Film Etap IV

The cycling I experienced in 2021 and 2022 is a collision of two different worlds. They have the same name, but apart from a few design features in common, triathlon and bike touring are incomparable. And it's not just about the speed.

 

I never thought that riding a bike from Mt Augustus could be an exciting adventure. I was on the main track between two tourist attractions during school holidays. How wrong I was, again.
The track itself was rocky, sandy or muddy, with endless floodways to pass. And you couldn't take a run down the hill quickly, because at the very bottom there was always an unknown - a deep gap, rocks, branches or water and sand. In such a remote area, I could not afford to crash with the consequence of some serious injury. In frustration, I did just 81km in 6.5 hours of active pedaling. I run faster!

As if that was not enough, it rained at night. There was no more loose sand - there was mud! It clogged the bike with what could be done - the wheels were did not want to roll loosely. The cleats were also clogged, so I couldn't pull while pedaling, which was quite a waste of energy. On shaking rocks, the front brake refused to work and, notoriously, the springs went out during jumps - I only had the rear brake. Does it make sense to add that on those rare sections with a harder surface, I clearly felt the head wind? The second day was worse than the tragic day one.

After another night, it was time to ask on the station if I could shorten the way through their property, because I know that they do not like travelers in 4WD vehicles. Unfortunately, the gate was padlocked with the words "this is not the way to Paraburdoo". Uh, so I rode on and based on my topographic map I turned into a barely visible track that led me to the river. Fortunately, I took all 6 liters of water, because there was simply no path across the river. From then on, I started crossing the terrain off road. With a bike.

It took me a long time to find out the advantages in the field. Most of the tracks on the maps just didn't exist anymore, so I had to improvise my bike bashing. In the end I realized that the area close to the creeks marked on the map is overgrown with bushes and crisscrossed by a lot of narrow, but deep channels. On other hand, the hills were extremely rocky, so I had to choose between tragic and massacre terrain. With time, I learned where a bicycle could be even ridden, so I pedaled in the wilderness avoiding trees, bushes, trunks, sticks, stones, clumps of grass or loose sand - I slalomed like a drank snake, but as my father used to say: "it's better to ride badly than to walk well. ”- and certainly faster. I encountered fences on my way, sometimes with a gate, sometimes everything had to be unpacked and thrown over the wire. Day three was worse than day two.

The path was straight, it should be ok. But it was not, the path was sandy and I pushed more than I was riding, and the track suddenly turned in the wrong direction. So I sat down planning another shortcut, when a car pulled up - Peter was the first person I had seen in 71 hours. He wasn't happy at first because he was the manager of the ranch and I didn't have his permission. After the conversation, we shook hands and he explained to me the way ahead, so that I would not piss off the mine industry which separated me from the town. I understand stations reluctance - the owners of 4WD cars often destroy tracks and fences, fortunately the bike will not harm it. I had no problems with navigation, although I crossed the gates four times where on the opposite side there were entry prohibited without mine authorization, but the quality of the road exceeded my expectations - despite the low pressure in the inner tubes, after 8 hours of fighting I did 41 km with an average speed of 7.9 km/h! One hill had a 20% slope, it's kind of a massacre. Day four was worse than day three.

Still, this variant was worth the effort. It was stressful but interesting, and by the way I shortened the route by 160 km, saved at least one day of monotonous riding. In addition, I respect this cheaply bought used bike, that it did not fall apart, although it would be better to have tires wider than 38mm, but I think that the purchase (more expensive than the entire bike) of Schwalbe Marathon Plus puncture resistant tires was the best investment at this stage of the journey.

Being already on the bitumen, I climbed a few hundred meters and entered the Karijini National Park. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful parks in Australia (and we have over 500 of them), which owes its originality thanks to the wonderful rock formations that create unique gorges. Welcome to the paradise!

 

I left the campsite before sunrise. After an hour of pedaling, I finally went down to Hannock Gorge, I had it all to myself. I just relaxed and enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the moment. I took a lot of photos, and then attacked another gorge, which was also just for me. Unbelievable, it wasn't until after 9 am that the crowd came. Even though the place was still beautiful, by then the magic of the place had gone - the screams killed out the peace. But it does not matter, it is calculated, it remains to be glad that very few tourists are keen to get up early - their loss is my gain.

 

The next morning, the situation was almost identical - I left the campsite first, and in the Knox Gorge I spent 3 hours sharing it with only one other photographer. This is a paradise for people who like to take pictures. Unfortunately, in the afternoon a snake bit one tourist here and a rescue operation took place.

 

Finally, I rode up Mt Mehhary (1249m). I did not want to ride around on the paved road, so I decided again on the adventure version. And these constant decisions to be made - this or that path, go off toad or wait until a new track appears (expensive topographic maps are very out of date). I walked around the locked mine gate and after a while I ran into a group of employees - surprisingly I was allowed to pass, I was given water, a photo together and a farewell from the brigade manager "go before I get into trouble".

Decision - off road. At first it was going well, but after a kilometer or so, spinifex (very sharp grass) appeared, it spike my ankles, I was in pain. But the worst part was the handling of the bike through it - either I had to go on the spinifex or I was walking by and the bike had to be pulled a lot through those steep clamps of grass. It required a lot of effort to drag such a loaded bike. Besides, I had to look at snakes on the ground and spiders in the air. But it wasn't that bad, I was moving 2km per hour. Anyway, I made my way to the other side, found a ghost track, iff road again, and finally found myself at the base of the mountain.

I climbed Mt Mehhary (1249m) at night to watch the sunrise from the summit. At the top, for the first time in this trip, I put on a jumper, after all I was on the highest peak of Western Australia.

From animal news:
I often passed close the cattle, they usually ran away. Once, however, they realized me too late and fell into a panic as I was already passing by. One bull got scared, lowered its head and started charging at me - I shouted like and it worked. But it could be worse.
The first camels - grateful.
In the morning dingo visited my camp. He kept his distance, but his curiosity and smells did not let him go easily
I had to look down be aware of snakes as I made my way through the bush. However, I was knocking off spider webs by bike and myself, I was covered in sticky slime all over. Once, however, I felt a spider coming off my hat to my face - even though I don't have arachnophobia, it wasn't pleasant.

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