Hooroo Uluru

// December 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

Rest day number 2 started with an early morning, we were up by 5:30am and had left for Uluru by 6:00. Yesterday, following the presentations at the cultural centre, we had discussed the issues around climbing the rock and students had made individual decisions as to whether to climb or not. As it turned out, the climbing route was closed due to weather conditions, so those who had decided to climb joined the others in exploring Uluru from ground level. There is a 10-12km loop around the base of the rock which allows you to see it from every angle, and take in the amazing variety of forms and textures on its surface, along with the rock paintings and cool water holes located at different points around the perimeter.

We finished the morning with another brief visit to the cultural centre, before driving 30km to Kata-Tjuta, the collection of enormous domed rocks also known as the Olgas (its aboriginal name means “many heads.”) Most of us were surprised by the size of the rocks, the highest point is 546m above sea level, 200m higher than Uluru, and the rocks cover an area of about 26km². We walked uphill between two steep, red walls of rock into the centre of the formation, through a valley called Tatintjawiya, or Olga Gorge Walk. The walk ended at a green and shady rock pool, with views back down through the valley and across the plains.

We returned to the camp ground for lunch and packed up, ready to drive back to Erldunda on the Stuart highway, where we will be staying the night before embarking on the 500km riding leg to Coober Pedy tomorrow morning.

View photos here.

GG

The mighty rock

// December 1st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blog

It’s difficult to believe how much we managed to fit in to today. Four riders were enough to complete our scheduled leg into Erldunda, and thanks to high average speeds we arrived very early, at around 10am. We even had time to stop off for a camel ride along the way, at Camels Australia, which was quite an experience and the perfect way to break up the long hours on the road.

The plan had been to load ADIMOV into the trailer and transport from Erldunda to Yulara, which is located about 200km off the Stuart highway, and where we will spend a rest day tomorrow exploring Uluru. Instead, we took advantage of the opportunity to ride an extra 100km to make up for the distance we were forced to transport on our first day.

We arrived at Ayers Rock Resort Camp Ground in the early afternoon. Once again we are camping on green grass, under a blue sky and shady gum trees, and making the most of the excellent facilities. Since arriving, we have had two visits to the rock. During our first visit we drove around Uluru and visited the cultural centre where we learnt about the Tjukurpa (the culture history and law) of the local Anangu people and listened to a talk from a representative of Parks Australia. After dinner we returned again to watch the sunset over the rock. It’s bed-time now so we will have to save the rapturous descriptions for tomorrow’s blog. We are returning to Uluru and Kata-Tjuta first thing tomorrow.

View photos here.

GG

A relaxing day in the Alice

// November 30th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blog

Our rest day is at an end, and it has to said that our principal activity today has been basking in the generosity and interest of other people.

With no need to be on the road at daybreak, most of us instead got up with the sun. The exceptions were Nick and Leigh, who were up well before the rest of us to climb a mountain and watch the sun rise from the top. Nick is an expert in bugs and reptiles, and came back with a freshly collected wolf spider to show us, which inspired interest and horror in equal proportions.

After some breakfast and a team meeting, we were visited by some physical education students from a local high school and Morgan did her first of two radio interviews for the day, with ABC Port Augusta. Later, the Stuart Rotary Club came and cooked us an outstanding barbecue lunch, giving Leon a very well-deserved break.  Lunch coincided with a visit from Mayor Damien Ryan and local media. We also received an apology from Brian Elmer, chairman of Alice Solar City; Alice Springs is one of a select group of cities taking part in a nationwide program to develop solar power as a key source of household energy…just like our coming solar farm in Ballarat.

Following lunch, we explored the town a little before making our way to Alice Springs Reptile Centre. The visit began with a very interesting interactive presentation, during which we got closely acquainted with some of the local fauna (we hope you enjoy the photos of rode-ragers cuddling with reptiles…see if you can identify which are the students and which are the lizards.)  A big thanks to Rex and his staff for the experience. On the way home we did a live-to-air with ABC Central Australia. Morgan and Lucas gave a slick performance as usual, and several passers-by who had tuned in to the show actually came to the station to look at the vehicle when they heard what we were doing.

We had yet another delicious meal for dinner, this time prepared by president Mandy Hargrave and members of the Alice Springs Cycling Club, followed by a very lively discussion between cyclists on the respective merits of various forms of human powered transport.

We’re back on the road again tomorrow, and it has to be said we’re a bit sad to be leaving the luxury of MacDonnell Range Holiday Park after such an enjoyable stay. We are very grateful for the practical help, but also for the interest and enthusiasm of the many supportive groups and individuals we have encountered throughout the trip. We never cease to be amazed by the kindness of strangers.

View photos here.

GG

Alice in wonderland

// November 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

This is almost getting too easy. Today was another very smooth day; continuing our new system of longer rides, we completed the 380km with only 4 riders. Clancy and Ryan completed their first 100km rides for the trip, Alistair rode 71km and Lucas completed about 110km in 2 separate stints, tackling a long morning ride of close to 90km and then the shorter, more technical 20km leg into Alice Springs. All our riders kept average speeds of around 50km/hr. Lacey, Kelly, Rory, Morgan and Chloe were in charge of rider and battery transfers today, and oversaw some of the fastest and most efficient changeovers of the trip so far.

