I must admit - I haven't really done as much preparation as a trip like this probably warrants.

The way I see it is the worst thing that can happen is the little Postie just spits the dummy and refuses to start. (Yes, me with a broken leg/arm/neck on the side of the road would be worse but you can't plan for everything!!)

If the Postie dies - then follow rule No: 1 of outback travel - STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE - sure the outback is a remote place - but the Birdsville Track is a pretty well travelled route these days, and maybe a dozen cars a day head down there - I will not be venturing off the main track, so if I break down, I doubt help will be far away.

I will have plenty of water - I'll be taking 9 litres on the bike - the Bridsville Track has regular Bores for resupply - I'll have a LifeStraw for drinking out of questionable water supplies, and I'll be taking a few bits and pieces to make my own water via Solar Stills. I'll have shade, so if worst comes to worst, I'll just hootchi up next to the bike, get into some shade and wait for help with plenty of water to keep me going.

Sounds easy.....I figure with what Im taking I'll be able to last out 3 days broken down by the side of road before I have to start worrying about water.

So - where am I storing all this stuff?

I've got two 10 litre fuel drums and a 4 litre petrol tank on the bike - the postie runs on the smell of an oily rag, so that 24 litres will give me a range of about 800 - 900 kms. These are strapped to the rack behind the seat.

As mentioned above, I have 9 litres of water - three separate 3 litre water containers. Plus the Life Straw, and the ability to make more water should I really get stuck. I have one water container stored in each side panier bag, and another one stored in my backpack.

I was not planning on taking any sleeping kit - its awefully hot out here - often it wont fall below 32 degrees even at night - but I'll be heading down South to South Australia, perhaps as far as Port Augusta, and then of course all across NSW, so it might get a bit cooler down there - so a sleeping bag has found its way into my kit. You'll see it strapped on top of my fuel drums along with my sleeping mat, but its now been strapped to the handlebars, just about the headlight.

As for the bike - Im taking a few tools, but nothing major though. I have enough tools to adjust my chain, change my oil and a few other regular maintenance items, but considering Im not taking much in the way of spares, I wont be needing much in the way of tools.

The number one worry is punctures - I have removed my old road tyres and replaced them with heavy duty Road/Trail semi-knobbies, I have put new extra heavy duty tubes (4mm thick rubber) which are much harder to puncture, and then filled them with Slime punture resistant/sealant. I am hoping that lot will stop me getting any punctures.

I have made up a little mess bracket which fits over the rack at the back, this bracket adds support and takes much of the weight of the saddle bags, and keeps them off the exhause and rear suspension.

I have also serviced the bike, new plug, cleaned the air filter and changed the Oil (Penrite MC-4ST 10W-50 Semi Synthetic) and also put on new heavy duty chain and sprockets (14 tooth front and 45 tooth back). Yes I know that they are standard with a 15 tooth front sprocket and the 14 tooth will lower my cruising speed, but Im doing all my sums on a cruising speed of 50kph, and I know the 14 tooth will do that easily, and with all the weight the bike will be carrhying, the engine will have to work less hard with a smaller front sprocket - yes it will rev harder for a given speed, but I will be going quite slowly most of the time.

Another neat thing which I am particularly happy with is that I have wired up a Cigarette Lighter socket to the Postie - no, I haven't taken up smoking - just about everything these days charges up from a USB connector - so I have wired up the cigarette lighter, plugged in a USB socket, and now I can charge up my iPhone, GPS, Nikon Camera, and Contour Helmet Cam as I ride along.

Other than that, this is just a plain old Postie Bike

It's now 2 days till I leave - getting excited!!