Cannonball, yes Cannonball!!! Just like that classic 80’s movie, I got my note of where to register through the mail and it was on. Once again I felt part of some highly secretive underground movement about to do something very, very, very illegal. But, no, this is the annual Cannonball Charity Ride and this year it was all about raising money and profile for sufferers of the debilitating disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Unlike that 1980’s illegal race across America no rules would be broken here, very bent yes, broken no! This year’s 5,600km 12day ride was from Bribie Island, Qld to Barossa Valley, SA via Alice Springs, just for the heck of it.
Following on from the welcome dinner the previous night we were revved up before light and keen to get underway to ride some awesome tracks and, if we could in any way, bring attention to what amazing people like Dean have to live with everyday. But Cannonball rides are adventure rides and the adventure was about to begin. We left smack on 7.30am during a live cross to the ABC breakfast program and less then an hour later Erik threw his 990R away at a deep washout. Yep, it was going to be a long ride.
Due to the whole of Qld being a bit soggy, you may have heard about the flooding up here, conditions for the first day were wet and slippery. One of the tracks had us crossing the backwater of the Brisbane River times and with the water three feet deep and flowing fast, our progress was slow. Four bikes ended up under water, but hats came off for our sweep that didn’t only drown his bike, he got it stuck under a log!
David 'Zebra' van der Walt rides one of the swollen creeks - he made it safely.
It was cold and dark as we woke for the following day’s run to Toompine 770kms away, this was before I got everyone lost coming into St George. Yep, those multiple onramps, slip roads and flyovers can be confusing out here. Thanks to some locals who had joined the ride overnight we got to the fuel stop where our first mechanical casualty arrived; a 950 with a stuffed rear wheel bearing. A replacement bearing was sourced and was later fitted with the help of Pom the local copper who was riding with us. Let it be said, country cops are good cops!
With two good seasons, wildlife was everywhere and, despite best attempts at being vigilant, my less then stellar reflexes failed me once again and Skippy ended up under my front tyre, forcing me into a spoon drain at speed. Killed the roo, scared the crap out of me and gave the others plenty to laugh about. For the rest of the day this scene nearly played out multiple times through out the field as the wildlife just kept coming. A late route change saw us in Toompine with only minutes of daylight to spare, but the support crew soon had the steaks sizzling. I was glad they didn’t follow out their threat to serve me up some fresh roo; they said they had found a good supply of fresh roo meat further back up the track and thrown it onto the sweep vehicle!
Another day, another morning of animals attempting suicide, would they never stop coming! We soon left our dirt track and headed out to Eromanga to drop into the local school for morning tea and to give the kids a sugar fix. It’s a very small school (only 5 students) but they were thrilled to see us, or at least our bikes. They sure didn’t look like the Ag bikes their dads used for rounding up sheep. The day ended about 120ks from Windorah in the middle of the bush, awesome. We celebrated one of the crew’s birthday and Gary demonstrated his commitment by falling asleep in his chair without dropping his rum and being tied up with racing tape. He never even moved when the fire crackers went off. Ah the serenity!
Gary probably wishes he hadn't fallen asleep.
With our original route still deep under water and faced with a boring run down the main drag, it was with great thanks that local copper, Tim from Bedourie, pointed us in the direction of a nice service track that ran through a number of stations and would bring us to Boulia. Love those country coppers I tell ya! There were to be little problems with the bikes on this stretch but our Overlanders support truck supplied by Robbie Turton of Tyres 4 Bikes had its own adventure. After blowing a rear tyre and recovering, the team then had a front let go resulting in a wild ride 300m off-road in a 15 tonne roller coaster. That’s one ride they were not keen to repeat. In the meantime, Tobermorey Station was awesome and allowed us the use of their kitchen to whip up a feed. After getting the truck tyres replaced it was near on 10 o’clock before the support crew made it in. That’s the Cannonball spirit, the bigger the challenge the bigger the group effort, anyone who said adventure riding is not a team sport, has not Cannonballed.
A more relaxed start saw us on our way to Alice Springs. When the ride survey was done I received a picture entitled – Plenty of Nothing Hwy. Whilst it wasn’t that bad, things got more interesting once we hit The Binn’s Track, particularly for the other lead rider Dave. He chose to hit a big square edged rut that sent him across the track and into my side. I turned around to see the bike facing back from where we came from. Normally a crash would bring tears of laughter but since he ripped the headlight assembly out of his 950 I thought I would leave it for half an hour or so before the sledging started.
Once in Alice we got to meet Connor and his parents, Michael (Debra Australia President) and Bree. Connor is 12 and suffers from EB, his condition has caused a number of severe medical complications I can’t even pronounce. This, however, hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for life and he quickly got into the Cannonball Sprit and helped with changing tyres and delivering well-timed sledges to other riders, as the situation demanded. On ya Connor! The following day’s run to Kings Creeks saw your author put his tyre repair skills to the test, by pinching a tube whilst fixing a flat and then repeating the same mistake again later on, maybe time to shut my mouth when giving advice to others about changing tyres.
