How we carried water while cycling across the Nullarbor
November 9th 2006 02:53
When planning for the Nullarbor we agreed that carrying water would be the hardest problem to solve. Solutions ranged from mounting spice racks to the front racks and stuffing 4l bottles in them (not very pretty) to carrying a water backpack (very expensive). As with most things, simple is often the best.
We crossed the Nullarbor in May when the temperatures were in the mid to late twenties (degrees celsius). We each carried 7.2 litres per 200km ride - a three day supply.
It was based on what we consumed while cycling, what we needed to cook with, one day's emergency supply and what we needed to indulge in chocolate flavoured powdered milk. How much anyone else needs to survive is entirely individual and I suggest you take a note of your daily water consumption before undertaking a trip across the Nullarbor.
We went for cheap and cheerful water carriers. We bought bottled water from the supermarket in 1.5l and 600ml sizes. The Mt Frankland brand seemed to last the longest.
We each carried a 600ml and a 1.5l on our bicycle frames. We mounted medium sized panniers on our front wheels (keeping them low) then carried a 1.5l bottle at the back of each pannier. We carried another 1.5l bottle on the top of our back racks and then squeezed an extra 600ml bottle (for our chocolate milk) in whichever pannier was the lightest.
We topped up at roadhouses and, very occasionally, at tanks. We had to pay for water at Caiguna Roadhouse but were freely given water at all other roadhouses.
Cycling the Nullarbor with cheap n cheerful water bottles
We crossed the Nullarbor in May when the temperatures were in the mid to late twenties (degrees celsius). We each carried 7.2 litres per 200km ride - a three day supply.
It was based on what we consumed while cycling, what we needed to cook with, one day's emergency supply and what we needed to indulge in chocolate flavoured powdered milk. How much anyone else needs to survive is entirely individual and I suggest you take a note of your daily water consumption before undertaking a trip across the Nullarbor.
We went for cheap and cheerful water carriers. We bought bottled water from the supermarket in 1.5l and 600ml sizes. The Mt Frankland brand seemed to last the longest.
We each carried a 600ml and a 1.5l on our bicycle frames. We mounted medium sized panniers on our front wheels (keeping them low) then carried a 1.5l bottle at the back of each pannier. We carried another 1.5l bottle on the top of our back racks and then squeezed an extra 600ml bottle (for our chocolate milk) in whichever pannier was the lightest.
We topped up at roadhouses and, very occasionally, at tanks. We had to pay for water at Caiguna Roadhouse but were freely given water at all other roadhouses.
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