![\"2015-06-22](\"https:\/\/cyclingwild.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2015-06-22-09.45.45.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI never did have a chance to test the ECR’s sand grinding capabilities before rolling out of Alice Springs so I planned accordingly. At worst I would have to push for 120 km from Maryvale to Finke where the sand is at its deepest. I was also leaving two weeks after the famous Finke desert race so figured the road would be pretty chewd up. The bike was laden with 10 freeze dried meals, enough sweets and chocolate to give most couch potatoes instant diabetes and 10 liters of water. All up I guessed it weighed about 45-50kg.<\/p>\n
Pre dawn on a Sunday I snuck out of the still sleeping town of Alice Springs, skirted around the airport and hit the dirt. I paused briefly to take a blurry photo of the road ahead. It would be 1100km until i would feel tarmac under\u00a0my wheels again.<\/p>\n Twenty kilometers later\u00a0drifting hot air balloons became my last reference point of being close to settlements. I was edging closer towards the desert and it was exciting.<\/p>\n The road out of Alice was pretty easy going with occasional sand drifts and corrugations. I made good progress that morning making Maryvale turn off 100km down the road for a late lunch around 1pm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The road split at Maryvale (Titktuka community) and got progressively worse as the afternoon dragged on. The Surly ECR was settling into its environment and I was beginning to feel the adventure unfold. I hadn’t experimented with tyre pressure much since building the bike up so decided the sand was getting deep enough to warrant dropping some air out of the tyres. I deflated them to around 12 PSI, perhaps a little soft for the load I had however it dug in deep and allowed me to keep pedaling through the deepest ruts and I also managed to stay upright which is always a bonus in the middle of nowhere on your own!<\/p>\n By the end of the first day I had managed 160km on some pretty challenging roads and went to bed feeling content with my efforts.<\/p>\n The next morning I got up 40 minutes before dawn and pushed out into the sandy track ahead. I still had 80km to Finke and was unsure how unrelenting the sand ahead would be. It was rideable with the big bags underneath me but I was switching between first and second gear and my overall average was around 8km\/h. I wasn’t having to get off and push but it required all my strength to keep the bike straight and upright.<\/p>\n I often find when I am deep in these challenging circumstances that the maths of the situation pour over me. How far is it? How long will that take at the current trajectory? What time will I reach point B? I had one goal in mind on day two, that was to reach the general store at Finke for a few supplies and to refill my dwindling water reserves. The early morning maths were not looking good. At 9am travelling my current speed I was still eight and a half hours from Finke and concerned the store might be closed by then. \u00a0This was compounded by the fact that Atapulta(Finke) is an aboriginal community where you have to be invited to stay the night. This meant staying short of Finke and rolling in the next morning, not ideal, so I continued to push on.<\/p>\n I had been gifted a tail wind all morning of which I was unaware of due to the poor road conditions. Around 2pm the road got substantially better and the tail wind guided me towards Finke at a great\u00a0rate of knots. By 3pm I was happily sucking down on a $4 Calippo ice block, guzzling Gatorades and planning my\u00a0next round of snacks and beverages! In less than an hour I had spent more than $40 on overpriced junk food but I was a very happy man.<\/p>\n I woke early again on day three and was beginning to get that familiar feeling of settling into my environment that one gets on a big journey. I pedaled off from my campsite pre-dawn and marveled at the rising sun and the long shadows across the road ahead. There were still pockets of sand but the road was getting better, the feeling was that a good day was beginning to unfold.<\/p>\n Well that’s at least what I thought. I turned off towards Eringa water hole and Hamilton station around 9am and was greeted with a gentle puff of wind in may face. Thoughts quickly raced about my head, I was well aware from the high cloud above that I was in for some pretty substantial headwinds. By 10 the winds had reached peak intensity where the stayed for most of the day. The next hour I made only seven lousy kilometers.<\/p>\n I love how these photos look so tranquil. This was not how it felt at the time but looking back on these pictures I feel an inner peace.<\/p>\n I hid behind this tanker pleading for the wind to relent but I knew it was futile. Maximum wind gusts that day were 67km\/h in my face and looking at the 9am\/3pm recording from Oodnadatta that wasn’t much above the days average.<\/p>\n Regardless of my less than fortunate situation I pushed on into the vast Gibber plains. \u00a0The size of the landscapes here is overwhelming and was great to witness the subtle changes in the landscape as I pushed on.<\/p>\n My one sweet relief for the day was the water hole at Eringa where I took time to relax and have a swim and a lie down. It was hard to believe earlier\u00a0in morning that this desert oasis would present its self. I slammed down a few very strong coffees and refueled on some croissants and Nutella.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>