XML FeedsArchives for: March 2009
My New Bike
I'd like to introduce Fat Albert:
... Or at least that's my nick-name for this great 18" Speedway Cycles Fatback.
When you're about to embark on a 7500km ride through 10 deserts, up to 1,000km from the nearest town, there is no mucking around with sub-standard equipment. The Fatback represents the pinnacle of adventure mountain biking. Made exclusively from titanium, this frame and fork-set are designed to go the distance in the harshest terrain, and live to tell the tale. Given this bike accommodates 2 x 4" wheels, it's remarkable that the 18" frame weighs in at a measly 1.57kg.
Leg 1: The Tanami Track
Details -
Distance: 1107km inc. out and back to Wolfe Ck crater
Conditions: Hard-packed and corrugated dirt road, deep bull-dust in stretches.
Difficulty: 3/5
Est'd Time: 7 days
Three sources used extensively in planning for this adventure include Exploroz and Bureau of Meteorology websites, and Australia's Great Desert Tracks Atlas & Guide by Ian Glover & Len Zell.
My first leg streches from Alice Springs in N.T. to Halls Creek in W.A. via the Tanami track. The Tanami track is not so much a track any more, but are fairly well driven and irregularly serviced dirt road.
Check out this Exploroz link for an interactive map with some photos enroute; Tanami track
