Hugh Spear's Blog

Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 4 - Return

 This was my final day on these mountains and my plan was to return to my car, but rather than take the long diversion of the track, I was going to try to navigate over the hills using the directions a back-country skier would follow during the Winter. This was the route I had scouted out the previous evening, and got a good soaking for my troubles.

I was  packed and ready to ride by 8:30am and said goodbye to the other bike packers I had shared the hut with, paused for a quick photo of my bike by the hut.

I then set-off riding up to the Eastern entrance to the Hagerman Tunnel.

I stopped briefly for a photo by Lily Pad lake, this was such an idyllic spot that I wanted to capture it all on film. I continued along until the small track I was on joined onto the larger one, the 527. If I turned left onto this I would descend down to Ivanhoe Lake and have an additional 16 miles to travel. I turned right and proceeded to the end of the road, which was the blocked up entrance to the Eastern side of Hagerman Tunnel.  From this point, the path was going to be indistinct, and I would need to use a map and compass to find my route. I could also expect to see some blue diamond signs on posts or trees. These would be what the skiers in the winter would need as the ground would be featureless.

 I would like to be able to say that I found the navigation easy. But that was far from the truth. I dithered around with the phone map and compass, I tried following what appeared to be tracks, and I tried to guess which the right way would be. Really I tried everything, and it was a clear day with great visibility, where I could almost do no wrong. So that meant I was almost guaranteed to find my way back.

In the end I resorted to taking a bearing which would ensure that I hit the road, the Hagerman Pass road (105). And sure enough that is what I did.

 

The rest of my journey that morning was retracing  the route I had taken the previous day, and the day before that. I reached Hagerman Pass and descended past the entrance to the well hidden Skinner Hut, and continued on, down the very bumpy track which had beaten most vehicles on the climb up. Then upon reaching the Western side of the Hagerman Tunnel, the 4WD track turned to a gravel road, and I could freewheel almost all the way back to Turquoise Lake.

Once at the lake I was on sealed roads and could make better progress. I reached car after about 30 minutes, and took one final photo to prove it.

It was quite a strange experience going from a fairly wild place to a civilised place in such a short space of time. I unpacked everything, put on some clean(ish) clothes, and drove my bike back to The Cycles of Life. There the guys gave it a once over to see that I hadn't done anything wrong with the bike and Brian said "you look pretty honest to me, so I'll trust that you haven't gone crazy". I hadn't, so his trust was well placed. I bought a couple of souvenirs and headed across the road to a cafe for a nice lunch, before heading down the valley to Vail.

Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 3 - Betty Bear Hut

On the third day my destination was Betty Bear Hut. To get there I would need to cross the Continental Divide at Hagerman Pass.

On the third day my destination was Betty Bear Hut. To get there I would need to cross the Continental Divide at Hagerman Pass.

Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 2 - Skinner Hut

On the second day in the Rocky Mountains I was going to descend from Uncle Bud's hut, cross over to the other side of Turquoise Lake and then ascend the gravel track, followed by the old railway grade towards Hagerman's Pass to reach Skinner Hut.

I decided that as my car was parked very close to my route, that I would descend to there and drop off a few things and pick up some more food and water. This would save me a trip into Leadville.

 I had the 10th Mountain Division Hut Guidebook with me so could read the page describing Skinner Hut.

 Waking just before sunrise at Uncle Bud's was a real treat. I was sleeping downstairs next to the fire, so there were no curtains and my view was spectacular.

 I got dressed and got a pot boiling on the gas stove. The water I was using was from the pump and I couldn't trust it to be clean, but if it was boiled I figured it would be good enough.

As I made my tea and porridge, the other guests staying at the hut got up. It looked as though they had a much more hearty feast planned than my modest breakfast. But they had arrived by car, and had plenty of time. I on the other  hand was carrying everything I would use, and I had a feeling they weather was going to change today, so I wanted to make the most of the clear morning.

