Cycling the Stuart E2E

Tennant Creek to Banka Banka Station Homestead

As he rode out of Tennant Creek this morning, Peter read a most alarming headline on the newspaper stand, ‘Cyclist sucked under road train’. Thinking that perhaps some of us may have heard the news, he immediately rang the family and his workplace, to let us all know that he was fine.

At this stage I’m not sure if the accident has been reported outside of the Northern Territory, but Peter wants to reassure everyone he is taking no chances. A bike versus a road train only has one tragic result.

Peter does not wear an i-pod while he is riding for this very reason. He must concentrate constantly and listen for approaching traffic, so that he has time to get off the road. This is especially important when traffic from both directions passes in line with him.

Today’s days ride of 100km was uneventful. No wind ! The day time temperature was about 25C, and Peter is noticing the warmer conditions as he gets further north.

Banka Banka Homestead has established a large caravan park with camping sites.

There is a pub and of course pub meals. So no cooking tonight.

It’s bush camping in style!

His company on the track today was a very unhappy truck driver. The poor guy had 2 double containers of frozen food headed for Darwin, and the truck had broken down. The driver was desperately trying to get help from Tennant Creek to come out and repair the truck, otherwise it would have to be towed. As Peter couldn’t offer anything but the words, ‘Good Luck’ he rode off.

Tennant Creek – Rest Day

After such a big day yesterday, Peter slept in til 11am. Then he enjoyed the much awaited cooked breakfast. He is staying at a local pub – $80 a night for the pleasure of a warm shower and a bed.
He was feeling good, so he actually got on the bike again, but this time only to ride two and a half kilometres to a tourist attraction, an operating Gold Mine called ‘Battery Hill’.

After that he looked around the town, which didn’t take very long at all.

Tennant Creek is not exactly the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’.
In the afternoon, he relaxed (slept?) and then looked around for something very tasty for dinner. Food is a key focus of every day!

Bush Camp (Barrow Creek + 65kms) – Tennant Creek

1000 kms to DARWIN!

1700kms ridden so far!!

A very long day in the saddle today! Yet another personal best – 152kms
Peter was on the road at 7am and rode through to about 7.30pm.
Two things motivated him to keep riding, the comfort of a real bed, and the thought of food other than dried fruits and nuts. He’s very much looking forward to a cooked breakfast tomorrow.

The traffic on the road is varied. Travelling back towards Adelaide the traffic is quite heavy, but on his side of the road, heading north it’s actually very light (much safer).
Also on the road today, were a large mob of bulls and cows. Peter rang his bell madly, but they ignored that, and just kept moving towards him. I can imagine it was very frightening having this large number of very big, very sharp horns coming towards you. He jumped off the bike, and continued ringing the bell, and eventually they moved away from him.

Less frightening were a group of travellers who had stopped to visit the U.F.O. Centre
in Wauchope. When Peter explained his choice of stopping to visit the museum, or riding on to a comfortable bed, a 114kms away in Tennant Creek, they recommended riding on. So we’ll have to keep the U.F.O. Centre in mind for next time we drive the Stuart Highway.

A few people have asked, how much water Peter drinks a day ? Today he drank 4 litres.

He is very happy to have reached Tennant Creek.
The 1000kms to go is a special milestone.

Bush Camp (Barrow Creek + 65kms)

Peter rode a 110kms today.

There was a slight side wind, but not enough to slow him down.
Because he is about a half day out of sync with his schedule, he now has another Bush Camp tonight. (It throws all the meal planning out!!)

When he reached Barrow Creek, the roadhouse was running a BBQ (there is a public holiday in the Northern Territory today), so he joined in and had a great lunch.
He also purchased sandwiches, fruit and a cherry ripe for dinner.

As he travels further north, both the days and the nights are starting to warm up.

The ankle was good today, so hopefully no further problems.

Riding along, he passed an Aboriginal community. Four local guys came out to check that he was all right, and whether he needed anything. When he told them what he was doing, and that he was fine, they all yelled at him ‘You’re a mad man, you’re a mad man’.

I guess we have all thought that at some stage!!!!

Aileron – Bush Camp

Oh the pleasure of a Tail Wind!

Today’s schedule was to complete the 60kms ride into a place called Ti Tree.
Then tomorrow was going to be a rest day there.

But assisted greatly by a tail wind, Peter reached Ti Tree quite early, so after an hour and a half rest, he decided he’d had enough of Ti Tree and pushed on to make the most of the tail wind.

45 kms further down the track he decided to pull off the road for an unscheduled bush camp. Quite a brave decision!!

When he rang, he reported that the ankle is now feeling good. He hasn’t needed to take any more medication, and he is able to walk on it with no problems. The fire was going, and a beef curry and rice were on the fire for dinner.

So good news, everything seems to have resolved itself, and the trip will continue.
He is now ahead of schedule!!!

Bush Camp – Aileron

The ride was uneventful, the ankle still quite sore

Alice Springs – Bush Camp
On the road again!

