Oodnadatta by bike, part 1: The road to Oodnadatta

Rolling out of Finke community I spotted a few dogs from the corner of my eyes running headlong towards me.  An echo of barking rang out, I realized there must have been more than five of them. For the dogs it was just sport and probably part of their daily entertainment, for me it felt like life or death. Getting my fully laden Surly ECR up to speed to outrun the angry mob was quite a feat but somehow I pulled it off. As we approached the cattle grid on the edge of town I thought I might just outrun them, it was not the case, the ringleaders gave chase a further 200 meters before giving up.

It was only day two of my expedition along The Old Ghan route and already it had thrown up many trials and tribulations. The lactic acid pumping through my legs was insane and I took it easy for the next few hours as I pedalled into the setting sun.

Continue reading Oodnadatta by bike, part 1: The road to Oodnadatta

The original Dirty Rat

The Grampians have enthralled me since I was a kid when I would peer out of my parents car window  on frequent road trips between Adelaide and Melbourne along the western highway. I often wondered what magic those mountains held! Fast forward to the late 90’s and I began to explore it for myself! Fifteen years ago I spent a few awesome long weekends exploring fire trails and single track in the mazes of ancient rock! Ever since I’ve been hooked on micro adventures into the region as it makes a great long weekend from Adelaide or Melbourne! Continue reading The original Dirty Rat

Snowy times in the Victorian high country

I spend a lot of time outdoors pursuing adventures for work, education and experience or sometimes just the sheer thrill of it. Any opportunity to explore the world around us I jump upon. A few rules of travel I have created for myself are it must be physically challenging, mentally rewarding and cheap; yeah I am a tight ass when it comes to holidays!  So what happens when it all goes a little pear shaped? Below is an account of what happens when you let excitement override sanity and just decide “Stuff it why not, I mean how much harder can it get!”

Continue reading Snowy times in the Victorian high country

Tasmaniacs 2003

 Although many short trip had been had by the time Tasmania was dreamed up in a bar late one night, it was my first big bike trip undertaken. I think i got return airfares for $100! We pushed pretty hard every day covering about 100 hilly kilometers. Our days off were often spent hiking up mountains such as Mt Rufus (above). This mountain affords some of the best views in Tasmania and we were very fortunate to have a beautifully clear day. We were so impressed by the scenery we spent almost 3 hours on the summit boiling tea and enjoying nature!

 High up in the Mt Field NP. Such an awesome climb, 10+km of dirt and 1000m of vert

Beech forest, Mt Field NP, Tasmania

 

High plains drifting on the way to Lake St Claire

Derwent Bridge, Tasmania

 

 

 

 

 

Cycling tours in wild and remote locations