DARWIN TO BROOME CYCLE – VIA THE GIBB RIVER ROAD
Travelling over the Gibb River Road, approximately 1.900 kms, across the top of Australia in 21 days.
I did this on my own, as a way of putting myself outside ‘the comfit zone’ and dealing with the demons that still persist in my head from the invasive sexual abuse I received in the Navy as a young sixteen year old lad. I read a small note one day on Facebook which simply said, “Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere; and sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself”.
That said………“This is not a ride for the faint hearted.”
I have read,’ that any reasonably fit person can do it – whether you are 30 or 70. You don’t have to be super fit – just committed enough to ride 5 to 12 hours a day for at least 5 days consecutively at a time’.
Of course my training mileage will help enormously. Every section of the ride was a little different and I did have a 100 mile (sounds easier than writing 160km) day early on in the ride and I had to ride 4 days over 100 kms consecutively.
There was five rest days during journey, they were for recovery (in a hotel or caravan park – hot showers, oh yeh) , replenishments and repairs, also there was time to do some writing, posting photos and even tourist stuff.
But I had to stay focused and be happy to ride those 2 and 3 consecutive days covering 100 kms a day. There were five nights where I slept in the bush on the side of the road.