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CSR Report
With delerious satisfaction I awoke from the longest and deepest slumber I've had in 3 weeks this morning.
I don't think it's all sunk in just yet. To complete the CSR "by bike" is a sweet dream. Although there are a million blurry visions flying around in my head at the moment, here are just a few to summarise this leg of my epic ride and help put things in perspective:
Riding off into the middle of nowhere, all alone, my heart in mouth. What would the next 3 weeks hold for this loneley desert rider.
Amazement that my amazing Fatback bike, Crosso panniers and Extrawheel trailer can actually hold and transport this massive 3 weeks food and water supply over such soft sand.
Not seeing a single 4WD for as many as 3 days at a time
Only seeing 3 4WD parties in the first week
Brilliant red sunsets and golden sunrises. These were my "constant" and balancing moments.
Relaxing campfires under starry nights; the clarity of which you only witness in the Australian bush
Exhilaration at weaving through massive desert rocks on deeply rutted 4WD terrain, again amazement at what my Fatback bike and Extrawheel trailer combination on 4" hoofs can do. No other bike performs like this.
Seeing 11 camels (inc 2 calves) parade past my tent whilst I sit on top of Thring rock at sunset
Absolute frustration at the endless miles of soft sandy 4WD corrugations that reduce my riding to an irritatingly slow 5-9km/hr. I ride off-track where the vegetation permits but this is not often. My only come-back is to ride long hours to cover the required distance each day.
Seeing 4 dung beetles working together to roll a dingo turd down a sand dune
Rounding another tight corner and glancing up at the next sand dune. Would I be able to ride this one, or again be reduced to pushing bike, and then trailer one more time.
Reaching the summit of the final dune in a seemingly endless ocean and peering for miles over the vast emptiness of inland Australia. I may have completed this wave set, but would I be so fortunate on the next???
Witnessing first-hand the struggle for life as a dingo scare away finches and hornets that had been lapping up one small murky puddle of water after a very light and brief desert rain
Cherishing a desert rainbow after a heavy desert rain and howling, freezing wind
Feeling like a koala in a Japenese zoo with all the photos taken of "this lonely desert ride"
Meeting so many very nice 4WD'ers, and hearing all their own reasons for taking on this desert epic
Nervousness at the thought I may run out of food ahead of time. I am riding too slow.
Self doubt as my water supply runs low ahead of well 41. Can I really do this? I fall in a heap at the top of a dune. Moments later I startle to the sound of a little crinkling in leaves near my ear. It was a scorpion. More self-doubt and scalding. I should have checked where I layed my weary body. Can I really do this?
Confirmation that yes I can. I can, step by step, baby steps. Don't look too far ahead.
Practising desert survival techniques; sourcing water from trees captured after a light rain.
An exhaustion beyond any I have ever felt before.
The above is just a blurry summary of what the last 3 weeks has produced. With limited time I must now scurry off to finalise preparations ahead of the Anne Beadell Highway. I will forward on some photos later today which may take a couple of weeks to be posted to the website. I hope my amateur photography skills do some justice to the marvellous terrain I've witnessed in the passing weeks.
My New Bike
I'd like to introduce Fat Albert:
... Or at least that's my nick-name for this great 18" Speedway Cycles Fatback.
When you're about to embark on a 7500km ride through 10 deserts, up to 1,000km from the nearest town, there is no mucking around with sub-standard equipment. The Fatback represents the pinnacle of adventure mountain biking. Made exclusively from titanium, this frame and fork-set are designed to go the distance in the harshest terrain, and live to tell the tale. Given this bike accommodates 2 x 4" wheels, it's remarkable that the 18" frame weighs in at a measly 1.57kg.
