2022 in the rear view mirror and 2023 ... bring it on!
CLOUDRIDE PROLOGUE 500k
DATE: Saturday 11 March 2023
START TIME: 6:00am could be later if there’s a lot of riders in which case I’ll move the start out of town and put the time back an hour or so. Monday is a public holiday in ACT, Vic and Tas.
COURSE: TBA
REGISTRATIONS: January 1 2023 the link is on the website homepage
In recent years the 500k Prologue has attracted a wide range of riders, bikes and abilities. Some going hard core solo for the 500k with finishing times in the 24-30 hour range, then the snooze pack, those taking a 4-5 hour nap and finishing on day two through into the late evening. Day three arrivals curate their ride time to ensure they’re back at the Bent Spoke Brewing Co at Braddon to finish in beer time often arriving in small Groupettos sharing the companionship and satisfaction of their finishing achievement..... it's your choice, the 'rules' are the same for all. As always it’s solo and unsupported, no drafting, no outside assistance other than commercial services available to any other rider. This website has more detail on the RULES.
The proposed course for 2023 is yet to be finalised however will combine all the challenges of the super fast gravel roads that abound around Canberra and the SE regions of Australia. The loose plan is west out of Canberra, across to Jugiong, Harden, Boorowa and back south to Canberra. Plenty of day food options, an evening pub bed if that’s your preference…. 500+k and maybe 6,000Vm.
MONARO CLOUDRIDE 1000k
DATE: Good Friday 7 April 2023
START TIME: 6:00am [yes, two hours earlier than in the past]
COURSE: Clockwise... links below
REGISTRATIONS: January 1 2023 the link is on the website homepage
The Monaro Cloudride, now in its tenth year is undergoing some changes for the 2023 edition. With only five riders on the start list for 2022 there are questions about the longer term appeal for this style of back country bikepacking racing. Further impetus for change is that in recent years land ownership changes that the Monaro Cloudride has historically traveled through have become problematic. These include Meringo Nature Reserve between Bombala and Delegate, Crooks Racecourse above Snowy Plain, the public road through the commercial orchard out of Batlow. In addition the continued closure of The Hume and Hovel trail along the Blowering Dam and State Forest closures in the same area now block access between Batlow and Tumut.
Taking account of these constraints and with a view to opening up the Cloudride to a wider cohort of riders I have removed most of the major challenging rough technical XC fire trails. The Tingaringy Wilderness section will remain as an ALTERNATE OF CHOICE 25k and 940Vm. The main race route will now go via McKillop's Bridge as it did this year because of the flodded Snowy River.
This is a great ride but at 85k and 1866Vm compared to the Tingaringy crossing, it comes at a price. The other major re-route will be out of Jindabyne where the route will now link across to Eucumbene village on Snowy Hydro service roads and up on to Happy Jacks Rd that takes riders on formed roads all the way across the KNP high country to Tooma Rd and on to Manjar Trail. Batlow - Tumut will be on the main between town connect road. From Tumut riders will travel down Wee Jasper Road and back to Canberra via Sawyers Gully Rd and Uriarra Crossing. The upshot of these changes will be significantly faster ride times and a course suitable for a wider range of bike choice and rider ability. With towns falling at Cooma 200k, Delegate 400k, Jindabyne 600k, Batlow 800k riders can flash-pack or bike-pack it. All of the major highlights of this great race route remain, just more faster fun sections.
2023 PROVISIONAL CLOUDRIDE ROUTE and TINGARINGY WILDERNESS ALTERNATE
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41042867
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41570465
TERRA AUSTRALIS BIKE EPIC 6,250k
DATE: 1 September 2023
START TIME: 6:00am
COURSE: Cape York Qld to Wilsons Promontory Vic
REGISTRATIONS: January 1 2023 the link is on the website homepage
There’s no sweet talk on this one … just get out there and do it. It’s not hard, just a long way. You need to prepare your bike, your body, put your head space into an envelope and post it down to the finish where you can retrieve it and rejoin the real world.
I’ve done a re-cap below on how this years race unfolded and eventually folded for future reference purposes. There’s also a link at the end to David Waugh’s race report and plenty of great pic’s from his ride. Thanks Dave! As of within weeks of finishing Meredith Quinlan and Taylor Herron are both determinedly processing what went wrong and planning on a fault free run in 2023.
