2007 Postie Bike Challenge. (or Heat, dust and an ouch.)

**Jantar** · 6th November 2007, 14:00

Part 1.

Take a

that is designed for low speeds around town, on all sealed roads and attempt to ride it 3600 km through some of Australia's toughest terrain may seem like a mad idea. This year 32 riders tried to do just that from Brisbane to Cairns via the Gulf of Carpentaria through the outback.

The Postie Bike Challenge http://www.postiebikechallenge.org/ is an adventure ride for charity based on the wee Honda CT110. It has been going for 6 years and this year was to the most adventurous yet.

My trip began on Wednesday 10th October as I boarded an A320 Airbus bound for Brisbane. It was a pleasant flight all the way, but not much to see in mid Tasman. Fortunately Stromfrau gave me a present at the airport with instructions not to open it until I was airborne. It was a copy of Twisting Throttle and the story of a ride around Australia on a VStrom. A very good motorcycling book and well worth the read.

I arrived in Brisbane at 5:30 pm and collected my rental car then out onto the motorway north right in the middle of rush hour. The M1 at this point is only two lanes in each direction and it was good to see how smoothly the traffic flowed for about 11 km, then it was just like Auckland; start - stop - start again - creep forward - stop. Thumbs up to the motorcyclists splitting past on both sides of me.

Eventually the traffic thinned and I carried on to the Etamunga Pub for a $15 steak dinner (the Wednesday night special) and a schooner of VB. I finally arrived in Noosa at 8:30 pm to find Stromfrau's sister, Judy, had a few more cold beers in the fridge ready and waiting. I figured a few days on the beach in Noosa would help me acclimatise to the heat before starting the ride

and the fact that there are so many topless women on the beaches there had nothing to do with it.

The next day Judy and I went for a walk around Noosa Heads National Park and stopped for a swim at Alexandria Bay. This is a clothing optional beach, but as we are now well into middle age with nothing to skite about, we wore normal swim wear. The water was beautiful and warm with a gentle surf and just a slight current.

I repeated this trip (alone) on the following three days as well and tried another couple of isolated bays to swim at. Without Judy there I must admit that I could be less inhibited at looking at the lovely topless scenery in the area.

Sunday was the day to check all my riding gear and work out what I could carry on the bike, what I could fit in the carry bag supplied by the organisers of the ride, and what I would leave in Noosa for the next two weeks. We had been warned that opportunities to wash clothes etc. would be very limited and to pack enough to last the distance. I decided I could make 3 pairs of kevlar jeans and 6 shirts last the distance, and even without proper washing facilities I figured that I could stomp some undies in the shower if I was running out. I had bought a new Neo jacket with removable lining for the trip and it was obvious that in this heat the lining would not be needed.

On monday I drove back down to Brisbane and checked into a hotel close to the start of the ride. For anyone visiting Brisbane I would suggest that you check out the Formule1 for an inexpensive stay. It is only 3 star, yet every room has an en-suite, TV, radio etc and good off street parking for only $71 per night.

The photos are Tea Pot Bay, and one of the locals watching the swimmers.

**Jantar** · 6th November 2007, 14:23

Tuesday 16th was the day we were assigned our bikes, received our camping gear and given a briefing on how to nurse the CT110 through the hot dry conditions. Most people made minor modifications to personalise their bikes, and everyone puzzled over how to fit everything into the milk crates fitted to the carriers.

We each had to carry a 5 litre fuel can, 3 water bottles, a first aid kit, maps, wet weather gear (as if it would be needed), lunch box, hat, then fit in anything else that we wished to carry. I finally thought I had it all sorted, then looked at how some of the other riders were managing. Maybe I wasn't so overloaded afterall.

At the briefing we were advised that the CT110 is designed to maintain a good airflow over the engine at low speed, and if the speed crept up that the front mudgaurd would act as an air dam and reduce the airflow. Over the previous 5 years that this event has been held they have found that the optimum cruising speed is 70 kmh with a maximum of 75 kmh. Anything over this and the engine is likely to cook. The back-up crew had three complete spare bikes and a further three spare engines along with plenty of other spare parts.

