|
Day: |
026 |
|
Date: |
Tuesday, 22 August 2006 |
|
Summary |
Riding from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown. |
|
Start: |
Cape Tribulation |
|
Finish: |
Cooktown |
|
Daily
Kilometres: |
104 |
|
Total
Kilometres: |
3340 |
|
Weather: |
Warm, sunny and humid with south-easterly
winds. |
|
Accommodation: |
Campground in Cooktown , Queensland . |
|
Nutrition: |
Peanut butter roll and apple for breakfast,
hamburger and chips for lunch, and quiche, salad and chips for
dinner. |
|
Encounters: |
The Variety Club Bash, a convoy of 180
retro rally cars, were travelling the same route, turning what I
expected to be a mostly solitary wilderness experience into a
constant stream of blaring horns and dust. They were very
supportive and friendly, but I could have done without them. I also
met a German cyclist travelling southwards. He was on a trip
from Perth to Melbourne around the northern coasts. We stopped and
had a chat for a while. |
|
Highlights: |
Negotiating the Bloomfield Track
successfully. I was a little apprehensive, knowing that there were
some very steep hills. |
|
Lowlights: |
The Variety Club Bash participants not only
spoiled my day a bit, but booked out all accommodation in Cooktown,
where I had been hoping to get a motel room before my final push to
the Cape . |
|
Journal: |
I left at 7:00am and enjoyed the early
morning ride through the fantastic rainforest. However, I hadn’t
gone far when an SUV passed me and told me that 180 Variety Club
Bash cars were also travelling along the Bloomfield Track
today. Great! Shortly after they began to pass me, always giving
me a cheery wave and toot, but also raising plenty of dust. Around
8:30am I found a nice little perfect secluded palm-fringed beach
where I stopped for some breakfast and a stroll. It was beautiful.
I then continued on and soon reached the massive climb I
remembered from our previous trip up here. The road was concreted
over to stop erosion, but the grade must have been about 20-25%. It
was all I could do to make forward progress pushing the bike. Some
entertainment was provided by one of the Variety Bash cars which,
despite several attempts, could not make it up the hill and
eventually had to be towed. The hill went on and on, and I made
slow progress, stopping every 10 metres or so to get my breath. I
finally reached the top and then had a nerve-wracking descent. With
all of the weight on the bike, it is not very stable and I used the
brakes a lot to keep myself at a modest controllable speed. There
were several creeks that I had to wade across along the way.
At the bottom of the hill I reached the scenic Bloomfield River and
crossed at the causeway (before the causeway was built, Barb and I
had been stranded mid-river in our SUV when the engine stopped in
deep water once, but that’s another story!). I took a break in
Wujal Wujal and another shortly after at a roadhouse, letting most
of the Variety Bash cars get past me, although it made me later than
I had planned. At the roadhouse I spent quite a while talking to
the young owner who was interested in mountain-biking and was
shortly embarking on a solo 500km canoe trip down the Mitchell
River. He also ran tours to the Cape . I called ahead to some
accommodation in Cooktown, but everything was booked out except one
campground where the owner said he would hold his last spot for me.
I continued on and made good time until the huge climb up to
Helenvale. It was a real grind through the rainforest on a narrow
track. I passed a few broken down Variety Club Bash cars along the
way. After Helenvale the road was sealed and I made good time to
Cooktown, arriving about 5:30pm and set up my tent. I had to queue
for a shower, which had run out of hot water. Cooktown was full of
Variety Club Bash participants, in various states of
intoxication. I went for a walk around town in the twilight before
getting dinner at a café adjacent to the campground. Given that the
café opened at 7:00am and knowing that I would be bush-camping
tomorrow night, I decided to get breakfast there before leaving in
the morning and then trying to make it the 166km to Kalpower
campground, the only one with facilities in the Lakefield National
Park. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track
(2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|
