The second installment of The Dirty rat rolled onto the dirt a little further west of Ararat this time around allowing some more challenging roads to be thrown into the mix. A good day out was had by all despite the McKenzie Falls Kiosk not being open for ice creams! No one finished the full course leaving a bit of unfinished business and a taste for more dirt!

The first installment of The Dirty Rat was a plan on paper which in the field could have gone a number of ways. On that day everyone who came was on their game and although we limped to the finish, I was always quietly confident from the beginning we would finish the day out.

Fast forward two years later and many stories from the day and I’m somewhat overwhelmed by the turn out for the second installment of The Dirty Rat. What started as shits and giggles and a funny name appears to be growing beyond my wildest expectations. Continue reading The Dirty Rat 2015 →

Rolling out of Finke community I spotted a few dogs from the corner of my eyes running headlong towards me.  An echo of barking rang out, I realized there must have been more than five of them. For the dogs it was just sport and probably part of their daily entertainment, for me it felt like life or death. Getting my fully laden Surly ECR up to speed to outrun the angry mob was quite a feat but somehow I pulled it off. As we approached the cattle grid on the edge of town I thought I might just outrun them, it was not the case, the ringleaders gave chase a further 200 meters before giving up.

It was only day two of my expedition along The Old Ghan route and already it had thrown up many trials and tribulations. The lactic acid pumping through my legs was insane and I took it easy for the next few hours as I pedalled into the setting sun.

Continue reading Oodnadatta by bike, part 1: The road to Oodnadatta →