I packed up, washed my things and packed everything on my bike. Before I left, I brought in more firewood from the stack outside. There was plenty of kindling, so I decided I didn't need to chop any of the bigger logs up. The huts have plenty of notices posted up on the walls to remind guests that it isn't quite like a hotel, more like a Youth Hostel, where you should do some jobs, and you should always try to leave a place cleaner than when you arrive. You also have to carry out all of your trash.

Once I had finished, I said my goodbyes, and headed down the track on my bike. Unlike yesterday when I was struggling to climb the track on my bike, today, I was struggling to descend slowly enough. By the time I had reached the road, my hands ached from continuous braking. With a heavily packed bike, it was easy to go too fast and difficult to control my two wheeled juggernaut once it was travelling at speed. So it was better to keep control of the speed from the start.

Once down at the road it was an easy cycle to the car and to off-load my small bag of rubbish and to refill my water bottles. Then to setoff again on the road for the track up to Skinner Hut.

Pretty soon there is a dirt track to the left which climbs gradually to a clearing where there are several vehicles.  This is an easy track for cars and motor bikes, and so I was passed several times by vehicles travelling quite fast, and they all left billows of dust in their wake. Luckily I had a neckerchief and could put this over my nose and mouth to keep most of the dust from getting into my mouth and down to my lungs.

At the top of the trail was the remains of some old tunnel workings. These were the remains of the Carlton Tunnel.

This whole area has a rich history which was largely related to overcoming the challenges of transporting people, equipment and minerals from Denver to Leadville, a town which very briefly was home to a flourishing silver mining business. This tunnel was built to avoid the train having to cross the Continental Divide via Hagerman Pass.

I left the tunnel workings behind and also left the road track, now I was ascending on the track which once was the railway line to the pass. This was very difficult to cycle on and was also very difficult for 4 wheel drive vehicles.  I walked up a fair bit of this and pushed my bike. This sign describes a little of the background for where I was.

 

 

Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 1 - Uncle Bud's Hut

I got up in the condo in Vail I was staying at, and made breakfast and made some sandwiches for later in the day. 

The bike shop would not open until 10am and would take an hour to reach, so I had plenty of time.

I had already packed most of what I was taking into my rental car. I had the following ready to go on me or on my bike:

1. Apidura handlebar bag, smallest size. This contained the following:
   1. My sleeping bag (and PH Designs half bag).
   2. Sea to Summit silk medium sized sleeping bag liner.
   3. RAB Microlite jacket - this doubles to make up the other half of the sleeping bag.
   4. A spare vest and a cheap merino wool top from Decathlon in Spain.
2. Apidura Saddle pack, smallest size. This contained:
   1. Waterproof and warmer cycling clothing.
   2. Personal toiletries.
   3. Batter charger power packs.
   4. Camping food.
3. Apidura Accessory Pocket. This attached to the handlebar bag and contained the following:
   1. Phone with navigation app and offline maps.
   2. Map & Compass.
   3. Small binoculars (luxury item).

 I set out for Leadville and the Cycles of Life bike shop there. Leadville claims to have the highest high street in the USA, and as an old mining town, it has plenty of character. It has clearly seen some luxurious times when people had the money and time and interest to go to the Opera!

 I had already got a bit worried and bought a book called "Be Bear Aware" from a National Forest Information kiosk. Let me just say, that reading a book like this does not fill you with confidence. It tells you that you are unlikely to come across a bear, but that they are about and that even the small ones could knock your head off with one swipe. If you catch them by surprise or if they are feeling protective of a cub. How do you avoid surprising them? Well you make plenty of noise. You make sure they know you are coming well before you have the chance to see them. But to be on the safe side you should also have some Bear Spray. A pepper spray which fires a stream of pepper about 30 feet. The book tells you to buy two or more canisters of spray, and to practice using one of them, so that you can be quick, accurate and efficient.  Unfortunately, in spite of trying about half a dozen stores, I could not buy any bear spray, so the nearest I could get to any bear deterrent was to have some bells on my toes. These, in theory, would jangle as you pedalled or walked. 

