SELF-SUPPORTED IN OUTBACK QUEENSLAND Sarah’s ‘Sandstone Wilderness 600’

THE BLISTERING, DRY HEAT AND RELENTLESS SUN take its toll as I approach my tenth hour of riding off-road for the day—bumping along corrugations, scanning for somewhere suitable in these vast plains to set up my tent and stealth camp for the night. I feel a sense of pride in my mental strength and in my body for riding my longest day ever on a fully loaded bike. I’m looking forward to sunset and to completing a challenging day of my mission.

I live on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and, keen to visit friends in Longreach—the “Capital of Outback Queensland”—I dreamed up the idea to ride my bike there. Without sufficient time to ride the entire 1,500km and with temperatures rising, I used a combination of my van and the Spirit of the Outback train to design a self-supported 600km point-to-point ride.