“The Bicentennial National Trail is Australia’s premier long distance, multi-use recreational trekking route, stretching an extraordinary 5,330 kilometres from Cooktown in tropical far north Queensland to Healesville in Victoria.” Yes, riding or walking or running the BNT is very very hard and takes enormous amount of preparation and is most likely a one in a lifetime…
Today is the last day of my trip if all goes well. At least the last day until the end of the Bicentennial National Trail. I still have to find a lift back to Cairns and I know I won’t be fully relaxed until I do so. I’m pretty sure by now that I don’t…
Tonight I don’t want to write the “notes”. That is what we, Michelle and I, call my diary entries. Most of the time, I don’t want to write them because I don’t know where to start. I’m just too tired and confused to find the first sentence. After the first sentence, even the first word,…
This morning I’m paying extra attention to my packing as I expect a tortuous track ahead. The Creb track is not an easy one. It has some steep hills, and it’s very remote. The first challenge is to cross the Daintree River, which is worrying me more than I would like it to. I chat…
Today I want to go to Daintree village, and knowing that it’s only 33km away via the bitumen road makes it sound very doable. Before I can leave, I need to repair my bike as much as I can. I’m not feeling that motivated to take the front wheel apart and replace the broken spokes,…
Interview by Cycle Travellers Australia Great questions in this interview, I’m sure you’ll like the answers. Biking the Big Nasty: how to survive the National Trail East Gippsland “Advertiser” Article. Michelle, my girlfriend, was interviewed:
When I wake up this morning, the nightmare is not over. My clothes are soaked and I’m feeling quite dirty and sore. I go check my back wheel and find many spokes are loose. I adjust their tension until I notice the rim is severely damaged in two places. The head of the spokes almost…
Today I reluctantly leave Port Douglas, I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t spent any time on the quiet south side of the beach. I follow the busy road to Mossman, which is only an hour away. I use the opportunity to have a good lunch and go to the post office. The two trekking…
Yesterday was a big one for me. Pushing up those hills and navigating through difficult terrain and dense vegetation for over 70km left me tired. This is one of those days when I give everything I have and ride to my limits, thinking I’ll rest soon. It’s definitely not a sustainable pace. At 8am I…
I know what to expect today and I’m prepared for the worst. I’ve made my decision. I will follow the official BNT route despite it being closed. The detour would be safer but I want to make it to Mt Molloy today to put me in a good position for heading to the beach at…
Last night I slept in a swag and it felt like dust was falling on my face all night long. Without the tent I don’t have too much packing to do, but it’s still very cold. I head to the living room where two of the kids are sleeping right next to the gas heater.…
