Help with planning a big event (for me)

[sms_117b]

After I finish Uni I'm planning a long distance cycle, 2600km long.

However, this is a rather large thing to plan and I have to plan out what I need to actually plan! (or so I've been told), and it's currently not my strongest trait.

So far

> My route is planned (a basic draft) and I've emailed Australia's road dept to find out where I am and where I'm not allowed to go on my bike.
> I'm searching around for flights and emailing them regarding special provisions for my bike
> I'm yet to email British Heart Foundation regarding sponcorship (I'm doing it in part to help raise money for them).
> I'm looking around at hostels to stay over night in certain cities/towns
> Looking around for excess equipment I need (one man tents, camel packs, however else I can store water, etc, etc)

So, can anyone here think of anything else I need to plan or anything I need to take into consideration (excess amounts of heat aside, already got a partial solution for that, involves really early mornings).

Any help would be great as the scope of what I want to do is massive!

 

[Jedoro]

Yeah, I have no idea, but good luck with that! (in a completely non-sarcastic way)

(Seriously, that's pretty awesome, good luck)

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

You should try going to bicycling forums. There's a surprisingly large online community of long distance cyclists. My dad rode a bike from our home (eastern coast of America) to California back in the eighties, and he's still pretty hardcore about that sort of thing.

 

[sms_117b]

You should try going to bicycling forums. There's a surprisingly large online community of long distance cyclists. My dad rode a bike from our home (eastern coast of America) to California back in the eighties, and he's still pretty hardcore about that sort of thing.

Never thought to look for cycling forums, simple and brilliant idea, thank you

 

[Owlslayer]

The only advice i can give you is: for GOD's sake get a good seat. Seriously.
You will not make it if you feel uncomfortable.
Also, maybe try to get a friend or two with you? Sure, it's a long trip, but with more people there's less chance of anything going wrong. And then you'll have more company and fun!

 

[Hiraeth]

Can I ask what your plans actually are? It sort of sounds like you're cycling round Australia. If so, you're going to want to pay attention to more than heat - you're going to need to look at rain (monsoons in the north), and cold (winter in the south). Sure it's not necessarily going to be as bad as other places, but you're going to be on a bike, so you'll feel it more than you might otherwise. Also bear in mind that the best time of year to visit one place may not be so great for visiting another. Over Christmas in the south, for example, it's really dry and hot, whereas in the north it can be warm but really (and I mean really) wet. Also consider sun protection, and ways to store water if you're not necessarily going to be near civilization. Oh also, how are people going to be able to contact you? Because mobile coverage is spotty at best in regional Australia, and you really don't want to get stranded somewhere awful. Of course if you're not going too remote, feel free to ignore this and any other irrelevant pieces of information.

Some sites to check out when you're looking at accommodation:
http://www.hostelworld.com/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/

Might be worth considering buying some of your gear over here, since we've got a fair few camping stores around the place, and you can tell the staff where you'll be going and ask what you might need.

Something like this:
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/australia/cycling-australia-guide-2
might also be a good investment. I never leave the country without at least one Lonely Planet guide.

Anyway, what's your route look like? I might be able to give more advice if I know where you're heading.

 

[sms_117b]

-snip-

Ahhh, that's what I need, punishing questions I havn't thought about.

Cycling 2600km(ish) from Sydney to Cairns via Tweed, Gladstone and Mackay, trying to stay along the more populated costal areas. This is basically most of the East coast. Around Australia would be a long way!

I'm going 1st September (either 2011 or 2012 depends on how much planning I can get done, how much money I can save and my improvement in fitness levels), beginning of Spring right? And cycling for 26 days in total (not straight, there are a few places I want to visit and enjoy whilst I'm there, the great barrier reef for example), 100km and 5(ish) hours a day. Returning to the UK 6 weeks later in October.

My phone has a GPS satellite system built in, was going to use this, and let authorities of where I'm going know when I should arrive and same for where I'm leaving, if I take more than 2 hours extra something could have happened and they know to come look for me. On top of that, as sad as it sounds, facebook updates! That way everyone knows I'm OK!

Was going to get sun protection there as the factors are probably higher, got two water bottles, getting a large capasity camel pack and what ever else I can find to store water and fluids like powerade or Gaterade to replace more than water.

I do want to compare prices of gear between here and there, because I get the feeling some sports gear might be cheaper down there.

Thanks for the links, I will use them!

 

[sms_117b]

The only advice i can give you is: for GOD's sake get a good seat. Seriously.
You will not make it if you feel uncomfortable.
Also, maybe try to get a friend or two with you? Sure, it's a long trip, but with more people there's less chance of anything going wrong. And then you'll have more company and fun!

Had not thought of that.....but so right! Thank you, could have been painful!

 

[Layz92]

Unless you are travelling with a crew I would suggest a course in survival eg first aid for poisonous beasties, broken bones and how to get water and so on, no matter how basic. Probably unneeded but you never know how things may end up. A satellite phone might be a good idea. Informing the department of wildlife and rescue (correct group?) of your intended path for emergencies. Maybe a solar battery recharger could come in handy. Devising a way to carry all your stuff because tents, food, water and spare bike parts are not exactly slim and weightless.

