Bicycle Touring 101: Touring in Australia with Dave McLeod

One area of the world that has always interested me is Australia. Many people have visited Australia as part of their tour and when they return their stories seem to be full of fun times and wonderful adventures. Dave McLeod is even luckier then most in that he lives in Australia and seems to delight in touring some of the quieter and more remote areas close to his home. In this Interview Dave discusses his bicycle touring experiences including a few ways of doing things that might be a bit different then how you've toured yourself.

Lunch on the road. Flatbread travels far better than loaf bread and keeps better.
Click to enlarge.

I've read through a number of your journals on Crazyguyonabike. I believe that you currently have 16 journals on the site making you one of the more prolific tourers. Could you describe some of the things that you like about bicycle touring and the kinds of tours that you prefer?

I think one of the things I like most about cycle touring is that you are part of your environment. You experience the sight, sounds, fragrances (good and bad!!) first hand. Plus the much slower speed means you observe far more. I have been amazed riding familiar roads and noticing many things I have never seen before. I guess also I love being outdoors, roughing it and the general adventure of what is about to happen (also both good and bad) and coping with it.

My cycling mate Marsh says “living life 100% instead of veging on the couch”. I love a quote someone sent me from CS Lewis talking about his young days in Edwardian England- I measured distances by the standard of man, man walking on his two feet, not by the standard of the internal combustion engine. I had not been allowed to deflower the very idea of distance; in return I possessed 'infinite riches' in what would have been to a motorist ‘a little room. To my mind cycle touring beats hands down sitting in a lounge chair watching the paint dry on the wall and waiting for God to take you home!!

I prefer country tours- back roads where you can poke along at a leisurely pace and look around and not be hassled by traffic roaring past all the time. I have had a life long love of the Australian bush and country folk and even seemingly featureless scrub and barren landscapes have much to offer if you learn to open your eyes.

I also love cycle touring because I can indulge in my passions of writing and photography as I craft my cycling journals later. Terrance McKenzie who has been cycle touring for over fifty years says that "Words alone cannot replace those photo memories- so when you are old you will remember in greater detail your cycle tours because of the photos and your diaries…"

For me photographing and writing up cycle tours is not only a historic record it is also a social act. Mark Boyd sums up one social aspect of cycle touring- the pics and writing that I am strong about- “On the positive side, I think that, if I didn't do ride reports each day, I'd get very lonely on my long tours. Writing the ride report is a mechanism for, indirectly, talking to my friends. I think this is psychologically very important to me. Thinking about what will go in that ride report and what images I want to try to capture also enhance my touring by focusing my mind on what is happening and what I'm seeing as I tour.

Campsitetree in the Cambanoora Gorge with the Condamine R behind. To bath you rip the gear off and jump in the river. It will be nearly freezing point next morn. No soap of course just rinse off, and then scrounge firewood to keep warm as well as cook tea. About the roughest it gets (unless you really go wild in the desert and cart all your own water etc etc)
Click to enlarge.

As fuel prices soar another great plus for country cycle touring is economy. Most small towns have camp spots that are cheap or free and we have often cycled for several days and spent almost nothing on accommodation. With careful choice of tour locale (or taking opportunities as they present themselves) ferry costs to and from tour can be minimized also.

Hmmm- tricky question. I guess firstly seeing new country and having new experiences and bringing back the photos to relive that experience again later (and the achievement of doing that with minimal cost) . Secondly sharing that time with like-minded friends, and sharing the trip when I come back with long-suffering friends and family via the Internet.

Do you have a tour that you recall as your favourite bicycle touring experience so far?

Favourite cycling tour?? hmm I think I have liked all of them. I guess the more vivid ones for me were the week long rides with Graham and Lindon to Cania Gorge and Southern Darling Downs. Then again being the social animal I am I have also enjoyed my weekend rides with mates- I guess it is the accompanied rides I like the best.

Mixed in with your longer tours you have several one day tours. What is a one day tour?