Back up would consist of a lead vehicle marking the route with surveyor's tape, a mechanic's truck and a fuel truck that would each mingle with the bikes during the ride, and a ute and trailer with the spare bikes and some other spares as tail end charlie. We were to meet at 6:30 the next morning for the days briefing and the start.

Photos are:
1. My bike as I received it.
2. Personalising the bikes
3. A typical refuelling stop
4. The fuel truck

**Hitcher** · 6th November 2007, 14:35

"Twisting Throttle" is a great read. The saga of Glovie lost in the Kakadu had me chuckling for ages. Apart from the motorcycling story it is an interesting case study in how long somebody can last living solely on sausage rolls and Fanta.

Anyway, I digress. All good so far, Jantar. I'm looking forward to reading the rest!

**Blackbird** · 6th November 2007, 14:45

Originally Posted by Hitcher

"Twisting Throttle" is a great read. The saga of Glovie lost in the Kakadu had me chuckling for ages. Apart from the motorcycling story it is an interesting case study in how long somebody can last living solely on sausage rolls and Fanta.

Anyway, I digress. All good so far, Jantar. I'm looking forward to reading the rest!

**Embarrassed shuffle**. I had promised Malcolm a loan of this book and it still hasn't been returned to me by a slow reader. Wonderfully descriptive book (Hairgamma) and as you intimate, hilarious.

Also looking forward to your forthcoming instalments Malcolm - very well written.

Geoff

**Jantar** · 6th November 2007, 16:09

Sure enough, at 6:30 am everyone was there and ready. Cameras were prepared, GPS mounted, bikes fuelled up lunch boxes collected and ........ we waited. 6:30 became 7:00 and finally at 7:15 we were told what was happening. We were to have a police escort out of Brisbane on the motorway, and a TV crew from Channel 9 was ready to film everyone departing.

It was closer to 7:50 am when we finally set out. 32 riders, all on almost identical bikes, made an impressive sight as we headed into the rush hour traffic. Mine had a kiwibiker sticker on each side while many others had sponsor's logos or some small indentifiable feature.

We went along Fortitude Valley and through the heart of Brisbane onto the motorway. For those riders on L plates who are restricted to 70 kmh in a 100 zone, the motorway in Brisbane is a 110 kmh zone, yet the motorists were generally considerate and gave us plenty of room. Almost an hour into the ride we had to cross a dual carriageway as we turned north, and here our police escort parked his BMW in the middle of a busy highway and stopped both lanes of oncoming traffic as we crossed. This was the last we would see of our escort and we were now on our own.

We stopped at ESK and topped up our tanks, and for 100 km I estimated I'd used a little over 3 litres. Not too bad fuel wise, even though these wee Hondas only have a 5 litre tank. A few Ks north of Esk we turned onto a back road that would take us past the Somerset Dam and into our first real set of twisties. This was great scenery and we were even starting to see some Australian wild life; the occassional kangaroo, a brown snake (very venemous) and a large variety of birds.

We stopped at Jimna for lunch. There is nothing here except some bush and a fire tower. Although I'd been riding fairly conservatively I was suprised to see that I was first to arrive. This was simply because I kept my stops short; a maximum of a few minutes then back on the bike again. I stretched the lunch stop out a bit as many riders headed out before me, and one of the younger riders (Steven from Adelaide) asked if he could ride with me and match my stopping times. I agreed, but pointed out that if he was after a race I wouldn't try and match him, nor would I ride any slower. He was right behind me when we hit the first gravel section of the ride, then I didn't see hima again all day. Apparently he considered 70 kmh on gravel as too fast. Most of the riders I passed were taking it quite easy yet the road was in good order with a hard surface in the wheel tracks and shrp gravel at the edges.

There was only 60 km of gravel before back onto sealed roads at Goomeri. Stromfrau and I had visited this town last year and I recalled the old pub as being a good meal stop. From here it was via Ban Ban Springs and on to Gayndah and a cold beer.

Photos:
1. The mechanics truck
2. Coping with the local scent at Gayndah

**deanohit** · 6th November 2007, 16:33

Looking forward to the next instalment mate, sounds like a great time so far!