The people at Cycles of Life quickly prepared the bike for me. The wanted to see where my bikepacking bags would go and then put tape on the frame, so there would be zero abrasions. Once they had finished, I put the bike in the trunk of my car and drove over to Turquoise Lake, a couple of miles away. The reason I wanted my car a bit closer to my route, was that I had several question marks about the water and cold situation and wanted to be able to return to the car and get extra gear or water bottles if I needed them.

The photo below show the bike and a back pack I had, which hopefully would have all I would need for the next few days.

 I set off from Turquoise lake in quite good weather, but there was ominous cloud around, so I could be sure it would continue.

As soon as I'd left the main road I found a sign I was dreading at the entrance to the National Forest. A sign warning that there had been sightings of at least one bear in the area. I gulped! I didn't know if I would see anyone else in the mountains, and on my own, my chances of taking on a bear and surviving seemed to be quite low.

But I wasn't planning on turning around. My first day was a short trip, but involved a fair bit of climbing, so could be a good introduction into high country cycling.

Here is my route for the day, short, but high and difficult ground to cycle over.

One of my challenges was navigation. I had downloaded an App onto my smartphone called "Backcountry Navigator". It lets you download maps which are quite detailed. But I didn't have any GPX files for where I was going, so had to rely upon descriptions from the pages I photocopied from the 10th Mountain Division Hut Book.

I cycled along the road alongside Turquoise Lake, and then took the dirt track which was described as the track up to Uncle Bud's Hut. It was a good quality gravel track at the start. But soon degraded into very much a 4WD track.

 

Pretty soon the track seemed to diverge from the description in the guide book. It is worth remembering that the guide books are written for skiers and hikers. So aren't necessarily using fire trails in the neighbourhood. I got off the bike and walked up and down a few small tracks. It was almost surreal really as I had a book with a photo of a large wooden hut, I ought to be about 100 yards from it, but could see no sign. I walked off in what I thought was the wrong direction  and all of a sudden I was greeted by the view below. These huts are well places by their builders. Quite well hidden from the well worn tracks.

 

I reached the hut, and armed with the code for the combination lock on the door, I approach ready to unlock the door, and found it already unlocked. Inside was a father and son who had hiked up earlier. We had a chat and in the time honoured way when people reach a camp and meet up,  we exchanged stories of where we came from and where we were going next.

 

Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Preparation

I planned to visit Vail in Colorado in July 2016 and wanted to do an interesting bike trip. I had already heard about the 10th, Mountain huts as places to stay in the Winter when you were travelling cross-country on skis. But then I read this article which opened my eyes to the idea of bikepacking between some huts.  I booked online at Huts.org and arranged for maps and a guide book to be sent to Vail, to wait for my arrival. 

Ahead of the detailed route planning, I needed to do two things:

1. Try to get some high altitude cycling practice.
2. Organise a bike to ride.

I live pretty close to sea level in Australia, and even though I did some cycling in the hills, it was only 300m above sea level, whereas I would be cycling above 10,000ft (over 3,000m), ten times that altitude. The only solution was to get to Vail with  few days to spare, and train from there.

In terms of bicycle. I found a bike shop in Leadville, about the closest town to the 10th. Mountain Huts. It is called Cycles of Life.  I got excited as when I called them they said that they would rent me a 'hardtail' mountain bike from Salsa. The model they selected was 'El Mariachi'. This was one of the most favoured bikes in long distance bike packing events, so I was interested to find out what it was like. I told the guys in the shop that I planned to bike-pack, and they said they would have to tape up each part of the bike frame where the bags might touch. So I'd need to allow plenty of time.

