Comment by heather on April 13, 2012 at 16:08

Paul, do you want a silly answer, or are you aiming to get attention for your discussion with a title like that?

Some AC members have cycled in fund raising groups from Melbourne to Adelaide, but not sleeping as rough as you intend. Perhaps contact Rob.

Comment by A.V.O. on April 13, 2012 at 16:19

yes you are - but some of my greatest cycling adventures have been borne out of stupidity .......... have fun, as long as you have adequate risk management strategies in place, it doesn't matter if people think you are stupid

have a chat to Chewy (our resident veteran of two Melbourne to ADL's) - as he can vouch that rooms at the "Apollo Bay Hilton" are really cheap!

Comment by Rob (Chewbacca) on April 13, 2012 at 16:46

Melbourne to Adelaide is a good option this time of year if you study the prevailing winds. Wish I had more holidays available...otherwise would have joined you on this. Later in the year planning to go back to the Great Ocean Road over a weekend.

Comment by Rob (Chewbacca) on April 13, 2012 at 16:51

oh....forgot to mention the public toilet block is clean but its freezing in there. You know plenty of cheap hotels to stay in along the way ranging from 30-40 bucks a night and you can get showered be warm and charge your phone.....

Comment by Don (Who's lost?) Nairn on April 15, 2012 at 4:30

I would be thinking the evenings could be cool you need to be able to be comfortable to sleep reasonably

Comment by Jennifer on April 15, 2012 at 21:21

Hi Paul

Cycling is the ONLY way to travel to Melbourne (the Coorong and Great Ocean Rd are fantastic by bike)!!! Good on you!!

Yes, I did do the trip. A friend an I ended up travelling over in early Dec. I've always done the trip late in the year because the winds are generally more favourable. Although this time around we had head winds most of the way.

As to tips - depends on what route you are planning to take, we did: Adelaide - Langhorne Creek - Meningie- Some horrible place just outside of Salt Creek - Kingston - Beachport (lunch at Robe) - Mt Gambier - Portland - Pt Fairy - Pt Campbell - Apollo Bay - Torquay - Melb. 

We stayed mainly in hotels/motels  so can't be much help on accommodation if you plan on camping - the last thing I feel like doing after 4-5 hours in the saddle is camping. I'd be happy to pass on suggestions if you are thinking about hotels/motels.

As to stopping points - next time around I wouldn't stay at Meningie but would try the place about 20km on from there. It's a couple of kms off the main road but the signboard at the entrance gave it a good wrap. Stopping there would cut down the journey to Kingston (130 from that point to Kingston) - but if you're camping then of course you'd have your pick of places along the Coorong.   

I wouldn't stop at Port Fairy again but would continue through to Warnambool. Also, rather than stop at Port Campbell I'd probably consider going on to Laver's Hill. There are a few hotels/motels at the top of Laver's Hill (presume there'd be camping) but then of course coming up Laver's hill with more than 80Km under your belt (and in the middle of the day) might not be fun. Doing it in the morning when you're still fresh is quite good (parts toward the top are a bit unsheltered) - but you've still got the Otways afterward. I don't think the Otways are as hard as Laver's Hill but I think because you've used a lot of energy through Laver's Hill, the Otways feel harder.

Apollo Bay to Aireys Inlet is fantastic but traffic starts to get worse after that point and is pretty awful from Anglesea to Torquay. The bike lane and track from Torquay to Geelong is welcome relief. We caught the train from Geelong to Melb. - last time I rode into Melbourne and when I had to get off the freeway it was frustrating - they make you take the 'scenic route' but there's no signposting and I had to check the map every few kms.   

I found on this trip many truck drivers were pretty nasty - Millicent to Portland. We had some really good drivers, who gave us plenty of warning of their approach (with head winds it was often hard to hear approaching vehicles), they slowed as they were approaching and overtook properly (i.e. moved across to the oncoming lane). There were many drivers - mainly from Scott trucks but also some other companies - who were serious bullies and their speeds were well over the limit. The Mt Gambier - Portland rd, via Nelson, is known for trucks but it was busier than I'd previously experienced and we were driven off the road at one point (on a straight clear stretch where the driver would have been able to see us for at least a kilometre). We called the police a couple of times - something I've never done before (who were pretty good and sent out a patrol car).    

Hope this is useful.

Comment by Paul G on April 16, 2012 at 10:54

Thanks for the replies, and yes I was being provacative with the posting title. Will be off on Sunday 6th May generally following the route that Jennifer suggests above. Will have two stop offs at friends in  Meningie and Koroit which will be the luxury nights of the trip. My biggest worry is the cold evenings as I will be travelling very light. Still I'm sure there will be many warm country pubs on the way. and if the weather is bad Rob's cheap hotels will be very inviiting.

Comment by Paul G on April 16, 2012 at 10:55

My other concern is that I'm not the greatest mechanic what are the essentials to have in the back pack?

Add a Comment