**Jantar** · 7th November 2007, 09:17

Thursday morning was the first time that we experienced the rather unique alarm clock that the mechanics rigged up. 32 people, all asleep in their individual tents, woke instantly at 5:30 am when the rather loud portable air compressor burst into life in the middle of the camping area. This was also the first opportunity we had to learn to repack the camping gear supplied for the trip.

We had been supplied with a 3 man tent, a sleeping bag, a Lilo air bed and a foot pump. Naturally, it is impossible to repack anything in the same way that is received, and yet all the camping gear and all of our own personal gear (for 12 days) had to somehow fit into the 75 L canvas carry bag that had been provided. I managed somehow, but the carry bag was difficult to close.

Gayndah is the heart of the citrus fruit area in Central Queensland and we were pleased to get away from the sweet scent of rotting oranges. 32 bikes left at the same time and travelled the lovely twisty road through Mundubbera to Eidsvold. I did get some good video on this section that I'll try and edit to a size that can be made available on the net.

From Eidsvold we turned west towards the section of road I was really looking forward to. The map showed no straight sections, and the route sheet was: (numbers are kms from the start of the day)

80 Left to Cracow and Theodore
151 Gravel starts
160 Dirt
172 Cracow. Check out pub! Left to Theodore
176 Gravel starts
198 Bitumen starts.

The road to Cracow was fantastic. Next trip to Aussie, I just have to take the VStrom to ride this road again. We had a compulsory stop at the cracow pub for photos, fuel, liquid refreshment etc, and it was here I discovered my spare fuel can was leaking. So everything in my crate stunk of petrol, including my lunch!!!

From the pub, the long gravel section I was expecting was now sealed. 22 kms of gravel road had been sealed in the few months since the route had been planned. It was still a good ride though and many riders were pleased even though a few of us would have loved a nice long gravel section.

Lunch was at Theodore in a picnic area on the edge of town, and here we started to learn about the flies in outback Australia. We had to eat while walking around as the flies just swarmed if you stood still for more than a few seconds. The typical lunch consisted of a filled roll, a sandwich, a piece of cake, a piece of fruit and a box of just Juice.

After lunch we had all sealed roads through Banana, Moura and on to Rolleston. The scenery was changing all the time as moved further west and into drier areas. Kangaroos were more plentiful, especially the dead variety at the side of the road, and we started to have our first encounters with road trains. A road train passing would add an extra 5 - 10 kmh to bikes speed within seconds, while one going in the opposite direction would just about blow us off the road.

2 kms short of our overnight stop was the scene of the first accident that required medical attention. One rider turned a bit too tight onto the side road we were taking, and low sided on a patch of loose gravel. He was not wearing much protective gear, and his demin jeans lasted about half a second before his skin started sliding on the road. Gloves did their job OK, so his only injury was his right leg which was stitched up and bandaged in the local hospital. From that point on his nickname was Hoppy.

Our campsite at Rolleston was the local race course, and the ground was infested with a prickly burr that got everywhere. Most of us set up our tents on the concrete so as to avoid those nasty wee prickles. We were also warned that area was infested with brown snakes, and to keep tents zipped up at all times, and to stomp when walking to deter them.

The bar was open almost as soon as we arrived and did a great trade.

Photos are all at the Cracow Pub.

**Hitcher** · 7th November 2007, 10:25

Top stuff. I'm enjoying this greatly. A map would be nice though...

**Riff Raff** · 7th November 2007, 10:58

Yup it is a great read. C'mon Jantar, give us more.

**Jantar** · 7th November 2007, 14:51

When I first heard the route, this was the section I was least looking forward to. 130 km north followed by 320 km west on mainly straight flat roads. As it turned out, the roads weren't quite as boring as I'd expected.

Because it was to be such a long day we started promptly at 7:00 am after the now familiar breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages etc. From Rolleston we headed to Springsure then north towards Emerald. Steven, who wanted to ride the gravel section with me on day 1 was almost alongside as we rode in a close staggered formation. Other riders were spread out in a long line as far as we could see in both directions.

About 20km short of Emerald my bike suddenly lost power. It was still running OK, but just not pulling as well as it should have. I stopped to check everything that you can check on a postie bike, and everything seemed to be OK, so off I went again, but couldn't get more than 65 - 67 kmh out of it. Once again I stopped, and still found nothing obvious. It felt as though it just wasn't breathing properly or maybe a partially blocked exhaust. Anyway I suggested to Steven that he carry on and I'd follow at whatever speed I could manage. I figured that at 65 kmh I would only be 20 minutes behind the others at the lunch stop.

