It’s like I’ve died and gone to heaven. John and I have just completed the most amazing 2.5 day ride through southern central Queensland imaginable. Check out where we went using the SPOT tracker link on our home page.
Central Queensland has been in drought for almost a generation. Many people out there on the edge of Australia’s famous “Outback” can’t remember the last time waterfalls fell and rivers ran. That is until the first 2 months of 2010 brought an unprecedented amount of rain, filling dams and flooding towns everywhere. This memorable moment in history for central Queensland seemed like destiny calling us as we studied the map and pondered our possible route for a challenging training ride. So we decided to go have a look.
Mounted on two 2009 model BMW F650GS bikes (similar to the Wheel2Wheel bikes, just slightly smaller), John and I left the beachside luxury of Noosa and headed west. It wasn’t long before we encountered the severity of the floods, arriving in Gympie to find a swollen river and many westbound bridges underwater. Nonetheless with the help of some friendly locals we managed to find a clear bridge within 20kms and away we went. As one heads west in Queensland, the density of coastal living quickly gives way to the eerie sparseness of countryside as far as the eye can gaze.
Given our afternoon departure we set our sights on an overnight stay in Kingaroy – famous for its peanuts and politicians, 300 kms from Noosa. These few hours riding produced a diversity of terrain from four lane highway to single lane dirt roads. On several occasions our passage west was blocked with no option but to plough through overflowing creeks submerging the bikes and ourselves in water. The bikes were truly unstoppable and proved the class of BMW.
The next day we headed further west through Dalby and on to Chinchilla, passing immense cattle stations, rolling hills of fruit orchards and the odd coal mine. Spending time in these sleepy towns was like stepping back in time to my childhood. Back to the days where the main street was where you shopped, when you could buy a 50 cent bag of lollies, and a custard slice was sold by the lady who actually made it. The country folk reminded me of the old days as well, when people would stop and chat on the street to strangers like us. In a way these personal experiences were training for Wheel2Wheel as well, because I realised how fortunate we’re going to be, meeting so many interesting people on our journey through 10 countries next year.
Yesterday yielded the fastest and freest riding of my life – we covered a staggering 700kms. At one point we didn’t see another vehicle or person for 100kms. The remoteness of this day taught me the importance of refuelling the bikes whenever possible, because in Australia it can be a long way between drinks. The terrain was monumental once again. I felt a great sense of adventure from the random manner in which we explored unmapped dirt roads guided only by our sense of direction and position of the sun. We always seem to muddle our way through and get back east where we needed to be. By sunset we were tired, sore, dirty and wet.
Today we wanted to really challenge our off-road skills by taking on some forest trails and sand, so we headed for the coast – beautiful Rainbow Beach. The BMW had been brilliant on sealed roads, through creeks and gravel country lanes … the question now was – could it handle the narrow rutted bush paths and treacherous soft sand? We used a barge to cross the Noosa River into the State Forest and promptly found ourselves on a horse track littered with rocks, deep puddles and boggy mud. This was an intense period which resulted in me coming off the bike as it slid out from underneath me. No harm done and I was straight back upright and off again.
We then hit 50kms of uninterrupted beach which was both breathtaking and nerve-racking. The agility of the BMW was proven in the tight sandy trails through bushland off the beach. Typically the domain of true dirt bikes, I felt very comfortable through this section on the F650GS.
I learnt many things over the last few days which will help us prepare better for Wheel2Wheel. I now really understand how incredibly demanding the journey is going to be. Staying healthy and hygienic when exposed to the elements day after day is going to be critical … as will having clean and dry clothes, boots, gloves and helmet. Regular breaks and maintaining adequate hydration during the long hot days is also going to be important for safety. John and I found a nice rhythm with our riding – in the same way cyclists in a peloton take turns at leading, we rotated responsibility for looking ahead and navigating the way. In terms of equipment, we definitely need advanced helmet-to-helmet communications, built-in cameras, accurate up-to-date maps loaded on an easily visible GPS device, and watertight lightweight storage on the bikes. The bikes are tough, so I’m now focused on removing the human fragility from the equation.
Thank you to John McIntyre for making this Wheel2Wheel training ride so successful.
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