After going out for a nice breakfast, taking Fiona to the airport, returning the hire car,
and loading up the bike again, the second half of ‘Cycling the Stuart end to end’ was about to begin.
Because he didn’t get on the road til lunchtime, and probably because of the indulgences of the last week,
Peter decided on a ‘short’ 73 km ride to get the legs working again.

Arriving at the site of the Bush Camp, (a mound of dirt approximately 30 metres off the side of the road)
Peter set up camp and collected the wood to light the fire to cook the evening meal. It was already dusk.

Suddenly, he felt severe pain, as something had bitten or stung his ankle. Looking at the wood he had collected,
he saw a large ant-like creature with nippers on its head. But as he hadn’t actually seen the bite happen, he was not sure.
His ankle immediately started to swell, reaching double the size in a very short time.
Worse though, was the fact that the toxin injected by the bite paralyzed his ankle.
Now on one leg, and in a lot of pain, he tried to pack up camp.
Worried about damaging the good leg, he hopped up to the highway to seek help.
The main worry was how far, and how quickly, the paralysis would spread.

Not surprisingly, several cars passed without stopping.
Peter decided to go back to the camp and get his bike, and then return to the highway again.
Now to his utter good luck, a ‘local’ property owner, Michael and his young daughter Teresa were on
their way to Alice Springs to do their weekly shopping.
Michael not only stopped to see if Peter needed help, but then offered him the most amazing assistance.

First, Michael packed up all Peter’s camp. Then loaded Peter, his bike and his camp into his 4WD
and took him back to the Comfort Inn in Alice Springs.
After dropping off all his gear, he then took Peter to the emergency department at the hospital.
Initially the doctor was worried it might have been a snake bite, but Peter was pretty sure it wasn’t.
After an injection and anti-inflammatory drugs he was sent home for the night.

Next morning, another trip to the hospital for a check up.
Although the ankle was still swollen, the paralysis had eased off,
and so with drugs to take with him, Peter returned to the Comfort Inn
where he was picked up by Michael and Teresa, and driven back to the 73km camp site.
Michael was very uneasy about dropping Peter off, and was keen to drive him the next 60 kms into Aileron.
Peter insisted he would be OK, and so they parted company,
and off he went on the next stage of the ride.

Michael we are very grateful for all your efforts.
You certainly demonstrated the true Spirit of the Outback.

Rest and relaxation
Bike Service
Fiona visiting from Melbourne
The luxury of real clothes to wear……….
Peter was certainly on a high when I arrived on Monday morning.
He was feeling fit, and looking good. (He has lost some weight)
He had used the razor to tidy up, and was keen to change into some non bike riding gear.
We sent some postcards, and did some banking and settled into Alice for a relaxing couple of days.
On his arrival Peter was very touched to receive a large envelope of cards and letters from the staff and students from the Brunswick Special Development School.

He really appreciated all their words and the bright decorations. Thanks so much!
We also caught up on all the wonderful messages of support from all around the world.
There are plenty of great places to eat, and lots of interesting tourist spots in Alice Springs. We decided not to travel out to Uluru, as the emphasis was on relaxation and we didn’t need to travel an extra 1000kms in just a few days.
The town has lots of history, being an important transport and communication centre.
Some of the things we saw were the Old Ghan Railway Museum,


The Transport Museum,

The Old Cable Station, The School of the Air

The Araluen Arts and Cultural Centre.

We spent a very enjoyable day with a local artist from whom we purchased a painting and spent time in the many Aboriginal Art Galleries in town.

Visited the Casino….
We spent a day at ‘The Desert Park’.
This fascinating place incorporates three different types of desert habitats, and their plants and animals.
We learnt about how the traditional owners lived and survived in this harsh country before the white man arrived, and also learnt of the medicines they harvested from the bush to treat their ailments.

While we were in Alice Springs, the daily temperature was 2 – 16 C (then minus the wind chill factor) and considering the local tribes did not wear clothes (or animal furs) their main ailments were chest infections.
We had a very relaxing and enjoyable week.
For the sum of $20 the bike was serviced, and we were told everything is fine! The chain just needed a clean.
Will Peter pay the price of his lapse back into the beer drinking, coffee drinking and cake eating lifestyle??

Stuart Wells – Alice Springs

A very excited Peter rang at 3.30pm to say he had already ridden his 90kms for the day, and was booked in at the ‘Comfort’ Inn.

We have previously stayed there, and there are all the facilities for relaxing.

He took a long walk around town to stretch his legs.

It is a huge achievement to reach Alice Springs, (especially with NO training prior to setting off).
While kilometre wise the trip to Alice is not quite half way, having conquered the southern half of the ride is a huge mental boost.
It’s definitely the less appealing, and most challenging half of the adventure.

Erldunda – Stuart Wells

After enjoying a wonderful meal and a night of swapping stories with Brian and Jo, and Cordell and Judy, a cooked breakfast was also on offer.  What great fuel to complete a 109km ride to Stuart Wells.

Again the wind was in Peter’s face, and while it wasn’t strong enough to make the ride difficult, it is dangerous in that it masks the noise of the oncoming traffic.

Today there were ‘Drag Cars’ on the highway, heading north to an event in Alice Springs.