I made a brief stop at Emerald to buy a SD card for my camera. In particular the card on my video was almost full, then onwards to the west. 30 minutes or so later, without changing the throttle setting or doing anything else, the wee bike picked up and powered away as though it had a brand new engine. I never did find the cause, but the mechanics thought it may have been a bit of shit in the main jet that finally cleared all by itself.

The Drummond range lookout was to be our lunch and refuelling stop. This range of mountains is one of the world's largest sapphire fields. Although in New Zealand we wouldn't call them mountains even though they do rise 200 m above the srrounding area. Many of the tourist signs around here do tend to give the clue that gems are found locally; name like Emerald, Gemfield, Saphire etc.

Closer to Barcaldine the road did flatten and straighten as I'd expected, and the scenery became absolutely flat with no landmarks at all. I did see a few kangaroos resting in the shade of the odd tree, and chased a couple of emus out into the bush while trying to get them on video, but otherwise the road was flat straight and boring.

I arrived in Barcaldine around 3:30 pm and immediately found some shade to set up the tent. The bar wasn't yet open, but shock was soon to hit when we were told that the group running the bar wouldn't be there till 6:00 pm. Another rider and I emptied our crates and rode into town where we bought as much beer as we could carry on 2 postie bikes; 4 dozen each for $84. Straight back to the camp where we started selling them for $2 a stubby. Not only did we quench our thirst, but made a small profit at the same time. The people running the bar must have found out because they arrived a bit earlier than expected, but not before we sold our last bottle. Beer at the bar was $4 a stubby, so they did lose a bit of profit.

That night was a mayoral reception with a public BBQ and Kareoke DJ to follow. The DJ was terrible and to make up for lack of musical ability he turned the volume up till everyone left and went to the pub.

Photos:
1 Tent city
2 Mechanics mobile workshop
3 The bike line up.

**Jantar** · 7th November 2007, 16:21

This was to be a shorter day with time for sightseeing and/or shopping in Longreach. This morning's departure was pretty staggered as we had plenty of time and the road was just long, straight and flat. I road with Stephanie (USA) and Greg (Tasmania) for a while as each of us tried to get the other two on video. Greg was suprised to learn that sheep prices in New Zealand were dearer than in Aussie, even if the difference was only $1 an hour.

At Longreach most riders visited the Stockman's Hall of Fame, but I spent a pleasant hour at the Qantas Museum. It appears that Qantas started their operations in Longreach with a single aircraft, and Qantas actually stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service.

I left Longreach around 11:30am and stopped for lunch about 60kms up the road where there was a rest area with some shade. There was a road train stopped at the same spot and each of his wheels was as big as my whole bike.

The one impression about this stretch of road that will stay with me for my whole life was the smell. There were dead kangaroos every 50 - 100 m. Some well dried out and others still very fresh, and most of them very ripe. 170 km of dead kangaroo.

I arrived in Winton around 3:00 pm to find once again that there was no bar open. However once I pitched my tent and had a refreshing shower I learned that we would shortly be picked up by mini bus and taken to a scenic spot where the bar would be waiting.

Photos:
1. The Qantus Museum
2. A long flat straight road
3. The same road looking back where I had come from.
4. An emu in the main street at Winton

**Blackbird** · 7th November 2007, 16:29

Superb pictures Malcolm! Hanging on every word mate. Please stay up past midnight typing

**Jantar** · 7th November 2007, 16:50

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Superb pictures Malcolm! Hanging on every word mate. Please stay up past midnight typing

I probably will. I have a hospital appointment in Dunedin tomorrow afternoon, so will probably stay down there overnight. Therefore no installments after today until friday afternoon.

**ducatijim** · 7th November 2007, 16:56

Great stuff Malcom, keep it coming!! Hey, you and me must both be old voyeurs you know....I was up in Noosa a couple of weeks back.....and lo & behold if I didn't visit the LOVELY Alexandria beach!!! AND....that Koala is STUFFED, I'm sure!!! I have the same pikkie on my digicam!!!