Wichard van Osterbosch made the call to switch from racing to touring before Cooktown and continued touring down the east coast skirting Brisbane then off and on the course before heading west from Taree via the Bylong Valley, calling through Canberra and eventually arriving Wilsons Prom on October 18. Great riding from Wichard @ 62 years young totaling just shy of 5,400klm for his ride.
2022 Terra Australis Bike Epic… another epic fail?
epic; an exceptionally long and arduous task or activity.
There’s a well held view that success is built upon failure and so as the creator of Terra Australis I’m comforted in the knowledge that the foundations for future success are being built on strong foundations.
Since 2018 we’ve had nineteen starters and just two finishers. To put it mildly, it’s been a chequered start for Terra Australis. There has been promise with some strong rider registrations only to fall by the wayside as covid cancellations eroded the momentum. I’ve still got five or six paid up riders since 2019 who have not taken up the offer of a refund … insisting ‘hold it over, I’ll do it one day!” It was with relief and expectation finally, that this year was a chance with five determined experienced riders on the start line September 1 to tackle this 6,250k monster and complete the course. Sadly it was not to be, with just over a third of the course completed the remaining three riders scratched within a few days of each other.
The September 1 start date at the northern tip of Australia with likely century temperature riding conditions can be challenging. Further down the course it’s the humidity of the tropical Daintree rain forests and later slogging over snow covered alpine trails at zero degrees underlies the sheer enormity of riding across a single continent. In between days of solitude, silence and frustration dealing with the weather, roads and challenges of ones mental and physical limitations and the inevitable accumulation of fatigue.
As race director and course planner I live with the doubts and uncertainties that maybe the whole idea of Terra Australis is just a challenge too far, too hard, too long, too remote.… should I cut out the tough bits, reduce the distance, deescalate the adventure… make it ‘inclusive’? Well no, that’s not what Terra Australis is about. It is exclusive. It’s an event that’s open exclusively to those who want to meet the 6,250 klm challenge to go far, to go hard to embrace the suck, to finish and so become one of an exclusive group of riders who have completed course and conquered the challenges.
Registrations will open for 2023 on January 1. Same start date, same course, same suck … get a life, get out there!
Following is a recap of how the 2022 race unfolded. Hopefully it will serve as an overview of the first two weeks of the challenge for anyone contemplating entering in the coming years and set some level of expectation for achieving success. Steve Halligan’s 2018 winning ride account is linked here..
https://selfpropelled13.com/blog/.
To get to the start riders are provided with a decent set of notes and resources to assist them with travel, planning, safety and identifying water. The preparation from there is their responsibility… this is an unsupported event.
The scene for the opening week of 2022TA was set by some humid day temps with an occasional shower to dampen the usual red dust issue.
Further south the Daintree was experiencing an out of season rain event. The CREB track was closed and blocked with a tangle of 4WD’s and recovery vehicles unable to exit the track. The Daintree River crossing on the race route was a meter above safe vehicle crossing height and the resident local croc in cruise mode without the distraction of the usual 4WD cavalcade past his deep water hide hole..
Race morning, a 20 minute hike to the northern most point of Australia for a quick pic and a Le Mans style scamper back to the carpark to get down to the bike riding business. September is the beginning of the end of the 4WD seasonal pilgrimage to the tip and dirt Cape roads can be severely trashed by their volume and speed.
DAY 1. Thursday 1 Sept
Youngest rider Taylor Herron [pictured] who rode from Sydney to the tip in the preceding month had the benefit of some seasoned legs and intel on the multiple creek crossings along the Old Telegraph Track [OTT] that forms part of the opening day challenge. Taylor led through to the first resupply option Bramwell Roadhouse at 215k arriving at 11:00pm a 17 hour opening day. Slept [showered?] and was away at 6:00am an hour before the Roadhouse opened. By that time Meredith Quinlan had micro-napped and ridden through Bramwell around 2:00am and was arriving at the Moreton Telegraph Station for a brief sunrise stop. Remaining riders were on a more conventional sleep strategy and filtered through Bramwell in business hours. Noticeably Paul Lester had ridden off route to stay on the main vehicle road as an evacuation precaution after suffering a bad dose of intestinal disruption. This and a subsequent hip issue would ultimately result in his early withdrawal from the race.
