It takes a special kind of athlete to spend their holidays cycling 5500km across Australia's unforgiving landscape in the name of fun.
But Canberra couple Seb and Beth Dunne simply couldn't turn down the challenge of the inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race.
The coast-to-coast race is the brain child of ultra-endurance cyclist Jesse Carlsson and began in Fremantle on March 18, with riders set to finish at the Sydney Opera House this weekend.
Competitors cross the Nullarbor before passing through Adelaide and down the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne then up to Canberra, before finishing in the harbour city.
The leaders, who completed more than 600km in the first 24 hours of the race, are expected in the capital on Thursday.
Half the 70-strong field have retired, including Seb whose race ended at the 2500km with an ankle injury, however Beth and fellow Canberran Adam Hunter are still on the road.
"My ankle blew up and by the next day it wasn't a go, you get a lot of these overuse injuries in these endurance type of races," Seb said.
"I was spending 18-20 hour days on the bike and after a couple of days it's more mental than physical, it's just working through it and keeping the legs ticking over."
The clock never stops and there is no prize money, but Dunne said the reward lies in the challenge and adventure of the race.
"Everything in our lives is built around effort minimisation and laziness and comfort so I think the challenge of breaking away from that and seeing where your limits are is a natural thing," Dunne said.
"In terms of what I've done it's right up there for toughness. The isolation is unparalleled, there's nothing on the planet like the Nullarbor, as well as the possibility of extremes for temperatures.
"The bike is a really nice way to interact and engage with a landscape and you're kind of moving at speed where you're able to see subtle changes. It's not all misery and suffering, this is my holidays after all so I wanted to enjoy it."
Dunne averaged 425km per day wih most riders only sleeping for a few hours at a time, while some food and water supply points are 200km apart.
"The boredom and isolation are big challengers, riding by yourself especially, at the start there are some extremely long stretches and I did 400km without getting more food and water," Dunne said.