Excitement was high as we pulled into MacDonnell Range Holiday Park. We are settled here for the next 2 nights as we have a rest day in Alice Springs tomorrow. The facilities are wonderful and we have set up our tents in the shade on the grass, with a view of the MacDonnell Ranges behind us. The owners of the park have been particularly generous to us, providing free accommodation for both nights, and even offering to cook us a meal tomorrow. We are very grateful for their support and, after 4 long days on the road, we are very much enjoying their hospitality. We spent the afternoon setting up camp, preparing a feast in the camp kitchen and getting acquainted with the swimming pool.

Off to bed now to enjoy this lovely still, cool night.

View photos here.

GG

Someone’s lost his marbles, and for once it’s not Mark.

// November 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

Since our last update we’ve been living it up at Wycliffe Well Caravan Park. Tempting though it was to bask in the air-conditioning with ice-creams, we ate dinner early and took off to the Devil’s Marbles. The rock formations are amazing; rounded red boulders balanced on top of each-other as though someone has been sorting them into piles and then forgotten about them. The area is larger than you might expect; you can’t see all the different piles without climbing something. We enjoyed the view from the top and took some great pictures with ADIMOV, before returning to camp for bed.

Our campsite had lots of smooth grass and many of us chose to sleep outside without tents. It was the first time we’ve really experienced the cool night-time temperatures in the desert. This morning we were up at 4:00, and packed up ready to go at first light at 5:15. Like yesterday, the landscape is arid, with red earth and wiry shrubs. With the sun just beginning to rise, the view is striking. Clancy has just started the first ride of the day.

View photos here.

GG

E(b)T Phone Home

// November 28th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Blog

The Rode Rage team has landed in Wycliffe Well, the UFO centre of Australia, after a supernaturally successful day on the road. The walls at Wycliffe Well Big 4 are plastered with news stories and posters about the UFO sightings that the area has been famous for since before World War II. So far our stay at the camp has been out of this world, but that’s enough puns for one blog.

Brian was in first this morning, kicking off the ride at 5:45 with a 70km stint averaging 54.4km/hr. After tired batteries forced a rider change, Aleece got in and rode to Tennant Creek, at an average of 60.35km/hr, becoming the first rider to break the 100km mark this trip. The record was destined to fall very quickly; Justin rose to the challenge and got into the bike determined to ride the 137km that remained for today’s leg. This he did, with a 52.82km/hr average speed, in increasingly hot conditions. Rider changeovers were particularly smooth today, thanks to skilled work from our technical monkeys, notably Jacob Baxter, Brad Decker and Jay Matherson. With a well-functioning bike, and the efforts of today’s riders, we made it into camp before lunch. With our hearts light we made our way to the swimming pool for a long-awaited dip, only to find that it had no water in it. Apparently, it had been emptied yesterday by a travelling fibreglass expert who had been “passing through with his herd of camels.”

Accepting this incongruous explanation, we instead settled in with a quick EBT trivia session. For those of you playing along at home, the answers to questions 12, 13 and 14 were true, true and false respectively: in previous years EBT has had its workshop based in a bus shed and in a toilet, but never on the school roof. The answer to question 27 was also true; EBT has been part of a sustainable transport exhibition of the London Museum.

We’re off to the Devil’s Marbles after dinner, for some sunset sightseeing, so stay tuned for the photos.

View photos here.

GG

If only our batteries were as tough as our riders… (A very successful day none the less)

// November 27th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blog

It seems that although our training, ventilation, ice-vests, hydration regime and general gutsiness has proved more than sufficient to allow our riders to cope with the heat, our batteries are not as strong-willed. The techies worked with amazing efficiency last night to isolate the electrical fault that caused our problems yesterday, still managing to get packed up and in bed by a reasonable hour.  What they discovered is that the tropical heat was causing the batteries to prematurely shut down. In other words, the batteries thought they were heating up due to overload, and turned themselves off as a protective mechanism, when in fact the intense climate of the top end was a large contributor to their temperature. Thanks to hard work by Mark and Aaron the problem was in part rectified by replacing our circuit-breakers with fuses and adjusting the configuration of the batteries. Invaluable assistance was also given by Alan Strange, our “phone-a-friend” lifeline in Ballarat. Our unstoppable techies are still working to resolve the problem, but all in all things are definitely improving.

As a result, the ride day ran very smoothly. After our indulgent sleep-in until 4:30am and our usual pack-up procedure, we were on the road at about 5:30 and although we still have some technical bugs to iron out, in general it has been a great day. Rather than the 325km that we had budgeted for, we discovered that we in fact had 415km to travel (thanks a lot Google maps!) but travel them we did, and with relative ease and success. Many of our riders came off the bike for changeovers saying that they would have preferred to keep going. The longest ride for the day was Alistair, who clocked up 70km, while several riders including Brian and Lucas persevered though gruelling HPV stints with no motor.  Jacob Holmes and Jay Matherson shone in their new roles as cattle-grid officers, managing our safety mat, which allowed the bike to pass smoothly over the first of many cattle grids to come.

