Melbourne to Adelaide Bike Ride 2004/5

Timing and Direction of the Trip

Time of Year

Is it a smart idea to do a trip like this in summer? Most of our friends thought not. With the benefits of climate statistics, talking to locals, and general hindsight, we can offer some advise.

Victorian South Coast

We certainly did not have any reason to complain about heat on the Victorian part of the trip, and hence no reason to suspect that we did it at the wrong time.

Meteorological data shows that temperatures have a clear maximum at the end of January. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence has it that the weather typically gets hot around the middle of January (right in time for the Australian Open, when it tends to be stinking hot in Melbourne).

Rainfall statistics show very little monthly variation around Melbourne/Geelong, but the western part of the south coast show a clear maximum in winter and a minimum in summer (with summer receiving less than half the rain of winter).

Our conclusion from this is that late spring or early summer is indeed the best time to ride this route. Ideally one would probably go before Christmas rather than after to avoid holiday traffic on the Great Ocean Road.

South Australian South East

We experienced significantly warmer weather in South Australia. However, meteorological data shows an annual temperature chart for Robe that looks almost identical to that of Cape Otway. Summer temperatures rise quickly as you get away from the coast, which would affect at least the part of the route between Meningie and Adelaide.

The concentration of rain in the winter months is much more pronounced in the coastal regions of South Australia than in Victoria (factor of four difference at Robe). All this suggests that late spring or early summer is probably the best time for the South Australian section, too.

However, we suspect that the stretch from Kingston to Policemans Point would be a nightmare almost any time other than when we did it (in the early morning after a festive/poublic holiday). It would probably be best to do it very early in the morning (starting at sunrise).

Direction

Is it better to ride from SE to NW or the other way round?

Wind data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology give an inconclusive picture. In December, northerlies are very rare, particularly along the Victorian south coast. Most prominent wind direction is westerly, but the second most prominent direction is easterly. There is a strong tendency towards on-shore winds in the afternoon.

Given that the overall direction is SE-NW, this means that in average the wind is neutral, so it does not seem to matter much which way one rides. Our specific experience was similar: we had about as much headwind as tailwind.

Duration

It took us 8½ days for the trip (counting the 2½h on the first day as a half day). We had budgeted for one day more and had allowed one day safety margin on top of that. In hindsight, this was about right.

Under very adverse conditions of persistent strong headwinds and either high temperatures or strong rain, we could imagine it taking even longer (we got a taste of this on the Robe to Kingston stretch). And, of course, timing is dependent on physical fitness and the amount of gear loaded on the bikes.

We carried complete camping and cooking gear, but very little food, as there are plenty of places along the way where one can stock up. Besides this, we tried to keep weight minimal, and carried about 8kg each, plus water. And, of course, we rode road bikes, not mountain bikes, which saves a fair bit of weight as well as rolling resistance.

Most of the time we carried only our normal bidons (1.5l each) plus typically 1-2l of energy drink or other soft drink. The one exception was the ride along the Coorong, where we camped in the wild (the only time we did this) and carried a total of 13l. However, we used only half of this.

Significant weight reduction would only be possible if the ride was supported, or one relied on non-tent accommodation (e.g. caravan park cabins). This would require booking ahead and thus reduce flexibility a fair bit.


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© Gernot Heiser 2005.