Hey cyclists! I only pop in this community from time to time because I'm not really a cyclist, unless you count going up the shops on my e-bike and the very occasional longer ride through the bush. I get the appeal but I'm not a serious cyclist like I know some of you are. I"m a surfer - that's my jam - and whilst I'm doing that, it's my husband who builds and rides his own bikes. He grew up in London where bikes gave him freedom, and being a tinkerer, he loves building things too.
His latest obsesion is building a bikepacking bike because he had this mad idea to do the Hunt 1000. Have you heard of it?
Developed for the inaugural Hunt Bikes Snowy Mountains 1000 event in November 2016, the objective of the route is to link two of Australia’s major cities, Canberra and Melbourne, and traverse some of Australia’s most beautiful high country in a tough but achievable seven days. The route links some amazing campsites and historic alpine huts, provides a limited number of resupply points, and mixes in some challenging hike-a-bike sections, as well as river and creek crossings.
Encompassing the Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks, the Hunt 1000 takes you into the heart of these remote and uniquely Australian alpine wilderness areas. The Australian Alps have a geological history dating back 160 million years and are unlike regions commonly associated with the term alpine, such as the Andes or the Himalayas. Rather, the Australian alpine region is essentially an uplifted plain made up of grand plateaus surrounded by eroded steep valleys. This unique geology becomes apparent as you climb out of Brindabella Valley to Long Plain or when you scramble 1100m up Billy Goat Bluff Track to the plateau above. The nature of the landscape means you will spend hundreds of km’s on top of the world. But, what goes up must come down and you’ll work hard for those high trail views
From Bikepacking.com
They say that since the course started, only fifty percent of people make it. It's hard work! You certainly can't take an ebike. There's a lot of the route where you have to be entirely self sufficient, and a lot of pushing your bike up hills and across rivers!
So for months and months, Jamie's been torturing me talking about the intricacies of building a bike for this route, and all the kit he needs to go with it, from dehydrated food to what bags he's taking and how much it all weighs. I'm starting to be more interested now he's only a month or so away from leaving. It was just that constant thought process spoken out loud that was driving me nuts. Sometimes I had to say 'please babe, I just got home, don't talk to me about bikes'.
He recently did the Otway Rip to test everything out, and found it pretty hard work, but also realised he'd have to keep the weight down, so we worked pretty hard on weighing everything and figuring out what he doesn't need. One big problem is his phone running out of charge so he bought a Garmin GPS off Marketplace which should do the trick.
The Otway Rip is a three-day gravel route designed to take in some of the best bits of beach and bush in South West Victoria. This route was created to capture the best parts of the Shipwreck Coast and Otway Region, an area of South West Victoria that attracts millions visitors a year. Easily accessible from the big smoke, it’s a ripper way to spend a long summer weekend! Originally created in 2020, The Otway Rip was refreshed in July 2025. The latest version avoids a few more busy roads , adds more dirt, and finishes in Colac to make train travel from the eastern end even easier.
- From Bikepacking.com
Whilst he can't afford a $15k bike, he's still spending a few pennies getting it all together. The entry alone is $500 and we haven't even got the flights to Canberra yet.
I'm pretty proud of him for all his preparation and training. I think he's got a very strong mind and a lot of determination, so I do think he'll be part of the fifty percent that does make it. I hope so anyway, as it'll be a very long drive to come and pick him up!
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