October 3, 2018
At 2:15am on Tuesday, Hervey Bay cyclist Mike Zande climbed aboard his pushbike at Wulkuraka, the official starting point of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.
Just 17 hours 15 minutes – and 311.5km – later he rolled into Kilkivan, the official end point of the South Burnett Rail Trail.
Mike is now the first person to have ridden the two rail trails in the “difficult” direction (ie. uphill!) so his unofficial time is now the record to beat for that journey.
He admitted to southburnett.com.au the ride had been challenging at times, but said he enjoyed doing it.
He missed out on much of the scenery in the Brisbane Valley as he passed by in the dead of night.
One of the toughest parts of the ride was the route linking the end of the BVRT at Yarraman with the start of the SBRT in Kingaroy.
“I linked together a series of roads and forestry tracks which (Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Users Association president) Paul Heymans had shared online,” he said.
“But I was climbing the hills during the hottest part of the day.”
After the “easy” sealed section from Kingaroy to Murgon, the unsealed trail from Murgon to Kilkivan also proved “quite challenging”.
“The number of gates between Murgon and Kilkivan really slowed me up,” he said.
“There were 70 gates in total on the ride, but 41 of them were in the last 44km!”
Mike admits he took it easier at times during the ride – his actual time on the bike was 16 hours 11 minutes – stopping to chat to the many other cyclists and walkers he met along the way.
He also stopped to pose for a photo in Kingaroy.
“It was a great day to be on the bike, and I’m very thrilled to have been able to complete the whole ride in one hit,” he said.
“It turns out the sleeping gear I carried was just extra weight.”
At the end of the ride, Mike received a nice surprise.
“My dad was waiting for me at the finish line. He had booked us into a motel for the night so I could relax after the ride.”
And what does he think about the trails?
“I think it’s fantastic. It’s a great asset in the south-east corner of the State.”
Footnote: The first person to ride the full length of the two trails was Toowoomba tri-athlete Jason Black back in May. However, Jason rode from Kilkivan to Wulkuraka, the downhill route. He made it into Wulkuraka in 16 hours and 48 minutes.
- Related article: Jason Sets Rail Trail Record
