Break Loose Adventure Blog

Mention “adventure sports” and listeners instantly think of adrenalin rushes and death-defying action by the second. Cycle touring is my favourite action sport of choice. Cycle touring? adventure sport? I hear the cynics scoffing already. Too right! Admittedly the prospect of instant death is a tad more remote (unless it is misadventure by semitrailer) but there is ample adventure.

You can comfortably only pack about 20 kgs or so of gear on a touring bike but when you “go bush” that must cover all situations – clothing for wet and dry, hot and cold; food and cooking gear; shelter and sometimes even drinking water. Miss something and you are freezing cold one frosty night, or saturated and miserable when sudden rain comes down. Miscalculate food and your tummy will complain your throat has been cut! Dehydration is a very real risk in summer if you don’t calculate water usage, identify water points ahead of time and carry enough between water points. Adventure is finding solutions out of your panniers for all situations that arise. More extreme forms of cycle touring share much with bushwalking.

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Admittedly there are many variants of cycle touring. The more genteel practitioners of the art cycle from one B&B to the next (without perspiring) and luggage is transported for them. My mates and I look for bush dirt roads, creek crossings and camp places where we can (legally) light a campfire. A creek nearby is handy for a quick dip to get the dirt and sweat off and freshen up. Luxury for us is a caravan park with hot showers and a camp kitchen or tea down at the pub.

Cycle touring has many attractions. Steady cycling is great therapy – as you cycle at a leisurely pace the mind finally slows down to match. Endorphins start to flow and as any athlete knows you really do feel good. Scenery comes alive as you are part of the countryside you cycle through – sights sounds and smells! Cycling through familiar areas I usually drive I have often noticed scenery and buildings for the first time. Some of the greatest scenery and views I have seen lately from the saddle of a bike are in out-of the-way areas where few people visit – those views have been an adventure in their own right. Cycling isn’t always steady – I often average 60-80 kms/hr downhill and mountain bikers assure me they have cracked the ton racing down mountainsides (I’m still a tad cynical- I don’t think my bike computer would read that high!)

Health is a big issue today with rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart problems often attributable to inadequate lifestyle. Cycling is a great way to improve and health and fitness while you are enjoying yourself. I love the cameraderie of cycling too- riding shoulder to shoulder down a quiet country road chatting and chiacking and enjoying each others company. And nothing better than finishing the day sitting around the campfire at night with a quiet glass or two after a great meal cooked over the fire. Cyber cameraderie nowadays with online publications and email lists allow adventure lovers around the globe to share their experiences.

Folks often ask me my favourite ride – that is hard to answer. I always have a ball when I go touring. I’ve cycled through a variety of areas in Southern Queensland over the last three years. There are many interesting and adventurous places within 100 kilometres or so of the coast- often much less. As the old proverb about testing lemons says…

Noosa Council has some great trails in the hinterland around Kin Kin and Pomona – Noosa Trails maps are on the Council website. Many portions of the Bicentennial Trail in southern Queensland are suitable for bikes – the cross-country portions should only be attempted by more experienced cyclists however many portions on quiet farm roads are great touring for anyone who can read a map. Check the BNT website to purchase the guidebooks.

Murgon in the South Burnett of Queensland seemed a quiet “nothing happening” town whenever I drove through – I called into the Visitors Centre once and was I surprised. Touristy items they had a-plenty (I avoid these like the plague) – what caught my eye was a farming district called Tableland and Boat Mountain just north of Murgon. The climbs up the access roads are steep but once you have flogged your way up to the top the scenery is stunning- terraced crop lands sweeping around the tableland and views for kilometres.

Then the short sharp run down the saddle leading to Boat Mountain – easy to break records down there! Once the bikes are locked up under a bush there is a steepish climb on foot up steps to the ridge of Boat Mountain before an easy leisurely amble along the ridge leads to a look out right at the “bow” of the mountain. The 300 degree views were incredible- mountain ranges where ever you looked, the township of Goomeri to the east, to the north over masses of billowing mountains I could see the towering bulk of Mt Walsh near Biggenden.

Adventure took a different form as we completed the Murgon circuit back to the Barambah Bush Caravan Park on the Barambah Wine Trail. Wine trails are fun on a pushbike except that there is no designated driver – everyone is a “driver” and everyone has to keep a tab on just how much they are enjoying themselves as they cycle around!! This Murgon trip was definitely a luxury trip with grass under the tent floors, an indoor camp kitchen and hot showers, with a pub dinner only six kilometres away in Murgon.

