Cycling Australia: Bicycle Touring Throughout the Sunny Continent
Duckworth, Ian. (1997). Bicycle Books: San Francisco

“Some days I would almost get sick of waving back at motorists keen to wish me well.”
General information on touring in Australia plus 8 regional tours: Four of the tours link to provide a continuous route from Adelaide through Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney to Brisbane. Of the remaining four, two are in West Australia and two comprise a tour around Tasmania.

Bicycle Touring in Australia: An Environmentally Friendly Way to See the Country
Hemmings, Leigh. (1991). Seattle: The Mountaineers.

“Whether pottering along or riding at athletic pace, staying in top hotels or camping out, your perceptions of time and distance undergo a radical transformation.”
A brief history of bicycle touring in Australia, preparation information and eight scattered tours covering all the states in the country. Hemmings provides more detailed maps, elevations and turn-by-turn route guides.

Bike Australia: Cycling Australia from Perth to Sydney
Salter, Paul. (2001). Epic Guides, New Zealand.

“From Nundroo to Ceduna the road is gently rolling to rolling and passes through pretty green farmland – a refreshing change from the previous 1,400km.”
Salter does a straight shot across the continent - from Perth to Sydney, with a couple possible side trips. A well organized, clear and useful book with a surprising amount of anecdotal information for such a slim volume. He even provides a picture every 100km along the way (most of them look the same.) If you want a scenic route, try the other books above, but if you want to get right across Australia, this is your book

Cycling Australia: Discover the World on Two Wheels
Wells, Nicola et al. (2001). Lonely Planet Publications, Melbourne

“Feel the salty breeze at your back while you cycle along some of the world’s most spectacular coastline; whiz along winding mountain roads through tall, cool eucalypt forests; follow a gourmet trail; or explore historic gold mining towns.”
A Lonely Planet Guide Book – It is extremely comprehensive with 111 pages of general information on touring and touring in Australia. This is followed by sections with more general information and a total of 31 tours organized by state. Unfortunately, about 70% of the RAAUST route is not considered a ‘cycling region’ and therefore is not covered.

Cold Beer and Crocodiles: A Bicycle Journey into Australia
Smith, Roff. (2000). Adventure Press, Washington, DC

“Puzzling over the feverish heat and the insane plaque of flies, I heard a hallow boom in the distance. It sounded so much like the rumble of an empty road train that I glanced around me to see if one of the big trucks was coming my way. The highway was empty and lifeless as far as the eye could see.”
“What was the boom?” Lisa asks. It was actually a heat wave, taking the temperature in the Nullarbor up from around 105 f to 124 f. Roff actually rode all the away around the perimeter of the continent and tells an his story about the experience. No details and not really useful for trip planning but a good read, and good for psyching yourself up.

The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling
Burke, Edmund R. and Pavelka, Ed. (2000). Rodale Press

“But one challenge of increasingly long hours on the bike proved to be more difficult to solve than any other. When people would ask him, “What’s the hardest thing about riding so far?”, there was no hesitation to his reply: “Eating.”
Reference material for distance riders – everything from nutrition and wind to equipment and mental aspects of the ride.

The Bicycle and the Bush
Fitzpatrick, Jim. (1980). Oxford University Press

An out of print book on the history of bicycling in Australia mentioned with respect by a couple of the authors above. If anyone has a copy, I’d like to borrow it.

The Rough Guide to Australia
Daly, Margo, et. al. (2001). London: Rough Guides

“Cycling is popular in Australia, and even if you’re not a triathlete bent on pedaling between Sydney and Perth, bicycles are easily ferried between the places where you would want to use them.”
I used a bunch of guide books to plan for this RAAUST and “The Rough Guide" was best. Besides covering all the bigger cities and sites well, it well covers the smaller towns and routes that so often make up a bike tour. Highly recommended.

In a Sunburned Country
Bryson, Bill. (2001). Broadway Books: New York

“He liked the idea. “Yeah!” he said keenly. “Meet the fiancée. She’s not much for looks or conversation, but jeez can she scuttle!” I decided I liked this guy.”
Nothing about bikes, but a wildly entertaining and informative book on Australia. ***Highly recommended***

The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding
Hughes, Robert. (1987). New York: Alfred A. Knopf

“I had to go past the triangles, where they had been flogging incessantly for hours. I saw a man walk across the yard with the blood that had run from his lacerated flesh squashing out of his shoes at every step he took.”
Talk about building character. Some parts will transfix, most will simply impress you with the accomplishment of Australia. This is a definitive history of the early European history of Australia from 1770 to the mid-19th century. Exceptionally well researched - 600 pages of narrative, followed by 81 pages of Appendixes, Abbreviations, Notes, Bibliography and Index. Sounds daunting, but this outstanding book is a fascinating read. Very highly recommended.

30 Days in Sydney: A wildly distorted account
Carey, Peter. (2001). New York: Bloomsbury Publishing

Understanding Australians through the authors encounters with old friends on a visit to Sydney in 2000. A short book with interesting insights about Australia told through real-life stories about sailing, fire, corruption …. I recommend his fictionalized account of “The True History of the Kelly Gang”.