Miles And A Shaw Thing

This entry is part 9 of 21 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #13

Adventure Rider Magazine columnist Miles Davis is another rider who built a ride around being in Alice Springs for the Finke Desert Race.

A mate and I rode to Alice Springs to watch the Finke Desert Race and then cross the Simpson Desert,” related BMW Motorrad’s Marketing Manager.

“The ride was ambitious and challenging at times, but it pretty much ran like clockwork.

“The dream was to ride the Simpson Desert via the French Line, but due to the high amount of Finke traffic across this route and the fact my riding mate, Dean ‘Shawy’ Shaw, was on his first adventure ride – he’s an ultra-fit enduro and motocross rider – we decided to go for the longer but less-travelled route, via the French Line/Rig Road/WAA Line and down the Warburton Track to the Birdsville Track, then south to Mungeranie.

Sunset on the Oodnadatta Track.
Dean Shaw (left) and author Miles Davis.

“In hindsight, this decision was spot on. We had a great, challenging ride with no incidents, while many riders pulled out of crossing The Simpson the same week for various reasons.

“I hope to get back and cross the French Line on the 1200GSA at a more suitable time with less traffic. It was my first trip to Finke and The Simpson, and it was a totally amazing experience. It’s a huge, desolate country and a bike is an amazing way to experience it.

The dunes begin.

Ride stats:

• Two riders (Miles on an R1200GSA and Shawy on an F800GS)
• Total distance 4000km over six full days of riding
• The Simpson Desert crossed unsupported, west-to-east, via the French Line, Rig Road, WAA Line and Warburton Track
• One night camped in the desert
• Simpson crossing: 659km between fuel stops (Mt Dare to Mungeranie), approximately 44 litres required on the 1200GSA and 38 litres for the F800GS. Additional fuel bladders were carried
• For the crossing, the riders combined carried about 12 litres of water
• Tyre pressures in the desert were approximately 12psi front and 20psi rear (0.9bar/1.5bar)
• The longest day was 900km

Old Andado sand.
The start of The Simpson.

• The pair attended the 40th anniversary Tatts Finke Desert Race and camped at Finke on Sunday night
• No panniers, just a BMW roll bag on the back, tankbag and backpack. The pair saw a lot of riders who were overloaded and had a lot more problems because of this
• Tyres used were Continental TKC 80s on the F800GS and Continental TKC 80 and Metzeler Karoo 3 on the 1200
• Bikes were trailered from Melbourne to Broken Hill and back to save on highway riding and allow arrival at Broken Hill in the evening
• Due to unseasonably wet conditions the week prior, the Oodnadatta Track had just been reopened the day before the ride started. It was in pretty bad shape. The muddy ruts and floodways were especially treacherous from Lake Eyre to William Creek in the dark