The route I planned to undertake was the same as that followed in the online article which had initially inspired me. First night at Uncle Bud's hut, second at Skinner's Hut and the third at Betty Bear's. Then on the fourth day, cycle all the way back to the starting point.  The reason for selecting this route was mainly because I felt it would be achievable, and as such, be one fewer thing to have to plan. I really had no idea of what the cycling terrain would be like, how the altitude would affect me, and what the weather would be. These huts are all at over 11,000 ft and I had read plenty of warnings about the speed with which the weather can change, and how serious things can get in the mountains. There is also the possibility of developing a mechanical problem which would either force me to abandon the trip, or slow down my progress.

 As I was staying in a hut, I wouldn't need a tent, stove, sleep mat or cooking utensils. But I would need a sleeping bag, food and water, and also I would need to be prepared to go and find water and treat it for human consumption. As this was my third bikepacking trip, and each have been quite different in terms of weather, season, terrain, remoteness, there was a bit of decision making to be done in terms of what gear to take. 

Here were some of the decisions I had to make:

1. Water. Unlike my trip from Lithgow to Mittagong, where water would be scarce. Here the water would be plentiful, but require treatment. By treatment I considered purifying tablets and boiling to be adequate. I had a low throughput, in-line water filter which I could use, but it was only really practical for drinking cold water while cycling. 
2. Food. I would need enough food for three days. I chose sachets of quick porridge oats as my breakfast, various snack bars for during cycing, and some freeze-dry 'Mountain House' meals for the evening. I had a few apples as dessert. I also took some tea bags (Yorkshire) and some coffee bags, and my luxury item was a hip flask full of cheap whiskey.
3. Clothing. I had one set of cyling clothing, and one set of camp clothing. Also, some wet weather cycling gear and colder weather cycling gear. In terms of footwear, I have flip-flops for the hut and hiking boots for the cycling. I assumed I would be hiking for some of the time, so wanted the best footwear for that. 
4. Navigation. I had the topographical maps of the areas I was travelling in, downloaded inside the Backcountry Maps app on my phone. But also had the 'old school' setup of physical maps and Silva compass. Also had my Garmin Forerunner 910XT. This would keep track the distance and actual route I took. 
5. Other electronics. I knew there would be no power for several days, so I needed to take a battery power pack to keep my phone working for the duration. I did not take any lights for my bike, but did include a head torch, just for finding things at night in the hut.
6. Bears! I became somewhat obsessed with the thought of meeting one of these, and what I would do in that event. I bought the 'Bear Aware' book from a Ranger Station in Minturn, and read it from cover to cover. The result of that was that no matter how unlikely it was that I would meet a bear on the trail, I should really have some bear spray and possibly, also a firearm. Well the firearm was out of the question, and in the end, it turned out that so was the bear spray. I just could not find anywhere that sold it. So my final item of purchase for my trip was a set of bells and some wire to enable me to attach the bells to my right hiking boot. My reasoning was that whether I was cycling or walking, I would still be able to make a jingling noise, and if the book was to be believed, then bears would hear me coming and make themselves scarce. Thus I would avoid the real problem with bears; happening upon them when they are least expecting you. (I have to note here that some of the people I subsequently met, made a bit of fun out of my bells, and said that the sound told the bears that lunch was on the way!).

 I arrived in Vail on July 14th and would be on my hut trip between July 19th and 22nd.

I had brought a road bike with me, and after getting settled, I built the bike up and took it for a spin to climb from Vail village at 8,150ft up to Vail Pass at 10,600ft. I found I was stopping every 500 ft of climbing, and catching my breath. I could not drink water as I cycled as the time when I was swallowing and not panting, would almost make me faint. I only made it half way. But I was not disheartened as I was well aware that this would be one of the hardest aspects of the trip.

On day two, July 15th. I did not cycle, but instead did some shopping in preparation. But I did cycle on day three, July 16th and again on July 18th. Both times reaching the top of the pass, and each time cycling faster and stopping less frequently.  The roads around Vail are very cycle friendly, they are either nice quiet roads with good quality shoulders or cycle and hiker only roads.

