind is freshen up at around 10am when the temperatures raise above 30°C, everyone wants to make as much of the days distance in the early morning, to avoid going into the wind and heat for too long. Since there is almost no change in landscape and country site and no Coke Stops, there are almost no time lost stopping too often. Katherine is a little town, in the middle of nowhere, and the birthplace of Cadel Evans, an Australian professional racing cyclist and winner of the 2011 Tour de France. Not much to do in town, but some opportunities in the closer surroundings, like a canyon or the Kakadu National Park. Camp is on the Ibis Hotel, however little to no shade, so most of the riders booked a room. I am camping, however there is again little privacy as later arriving cyclists tend to setup their tents right in the space left between 2 others, although there is space available in the size of a large soccer field. Hope this is going to change soon and the craziness of camping like fish in a tin ends. There are certain things happening during such trips, I‘ll never understand. Humans are sometimes a strange species.

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Bike the Outback, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 50: Australia / NT

Adelaide River to  Pine Creek
Date: 10-24-2014 Time: 06:13 h Σ Time: 286:18 h
Distance: 131 km Σ km: 5784 km Temp: 19/44°C
Up: 786 m Σ Up: 68745 m Down: 609 m
Calories: 2577  kcal Σ kcal: 132508  kcal  
Conditions: All day increasing head or crosswind making the second part of the day a real tough one in the increasing heat. Roads perfect, traffic considerably respectful on Stuart HWY.

The 50th cycling day!
You know you are in Australia when a less than 100m ‘climb’ is mentioned as the days ‘challenge’ on the whiteboard!

We took a scenic route out of camp, which extended the ride by an extra 20km. However it was really worth it. The red morning sun turned the landscape into a colorful painting; changing with every minute and the rising sun. Some of the creeks were actually running water and created occasional oases with palm trees and small lakes. No chance for a swim, as signs posted the message of crocs in the rivers and lakes. At one point there were bush fires next to the road, with birds flying low and diving onto the road to catch the fleeing insects.   The morning was astonishingly cool, just 19°C and the still low sun and trees produced enough shade on the roads for a while. The full heat was on after lunch.  And with the heat the wind sets in, getting stronger with every minute and always from SE.   As we are heading east, southeast and finally south we will probably never have a supporting tailwind, on the whole section down to Adelaide. Road-Trains were passing us, most of them with a respectful distance. Some of the 55m length, weighting 168t on 27 axels driving 104 wheels.  Even if the pass you in a controlled manner, their impact on the wind requires you to be very cautious at any time. The Lazy Lizard camp is in town, therefore no hike into the wilderness today.

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Bike the Outback, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 49: Australia / NT

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Darwin to  Adelaide River (Northern Territory)
Date: 10-23-2014 Time: 04:27 h Σ Time: 280:304h
Distance: 108 km Σ km: 5653 km Temp: 20/42°C
Up: 310 m Σ Up: 67959 m Down: 283 m
Calories: 2021 kcal Σ kcal: 129931 kcal  
Conditions: Warm to hot. Wind chilled a bit. Roads perfect. Not too much traffic on Stuart HWY.

What a change to Indonesia. It can’t be much more. All day flat. No humas on the road, except in ‘tins-on-wheels’ (trucks, cars and road-trains) and Stirling on a rented motorcycle. Once out of Darwin traffic reduced but speed of the vehicles increased. Heat was on in the late morning. Lunch was soooo good. What a difference to the Indonesian variations. I am missing coke stops and cheap beverages. Australia is going to blow my budget. 600ml Coke = 4.30$, mineral water 1.5l = 5.00$ (Darwin). It was too hot to see wildlife during the day, just cattle and an Emu. However in camp the wallabies were all around in the late afternoon. Now they are grassing in our camp around my tent.

Find photos here

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Bike the Outback, Photos, Sections, Trans-Oceania

First Day in the Outback

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Photos from the first day into the Northern Territory Outback from Darwin to Adelaide River.

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