Holland Track - Day Four

Day Four

We both woke having slept very well and felt we could carry on. It was early and we were on the road by 6am. Life was sweet!! The temperature dropped to mid to high 30's and for the following 4 days we fell into a routine of early starts and 10am to 3/4pm lunch breaks finishing the day around sunset.

We were disappointed with the fact that the track has been rerouted away from the original track in quite a few places, and there was very little wildlife and few wild flowers, the latter however is probably a product of the time of year.

The ride became an endurance test as there was a lot of sand and the country wasn't particularly inspiring. However, this track's original and primary purpose was as a short cut to the Goldfields at the turn of the century and not a scenic route. Having said that, it can be very nice in spring if the rains have been good.

One memorable moment springs to mind, we had got used to stripping down to our jocks when stopped during the middle of the day - hey it was cooler! So we're laying under the trees when we both heard a motor, I was up, sandals on, running like hell, burst out of the bush in front of a motor bike (Day 5, hair poking everywhere, stubble all over, in jocks and sandals ... got the picture!) This poor bastard near fell off! Anyway he recovered enough to turn around, we just wanted to know the track conditions, he just wanted to know which loony asylum we'd escaped from.

I bet we get wilder every time he tells the story at the pub. If you hear of two hairy 10ft wild men wearing jocks as hats and chewing on sandals, you'll know where the story originated from.

When we hit the junction of The Holland Track and the Hyden Norseman road. Phil could smell Bacon Burgers and there was no stoppin' him. We were still 85 K's out of Hyden mind you, but breakfast the next day was a ripper.

Phil's Mantra, Bacon Burger, bacon burger bacon burger....

From Hyden it was all back road bitumen and quite pleasant although the temperature was high the whole trip. My knees started playing up and we ended up quitting 120 K's North of Albany. The knees were due to leaving the big tyre on the trailer - a stupid thing to do in hindsight, especially as I had taken a skinny tyre for the bitumen section. Live and learn.

The mod on the trailer was purgatory and has since been changed back to a standard swing arm. The tyre worked well in regards to flotation but set up far too great a flex that pushed the bike around in an uncontrollable way. There were times we were concerned the frame of the Epic wouldn't take the lateral flexing but it's well built and made it through unscathed. The centre of gravity was too high on the bed of the trailer, I've since studied the swing arm setup and will have a go at modifying it again.

Al with the Stirlings in the background.

Fly proof Phil.

We saw two specs in the distance.

We saw two specs in the distance. "Whats that?" said Phil. "Two sheep maybe" I replied. No it was a couple on trikes, pedaling to Melbourne enroute to the USA. I greeted them with "What are you crazy bastards doing out here!" To which the guy replied "I was going to ask you exactly that!" They we going to get it tough for the next few days, high temps and strong head winds. The guy was pulling a BOB with his trike and they''d done a fair bit of dirt since Rockingham, their starting point.

Phil eating. How unusual!!

In summary, waiting until November was a huge mistake, the temperature difference between September and November can be massive. Doing the track in winter would have the advantage of riding on firm sand but one would encounter a lot of mud and deep puddles. It can also get very cold in this part of the world.

Taking a seriously modified trailer without having first done a maiden trip was a huge mistake. However the basic concept of a fat tyre on the trailer works. We probably overdid the water, but hey, we're here to talk about it. We ended up using far less than we anticipated. Sand touring is tough work and requires a lot of concentration, a Surly "Pugsley" is the only way to go in these conditions. The Hookworms on my Epic are 2.5" wide and whilst they give good floatation it's inadequate compared to the 4" of an Endorphin. All in all the trip was purgatory but we lived to tell the tale. Well that's all folks, maybe we'll bump into you on some obscure back road.

Happy pedaling, A & Phil.