Simpson Desert Trip - June 2014

Oh yeah, thats right, I forgot - not every state gets the day off today to watch some horses run in a circle...

We'll keep an eye out for you Vince, four of us doin same thing, 3 drs, 1 klr after finke.

Sounds great Roughnut - bring it on

(When I did the Great Central Road in 2009 two of the three KLR's on that ride had radiator problems - the corrugations caused the mounting brackets to shear off ....)

Hiya Richard - it'd be awesome to have you along, on either two wheels or four. I'm not chasing people down for a firm commitment right now - just putting it out there that the ride is on and giving people sufficient time to think about it

I was chatting to Rob this arvo about the Telegraph Track as I'm keen to have a crack at that on the way back to Perth, and he might be able to jiggle his schedule to fit that in. Basically it's a big work-in-progress at the moment - that'll firm up over time

Maybe we can bounce some ideas around down at the OCBR

Yeah no Neil - I'm using up seven weeks leave already next year for South Africa and this ride - if I ask for any more time off work they might suggest I stay away permanently :eek1

Maybe 2016

I spent about two hours reading that thread from start to finish a couple of evenings ago and excluding a few useful tips and suggestions scattered through the thread the rest of it - in my opinion - was just a waste of time and effort. Surely there must be something more worthwhile reading on advrider ...

too true Vince, a lot of blokes expressing opinions who probably never stray further than their local bakery or ever get out of their comfort zone. To me the mods should have put it to bed long ago.

The best laid plans can turn to shit easily, you just need a contingency plan and a group understanding that if things go wrong then this is what will happen.......... everyone happy ? good ! lets ride.

Keep your planning on track , you have plenty of time, at that time of the year there will be quite a few vehicles out there.

Just grab Dennis at the OCBR for a hr. Learn all you need to know.
Kev.

Good advice Kev - Chuck-wagon coming through !!!!!

Cheers Bully. Last time I went riding with Rob we got separated - he eventually found a pig hunter camped in the middle of nowhere, had a can of cold VB and then was led out of the bush by his new friend - and he was stoked with his good fortune

Typical Rob, no plans , no shoes, no ties, no idea where north is.

HI HI,

Thinking of joining I have a KLR650 but im not great in sand. did it in my Hilux last year and did not seem too difficult. Im from Adelaide and could meet you up there... however, I could only make it in school holidays as im a teacher. ill keep an eye on the tread

Rob

Hi Vince
Mates and I are planning to head up to Finke next year also.
They'll be departing from Melbourne though and I'll meet them somewhere along the way (may even ride down to Melb first to meet them as I'm in Brissy now).
Still in the planning, talking, dreaming stages but I'm sure this ride will go ahead just not sure how many will actually front up. I'm keen as sh1t though.
I'll keep a close eye on this thread and see how you go.

Cheers, Tony.

Add 2 more DRZ's to your list of attendees.

If you depart Alice with 4wd backup do you intend to go back via the Simpson or another route.
I ride a wr and would interested in doing this with back up.
I would trailer to Alice but the question is how to get back to vehicle in Alice without going round the long way and carring very little gear and fuel.
:eek1:eek1

Here's some rough plans and dates that we are looking at - most being subject to change, revolving around the key Finke dates which are:

Prologue - Sat 7th June
Race Day 1 - Sun 8th June
Race Day 2 - Mon 9th June

I'm heading from Perth - departing Saturday 31st May, via the Great Central Road, getting to Alice Springs by Friday 6th June.

Meet Rob in Alice Springs (he's flying in and transporting his bike there somehow) on the 6th or 7th.

Spectate at Day 1 of the racing - Rob has a nice spot halfway down the track towards Finke already picked out.

Sun 8th or Mon 9th - head out to Dalhousie Springs and overnight there.
Following day - overnight just west of Poeppel Corner.
Following day - Birdsville. This should be the 10th or 11th.

From there - head south and sneak into the Flinders Ranges, then west across to the Gawler Ranges.

Rob has limited time so will scoot to Adelaide and fly back to Perth from there.

I'll be riding back and exploring along the way. I've got four weeks total and aim to be back in Perth on Friday 27th June.

I'm still working on possible support vehicle options - there's time yet to sort out Hummers and stuff like that :)

Rob, Tony, Danny and others - thanks for your interest to date Keep an eye on the thread as it starts to take shape. I'd imagine that the Simpson could be a bit like the Mitchell Freeway in peak hour at that time of year, so we're bound to bump into one another out there

We had little cheap arse UHF's and ear piece, so we could hear any on coming before we would see them.
Can get pretty busy at times...

Hey Vince, I am also planning a similar trip to yourself but I will be leaving from Kalbarri, down to Geraldton and then to Mount Magnet and then I will be heading across to the Great Central Road and ending up in time for the Finke desert race. I have a work mate who is coming with me but he lives in Perth so still unsure if he is meeting me in Gero or going through Kalgoorlie and meeting me in Leinster. It would be good if we could co-ordinate a meet somewhere, maybe at Leinster so we could all cruise across together.
After Finke we will be heading down the Oodnadatta track, then cutting across to Coober Pedy and ending up around Adelaide somewhere. After that we have no set plans on what we are up to. Maybe home or the East coast and further north if I can get enough time off work. The original plan was a quick lap around the whole country but I think I was being a bit over optimistic.
I will keep an eye on this thread and see how it progress's,
cheers Tony

Get a good uhf such as 76sx with earpieces, would think radio and spot should be minimum, because, yes will be busy.More the merrier I reckon .Hire the sat phone at Dalhousie drop off at Birdsville,get vince to carry those dried meals he likes ,ill bring the water