After cycling solo across Australia earlier this year, British explorer Mike Laird has decided to organise an epic amateur bike race that will follow a similar route.
The first Trans Oz Bike Ride will cover 3,374km (2,097 miles) in 17 stages, with competitors starting in Melbourne and riding north through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to finish in Cairns.
The race in May 2011 will include road, dirt road and hill stage, and riders will need to average 198km a day to be in with a chance of winning the £5,000 prize.
Early stages of the route will retrace the steps of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition of 1860, when seven men died attempting the north-south crossing on foot, camel and horseback.
The Trans Oz will surely prove more successful, although competitors will still face hazards including extremes of temperature and the local wildlife – Laird encountered redback spiders, brown snakes and giant lizards on his journey.
“This truly was an experience of a lifetime and I'm delighted to be able to open this up to other people with an appetite for adventure!" said Laird, who lost 21lb during his ride across Australia due to the gruelling terrain and scorching heat.
"We've planned and researched every element of the race to ensure that the Trans Oz Bike Ride runs as smoothly as possible. We’re looking for people with a serious passion for cycling to become involved. Anyone with determination, bags of energy and a decent bike should reach the finish line.”
Mike Laird celebrates the end of his epic solo cycle ride across Australia earlier this year in Normanton, Queensland
Laird, 41, is a seasoned traveller who took part in the BBC’s Castaway 2000 TV programme alongside Ben Fogle. Since that time he has led and joined expeditions in remote locations as diverse as Ethiopia, Bolivia, Mongolia and Alaska.
In 2007 he joined the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan as a photographer. He is CEO of the charity Marocaroundtheclock as well as a trustee of the UK Scientific Exploration Society and a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society.
To find out more about the Trans Oz Bike Ride, visit www.transozbikeride.com or email info@transozbikeride.com.
Race stages
Date
Activity
Distance covered
9 May 2011
Stage 1 – Melbourne to Bendigo
148km
10 May
Stage 2 – Bendigo to Swan Hill
188km
11 May
Stage 3 – Swan Hill to Mildura
222km
12 May
Stage 4 – Mildura to Broken Hill
265km
13 May
Rest day
14 May
Stage 5 – Broken Hill to Packsaddle
209km
15 May
Stage 6 – Packsaddle to Tibooburra
127km
16 May
Stage 7 – Tibooburra to ‘the bush’
142km
17 May
Stage 8 – ‘The bush’ to Noccundra
141km
18 May
Stage 9 – Noccundra to Eromanga
180km
19 May
Stage 10 – Eromanga to Windorah
250km
20 May
Stage 11 – Windorah to Stonehenge
171km
21 May
Stage 12 – Stonehenge to Longreach
220km
22 May
Rest day
23 May
Stage 13 – Longreach to Winton
180km
24 May
Stage 14 – Winton to Hughenden
206km
25 May
Stage 15 – Hughenden to ChartersTowers
243km
26 May
Stage 16 – ChartersTowers to Ingham
246km
27 May
Stage 17 – Ingham to Cairns
236km
Array