Cycling the Mereenie Loop tips

As the video suggests, the Mereenie loop is a little bumpy, but with the right bike, right gear and a little forward planning it is very do-able.

The biggest problem I faced was water, the longest stretch between water points is from Hermannsburg to Kings Canyon, a distance 194km. For sealed roads this is typically a two day ride, however due to the unsealed nature of the road it may take a day or two longer. I planned for around 5L per day which included water for drinking and cooking, but plan for your own needs. Constrained by time, I covered the distance in two full days of riding averaging around 10km/h. I encountered some troubles with my water storage system (i.e. a 5L bottle of water strapped onto my bike rack punctured and leaked everywhere), so I advise a sturdier method, if you are carrying panniers, carrying water containers in there should not be a problem. Be aware that spinifex bushes can easily puncture any bladder easily so care must be taken when around these bushes.

As far as bike setup goes, I took a pretty extreme approach with 32c tyres on a single speed rigid frame road bike, with a backpack rather than panniers, this made my life hell. A hard tailed mountain bike with knobby tyres would easily tackle the road, there were rare patches of sand along the road, however it was mostly hard corrugated road.

Traffic was not much of a problem, you may see a car or two every hour, typically dominated by four wheel drivers, but you may come across some brave backpackers in 2WD cars.

Night temperatures in June/July dropped to as low as -5 degrees celsius, so don't get caught out by the cold!

You will need to pack food for most of trip or else be prepared to pay for an expensive meal at any of the road houses, the next supply point with decent prices is at Yulara where there is an IGA.

Thats it for now, feel free to ask any questions about the route, good luck!