I define a “one day tour” as mapping out a day ride in advance with some detailed preparation and creating a new experience and seeing some new country. Maiden country in a sense! Where opportunity permits I often revisit such places- but I only document anything new and I don’t log it up as another trip. Last Saturday Marsh and I rode part of the Teddington Weir circuit from Maryborough (well until my chain broke!!) and I will probably document that as an add-on to the first journey.
I felt shy about my short-journey writings until one veteran cycle tourist told me of the pleasure he derived from my descriptions. Let’s face it the Crazyguy site is replete with superb accounts of rides lasting months across whole continents- they make a day ride to the beach look pretty tame by comparison!! I have come to realise my short descriptions might encourage many to ride who would otherwise look at the big trips and instantly decide that cycle tourism is just not a possibility for them.

Hutchiemoogerah- an experiment which worked well- Moogerah Dam campsite- to save time and effort I just used a hutchie for the two nights out- other campers long way away so privacy no big issue, no insects so didn't need screens found in tents,- much quicker and easier to put up pull down. btw talk about the Aussie drought- most of what is behind the tent should be water- not grass!!

My riding mate Marsh really appreciates my short ride descriptions of 2-5 days length and he feels they can be as interesting as journals of 3 months length. He stands in awe of the big journals but also feels a tad intimidated by them when thinking of his own situation with limited time and resources which make his rides seem insignificant by comparison.

Most of us get days off from work sometime- and we all have somewhere an interesting area nearby where we can ride. Many people fail to see the beauty and interest of local areas. Our son and daughter-in-law live in a typical farming area not far from Childers. Most people have never heard of the area, and those who have scoff when I talk about checking out the local scenery. The same people are really surprised when I take them for a ride along the back farm roads I have discovered and show them some of the sights that have given me great pleasure- the brooding bulk of Mt Walsh over Biggenden or the distant vistas of hills as we ride along the ridges to Coringa with its undulating paddocks and grazing cattle.

Another aspect of local touring too is that outside of major tourist areas many of these areas are never visited by a cycle tourist. When I ride and document these local areas I am breaking new ground. I have started writing short articles for newspapers in some of these areas and I hope locals and others will be inspired to mount their bikes and cycle these areas.

In at least two of your journals you mention the predicted effects of a new dam that is being built. This dam will soon cover with water some of the areas that you have toured through. What are your thoughts when you think about this upcoming change?

One of the more interesting and controversial aspects of local riding in the Burnett area has been watching the Burnett Dam being built. I was fortunate to camp on the beach at Goodnight Scrub and Mingo Crossing earlier and I have treasured photos of both areas as they were pre-dam. I haven’t returned yet to check on the inundation but I will some time. There was such a local outcry over the loss of the popular local camping spot at Mingo Crossing on the Gayndah-Mt Perry Rd (original plans were to fence off the new river bank totally) that a new formal campground will be built. Of course it will be nothing like the pristine beauty of the old sandy river bed- perhaps that is the price we pay for progress.

Although I am very disappointed these areas are being lost the reality is we are becoming more desperate for water every year- dams are a necessity for growing populations. Of course these are contentious issues- and cycling is about harmony not discord so let us agree to disagree in cordial fashion!!

Many of your tours seem to occur in relatively remote places. Are there any special preparations or safety equipment/techniques that you recommend for people who will be touring in remote areas like you do?

This picture gives a good view of our gear. Notice Marsh has nice shiny new commercial panniers front and rear. From memory Marsh carries his tent and sleeping bag on rear rack. I carry commercial panniers at rear- homemade panniers from fishing bags at the front- el cheapo sports bag at the front for sleeping bag etc; on the back is tent and self-inflating mattress. Front rack is homemade and very solid but will probably have to change it before NZ cos of weight.

Although I have never ridden very far inland I do ride in fairly isolated localities. Last year when we rode to Cania Gorge I remember as we rode to Mt Perry to Ceradotus we hardly saw a soul all day except for a road crew near Mt Perry. When I was riding Goodnight Scrub I remember rocketing down dirt roads unable to pull up and startled wallaroos and kangaroos bounding across the road uncomfortably close. If one had collected me as it charged across the road...