Edit: missed your post about you traveling the east coast and sticking to the vaguely more populated areas. Renders some of my advice pointless but still, some would be worth looking into.

 

[sms_117b]

-snip-

No crew, just me on my lonesome, I'm a qualified first aider already and done..more than I care to admit on myself anyway, however bites will definently be worth me taking extra time looking into, solar battery charger, another excellent idea.

The transportation of gear has played heavily on my mind, and whilst I can cycle with a 65 litre rucksack, I also admit to this not being the best solution, but more than a tent, water, food, parts, I have clothes, camera, electronics, shoes, trainers, towels and as such my be my only solution, with carful planning, I REALLY hope to avoid having to camp anywhere because a tent is bulky and heavy.

 

[Owlslayer]

So....have you any idea how long it'll take you to drive all that? And what's the average km/day count you are planning on doing?
I'm just curious, that's why I'm asking.
2600km is for me pure, total overkill. I can't even imagine a trip so long, I've never even driven in a car (or a plane) for such a distance.
I remember last year i did a small trip-thingy, but that was a mere 120 km. We were planning on taking it slow and tenting at a beach halfway on the trip and grilling stuff. This might sound weird but it was fun. And yeah, i have to agree with ya that taking a tent is a huge pain. We, in our originality, just said "screw this" and duck-taped the whole tent on our 3 bikes.
Also, you're dead on about the tent, it's an annoyance unless you plan to use it a lot.

 

[sms_117b]

-snip-

I'm going to be on my bike for roughly 5 hours a day for 26 days IFF I can average 20km/h currently I'm on about 17km/h but it drops off after an hour and a half or so. So 100 km day.

Before I go I intend to do the UK cycle (Land's End to John o'Groats), it's about 1000 miles and takes 10 - 14 days depending on weather, to make sure I have at least some of the conditioning. When I say before, I mean like July if I go Australia in September.

As for the 2600km being overkill, I've never been known for half measures, I always wanted to go Australia, but I'm one of those people that go to a pool and swim lengths for fun, cycling the East coast is a challenge, and something I'll never forget doing for the rest of my life.

 

[Owlslayer]

I'm going to be on my bike for roughly 5 hours a day for 26 days IFF I can average 20km/h currently I'm on about 17km/h but it drops off after an hour and a half or so. So 100 km day.

Before I go I intend to do the UK cycle (Land's End to John o'Groats), it's about 1000 miles and takes 10 - 14 days depending on weather, to make sure I have at least some of the conditioning. When I say before, I mean like July if I go Australia in September.

As for the 2600km being overkill, I've never been known for half measures, I always wanted to go Australia, but I'm one of those people that go to a pool and swim lengths for fun, cycling the East coast is a challenge, and something I'll never forget doing for the rest of my life.

Yeah,i can understand you. Doing something like that... is quite memorable and shows what you're capable of if you really want to do it. Well, I'm all out of tips which might even not be useful. Anyways, good luck with the UK cycle and the whole trip. Hope all ends well.

 

[Hiraeth]

-snip-

Ahhh, that's what I need, punishing questions I havn't thought about.

Cycling 2600km(ish) from Sydney to Cairns via Tweed, Gladstone and Mackay, trying to stay along the more populated costal areas. This is basically most of the East coast. Around Australia would be a long way!

I'm going 1st September (either 2011 or 2012 depends on how much planning I can get done, how much money I can save and my improvement in fitness levels), beginning of Spring right? And cycling for 26 days in total (not straight, there are a few places I want to visit and enjoy whilst I'm there, the great barrier reef for example), 100km and 5(ish) hours a day. Returning to the UK 6 weeks later in October.

My phone has a GPS satellite system built in, was going to use this, and let authorities of where I'm going know when I should arrive and same for where I'm leaving, if I take more than 2 hours extra something could have happened and they know to come look for me. On top of that, as sad as it sounds, facebook updates! That way everyone knows I'm OK!

Was going to get sun protection there as the factors are probably higher, got two water bottles, getting a large capasity camel pack and what ever else I can find to store water and fluids like powerade or Gaterade to replace more than water.

I do want to compare prices of gear between here and there, because I get the feeling some sports gear might be cheaper down there.

Thanks for the links, I will use them!

Okay the east coast is probably the easiest way to go, and I'd be surprised if you run into any nasty beasties if you go that way. Just as long as you know basic first aid, like how to deal with a snake bite, I'd imagine you don't need to know anything more specific.

Just off the top of my head September sounds like a good choice, think of it less as the start of Spring and more as the end of winter. I live in Melbourne, and we've only had about three genuinely hot days since then. Sydney is more moderate than Melbourne which is good. Either way, it's probably not going to be actually hot in the south. In the north it'll still be coming out of the dry season, when it's significantly cooler and drier (hence the name), so (from what I can remember) you'll most likely not be caught with terrifying weather. Also, BOM is your friend:
www.bom.gov.au

Sounds like you'll be pretty sorted with people keeping an eye out for you, I have no idea who you'd contact in different cities, just remember you'll be going through two separate states, so you might need to talk to different people in each.

