Ride Start Date: 2021-04-30
The inaugural version of the Sunshine State 1200 randonnée starts in Brisbane and crosses the Great Dividing Range to an area known as the Darling Downs, makes two loops centred on the bustling town of Oakey before returning to Brisbane. The proposed 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID19 restrictions.
Brisbane is Australia’s third largest city (pop. 2.4 million) and the capital of Queensland. It is rightly famous for its amazing climate that is near perfect all year round, and its proximity to many of Queensland’s major tourist destinations (Oakey) has helped make it a Mecca for visitors to Australia.
Importantly, Queensland is the only state of Australia that has the word Audax on its State Emblem.
The SS1200 is the first 1200 km Audax ride ever staged in Queensland and we hope that participants will have a memorable experience. The ride will be internationally recognised and homologated by Les Randonneur Mondiaux (LRM).
There are a number of things you’ll need to do before the ride:
The SS1200 will be held from 30 April 2021 -3 May 2021. In the mean time, planning is underway and the key dates are shown below.
All riders are required to have completed either a 400 km or 600 km Audax ride previously to demonstrate that they can manage fatigue.
The location of the start, finish and pre-ride BBQ will be in Anzac Park, Toowong. Anzac Park is located 5 km using a safe bicycle route from Brisbane CBD. There are numerous hotels and Airbnb accommodation options in the Toowong area closer to the start.
Anzac Park, Toowong (recommended cycle route from CBD shown)
A pre-ride BBQ will be held at Anzac Park Toowong on 29 April 2021 2020 at 5:30 pm
After the ride, there will also be an organised breakfast at .?.. 4 May 2021 at 8:00 am. The breakfast menu is here (?).
Please indicate when registering if you would like to join us for the pre-ride BBQ or the post-ride dinner.
You are recommended to wear reflective clothing especially at night and at times of low visibility – see the Audax Australia Safety Rules for details.
You should make sure that you’re equipped with clothing for a variety of weather conditions – weather can be cool at night and at times it has even been known to rain. See the Weather tab below for further details of expected weather in May.
Remember the old adage – “There’s no such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing.”
Other additional items you might consider bringing: Space Blanket, suitable long-sleeved rain jacket, woollen vest or equivalent, leg & arm warmers, beanie, booties, long finger gloves and USB battery bank (small enough to carry with you on the bike)
Riders must obey the Audax Australia Ride Rules and the Queensland Road Rules as it applies to bicycles. Riders observed breaching these rules may be disqualified by the ride organiser.
In Queensland, all cyclists are required by law to wear a helmet. Cyclists cannot ride more than two abreast (max 1.5m apart) unless overtaking. Between sunset and sunrise, they are required to have front (white) and rear (red) lights and a reflector.
Audax Australia strongly recommends that a spare front and rear light is also carried and that reflective clothing is also worn at night and at times of low visibility.
If you breakdown for either physical or mechanical reasons and cannot reasonably get underway again, please call the RO +61 418 711 417. We will arrange transport back to the overnight control, we will not leave anyone broken down on the roadside by themselves, especially in remote areas.
Although the route follows quiet roads where practical there is always a possibility of meeting the odd truck or caravan. Beware of Bunya Nuts!
For serious emergencies dial 000 (“triple zero”). If your carrier is out of range try dialling an alternative emergency number 112, this uses any available carrier’s network that is within range. Also note that if a network voice call cannot be made due to poor/marginal network coverage, SMS has a better chance of being successful (not iMessage, Skype, Viber, or WhatsApp etc. as these require a good DATA connection). The RO can be contacted on mobile +61 418 711 417
The 7 day forecast for Brisbane from the Bureau of Meteorology here.
Daily average daily temperature for Brisbane in May is 13.3 – 23.2 °C.
The average rainfall for May is 74 mm, with an average of 5.8 days with rain >1mm.
The 7 day forecast for Oakey from the Bureau of Meteorology here.
Daily average daily temperature for Oakey in May is 7.8 – 22.3 °C.
The average rainfall for May is 39 mm, with an average of 3.4 days with rain >1mm
Wind Roses:
There will be 18 controls and most will be unsupported with riders having to get their brevet card signed, source food and water from local shops and public taps where available. These unsupported controls will have shops that have limited opening hours and will require riders to rest/sleep at the overnight controls and continue the ride each morning. Some controls (Haden, Day 1; Nobby, Day 3) will be supported as riders will be passing during hours when there will be no food opportunities.
There are towns passed that would have shops open during normal operating hours. You may also pass ‘Pubs’ in these towns (and other locations not listed).
The ride has been designed for riders leaving the overnight control at 5:00 am on the second day and 4:00 am on the third day to align with shops/cafes that will be open for riders to access food.
All overnight controls will be staffed and will be in the same location in Oakey with accommodation spread across 2 motels within sight of the control.
An evening meal, breakfast and pocket food will be provided at the overnight control.
All water in Queensland drawn from mains is safe to drink. Tank water is normally safe to drink, look for warning signage first
The intention is for riders to stay in the same room/bed during the ride. Bedding and towels will be provided. Power points for charging of GPS, mobile phones, lights etc. should be available, I would recommend bringing along a power board.
If you have a mobile phone, please carry it with you during the ride. Telstra has the best coverage of all the carriers in country areas of Australia. All carriers have coverage for most of the course but there will be some areas that will have no mobile phone coverage regardless of the carrier:
SpotWalla will be used for rider tracking. If you wish to participate you will need to first sign up for a free account at SpotWalla.com You then need to attach your tracking device to your account. If you plan on using a mobile phone for tracking, you will also need to download the iOS SWTracker or Android BubblerGPS app onto your mobile phone. There are several device types that can be attached to your SpotWalla account, not just SPOT and mobile phones – check the website for yours if you have something different. We will provide a SpotWalla rider event weblink for you to join, it will be password protected. The website has excellent help instructions in case you run into difficulties.
Audax Australia and Audax Queensland can be also be followed on Facebook groups:
You can if you wish upload photos to either of these FB Groups to show other riders what you are up to.
Twitter: @QLDAudax
Instagram: @AudaxQueensland
Contact the ride organiser to:
Registration has closed. Registration will be offered to those that have registered an expression of interest first..
Expected Ride Fee: $A550
Registrations will be via credit/debit card via the Audax Portal using the Register Me! button above. Riders must be members of Audax Australia during the period of the ride. Non-members can get annual membership or can elect for a monthly membership. Non-members will be offered monthly membership during the registration process which will be effective from midnight the evening before the ride for one month.
Yes, the event limit (constrained by the sleeping/eating facilities at the overnight controls) is 22.
Yes, a wait list will be established.
Check the Terms and Conditions (link TODO) when entering for the event. The schedule for reimbursements will be clearly outlined.
Complete Route: 1200 km, +9,598 m / -9,598 m ridewithgps.com/routes/31410017
The Bunya Nut (Araucaria bidwillii) is native to south-eastern Queensland especially the Bunya Mountains National Park (Day 2). The bunya nut tree is a huge tree which bears a crop only after the tree itself is around 100 years old, and then it crops once every 2 or 3 years only. The crop itself consists of large cones up to the size of a very heavy soccer ball – 300 mm in length and 10 kg in weight. The cones contain the edible nuts (seeds) which are encased in a shell. The nut resembles a chestnut and is equally tasty, maturing in summer.