Perhaps the most basic safety precaution would be for me to always ride with company. I have recently purchased a 121.5/243 MHz EPIRB which Scott Ellington carried with him on his Australian ride. However this unit is limited- it takes several hours and at least a couple of satellite passes to get a fix. Eventually I will buy a 406 MHz unit complete with GPS add-on so if the unit is activated not only is my ID instantly recognized but a GPS fix is sent as well. Mobile phones are very limited because of scattered population. I have debated carrying a 5W UHF hand-held transceiver mounted on the bike as well but these are restricted by line of sight also. Current developments in satellite phone technology have seen a CDMA mobile phone and satellite phone combined in one hand-held unit- I believe that as the price of these come down they will probably be the best communication means for remote area cyclists. Plain common sense and careful planning are important also; and I always carry a first-aid kit and basic tools.

Occasionally you've toured these remote areas solo. Did you take any special steps or do anything differently then you would have had you been touring in a group?

I doubt I would plan or operate differently in remote areas solo or in company apart from trying to be more thorough in everything- and possibly curtailing some activities (although I haven’t done that yet!) Most times I put my planning up on Crazyguy before I ride- perhaps I should update it just before leaving so that there is a reasonably current itinerary folks could check if necessary to find my movements.

From reading your journals it appears that you preplan your tours. What resources do you use to do this? Do you have tips for other cyclists who are trying to plan their first tours like things to look for as an ending point of each day etc?

I discovered when in my 40’s that almost certainly I have ADD. This really makes planning interesting- I couldn’t be methodical no matter how hard I try!! My initial interest in an area can come from past knowledge; stories from people I talk to (including email lists); cycle journals; media programs or articles- a range of sources. I have several folders crammed with travel brochures and maps I pick up from information centres.

Often we cook out on a campfire- wild camp for free- where there are no fireplaces built and too risky for a campfire/fire bans in place then we use our fuel stoves. Notice our kitchen table was just a rock on the ground. Cambanoora Gorge (Condamine R ) near Killarney

I have started creating a computer database of some form where projected rides can be plotted in spreadsheets from time of conception and fresh details logged in as they come to hand. Some rides mightn’t ever get past the spreadsheet stage!! Last holidays my dear long-suffering wife and I were holed up in a caravan for some days at Noosa as rain bucketed down and I used the idle time to create a prototype spreadsheet for my Murgon ride (see Crazyguy journal for example).

I am finding computer based recording very handy on shared rides. As Graham and I plan our January 2006 New Zealand ride we use chat and Skype computer phone to discuss plans as we simultaneously trawl the Net for cheap fares etc. Spreadsheets are swapped to and fro to update details. So far my maps are in paper form and currently I am studying the art of computer-aided planning and navigation with electronic maps and GPS. Next year’s project! It seems that GPS will be very useful giving me my exact location which I can translate to waypoints and coordinates on a map so I shouldn’t ever get directionally challenged again- and times when we are having trouble locating such things as particular roads well again GPS will give me the heads up on where the road should be.

I remember spending countless hours agonizing over maps when I first started planning trips, trying to work out best possible routes and stages. Somehow with time and experience I have become much more relaxed and willing to vary stages as I ride. However I still lay out a route taking into account road conditions, amount of climb, possible camp spots and the like. Most of my rides are only a few days long and I need to operate within the constraints of predetermined start and finish times and places. However I am more willing these days to vary plans as days pass to suit the occasion. I find email a great way to contact information centres and caravan parks in the early stages of planning.

One free electronic resource which has appeared lately is Google Earth. I have only just started experimenting with it however it seems it will be a very good adjunct to the ordinary road maps I use for planning. Tourist road maps are a poor substitute for topographical maps of an area but usually they are all we can afford (my first navigation expenditure will be for set of map CD’s of Australia). In the meantime I can use Google Earth to check out the terrain of projected rides and plan appropriately. There are a number of useful tools such as marking features with a “pin” and saving files for incorporating into planning documents. Recently I took a series of screen captures of the route of an intended ride shortly to Rainbow Beach as part of my planning.

Unlike many journals I've read you seem to prefer to steer clear of freeze dried meals and instead try to eat things like steak, pork chops etc and wash them down occassionally with a nice bottle of beer or wine. What steps do you take to keep the food safe to eat in the warm/hot temperatures that you tend to ride in? Any special equipment on the bike to help you carry this stuff (like special bottle holder for the wine bottle etc)?

