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Report of a self-supported and self-planned bicycle tour on the famous Birdsville Track, Australia. Monsoon rains added an unexpected degree of difficulty...

Summer, Sun, Sand and Mud - cycling the Birdsville Track, Australia

Waltraud
2004-03-05 13:53:55

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reach a flat high plateau. As the track has about completely dried around 11 o'clock, we can already see the next rainstorm approach. One rainstorm comes so suddenly we can only put a plastic foil over our bikes. This midday storm only lasts for 30 minutes, and we can continue after two hours. It is now 2 o'clock in the afternoon and temperatures reach the 30s again. The track has not dried everywhere, often we have short stretches of mud which is so sticky it blocks the wheels. Only ten meters of such mud are strenuous work. Pushing is almost impossible, since there is nothing to push against, and the mud allows no proper grip for the feet. After a few kilometers of struggle we are virtually stuck. We have to wait for the mud to dry… We build up the tent and wait. All books we took along, are read already… Then we hear the rain. It's the third time its raining today, this time only for 10 minutes. But the track is wet again. Then we notice that our tent was not in a safe spot in case of a stronger rain event. We dig a ditch. Also we struggle to move the bikes off the track where they were stuck since a few hours, and we try to free them of the mud between brake, frame, and tire. Some of it has dried already requiring a chisel to get it off.

After three more hours – it is now 6 o'clock in the afternoon and nicely warm – we decide to move on. We want to cycle until it is dark to make up for the time we spent waiting during the day. We are hoping that if we could make a few more kilometers today, we could reach the paved road tomorrow. Only five kilometers later the track leads through a wide dip in which the track is still muddy. That's it for today.

The tent is quickly built up again, and the fourth rain event is pouring down on us around 10 o'clock. It's not only rain but a major thunderstorm with lightenings in intervals of a few seconds. We know that we our tent is the highest point over a few kilometers… ...