Here was my training route:

 

For many people the fitness and acclimatisation would not be a problem, but when you are nearly 57 years old, have quite severe jet-lag and lets be honest, are not in peak shape. You need to build up to things properly, and rest between days of exertion. Then you can get fit enough, without exhausting yourself.

By the end of July 18th, I knew I was physically going to be up to the job, just about. Providing I went at my own pace, and was not threatened by a bear.

That night I did not sleep well, and the bear issue was the problem. I wondered why I would willing put myself in harms way. I wondered whether my children deserved this sort of selfish behaviour.  In the end I drifted off, and my phone alarm seemed to go off as soon as my eyes closed. 

 

 

 

Lithgow to Mittagong Day 3 - Tuglow River Campground to Mittagong, 130kms.

I awoke early, just after 5am to the sound of heavy vehicles. I realised that the logging truck on a hill above my camp, had started work again. 

I turned on my head torch and whereas the previous morning I could see condensation on the inside of the tent, ready to drip down on me, this time it was ice. My phone has a temperature gauge, which said -7 degrees celsius. I lay there pondering. It wouldn't be light for another hour or so, it wouldn't be warm for a few more hours and as I was in a bit of a valley, it would take even longer to dry my gear. To add to that, I had already been in my sleeping bag for 12 hours. I didn't really want to hang around that long.

I thought about my journey ahead. It would take me maybe 45 minutes of cycling on rough tracks, to get onto the original route, but there was a good chance that then I would be cycling on sealed roads where I could make faster progress than on tracks.

From there it was about 60 kms to Wombeyan Caves. Surely I could cover that distance in 5 hours as a maximum. If I started cycling by 6:30am, then I could be at the caves by noon. I assumed that the caves were a tourist destination and so, like Jenolan Caves, would be served by sealed roads and have some amenities, such as gift shops and cafes. From Wombeyan Caves it would be about 70kms to Mittagong station. I would hope to be able to cover that distance before it was too dark, but in any case I had lights. So in my mind, it was perfectly possible to cycle the distance needed to get home without spending another night in the cold. That would also mean not needing to worry about drying my gear. I would just pack it away as best I could and worry about drying it when safely back at home. 

At the same time as working out the logistics of getting home without spending another night out, I also was fast realising that bikepacking in remote areas, at quite high altitudes, in state forests with total fire bans, alone, in the Winter, was not feeling like the most fun thing in the world. The cold and resultant condensation and dew were one thing, but the day length was a critical factor. It was dark for so long, and cold for so long that you really struggled with the whole experience. 

So I made my decision. I would pack and cycle, no morning cup of tea, no porridge, nothing. Just pack and ride. I sat in my tent and got dressed and packed what I could before emerging. 

Once out of the tent, I could tell that all the water in my water bottles was frozen. I just hoped that the ice had not cracked the bottles. I had maybe 3 litres of water, and thought I would need every last drop of that.

I was dressed in everything I had. The only thing I wasn't wearing was my half-fingered gloves (and therefore I left one there by accident), and my spare socks.  This is my list of the clothing I was wearing that morning:

1. Thermal vest.
2. Merino long sleeve top.
3. Merino cycling jersey.
4. Thick arm warmers.
5. RAB microlight jacket.
6. Cycling gilet.
7. 2XU leggings.
8. Mountain biking shorts (with padded rear).
9. Thick hiking socks.
10. Saloman Goretex hiking boots.
11. Saloman gaiters.
12. Vaude full finger thermal cycling gloves.

 I cycled in the early morning light on the Tuglow Forest Road.  The conditions were sub-freezing as I made my way over some fairly rough firetrails. I was only half sure of my route at this point and was too cold to stop for long. I turned from the Tuglow Forest Road to the Ginkin Forest Road, and  eventually I reached Mount Werong Road, a sealed road, and headed in the wrong direction for about 5 minutes to join Shooters Hill road, before my Garmin bike computer found my route and told me to turn around. 