Regarding sunscreen - you won't find anything higher than SPF 30 in Australia. The reason for this is that the difference when you get above 30 is so minimal that it's considered sort of false advertising, so you're not allowed to mark the actual SPF if it's higher than 30. The sunscreen will still be totally fine, but it's an interesting fact that no one really knows about, and I imagine could freak out tourists coming from overseas that are planning to spend a long time in the sun.

The exchange rate is pretty much always in your favour, so that's worth keeping in mind when you buy stuff. I don't know that you'll actually need a tent, unless you're really keen on staying in caravan parks instead of hostels, since you're talking about the most heavily populated area in Australia, and I don't think there'll be too many big empty stretches... Maybe just bring a sleeping bag and mozzie net in case.

Other than that all I can think of right now is basic travel stuff- money, phone, that sort of thing.

EDIT: If you've got anything else you'd like to ask feel free to hit me up. I don't actually ever live anywhere on your route (splitting my time between Melbourne and Darwin), but I can still answer general questions.

 

[sms_117b]

Okay the east coast is probably the easiest way to go, and I'd be surprised if you run into any nasty beasties if you go that way. Just as long as you know basic first aid, like how to deal with a snake bite, I'd imagine you don't need to know anything more specific.

Just off the top of my head September sounds like a good choice, think of it less as the start of Spring and more as the end of winter. I live in Melbourne, and we've only had about three genuinely hot days since then. Sydney is more moderate than Melbourne which is good. Either way, it's probably not going to be actually hot in the south. In the north it'll still be coming out of the dry season, when it's significantly cooler and drier (hence the name), so (from what I can remember) you'll most likely not be caught with terrifying weather. Also, BOM is your friend:
www.bom.gov.au

Sounds like you'll be pretty sorted with people keeping an eye out for you, I have no idea who you'd contact in different cities, just remember you'll be going through two separate states, so you might need to talk to different people in each.

Regarding sunscreen - you won't find anything higher than SPF 30 in Australia. The reason for this is that the difference when you get above 30 is so minimal that it's considered sort of false advertising, so you're not allowed to mark the actual SPF if it's higher than 30. The sunscreen will still be totally fine, but it's an interesting fact that no one really knows about, and I imagine could freak out tourists coming from overseas that are planning to spend a long time in the sun.

The exchange rate is pretty much always in your favour, so that's worth keeping in mind when you buy stuff. I don't know that you'll actually need a tent, unless you're really keen on staying in caravan parks instead of hostels, since you're talking about the most heavily populated area in Australia, and I don't think there'll be too many big empty stretches... Maybe just bring a sleeping bag and mozzie net in case.

Other than that all I can think of right now is basic travel stuff- money, phone, that sort of thing.

EDIT: If you've got anything else you'd like to ask feel free to hit me up. I don't actually ever live anywhere on your route (splitting my time between Melbourne and Darwin), but I can still answer general questions.

Again, thanks for the advice and the links, will definently be coming to you with any questions between now and then! But I'll try not to flood your inbox haha.

Arn't Melbourne and Darwin on opposite sides of Australia? That's a lot of travelling! Going to further extremes of weather due to latitude than I will!

Anything good to see in Melbourne? got around 2 weeks after my cycle trip to do more touristy stuff, with my bike hopefully locked away safe somewhere, not sure what to do with the rest of my time, really focusing on the cycling at the moment.

 

[Hiraeth]

Again, thanks for the advice and the links, will definently be coming to you with any questions between now and then! But I'll try not to flood your inbox haha.

Arn't Melbourne and Darwin on opposite sides of Australia? That's a lot of travelling! Going to further extremes of weather due to latitude than I will!

Anything good to see in Melbourne? got around 2 weeks after my cycle trip to do more touristy stuff, with my bike hopefully locked away safe somewhere, not sure what to do with the rest of my time, really focusing on the cycling at the moment.

No worries! Feel free to flood my inbox if you need to. I study in Melbourne, but my family live in Darwin, so I'm always back in the holidays to visit. The change in climate is worst in July, although going from hot and dry to warm and humid in December is fairly gross. My dad's actually from Cardiff originally, and my mum's from Newport, so it's sort of weird that they ended up somewhere so different from where they grew up.

I like living in Melbourne, but I personally don't think it's a great place to visit as a tourist (others will disagree with me there though). What you seem to do in Melbourne as a tourist is eat and shop, or use it as a base to see the rest of Victoria. There's also football games, concerts, festivals, but it depends when you're here. If you just want to take it easy for a few days after your trip it'd be a pretty good choice. I'm always trying to persuade my friends to come visit me in Darwin, because there's a lot of nature type stuff to see if you use the city as a base. I'd also suggest doing Uluru (Ayers Rock) and other stuff in that area if you can get there, since it's pretty amazing, and you will have seen a fair bit of cities on your ride. There's a lot to do in Aus, so it pretty much depends what you're up for.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

snip

I just talked to my dad, who's a massive bicycling fanatic, and he recommended a website for you.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/
He said they have a lot of Australian members, and that any of them would be willing to give you advice.