It might only be 8:30pm, but that’s lights-out here in Renner Springs. Another early start awaits us tomorrow.

View photos here.

GG

Feeling hot hot hot…

// November 26th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Blog

It’s bedtime for Rode-Ragers after our first day of riding, which proved to be quite eventful. Taking off at 5:30am, with Ryan as our first rider, the pace was set early on. Following Ryan, there were three blisteringly fast rides from three of our girl riders, Lacey, Rory and Chloe. Lucas took over for the longest ride of the day, including a tough stint with no motor. The riders are not sure what all the fuss was about. This was followed by a stop at Pine Creek, which gave the riders a break, while  our hard-working techies, including Ben Curtis and Daniel Montgomery, made some repairs and adjustments to the vehicle.

Aleece and Justin rode next, in the increasingly intense heat of the early afternoon. Despite the tropical conditions, they were kept surprisingly cool thanks to the effectiveness of our new ventilation system (designed by Daniel Ross). We were also very pleased to have our safety procedure confirmed and the road trains with which we have shared the road have in no way caused any issues or concerns. With over 300km under our belt and well on-target to reach Mataranka in good time, fate intervened yet again, with some electrical glitches foiling our plans. We regretfully loaded up ADIMOV into the trailer, and transported to our camp ground to begin repairs and prepare for tomorrow. Despite the challenges of the day, everyone remains happy and positive, and after drying out our tents (which were still wet from this morning’s meteorological misfortune) we headed to the Mataranka thermal pools for a relaxing swim.

During our swim we undertook a live video cross to the Damascus awards and achievements evening, to celebrate the achievements of team members who accepted their awards from afar. Brad Decker was the recipient of a Year 8 Endeavour Award, Bryan White was the Year 9 All Rounder, Rory Purdie won the Dorothy Griffin Scholarship for a Year 10 student, Clancy Purdie won a Year 11 General Endeavour Award and Lucas Brennan was awarded Year 12 All-Rounder and was also President of the SRC for 2009. The award recipients continued a long-standing tradition among EBT members of all-round achievement, endeavour and involvement in the school community, which was celebrated with cheers, splashing and general underwater jubilance.

Our generous hosts at Mataranka Thermal Pools prepared a tasty dinner for us, and we enjoyed good company and good food before completing our preparations for tomorrow. Liam Howlett and Leigh Taylor’s efforts were particularly appreciated today, as they persisted valiantly under difficult conditions maintaining all of our gear and equipment.  We’re looking forward to sleeping in until 4:30 tomorrow (the luxury!) before taking on the beginning of the Red Centre, with a 325 km leg from Mataranka to Renner Springs.

View photos here.

GG

You can’t rain on our parade

// November 26th, 2009 // 10 Comments » // Blog

The alarms rang at oooooh-300 hours, and we were out of bed, showered and bedrolls packed away by 3:15am. Some of us had even begun taking down our tents. At this point, a few drops of rain were felt, which quickly turned into a LOT of drops of rain. We huddled under the marquee for a damp but convivial breakfast, and put our motto (adapt, improvise and overcome) into action… We carried our tents to the laundry where we could shake them out and pack them away under cover, lunches were made and packed under the marquee, we loaded up the trailer, had about 800 trips to the toilet (just in case) and drove out the gate at exactly 5:30am, right on schedule.

Our spirits have not been dampened by our early morning challenges, and with the sun just coming up Ryan is buckling into his 4-point safety harness and checking his radio, ready to make the most of the cool conditions.

View photos here.

GG

Day 3

// November 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blog

Wednesday November 25

Another early start this morning, we were out of bed by 6am, enjoyed pancakes for breakfast and took ADIMOV Dreaming in the centre of town by bus at 8:15. We were greeted at Darwin Council Chambers by the Mayor of Darwin, Graeme Sawyer . Morgan did an interview with the local ABC Radio and photos were taken for the Darwin newspapers.

After the media fanfare and send-off from the Mayor, our journey began with Clancy riding the 32km back to Howard Springs in impressive time and hot conditions. It was our first taste of what’s to come.

The afternoon was spent putting the finishing touches on ADIMOV Dreaming, packing and preparing for tomorrow, and enjoying several cool-off dips in the two pools at our caravan park. (Jacob and Alistair also spent several hours getting a coconut down from one of the trees near our campsite, which was then used as the ball in a prolonged game of under-water rugby). After team meetings, we will be having an early night tonight, since we plan on leaving at 5:30am tomorrow in order to make the most of the cool conditions as soon as the sun is up. This means waking up at 0300 hours to get the tents packed up. As the saying goes: the “oh” in “oh-three-hundred-hours”, is because when the alarm goes off you say “ooooooooh my God it’s 3 o’clock in the morning.”

View photos here.

GG