A DeBRA sponsor had access to a helicopter and generously arranged flights for all the guys. It was a fantastic experience for most, except for one individual whose usual smart arse wit was about to end abruptly. Our pilot was trying to do with a helicopter what the rest of us had been trying to do on our bikes, yep, sidewards at speed. I might say he did this quite well and upon landing a rather humbled and paler version of our good friend emerged kissing the ground. If you are ever in Tyres for Bikes in Brisbane just ask Dave about his flying award. The next day was to be one of rest but with tyres to change and more helicopter flights to get aerial footage for the upcoming DVD, it wasn’t that restful. The flight over Kings Canyon was absolutely amazing and with no other traffic around our keen pilot got us in nice and CLOSE to the surrounding mountains. Woo Hoo!
The views from the helicopter at Kings Creek.
Setting out for Mount Dare I had a bit of a grin to myself, quietly confident I wouldn’t be wearing the tutu on this trip, however I was about to be brought undone. After loading my bike into the Ute because it wouldn’t steer properly, it dawned on me that the spacer I found left over the day before and to which I had stirred everyone else about, was actually out of my bike. Doh! The dreaded skirt was mine for the next 24 hours. That night, about midnight to be exact, some poor souls had Katie the Trail Boss re-confirm to them the status of Mount Dare as being a ‘Cracker Free Zone’. Obviously up until then this had been somewhat unclear to some, it no longer is.
Rather than take the fastest way out of Mt Dare we went out through Mt Hammersly and Blood Creek Ruins, it made a for a fun tight mornings ride, something a bit different for central Australia. We pulled up for a quick stop at the turn off to Mount Sarah only to find that, somewhere along the line, John, who had joined us in Alice Springs, had thrown it away and gained a suspected broken wrist. A quick conference at Oodnadatta saw John on his way to Cooper Pedy for x-rays and the rest of us on our way to William Creek to camp for the night.
The morning’s ride started off with John’s return from hospital. With inconclusive results it was decided that he would take the day off and the doctor we had riding with us (aka ‘The Flying Zebra’) would look at his x-rays later that night and make a decision from there. Today was also a bit of a mystery tour for the boys, with a bit of sight seeing to be done on the way. At Farina railway siding, a team of grey nomads are slowly restoring the ruins. Having got the old bakery back to full operation, it was a real treat when we rode in and got some awesome sausage rolls in a pretty desolate place. On to Arkaroola nestled in the Gammon Ranges National Park with lots of rock, steep mountains and some spectacular views. There are two roads into Arkaroola, the main one and the one we took, tight, narrow and a potential bike breaker if you got it wrong. About 5kms from Arkaroola village is the old copper smelter where the support crew put on drinks and nibblies for us in the late afternoon sun. We do it tough, but not that tough!
The race to afternoon tea!
Leaving Arkaroola, it was good to see John back on his bike to enjoy some of the magnificent Flinders Ranges. With well-formed dirt roads combining with ancient landscapes, it was a memorable day in the saddle and even the black stuff was a blast to ride. We stopped by the ‘Great Wall of China’ impressed with both the view and the sound of firecrackers echoing off the hills. Ah this must not be a cracker free zone I thought! An early arrival at Peterborough and the final night on route for the ride meant a number of riders saw this as the ideal time to have a big night. Those that did were paying the price the following morning when a cop car pulled up. After some immediate panic by a number of riders, we realised it was the police escort (the good kind) to the end of ride reception that DebRA had organised in a local park with a few hundred people in attendance to welcome in the weary mob. Those still recovering from the night before paid a price for having a snooze on the grass, finding themselves tied up and secured to nearby fences.
The Class of 2011
We were able to meet a number of Debra Families and see first hand where some of the $30,000 we had raised would do some good. Thanks to Kate, Eliza, Connor, Ivy, JC and Jessica and their families for coming out to meet us and joining up for the presentation dinner that night. Thanks always goes to Katie and all the officials who do a massive job and put up with lots of tomfoolery from us clowns over the course of the ride.
Next year’s ride is Paradise to Perth, Starting on the Gold Coast in March 2012 and finishing in Perth 14 days and lots of crackers later. Call Katie on 0402 750 900 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it check out the website www.cannonballride.com.au or find us on Facebook. Rides are limited to 20 participants so don’t miss out.
Supporter acknowledgement
Tyres 4 Bikes and Overlanders Motorcycle Adventures
Laprock Pty Ltd
Bendigo Bank
Lindenberg Mitsubishi
