J
just us
Guest
Well I am just home after completing my challenge for the year - I rode my
pushie home from Moura in Central Qld. It was 1600kms over 18 days with one
days rest in Charters Towers. I rode with a lady (59yrs) and myself (49)
which just goes to prove anyone can do anything
We camped all the way and had some very unique campspots, ranging from long
grass in paddocks, to front lawns of friendly stations that offered us a bit
of grass and a hot shower (thank you wonderful people), we carried our bikes
over fences to hide them in long grass before carting our bags down into dry
creek beds just to get of the road for the night, slept under bridges, we
washed in puddles that used to be rivers, we cooked on open fires, boiled
the billy for smokos, got tangled up in a bullfight (they were having this
huge head banging thing happening where we had hidden our bikes for the
night LOL) - oh I can just go on and on
We ran over snakes, got chased by brumbies, saw emus, dingoes, wedgetail
eagles, mobs of cattle and the most amazing displays of bird life - the
parrots out west are just spectacular.
We had posted dry food supplies to 3 different locations which enabled us to
do the long hauls without worry about food. Overall I only lost a couple of
kgs so the dry stuff was of top quality (home made in my dehydrator)
We waved to every truckie that does the inland route - they are wonderful
drivers who gave us as much room as they could and when there was no room we
got off into the gutter of the road and stood beside the bikes. Some of
these Road Trains were 4 dogs long, so the wind off them was just amazing.
Overall the truckies got our vote as the safest vehicles to share the road
with - they were very courteous. The caravans were the scarey ones, followed
by small cars going fast!
We were offered chairs in caravan parks, glasses of wine and beer, soap
powder for the washing machines (we must have stunk LOL). Our days started
at 4am, on the road before 5am and put in a good 20kms before sunrise when
the heat started.
I just cant believe that we actually did it with no dramas at all. At the
end of each day the old bum was ready to get off the saddle, but neither of
us had any chaffing - ended up posting the cream home along with other
extras we were not using. I had 2 flat tyres, she had 3. I fell off once
simply because I was stuffed and forgot to put my foot down and over I went
ROFL.... lost skin and a lot of bruises but hey it wasnt the end of the
world.
My Trek 7500 was just awesome - even on the 200kms of dirt
roads/corrugations/sand with full panniers. To anyone who wants to go give
the touring a go - I say "go for it - get outside the comfort zone and you
realise that the zone is way bigger than you thought".
Kathy
pushie home from Moura in Central Qld. It was 1600kms over 18 days with one
days rest in Charters Towers. I rode with a lady (59yrs) and myself (49)
which just goes to prove anyone can do anything
We camped all the way and had some very unique campspots, ranging from long
grass in paddocks, to front lawns of friendly stations that offered us a bit
of grass and a hot shower (thank you wonderful people), we carried our bikes
over fences to hide them in long grass before carting our bags down into dry
creek beds just to get of the road for the night, slept under bridges, we
washed in puddles that used to be rivers, we cooked on open fires, boiled
the billy for smokos, got tangled up in a bullfight (they were having this
huge head banging thing happening where we had hidden our bikes for the
night LOL) - oh I can just go on and on
We ran over snakes, got chased by brumbies, saw emus, dingoes, wedgetail
eagles, mobs of cattle and the most amazing displays of bird life - the
parrots out west are just spectacular.
We had posted dry food supplies to 3 different locations which enabled us to
do the long hauls without worry about food. Overall I only lost a couple of
kgs so the dry stuff was of top quality (home made in my dehydrator)
We waved to every truckie that does the inland route - they are wonderful
drivers who gave us as much room as they could and when there was no room we
got off into the gutter of the road and stood beside the bikes. Some of
these Road Trains were 4 dogs long, so the wind off them was just amazing.
Overall the truckies got our vote as the safest vehicles to share the road
with - they were very courteous. The caravans were the scarey ones, followed
by small cars going fast!
We were offered chairs in caravan parks, glasses of wine and beer, soap
powder for the washing machines (we must have stunk LOL). Our days started
at 4am, on the road before 5am and put in a good 20kms before sunrise when
the heat started.
I just cant believe that we actually did it with no dramas at all. At the
end of each day the old bum was ready to get off the saddle, but neither of
us had any chaffing - ended up posting the cream home along with other
extras we were not using. I had 2 flat tyres, she had 3. I fell off once
simply because I was stuffed and forgot to put my foot down and over I went
ROFL.... lost skin and a lot of bruises but hey it wasnt the end of the
world.
My Trek 7500 was just awesome - even on the 200kms of dirt
roads/corrugations/sand with full panniers. To anyone who wants to go give
the touring a go - I say "go for it - get outside the comfort zone and you
realise that the zone is way bigger than you thought".
Kathy