DAY 2. Friday 2 Sept
By late afternoon Meredith pulled into Archer River Roadhouse 380k for a resupply and departed as Taylor and David Waugh arrived another hour apart and quickly headed off to Coen. All three arrived independently in Coen 447k within an hour of midnight. Meredith caught the Coen publican still up and grabbed a room. Taylor resupplied from the Pub vending machine and headed south into the night and early hours of day three. David Waugh took the strategic decision to find a sleep hide in town with a plan to re-supply at the Coen General Store at 7:00am opening hours in the morning. That plan was a fail as he was attacked by some town dogs at 3:00am leaving him shaken, sleepless and mauled fighting them off with his sleeping bag and mat. Kiwi/Dutchie Wichard vO was now in Bramwell, clearly on a more measured race pace with Paul Lester trying to effect some recovery from his gastric misfortune.
DAY 3 Saturday 3 Sept
Daylight and the pointy race end saw Meredith and David sharing the spoils of the finds in the Coen General Store at opening hours …. limited but challenging when the next commercial service option was Endeavour Falls Tourist Park just another 475k on at 925k. One wonders just what the sustenance of the pub vending machine offered race leader Taylor Herron?
Race tracking from Coen down through the Port Stewart Road and Lily Vale Station became non existent with 6-8 hour gaps for all riders. Midnight rider Taylor emerged on the route early morning took a three hour nap and by midday was away riding strongly passing up the opportunity for fresh water and a ‘complimentary’ coffee from Lotusbird Resort. David Waugh and Meredith Quinlan made a brief early evening stop at Lotusbird one departing as the other arrived. Both rode on, David stopping at the Haan Crossing campground @650k and Meredith further on for her regular freestyle micro nap. Taylor by now had opened a 100k lead and was impressively well across towards the Cape Melville junction and turn south on to the challenging Wakooka-Starcke Track.
Day 4. Sunday 4 Sept
Again, Taylor Herron rode through the night choosing to sleep mid-morning as the heat of the day took toll on his energy. Wisely he’d completed the taxing sand traps along the Wakooka-Starcke Track finding some shade under the abandoned Starcke Station outbuildings just before the Cook Shire roads resume. Meredith had closed to within 40k before Taylor was on his way about 1:00pm. Back in the field as darkness arrived Paul Lester limped into Coen, Wichard vO was overnighting at Archer River, clearly struggling after reporting he had torn the sole off a shoe coming through the OTT two days back. Taylor rode into Cooktown at 10:30pm and was heading out of town at 12:30am on a determined mission! At the same time Meredith stopped for a few hours in the Mt Webb NP about 70k behind Taylor. Meanwhile David Waugh on an allnighter had closed to within 20k of Meredith holding that gap through into Cooktown once she was up and away. Paul Lester still in recovery mode arrived in Coen early morning re supplied and was heading out on the Port Stewart Road at 7:30am now 500k behind the two Cooktown arrivals and nominally where he might have expected to be. Paul arrived into Lotusbird Resort at 4:30 that afternoon and eventually scratched with a persistent hip injury that flared up in the opening days. He caught a lift to Laura and was able to lay-up there for a few days to recover.
Day 5. Monday 5 Sept
Race leader Taylor Herron arrived at the start of the CREB track at 5:30am.
All riders had been notified that the wet conditions had cleared over the preceding few days and the CREB should be negotiable on a bike though remaining closed to vehicles. Although the Daintree River had dropped it was likely to still be a risk … too deep and croc risk… with a recommendation to hitch a 4WD lift.
Back in Cooktown 954k Meredith arrived 8:30am did a quick re-supply without going downtown and was away again in 30 minutes. David Waugh arrived in Cooktown at 10:30am and took a recovery break for the rest of the day reporting he was sleep deprived struggling in the legs and the experience department. Back in the field Wichard vO arrived in Coen after lunch with the expectation that the new shoes he had ordered from Cairns would arrive on the next days freight truck. Back on the CREB Taylor spent ten hours hauling his bike and body up and down the wickedly steep inclines taking a few rest and recovery breaks along the way. At some point he lost his footing, badly straining his left achilles an injury that would return to haunt him. At the Daintree crossing, without having seen a vehicle all day he lucked a local in a ‘tinny’ and was ferried to the south bank for a croc free crossing! Riding on into Mossman @ 1,117k close to 7:00pm. Taylor then took his first long break of the ride … not moving again until almost twelve hours later. Meredith commenced her CREB track attack around 5:00pm … pushing on into the darkness and completing the 50k slog at 1:00am in the morning …. not an ideal time for a moonlight dip but an opportune time to bivvy, sleep and wait for a daylight crossing…. ideally a dingy or 4WD.