I pride myself on being a reasonable cook (for a bloke anyway) and I enjoy the challenge of creating edible meals on the ride. I cycle on a budget so bought meals are enjoyed only occasionally as a treat. My diet changes as I get new ideas and talk with cyclists like Roy Hoogenrad from NZ and my own riding mates. I tend to use pasta a fair bit along with dried veges. Often I cycle out of the range of shops and I have to hump all my food with me so weight is a big consideration. Breakfast is muesli with some condensed milk drizzled over and some warm tea dumped on it to almost make it into porridge. Lunch is often flat bread (very transportable) with some tinned fish or maybe a pot of noodles. Tea varies but is frequently pasta with tomato and dried peas and carrots; or dried potato and same veges. First night out I often have fresh meat which has been frozen and brought with in a small cold bag. If I pass a butchers shop later in the trip I will buy meat for that day and ask them to wrap it up in a few extra layers of paper. Some shops in remote places like Mt Perry sell meat frozen anyway as the nearest butcher is in Gin Gin.

Australia still has many bush pubs that are having a resurgence as people are rediscovering the bush and most of these pubs now provide great meals cheap. Until new fire regulations came in recently you could often get a bed in a pub cheap as or cheaper than some camp grounds- regrettably many pubs have now had to close their accommodation so you buy your meal and then sleep up the road in a paddock somewhere with your own gear!! This is the Rosevale pub on an obscure back road between Ipswich and Warwick.

Summer here in Queensland carting fresh unfrozen meat needs to be carefully thought out or abandoned in our hot summers. When fresh meat is not available that day I settle for tinned fish (often in plastic pouches rather than tins) or beef jerky cut up and put through the pasta. So far I haven’t used fresh vegetables much but on future trips where I pass through towns with shops I would like to use fresh fruit veges much more often. I was interested to read recently on the phred email list of folks using vegetable juices as a drink and electrolyte replacement. I didn’t like the added weight of the liquid but perhaps it could be bought and consumed quickly. What I did discover was that after cooking the night’s meat the juice poured into the pan and simmered with the meat brownings made a truly superb gravy.

I never carry alcoholic drinks far- or any liquid drinks for that matter. If I am not near a pub or winery one day- well I go without that night. The one exception is carrying a half-finished bottle of wine. No way would I try to knock over a bottle of wine one night and ride the next day! I don’t have any special drink carrier- just stick it in a pannier.

Many of the roads you travel seem to be gravel. Do you tend to have special tire requirements as a result? Any special concerns about the effect of constant vibration on you and your bike?

I ride fairly often on gravel roads- my bike is a hybrid using 700x35 tyres and I don’t worry about special tyres for gravel roads- I don’t use slicks and there is enough tread on the tyres I use to hold the bike on the gravel. Possibly when I ride the Central Otago Rail Trail in NZ in January 2006 I might kit the bike with specific dual-purpose tyres. When I ride on really poor roads like Goodnight Scrub I do carry a spare tyre as well as tubes. Badly corrugated roads can really vibrate the bike but so far I have never done any extended rides on poor gravel or had any great problems. I remember once my low-rider rack almost flogged itself to death on the Baffle Ck road however that was probably my own fault also because I hadn’t secured it well enough.

Like many people you have asthma (I do as well). Does your asthma limit your ability to bicycle tour in any way? Any suggestions for others who also have asthma but are considering a bicycle tour?

One scourge of modern society is asthma. I have been asthmatic all my life- I’m not a brittle asthmatic but it is constant and I have been on steroid preventative puffers most of my adult life. Although I didn’t specifically choose cycling as my mid-life antidote for asthma I have found it has certainly been beneficial. When you climb your sixth steep hill for the day, your breath is coming in heaving gasps and your heart rate is up around the max then you know your cardio-respiratory systems are doing just fine for your age!! I was told twenty years ago by a GP to get into active sports of some form or lose lung capacity/function. I was very pleased when consulting a specialist lately to find that I am within limits for someone my age- and I believe taking up cycling three years ago has played a major part. Chronic illness often means adjustments in lifestyle but my asthma hasn’t impacted too much on my cycling. I set a pace for how I feel at the time- winter in particular- and I push myself hard enough that I keep developing but not so hard that I exacerbate the asthma.

