The Gibb Challenge 2019

It was Hot!!  With cloudless sky's riding in high 30's to 40 degree was almost unbearable.  It bought home the briefing message - "Drink or Die!!"

It was Dusty!!  There was little rain during the wet season. Only one water crossing had water - The mighty Pentacost River.  Even that was reduced to a dribble.

The road was Corrugated!!  With a short wet season, The Gibb River Road was open early and had already seen lots of traffic. Bad corrugations were everywhere. Sometimes, it was just a matter of riding through them...easier than it sounds.

The Headwind!!  The prevailing wind was easterly - straight into your face.  The first 3 days weren't too bad, but then it picked up.  In Belgium we had headwinds but not *hot* headwinds.

Day 1: A 4am wakeup for a 5am start - 230km to Imintji. I got into a great peleton where I first met Peter and Tim.  It slowly whittled itself down from about 9 riders to 5 as teams did their changeovers.  After a long anxious wait, John finally hit the road at 7am.  It wasn't long before he launched us onto the gravel. We initally did a 2 hour turn, followed by 1 hour turms.  However, as the heat climbed to 40 degrees, these quickly dropped to 30-45 minutes.  A rest in the air-conditioned comfort of the Troopy was much appreciated.

John on the first bit of gravel

Bryce on Donna's bike

That's water after a long tough day

Imintji campground has had many improvements since I last visited in 2016. There are new ablution blocks, BBQ's and showers.  They also now have soap and shampoo after I left mine there.

Simon giving the nightly briefing

Day 2: John kicked us off.  Shorter turns to keep the heat stress under some sort of control. We had a new hand signal - five fingers to show "5 minutes to change".  It was a long 5 minutes and I found myself stopping after 2 minutes - "I'm done!!".  We also started doing changes with Bryce and Donna. Bryce was using a borrowed bike after running over his the day before. Their 13th Gibb was to be somewhat of a bad luck charm. But the amazing Gibbsters offered all they could to get them to the finish (3 broken wheel studs, a broken bike, a leaky camelbak, a broken shock absorber, a fridge that stopped working, missing chairs). Bryce was heard to say "Everything lasts 12 years!!".

Donna leading the way

Mount Elizabeth station also had spacious new showers. Queue reduction protocol meant we could share a shower and tick another thing off our "Gibb Passport".


Day 3: Hot, Dusty, Corrugated, Headwinds...well, now add Sand. Ouch. Energy sapping sand. 42mm tyres worked well everywhere here. It seemed to grab the wheels and send you flying off in another direction. I had to fight to get my bike back on track. John had a slick tyre on the rear - "It's feels like my rear wheel is spinning".

On the Gibb Challenge you queue for everything, even to leave the campground!!

John looking to get away from the sand and corrugations

The Team Trailer and Flag of Nations

Riding with Peter and Tim

With Bryce on his borrowed bike

Ellenbrae also had new showers. This was fortunate as the waterhole hole we normally use was now a "slimehole".  There was another waterhole down further, but even that was only thigh deep.

Day 4: Stronger Headwinds. A brutal day with increasing fatigue.  We had now linked closly with Donna and Bryce, sharing the riding into the wind. It was quite a slog. John and Donna impressed on the climbs, whilst Bryce and I had the best of the flat ground.  After stopping to take pictures, I was looking forward to the downhill into Home Valley.  Unfortunately, I had a rear puncture at 40km/h.

John climbing up a valley

David with Peter and Tim

The iconic photo with the Cockburn Range

David, Bryce, Donna, John and Cathy

Simon and Anna - The Gibb Challenge Event organisers. Royalty.

Home Valley station greeted us with a pool, a superb dinner and a fun evening catching up with Peter, Tim, Emma, Matt and George.

Day 5: Everyone rides today. John rode across The Pentecost. I walked.  The headwinds seemed stronger and hotter during our 2 hour ride to El Questro (ELQ) station. We formed a small peleton to share the load. It really bought home just how difficult it is to complete the event solo (ie. you ride every km!!) Peter and Tim did an incredible job to finish.  We were proud to have our photos taken with them and make some new friends.

The (not so) Mighty Pentecost River

The Cockburn Range seems to go forever.

At the ELQ Turnoff