this expedition was carefully thought
out, planned and considered. Yes,
I knew the stakes were high, but I
backed myself. I pushed my fear
aside and backed my planning and
my grit.
That fear popped up again when
I entered my first desert along the
Birdsville track. I had built this mon-
ster up in my head; these deserts, and
although I knew the track was rela-
tively wide and flat, I couldn’t help
but feel those uncertain nerves in the
pit of my stomach.
Got to Birdsville, first obstacle
overcome.
I woke early and sat atop the sec-
ond of more than 1100 sand dunes to
watch the sun rise over Big Red. It
was an impressive sight as I looked
out across the endless dunes. I knew
I would need to dig deep today, my
bike was loaded for 40 days in the
desert, there would be a lot of push-
ing up the dunes, unloading and re-
loading the bike. I was so focused on
getting the job done I forgot to eat for
the whole first day. By the time the
sun was three fingers off the horizon,
I was spent, and found a flat piece of
bush to make camp.
That was what I love about bike
riding. On the bike I feel so much
more connected with the land. I ate
when the shadows were under the
trees, I smelt the ash of the burnt
bush around me, felt the sand change
as the heat of the sun beat down on
it. You don’t ever feel those things in
a car.
The nights were cold in the Simp-
son, I woke with ice on my tent each
morning. Chance meetings with oth-
er travellers was always welcomed,
I was grateful for their support. A
meeting with another group of riders,
including a support vehicle, came
with an invitation to camp with them.
I declined and kept on pushing. My
focus was on getting the job done so,
opted to camp alone and maintain
the focus, drinking beers around the
TRAVERSE
90
campfire would just be a distraction.
Three days was what it took to
cross the Simpson Desert and by the
third morning I was just spent. Try-
ing to play catch up with my energy,
my unconditioned body screamed at
me to stop. By mid-morning I passed
a lone four by four and asked them
for some snacks. I’d eaten all of mine
and was just left with a few ready to
eat meals remaining. They gave me
two eggs, I cracked them straight into
my mouth.
The energy they gave me was im-
mediately noticeable. I now have a
new-found respect for eggs, and their
nutritional value.
As the third day wore on, so did the
track. It twisted while the dunes be-
came larger. I was being challenged,
daring me to keep going. I thought
about the bike riders I’d met and their
empty rack on the support vehicle.
It would’ve been easy to catch them,
store my bike and get a ride out.
“No Brundin, this is what you