Day 6. Tuesday 6 Sept
Whatever my thoughts of logic, wisdom and best practice were for riders crossing the Daintree they apparently made little impact on Ms Meredith’s determination to press on and cross over. With an absence of any obliging 4WD or dingy options at 1:00am in the morning, just her and said resident croc ….. she waded in and across ‘chest deep’. At 1:12am she tracked on the north bank at 1:31am she was across away and tracking on the road south towards Daintree Village. At 2:40am she sent an “OK, I’m camping here” message from her race tracker. Daylight saw her on the move again heading down through agriculture land, the cane fields and on to the challenging Bump Track. David Waugh was heading out of Cooktown at 8:00am with a full day of rest in his legs and Taylor on his way from Mossman. The course from here takes riders up through some spectacular rainforest accessed via the Bump Track … just 2k but a 330Vm climb that maxes out at 22% before mellowing out into a beautiful rainforest ride across to Mareeba. Mareeba is the last major town for the next 950k so an important resupply point along the route an any needed bike service. Taylor arrived Mareeba late afternoon and was on his way in 45 minutes as darkness descended. Meredith arrived in Mareeba trailing by only a few hours, resupplied in similar time and rode on taking an early roadside stealth camp at 10:30pm. Back up the course Whichard vO after two nights in Coen took delivery of his new shoes and rode out east on the 475k crossing to Cooktown making the 156k leg down to Lotusbird Resort close to 8:00pm and camping overnight.
David Waugh had made smart time down from Cooktown on the paved Shipton’s Flat past the fabled Lion’s Den Pub to the commencement of the CREB track and was making progress along the first kilometres by 1:00pm that afternoon. Waugh powered over the 50k arriving at 7:23pm on the northern bank of the Daintree …. he reported “light drizzle from 3:00pm and peanut butter mud, not a soul in sight at the river … so a few Hail Mary's later….” at 7:33pm he was tracking on the southern bank, legs intact. David rode on and at 1:00am just out from Port Douglas found the convenient roadside Willie Pye Memorial Park for a stealth sleep.
Day 7. Wednesday 7 Sept
Morning arrived with race leader Taylor Herron holed up in the Chillagoe Town Hall amenities block [1385k] catching a few hours sleep after arriving at 5:30am to await the general store opening. Clearly his achilies injury was becoming a concern. As Taylor departed Chillagoe at 9:00am Meredith had closed to within 80 klm of his race lead and was about to commence the fast paved Burke Development Road journey over to Chillagoe accompanied by the reliable easterly tail wind. By now David Waugh had made a civilised daylight hour departure from his road side sleepover and was heading towards the Bump Track and rainforest transit over to Mareeba. I had an early morning call from Wichard vO to tell me his continuation as a racer had come to a disappointing end as he was finding it impossible to back up day after day. He was planning to continue riding south but off route and at a more manageable leisurely pace.
David Waugh arrived in Mareeba and spent extended hours resupplying and sourcing some saddle sore remedies. He called it a day at 10:30pm a few k’s from Dimbulah for a 165k day. By now race leader Taylor was at the Lynd River crossing after a slow 100k ride down from Chillagoe in 11 hours. On the way down he’d climbed a water tank to fill his bottles, slipped getting down and added another layer of damage to his achilles. ‘couldn’t weight it, peddling with heel over spindle’.
The Lynd River is a freestyle navigation section that has no discernible track for some kilometres. In daylight it’s difficult with piles of flood debris tangled along the river banks, dense sapling regrowth that snatches at your bike, bags and body…. Taylor headed across the broad sand expanse of the river and into the night …on one leg, hoping to get it out of the way before sunrise and getting cooked in the mid-day sun. After 14k in five hours at 2:16am he bivvied for the night.
Day 8. Thursday 8 Sept
At 6:00am the first week of Terra Australis ticked over … a benchmark to reflect on for future prospective racers
Taylor Herron @ 1,500k
Meredith Quinlan @ 1470k
David Waugh @ 1283k
Some decent riding through some of the most difficult sections of the course and well on record pace. However as week two unfolded so to did the inevitable travails of multi day bikepacking reveal themselves to remind both riders family friends and dot watchers … that just when you start making mildly delusional projections … you end up with custard for desert.
Taylor struggled through the day with makeshift strapping to stabilise his pain but with the slower riding found he struggled to make his water targets and ran perilously low on food. He finally made Georgetown after dark, got a Motel room and didn’t move for the next 36 hours. Meredith rolled into Georgetown and took over the the race lead at 12:30am after a 225k day ride….. had a two hour break and was heading out of town at 3.30am. David Waugh put in a big day of 17.5h and 200k arriving down to the Lynd River at 1:30am getting in five hours sleep before tackling the Lynd crossing.
