18 amcn.com.au
He did what?the
WORDS PETER WHITAKERStraight up
“One of my adventure’s aims was to find these
special places by straight-line travel”
John Bylund took on the longest border in the Southern Hemisphere
HAVE YOU EVER wondered
what it would be like to
follow a straight line across
a map over a long distance,
regardless of roads? John
Bylund did, and resolved to
ride the 1862km length of the
Western Australian border
from the Great Australian
Bight to the Joseph Bonaparte
Gulf – the longest ‘straight’
boundary in the southern
hemisphere. The outcome
became a convincing
example of how goal-setting,
careful preparation and
perseverance can make any
aspiration come true.
“I will never forget the
feeling of riding into the
desert alone, guided only by
GPS,” John says. “It was an
exercise of faith in my ow n
ability, and my support team
who would later rendezvous
at pre-arranged places where
roads crossed the border.”
Despite the physical stress
on his 42-year-old body,
John strengthened to the
task and soon revelled in the
simple routine of ride, eat,
sleep, repeat. His fragile back
became stronger and during
the six-week-plus adventure
he happily lost 7kg.
The routine was physically
demanding but was
balanced by abundant sleep,
the average bedtime being
7.30pm. There wasn’t much
to do in the dark so why stay
up? John rose at first light,
packed and was on his way
within minutes of sunrise.
Most nights he built a fire
and was often buzzed by bats
feeding on insects attracted
by the f lames.The Nullarbor gave way to
the sand dunes of the Great
Victoria Desert where John’s
bike, a Yamaha TT350, had to
work hard.
“The desert sand was so
soft I had to let my tyres down
to 50kPa [7psi], despite the
danger of punctures.“The bike got so hot that the
oil turned into sludge. After
one very cold night I tried to
kick my bike into life, but the
motor was locked up and I had
no spare oil. I used my satellite
phone requesting help, then
its battery went dead, cutting
me off from the world. All Icould do was wait and trust
that the emergency procedure
we had painstakingly put in
place worked.”
The support team reached
John after a tough day of
cross-country desert driving,
during which they suffered
overheating, punctures and avehicle fire. Fortunately there
was no long-term damage
done to the TT350 engine and
John continued his adventure.
Then, amid an ocean of
sand dunes, a beautiful hill
loomed on the horizon.
“I felt excited to finally
reach a prominent geographicfeature, rather than only
being able to see the next
sand dune. I resolved to tread
lightly and treat the place with
great respect – not explore,
but observe from its edge.”
Even so, rock wallabies
and kangaroos broke cover
to bound up the hill’s rocky
face when they heard the bike.
Dark red boulders forming
the harsh but rich beauty of
the hill were highlighted by
backlit spinifex, giving each
ridge a bright halo.
“I imagined the hill
must have significance to
Aboriginal people and felt the
privilege of being where so
few had been before me. That
was one of my adventure’s
aims – to find these special
places by straight-line travel.”
Visiting remote Aboriginal
communities gave John a
unique opportunity to learn
about Aboriginal culture. As
a teacher he was naturally
interested and spent a day in
each of four schools.
“Although the time I spent
in each community was
brief, I was impressed by the
complexity of their culture and
the over-riding importance
it has in their lives. Later I
was privileged to sight some
incredible rock paintings
which I suspect have not been
seen before by white people.”
Finally, after weeks of
rough cross-country riding,
John dipped the wheel of the
Yamaha in the tidal water of
the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.
It symbolised the end of a
fantastic adventure and raised
about $7000 for the Royal
Flying Doctor Service.John Bylund challenged
his mind and body in
Central Australia