Health aspects need to be considered in planning stages to allow ample time to complete a stage comfortably. I often have chronic bronchitis along with the asthma and my long-suffering mates usually have to listen to me coughing furiously for the first hour into a ride as the lungs stretch and the gunk works its way to the top. Once I have opened my lungs up I feel fit enough to be dangerous. My wife often scolds me for camping out in winter cold (guys in snow areas stop laughing- our winters are cold by our standards!!) but I find being away from triggers like house dust and the beneficial effects of the exercise far outweigh any potential problems from cold. Also I believe that because I am in that environment all the time and not changing hot to cold the cold trigger is far less likely to act. And I tend to be in the same clothes night and day (night time minus knicks plus a parka) so don’t get cold changing (NOW we know why the Brits of centuries ago considered bathing weakened the constitution!!) Phew- I always try to keep clear of respectable people in winter as I tour!!

Medication can be a hassle if it gets lost. Last winter when we rode to Cania Gorge my planning went a tad awry on a winery visit and we had a two hour ride home in the dark. The first hour of that was along a rough bush track from Boolboonda Railway Tunnel and I remember something brushing past my leg one stage. I didn’t investigate and discovered later my first aid kit (kept in a soft pencil case so it will fit into the panniers better) had slid out the top of the front pannier. Not only were the meds in there worth $150AU- I couldn’t survive long without them.

Next day I fronted to the tiny Mt Perry hospital only to find the sister in charge didn’t have them in stock. I couldn’t wait for the mail-car to come in from Gin Gin with a script later that day so she administered some medication on oxygen to tide me over till I got to Monto a couple of days later and she also rang the Monto Dr and made an appointment for me (he was fascinated when I turned up- couldn’t believe 3 guys would want to ride over “The Perry” as we had done- I told him cyclists climb far higher hills elsewhere in the world!!)

Scott has since given me a good idea. I now carry as well some half-used puffers in a small cloth bag in a different pannier right at the bottom where it is virtually impossible to lose them or leave them behind. This gives me a backup in case another first-aid kit goes missing.

Austraila is a very large country (and continent). Where have you already toured and what places do you hope to tour someday?

Apart from the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail in Victoria (which was my first tour- and that with almost no riding experience) I have only ridden in the lower half of Queensland. Hervey Bay itself by virtue of its place on the waters edge with rivers running out to the sea on either side has only a couple of access roads and both are heavily trafficked so apart from a few pleasant short local rides anything of a touring nature requires a ferry out. The Maryborough-Hervey Bay bus service will carry bikes most times (on buses with luggage bins underneath) and this is one option some of us have exercised. There is a passenger train service up the Queensland coast which carries bikes but trips need to be scheduled around the train timetable- can be managed during holiday times but not feasible over even long weekends. Greyhound long distance coaches also carry pushbikes but the couple of times I had considered it the prices were horrendous.

I have ridden quite often around the Dallarnil-Biggenden-Gayndah area and I am fortunate that my son and daughter-in-law live in the area so when I drive to see the family, I leave my wife in their tender care and cycle off down yet another back road to see where it leads. The most exciting development here in Hervey Bay is the upgrading of the local airport to take passenger jets- now there is a direct service to Sydney and before long Melbourne and Auckland (New Zealand). If you book far enough ahead you can get seats really cheap and these flights open up all sorts of possibilities. For example I have had an urge for a long time to ride the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Once this would have involved a mix of train, bus and maybe plane travel- all of it expensive. Now I can book a cheap flight to Sydney with my bike, catch a suburban train to the Blue Mountains and have a great cycle tour- all very cheaply!! Progress!!

Where would I like to tour overseas?? Well I am riding South Island of New Zealand in January 2006. I doubt I will ever be able to afford anywhere else. In Australia I am keen to ride anywhere along the east coast I can access easily by cheap public transport, although again budget and time available will dictate limits. Luckily I also have family in Brisbane and Ipswich and this in conjunction with the extended Brisbane passenger train service opens up many possible rides from the NSW border out to edge of the Darling Downs and the Great Divide.