Day 9. Friday 9 Sept
David Waugh tackled the Lynd crossing at first light and was over the opening 15k in a little over 3 hours, remarkably quick but perhaps with the benefit of the others wheel tracks as a guide. He then matched Meredith’s time down to VanLee Station arriving at 5:15pm and was an hour quicker into Georgetown arriving at 11:30pm and free camping in the town park. New race leader Meredith Quinlan made steady progress down the course through to Gilberton Station [1795k] arriving at 6:00pm to a grand welcome from hosts Lyn and Rob French who provide donga hut rooms, dinner, breakfast and food to go for all riders at a nominal commercial rate. Taylor remained holed up in Georgetown with the hope of garnering some attention from the Local Health Clinic [described by one wag on social media as having the best achilles injury recovery centre within a 500k radius] … not successful but scored some strapping bandages and returned to the relative luxury of room service meals at his Motel and resting his injury.
Day 10. Saturday 10 Sept
Today proved to be an eventful turning point in the race. Race leader Meredith headed out from Gilberton at 2:00am across the back farm tracks that lead across to the neighbouring Glenmore Station. It’s slow tough riding along little more than cattle pads, no flow, no speed, rocky outcrops, mammoth sand river beds and the potential for an innocuous tyre slash. Sadly Meredith hooked her rear derailleur hanger snapping it off.. loosing an hour and a half reconfiguring to a single speed option. Ever the well prepared rider Meredith carried a spare hanger but had overlooked the requirement for a small allen hex key that freed a grub screw lock allowing a simple replacement of the hanger. Without finding any success at the Glenmore Station workshop she made the decision to seek remedy in Townsville 350k away. In the remote country Meredith was transiting there was no phone service and it was not until the next day after riding alarmingly off course that her dilemma was revealed. Meanwhile back in Georgetown David Waugh headed south with the intent of riding through to Gilberton Station. He stopped briefly in Forsayth at 40k south of Georgetown to let the Gilberton hosts know he would be in late and headed south. They agreed to leave the Donga Hut lights on and expect him up for the house breakfast at 7:30am next morning. Towards mid-day Taylor elected to do a test run down to to Forsayth having made some saddle adjustments, moving forward and lowering to relocate his pedal position. At Forsayth he regrouped, rested to let the heat of the day pass and elected to do the 120k leg to Gilberton under lights. Meanwhile all was going well for David until he took on some water part way across to Gilberton that had a rapid impact on his wellbeing. He became unwell and floundering around in the dark took off his prescription glasses at some stage and couldn’t find them again “I think I remember lying down somewhere and ‘lost it’ for a couple of hours. Total brain fade.” He struggled into Gilberton arriving at 11:00pm. Taylor rode through the night arriving at 5:00am, totally trashed with a new collection of saddle sores from his experimental bike fit.
Day 11. Sunday 11 Sep
Meredith had ridden off route out to the Gregory Highway that links over to Townsville, bivvied overnight and picked up a lift the next morning to Townsville from a gem fossicker she had met on her way through Gilberton … unfortunately all bike shops were closed so it was first thing Monday job for her repair and a Sunday lay-day. Back at Gilberton, David Waugh headed out after breakfast and by 4:00pm that afternoon after exiting Glenmore Station had taken on the mantle of race leader. David pushed on through the stunning Blackbraes National Park and in an unusual change pulled up early at 7:30pm. He later recounted that without his glasses his depth perception was poor and he’d had an over the bar experience being unable to see with any confidence as daylight transitioned into night. Taylor was back into lay-up mode at Gilberton, rising for meals and sleeping in between hoping rest would work a miracle for him.
Day 12. Monday 12 Sep
David Waugh put his early sleep stop to good use and was on the bike and riding at 3:00am down to Hughenden [@ 2,100k] getting in at 6:00pm well in time to get a pub feed and perhaps some laundry.
Back in Townsville, Meredith had actioned her repair at LBS opening hours and had wrangled a trail running mate to shuttle her back to the point of leaving the course. She was back on the bike and tracking at 3:25pm. In a close encounter Taylor Herron had repackaged himself and rode out of Gilberton passing through Meredith’s course reconnection point only minutes before her return from Townsville. The pair rode unknowingly within thirty minutes of each other before they crossed briefly, Taylor on foot having to walk the most simple ascents. Meredith stopped for a sleep break leaving Taylor to ride on through the night and early morning arriving in Hughenden at 8:40am where he bunked down eventually resurfacing at 3:20 in the afternoon.