Cambanoora Gorge near Killarney just on the Queensland side of the border was a treasured tour with plenty of “rough-it” experiences in contrast to the luxury of the Murgon trip. The Condamine River (which finally flows into the sea as the Murray River in South Australia) rises on the western flank of the Great Dividing Range in a beautiful district aptly named The Head. After a short stretch of open country the river snakes its way through ten kilometres of Gorge with fourteen river crossings in that distance. The gravel fords are only navigable by high-clearance 4WD’s, trail bikes – or touring pushbikes.

We left Tannymorel mid-afternoon, passed through Killarney and started wading the crossings with the bikes. After crossing number 6 we found a great campsite with fireplace and a stretch of river to dip in. That night the thermometer dropped to near zero- the late afternoon bath was most bracing! We had a magic night camping with steak and veg cooked over the open fire. Next morning we lingered savouring the place then pushing off revelled in the beautiful farmland scenery of The Head before swooping down over the side of the Great Dividing Range in an exhilarating high-speed run. That run I continually braked- and the first where I had to stop several times to cool rims.

Dallarnil to Cania Gorge in the North Burnett in July 2004 was another favourite trip and the longest to that date. First night’s camp was in the bed of the Burnett River at Mingo Crossing – soon to be flooded by the new dam Burnett Dam. Wolca Reserve Mt Perry was next – after we visited a winery and rode two hours post sundown coming back via the old Boolboonda Railway Tunnel!! Nighttime touring not recommended! Day three we hardly saw a soul as we climbed up and over “The Perry” as the locals call the mountain range road to Monto. It was a long hard dry day and it was one helluva push for us reaching Ceradotus rest area before dark. Dinner and bed in Mulgildie pub (and some hilarious cameraderia around the bar) was our just reward for climbing over Mulgildie Plateau (I just love climbing plateaus even if my mates don’t). We finally reached Cania Gorge day six with a real feeling of achievement in our longest ride to date.

Cycle touring is as open as your imagination. Some folks tour on classy bikes but I have also seen guys ride the whole east coast of Australia on very ordinary clunkers with very basic gear. Online journals document great overseas tours lasting months however adventures can be had riding undiscovered parts of our own districts over a weekend. Come and join us in a two-wheel home grown adventure.

Picture Captions:

Picture 1: Viewnorth – from the end of Boat Mountain Murgon in the South Burnett of Qld – superb, can’t believe so few people visit there.

Picture 2: Bunyipbridge – Cania Gorge trip via Monto in the North Burnet – obscure track going up over Mulgildie Plateau the back way.

Picture 3: Campkitchen – Murgon trip again – poshest camp kitchen I have used – inside a building complete with electric plate table and chairs and all.

Picture 4: Cold – Cania Gorge trip again – keeping warm by the fire, we downed the best part of a bottle of port that night for antifreeze!! Ice on the table when we woke up.

Picture 5: Edwards Gap – ‘warmup trip’ the day before The Head trip – this is on the Bicentennial National Trail near Laidley SE Queensland – standing on the saddle of Edwards Gap in the Little Liverpool Range.

Picture 6: Head – view from lookout over The Head – we came out the Gorge (which is to left of pic) and cycled up this valley – cleft in the end of the valley is the edge of the Great Dividing Range – as we passed over that edge ride turned into a ‘weeehaaa’ ride for a while zigzagging down the range. This was truly memorable country. I rabbited on for weeks after this ride! Wilsons Peak (1000m) on the right, on the left is Mt Superbus (again about 1000m) where a Lincoln bomber crashed in 1955 on a mercy mission from Townsville with a very ill baby. Not sure the height of the cleft in the valley – maybe 3-400 metres I suppose. Btw this trip followed the Bicentennial National Trail – down in the SE of Qld there are some good bike rides on the BNT.

Picture 7: Pete – this was the first river crossing in the Head trip and but a pup – they got deeper and wider the further we went!

Picture 8: Spicers Gap – this is same general area as the Condamine R ride. This is the edge of the Great Divide again but a few miles further north – where I am sitting is known as Governors Chair – this was the original range crossing to the Southern Downs in the 1800’s – once cars became popular in 1920s Cunninghams Gap was opened up. The Head crossing in earlier pic few miles south was so rugged in those days I don’t think they even gave it a thought as a crossing point. Pretty hard getting the bike up here but boy was it worth it – area is memorable for scenery and history.

Discuss this article below. What are your experiences?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 at 10:42 am and is filed under Cycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.