Touring - Touring Australia by Bicycle

The plans are still somewhat tentative but they are coming together. If everything works out, I will be touring Australia by bicycle for 1 to 3 months this fall.

The 1 month plan is to arrive in late September, ride the 1200K brevet in Sydney that starts on October 2nd.

The Central Western Tour
Saturday 2 October 2004 - Hornsby, NSW
1200km - Road - Supported - Last Quarter Moon
Contact Mal Rogers on 02 9415 1204 or email sydney@audax.org.au

PBP rules apply. A scenic tour through our rural heartland.


Then my friend and I will cycle down to Melbourne taking in some of the sites along the way to arrive in time to do the next 1200K in the Melbourne area

The Great Southern Randonee 1200
Monday 25 October 2004 - Anglesea, VIC
1200km - Road - Supported - Full Moon
Contact Peter Moore on 03 9429 6889 or email gsr2004@audax.org.au

A challenging route through the most scenic parts of Victoria, the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians. Riding weekdays so we have very little traffic. This will be the third time this ride has run over the same excellent route.

http://www.audax.org.au/index.asp


The three month plan will have my friend and I continuing on from Melbourne over to Adalaide, up to Broken Hill, over to Brisbane, and back down to Sydney ... roughly.


This will be my longest cycletouring trip. I'm looking forward to it and hoping that it will be a great experience. :)

If you've got any tips about cycling and camping in Australia, I'd love to hear them.

I'm also hunting for an appropriate sleeping bag. I have a really small one now, but froze when I was touring Wales last year. I may have more questions as I go along here.

Thanks for your help. :)

I cycled the Great Ocean Road in November 2002 (and the Grampians too!). Bring a digital camera -- otherwise you'll be going through lots of rolls of film! You should be able to pick up a free "Cycling the Great Ocean Road" guide down there somewhere (I grabbed one in Geelong). Although it uses the word "dangerous" a little too liberally for my liking (and certainly more than it needs to), it does provide some useful information -- including "cycle friendly accommodation". You may be able to obtain further information from http://www.greatoceanroad.org/cycling/index.asp . In the area near Port Campbell, it's worth allowing time for a couple of slight detours to see some of the rock formations down there.

Mt Gambier's Blue Lake is not to be missed, and you'll probably pass through there about the same time of the year I was there (I believe it actually changes colour at different times of the year).

Make sure you can carry plenty of supplies after leaving Adelaide for Broken Hill, and especially between Broken Hill and Brisbane. The distances between towns out there can be literally hundreds of kilometres at a time, and "town" has a slightly different (smaller) meaning out there than in most other places. The scenery can also get pretty unexciting in that part of the world, too -- not to mention uncomfortably hot in November, December, January or February (I'm talking like 45-50 degrees C). Make sure you can carry plenty of water. Personally I'd be heading to Tasmania for a few weeks during that time -- the weather down there is likely to be much friendlier.

If you can spare some time there is great riding in the Gold Coast Hinterland (just south of Brisbane), but the Coastal strip itself is where you will find the worst drivers of the trip (and quite possibly of any trip you've done). Strangely, they seem much better behaved on the winding mountain roads immediately to the west. Depending on your schedule, you may hit the Brisbane to Sydney leg in the middle of the tourist season (from mid December to the end of January). If so, expect to pay up to twice the normal rate for a campsite -- assuming you can find one. Also be aware that many of the councils in the coastal regions have strict regulations on "free camping".

Anyway, I hope all this helps. Feel free to hit me with any further questions you may have.

I agree with Chris about there being many long stretches of nothing. Perhaps you might want to check out New Zealand. I lived there 2 years and 18 months of it was on a bike. Its roughly 1000 miles from north to south and the best part is NO DEAD SPACE. It is all wonderful and the people are very friendly.

MBD