Day 13. Tuesday 13 Sep
At Hughenden race leader David Waugh had slept on his dilemma and made the call to abandon the race. “It’s with real sadness that I’ve decided to retire from the race… through some bad luck and stupidity, I’ve inexplicably lost both my prescription glasses.” A big call from David but these are the life challenges we face in our daily lives. As indicated earlier there are some serious shortcomings for those of us with scrip glasses [self included!]. Seeing where you’re going is a basic fundamental of riding a bike … never mind trying to punch along virgin terrain and roads you’ve never experienced before. Meredith rolled into Hughenden at 11:00am, chewed the fat with David over a coffee did a quick re-supply and was heading south to Muttaburra and Longreach by 12:30pm. Taylor revived, and was on his way south at 4:40pm …. now just two riders remaining in the race.
Day 14. Wednesday 14 Sept
The run south to Muttaburra is a lifetime experience for any flat earth society theories to justify their belief. Plenty of time for self introspection without distractions and a starlight night with a galaxy of a million stars. Meredith took a two hour roadside break around 9:00pm.
The empty roadside house and front lawn offered as lodgings by a passing station owner never materialised. Muttaburra General Store is the highlight of the town outside pub hours. Meredith arrived at opening hours and briefly crossed with Taylor who had ridden through the night once again. Taylor took a room at the pub. The load on his good right leg had taken its toll causing a deep tissue tear in his quad rendering it useless and again compounding the load back on to his suffering achilles. His plan was to rest through the day and assess in the morning. If things were looking grim for Taylor by late afternoon the continuation of the Terra Australis suffered another devastating blow. Meredith called in to say she had snagged a road rut, crashed and again broke her rear derailleur hanger. Without another spare and the realisation of several more days lost waiting for a replacement part she made the call to abandon her race and fly home. A courageous ride with best laid plans all coming undone.
Day 15. Thursday 15 Sept
As 6:00am ticked over it marked the completion of the second week of Terra Australis. If there was optimism based on the first weeks kilometres covered week two brought a sobering realisation of the challenge riders faced on this adventure.
Meredith Quinlan 962k Total 2432k [Retired]
David Waugh 828k Total 2112k [Retired]
Taylor Herron 821k Total 2321k
Meredith had her bike boxed and was on a flight home early afternoon. Taylor vacated Muttaburra just before mid-day and made excellent time down to Longreach for the 100k leg tracking in town with a good tail wind at 5:06pm. Reports were that the road was super fast with a following northerly to push riders along. Longreach is a major inland regional city with significant public and private remedial health facilities. Taylor’s plan was to rest up, seek medical advice recover some more and continue on solo as the remaining rider.
Day 16 & 17 Sept. Taylor remained resting in Longreach…. no having any success with remedial treatment. Local GP’s not taking new patients and injuries not in the scope of Hospital Emergency Dept.
Day 18 Sunday 18 Sept.
Taylor made the call to press on along the route leaving Longreach mid-morning and making the turn on to the dirt Amor Downs Road just before mid-day.
At 125k he encountered flooded channel country approaching the Barcoo River that forms part of the mighty Cooper-Barcoo-Diamintina flood basin that drains down to Lake Eyre in South Australia. Taylor made a futile attempt at crossing these flood channels. After sinking in calf deep mud and crotch deep water he came to the inevitable conclusion that with his injuries this was a challenge too far. He made the call to abandon the race and rode back to Longreach. A mighty determined effort pushing back against the overwhelming tide of injuries that would have most of us back at home a week before. At 32 Taylor has plenty more races in him and I’m sure with his determination and love of adventure we will see him at the front of bikepacking races in the future.
DAVID WAUGH'S TERRA AUSTRALIS RIDE REPORT
https://www.davidwaugh.com.au/terraaustralis
SPOT Gen 3 SALE used @ $100
I'm in the process of clearing out my stock of SPOT Gen3 units. These are in perfect working order and functioning with all the usual services of GPS tracking, SOS, HELP MSG contacts to loved ones etc
These units all require a 'Service Plan' after transfer of ownership ....
https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/service-plans
Can ship within Australia for $10.00 or pickup in Canberra or Sydney [over Christmas]
Enq: Call Steve 0417710999 or ride@breathtakingevents.info