Cycling then South on the Mount Werong Road, I went past signs to the Oberon Correctional Centre, a minimum security prision.  It was still very cold, but I could see that the sunlight would hit me soon. I was out of forest and into almost wide plains. I started to hear thunder and wondered whether a large lorry was on the road just over the hill. But when I crested the hill I found a herd of giant kangaroos pounding the ground as they headed across my road in large numbers. I wish I had stopped and photographed them, but it was still too cold. One of the highlights of my trip was then seeing a large wombat run across the road about 50 metres ahead of me. 

Gradually I moved into the forest and entered the Kanangra-Boyd National Park. 

 It was now about 9am, and I could tell my water had thawed, so I stopped to make some tea and porridge.

I was now pretty close to Mount Werong, and did eventually pass the campsite of the same name. It looks like a good one to use. 

 As I had made an early start, and had been pretty much plodding along with very few stops, I realised that I might reach the Wombeyan Caves by about 1pm. I took heart from that and felt that once there, there would be only about 70 kms to go and if the terrain was good I could cover that in maybe four hours, meaning that I'd only be cycling in the dark for about an hour. 

The road down to Wombeyan Caves was sealed and in good condition. I got down to the campground and sort out some of my gear and had a bit more to eat. Then after asking a car driver for a photo, set off for Mittagong.

 The sealed road quickly became a track again, and my speed slowed accordingly. 

But the scenery was spectacular. 

The road seemed to go on forever, and as I was cycling slower and slower, it really was a long time in the saddle. But I knew there would be an end to the cycling at some point.

Eventually I pulled into Mittagong in darkness with the air cooling rapidly. I found the train station and as there was about 30 minutes before my train, I dropped into the kebab shop a few minutes away and treated myself to a full doner with a ginger beer. I reckoned I'd earned it.  I'd spent the best part of 10 hours in the saddle and covered about 130 kms. I leaned a lesson about doing this sort of trip on my own, when the day length is so short, and camping in forests where I couldn't light fires. The trip would have been so much better three months earlier or later than mid-Winter.

Lithgow to Mittagong Day 2 - Lake Lyell to Tuglow River Campground, 73kms.

It hadn't been a great night in my new tent, with new sleep mat and new sleeping bag. There was a lot of nylon against nylon and as I hadn't pitched my tent level, I found myself pressing against one side and the end of the tent. There was a lot of condensation inside the tent, and a lot of dew outside. So I was generally damp, and not really ready for a long day.

I tried wiping my tent and shaking the flysheet, but everything was so damp that I ended up waiting for the sun to rise and dry things off. I eventually got started just after 9am.

My journey today was almost all on sealed roads. There was about 3 kms of gravel just after the camp ground. I had fitted Schwalbe Smart Sam tyres to my 700c wheels. They are 1.75" or 47mm and about the widest tyres I could find for a 700c wheel. I had already purchased some Mondial Marathon 35c tyres for these wheels, but felt they were not wide enough. Today I was feeling that I could have been on 28mm tyres. 

I reached Jenolan Caves by about 12:30pm, lunch time. I took the opportunity to have a sit-down meal in the 'bistro' there. It was a nice hearty meal for a mere $12.50. Then before I set off up the long and winding road to the summit, and onto the Great Dividing Range, I decided to see whether I could stay at the Jenolan Cabins, which were about 11kms away, but probably a hour of cycling as the hill was rather steep.

I got a voicemail response, and left a message. Then I had a call back and the owner of the cabins said she would be away for about two hours as she had to meet someone at Mount Victoria. She said I could stay and wait outside the cabins. 

I headed up the hill, and even though it was long (4.3kms) and steep (average of 12%), I made it up and was feeling quite fresh. So I arrived at Jenolan Cabins within an hour at around 2:30pm, and decided that I'd rather get at least another hour of my journey out of the way than spend $125 on a dry room for the night. I kept cycling.

