Dirty Boys (& Girls)

Two hardy riders from Alice Springs, Jess Harries and Jane Hutchinson joined Andy and I for the Dirty Boys section of the Cairns to Karumba charity ride. Andy resting her knee chose to be our support crew and volunteer in the catering crew for the ride.  The Dirty Boys ride MTB bikes cross country whilst the Rugged Roadies follow the bitumen from Cairns to Karumba.

Jane, Jess and Laurie ready to go.

The ride briefing left Jess a little worried about how much we would be riding as they focussed a lot on bus transport and daily beer supply.   As it turned out there was plenty of fun times, riding, drinking, socializing and eating across the entire 7 days.  The group of 80 Dirty Boys rode more than 600km of dirt with bus transports to the next good track on most days.  On the way we enjoyed amazing morning teas and lunches provided by the local school and/or cattle station owners. This included refreshing home brewed beer, home made cakes, home made dried fruits, sausages and lots of other goodies.

C2K Beer

In addition to this we were followed by a 4wd with trailer full of homemade cakes, dried and fresh fruit & 900 beers. This trip rivals the famous Kings Canyon Cruise for food, but with the addition of beer and rum refueling stops.

Horses join us for a river crossing.

The terrain covered was very diverse, starting the the lush green forested area near Kuranda through rich pasture and horticultural land on the tablelands, dry dust savanah cattle country and flat salt flats near the gulf. We rode lots of rough dirt tracks with a variety of creek and river crossing, some with quite deep water. Now and again we rode single track or followed cattle paths through open bushland or salt flats or marsh lands.

Riding old train lines.

One very remerable section was a fast ride along a single track beside an old train line, scattered with boulders, sleepers and rail ballast.  Jess impressed all the boys by being the only person to ride the skinny boards of a big, high railway bridge, making up for her fall in the dust along the track.

Salt Water Creek was warm!

The mornings were cold for the first three days in the tablelands, but that did not stop the brave from swimming at the numerous dams, springs or creeks that  stopped at.  We  even found ourselves huddled around the fire place at one of the old pubs we stopped in.

Champagne Sunset at Karumba

Each night we we camped, generally in rodeo grounds or sporting facilities.  Andy and the crew of volunteers converted sheds into production kitchens, feeding more than 300 people.   After each dinner session we were treated to fun entertainment, Sumo wrestling, No Talent Quests and the famous Albion Pub Ball all of which involved lots of drinking and laughter.   Our last night was spent in Karumba with a fantastic sunset display over the sea and the best barramundi any of us had ever eaten.

warming our butts around an open fire was not what we expected to be doing in FNQ

The salt flats near Karumba

The Entire Dirty Boy Gang

Dirty Boys (and Girls) hit the pub again!