Gradually the sealed roads turned to flat gravel and then corrugated gravel and hard packed mud, then finally just old tracks in the state forest. I did not know where to camp on my route, but had Guidebook 10 from the Bicentennial National Trail and knew that there was a campground along the Tuglow river. Fortunately, I had digital topographic maps on my smartphone and had previously marked the exact location of the camp ground. So I cycled away from the conventional route and into the state forest (Vulcan or Gurnang - I'm not certain which). 

I reached the spot where my phone said the campsite should be, and it was just a small wood (copse) next to a stream. I could see animals had been corralled here, so assumed it was the right place and pitched my tent.  I was careful this time to find a flat spot. I decided not to cook a meal, but to just have a cup-a-soup and a cup of tea. I'd eaten a few hours earlier and it was getting dark rapidly, and cooling considerably. I was at about 1,05om and once the sun had gone it got dark and very cold quickly.

By 5:30pm I was snugly wrapped in my down sleeping bag and inside my tent. I listened to my iPod for about 20 minutes, before the battery ran too low. I had a general shortage of battery reserve on my phone and Garmin Edge 500 cycle computer. So decided to conserve energy and just sleep. The phone and Garmin were more than just lifestyle toys on this journey; I had the whole course saved on the Garmin, so that would get me to Mittagong Station, and I had my digitised topographic maps on the phone which also had GPS and a compass. I would need that to find my way back to the route saved on the Garmin.

The night was uneventful for the most part, but for somewhere in the middle of nowhere, it was surprisingly noisy. If I did not know otherwise, I would swear that I was surrounded by grazing livestock. Many of the native animals are nocturnal. I had already seen a few wombat holes, and unfortunately several wombat carcasses at the roadside, so I knew they were around.  My previous evening was punctuated with the sounds of ducks foraging for food all around my tent and inside my flysheet. Tonight was just as noisy. But I knew (and hoped) that the animals were harmless and did not consider me a threat.

  Lithgow to Mittagong Day 3

Lithgow to Mittagong - Day 1

This trip was inspired by two others. Chris from Omafiets bike shop has described his journey here, and he was in turn inspired by Arran Pearson's crazy account of the same journey in a single day. 

The cycling starts at Lithgow railway station and finishes at Mittagong railway station.

Before my start however, I had a warm-up ride along the Anderson Fire Trail and the Oaks fire trail which took my friend Paul Leach and I from Wentworth Falls to Glenbrook. We actually started at Leura railway station as we'd parked in Glenbrook and took the train up to Wentworth Falls, but missed out stop, so got going from the next stop Leura.

Here is the outline of our 'prologue' to my solo trip. 

 It was a fun ride, and as my bike was unladen, I enjoyed the freedom of moving fast and with greater agility than I would have later. 

 Here is a photo of Paul crossing a creek along the Anderson fire trail. It was a fun trail, much more interesting that The Oaks and with a little more in the way of challenges.

We arrived at Glenbrook station, where we had parked, at about 12:30pm and we had about 50 minutes until my train left for Lithgow. But I needed about half of that time to pack all the bags onto my bike, get changed and top-up my bottles with water from a large bladder I had left in the car.

There was just enough time for a coffee and a cake, before I headed back down the the station and said goodbye to Paul. 

The local trains around Sydney are pretty relaxed about bikes travelling when it isn't rush hour. This was the Queen's Birthday public holiday, so the trains were mainly being used by tourists.

It is a slow train up to Lithgow, stopping at just about every station, but the countryside is so beautiful that you don't mind one bit. I suppose I was slightly apprehensive  about journey ahead. I had cycled, packed my bike, camped and cooked. But not put the whole thing together. 

This afternoon I had just a short cycle from Lithgow, so that I could unpack, put up my tent and get a meal cooked before it was too dark. 

So once the train arrived into Lithgow at about 3:20pm, I had about 30 minutes of cycling before reaching Lake Lyell, my home for my first night. This was a campsite and cost me $22 for a waterfront spot. I paid another $20 for 20kgs of firewood. 

I pitched my tent, and while I boiled my billy can, I set about getting my fire going. It was a lovely evening, but as the sun dipped behind the hills I started to feel the temperature drop almost immediately.

Fortunately I had a fire, and could sit out with my curry for quite a while into the evening. 

Even so, I was probably asleep by 8pm.

Lithgow to Mittagong Day 2

Bike Details

Surly Troll - One bike to rule them all...

Surly Troll Bike with 700c wheels

I've tried to create a few bikes from the frame of a well travelled Surly Troll.  My hope is that this will meet nearly all of my travelling requirements.

• The first is a road touring rig, with 700c wheels, narrower road tyres and panniers.
• The second is a bike packing rig with 26" wheels (also using a front wheel dynamo hub for lights and off-grid device recharging), fatter tyres and soft bike packing bags.
• There is also a third options, that of remote touring in less developed regions. This uses the 26" wheels (as they are most easily obtained or repaired in all parts of the world), but also uses the panniers. 

Common Components

Frame: Surly Troll 2011 Orange RAL 2001 18"

Surly Monkey Nuts to hold quick releases 14mm from horizontal drop-out end point, giving clearance from front derailleur. 

Gears: Shimano XT M780 Triple Drivetrain 42.32.24t. 175mm cranks. 10 speed cassette 11-36. This gives 18-103 Gear Inches which is a good range for loaded touring.

Brakes: Tektro Novela mechanical disk brakes. 160mm rotors front and rear.

Brooks B17 Black Saddle

 

Touring Rig 

Surly Troll with Road Touring Rig

 

Mavic 700c 19mm 32h Rims on Cannondale hubs.

Schwalbe 35c Marathon Mondial Tyres (with Raceguard) and Schwalbe Road Tubes.

Tubus Logo Evo black rear rack.

Ortlieb Back Roller Classic Design Panniers

Apidura Bar Bag

 

 

 

The one category of bicycle touring which does not suit the Surly Troll so much is that of 'Credit Card Bicycle Touring'. This is very lightweight travelling, using hotels or motels to sleep and cafes and restaurants to eat. Not so cheap, but lets you travel fast on good roads.  For this my chosen vehicle is:

Giant Defy Advantage

Credit Card Cycle Touring in New Zealand March 2016

This is a setup that uses two Apidura bike packing bags, but otherwise is a normal lightweight road cycling bike.

Unloaded the bike weight 8kgs, and fully loaded it weighs 16kgs, including two full bottles of water. 

The clothing and equipment used is as follows:

1. One set of cycling clothes. Also, warm and rain proof components (Goretext jacket, gilet, arm warmers, knee warmers, calf warmers, spare socks)
2. One set of clothes when not cycling, including down jacket.
3. Cycling shoes with cleats, flip-flops for when not cycling.
4. Small set of tools, chain oil, missing link, two spare tubes, tyre patch kit, bicycle pump and CO2 inflation kit.
5. Small first aid kit.
6. Toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant. Wet wipes. (shampoo and soap will be at accommodation).
7. Mobile phone, Garmin Edge 500 cycle computer, rechargeable lights. Plug and cables.
8. Wallet, passport, cash, travel itinerary either printed or saved on phone as documents.

Day 10 - Flying home - wrap-up

As I said at the start of this journey, this trip has transformed my attitude to cycling. I have done several multi-day cycles in the past, mostly with others, and mostly supported by a vehicle. This was my first on my own and unassisted.  Somewhere on the way I stopped thinking about cycling as a challenge, stopped worrying about climbing and average speeds, cadence and heartrate, and started thinking about the places I was visiting and the people I was meeting.

Somehow, I started to feel that I was more of a traveller than a tourist. Cared more about the journey than the destination, and importantly, could see that this way of travelling would serve me very well in the future.

Since my return I have set about expanding my cycle tourism capability from lightweight credit card cycle touring on sealed roads, to being able to travel off-road, camp and cook for myself. This was the simplest start to ease my way into future adventures. But it would not be the way I would do my next challenge.