Attending the National Scooter Rally 2014.
Over the years, I have done the return trip over the Nullabor by car or scooter ten times and here I go again. This just shows I am a glutton for punishment. Doing the trip once is an experience every Australian should try to do. The second time, things get just a little boring, The third crossing, is two times too many. Having said this, since owning my first scooter, I have always wanted to attend the National Scooter Rally which is held in Australia on an annual basis, always on the eastern seaboard of Australia. Living in Perth, on the opposite side of the country and having to travel across the Nullarbor yet again, this is the year I will get to tick this off on my bucket list. I don't have to be mad but it helps.
The scooter rally is being held in the Snowy Mountains on the 7th of March, on the Great Dividing Range which is one of the coolest areas in Australia but it is currently Summer in Australia with February being, by far, the hottest month of the year and there is no guarantee much cooler days will be with us early in March. This is the reason why I have decided to leave Perth in plenty of time to ensure I will be able to ride, with the Camper Trailer behind me, during the cooler morning hours and, hopefully, be able to pull into a road house by noon. It wouldn’t be unusual for the daily temperatures at this time of year to reach 40 degrees Centigrade (104 Fahrenheit). I will therefore be setting a daily distance of 500 kilometres or there a bouts.
With this in mind, day one, I plan to ride from my home in the northern suburbs of Perth to Coolgardie, a distance of 554 Kilometres.
Day 2, Coolgardie to Caiguna Road House, Western Australia = 536 Kilometres
Day 3, Caiguna Road House to Nullarbor Road House, Western Australia = 454 Kilometres
Day 4, Nullarbor Road House to Ceduna, South Australia = 409 Kilometres
Day 5, Ceduna to Port Augusta, South Australia = 468 Kilometres
Port Augusta to Tailem Bend, South Australia = 402 Kilometres
Tailem Bend to Melbourne, Victoria = 629 Kilometres
This plan can easily be changed and will be if the weather becomes more compatible with riding.
The highlights for me on this trip will be to spend some quality time with my two daughters and their families in Melbourne, visiting other relatives, attending the National Scooter Rally and spend some time visiting different cemeteries in Victoria chasing up information for my Genealogy research.
While in Victoria, I will also be looking forward to taking part in the Black Dog National One Day Ride which takes part on the 23rd of March. Shortly after this ride I will turn tail and head back to Perth in much more favorable weather conditions, at least, I know it won’t be as hot as the ride east.
Before I set off I have to take delivery of the new Annex to my camper trailer, do a bit more shopping for the necessities of life on the open road and work out how I am going to get by with the storage space in the trailer, top box and panniers.
Day 1, 27 Feb 2014
Perth to Norseman 721 Kilometres.
Yes, that’s what I said, Norseman, not Coolgardie as planned. I found the weather good for riding, not getting so warm that it becomes uncomfortable so, I rode on. Setting off later than I had planned as the sun was well and truly above the horizon. Some may have trouble believing this but, as I got underway and having turned my IPod on and listening to the last song which hadn’t finished when I last used it, the very next song was Willy Nelson singing “On the road again”.
The scooter towed the camper as expected but I did notice it wasn't quite performing as well as it had during my very recent travels down in the Great Southern which really, wasn't that surprising due to the additional load it was carrying. The annex and tent poles had added a great deal to the total weight of the cargo but will be worth it when I get into a caravan park to stay for awhile when I’m over east. During the packing process, I weighed everything I was packing onto and into the camper other than the last minute addition of my toiletries bag. Having said that, how much of a difference in weight would there be by adding a tooth brush, tooth paste (only one tube of same), a cake of soap, shaving cream and razor?
An uneventful day with the usual coffee and fuel stops although, I did realise I had only seen one dead kangaroo throughout the entire days riding. Those who have been on this road for any distance at all, they would know this is very unusual. It made me think back to the four years I spent in the US, during which time, I did a lot of touring. While over there, I saw quite a number of bears and deer, not to mention any of the other critters which are American born and bred. You hear of quite a bit of road kill but very rarely see any signs of this on your travels. Many Americans, should they come across a freshly deceased animal which has obviously been hit by a passing vehicle, will do almost anything to get the carcass home for the “good woman” to make a meal of. There was once when I actually saw a driver trying to put his fresh road kill up and tie it to the boot lid. Have Aussies come to this way of thinking, hence the lack of dead kangaroos on the side of the road or, have these bloody dumb, stupid, idiotic animals finally learnt not to play on the road? I think not.
Now, the following information I am doing for myself, just to see how things worked out with fuel consumption.
Total fuel in Litres 48.68 Distance 721 Kilometres = 14.81 Kilometres per Litre.
In closing, it is best to say “who knows where I will be, come this time tomorrow evening?”
Day 2 28 February 2014
Norseman to Eucla 710 Kilometres
Before I start on today’s ride, I have a post script or two about yesterday. The wind was from the east but not too strong however, I am sure it had an adverse effect on the fuel consumption. Secondly, I have always thought the Highway between Perth and Adelaide has been worse between Coolgardie and Norseman and it would appear, judging by the amount of road works going on that stretch, it seems the powers to be see it the same way. Leading into Norseman there were a few kilometres of road with loose gravel and dust flying everywhere as you drive/ride along it. I was stuck behind a road train so you should be able to imagine, with a head wind, all the dust coming at me.
Now, back to today. Out of bed nice and early, thanks to me having a very uncomfortable sleep. I have a history, I am sure most would be aware, of air mattresses and how they seem not to work as they should for me. Found my bones, lacking any sort of fat, was hard up against the floor of the camper trailer. I’m just hoping it was my lack of attention of insuring the plug was fully installed allowing air to slowly escape. No doubt I will know more after tonight’s sleep.
Not long on the road this morning, I was pulled up by a cop who obviously had heard of the Black Dog Ride and the cause for which we ride to Alice Springs each year. He asked me what speed I thought I was doing and as I explained to him, scooter speedo's are notoriously known for their lack of accuracy and, as my GPS wasn't turned on, I was unable to argue much about what he had recorded. It was then I was told I was doing 14 k.p.h. over my permitted 100. He then asked if I was a Black Dog rider having seen the sticker on my windshield. I told him I was and wouldn't miss a ride if I could possibly help it. With that, he asked me the question "if I tell you to slow down, will you?" I'm not as simple as some may expect, to that question, I immediately "Yes sir". He said Okay, I won't book you besides, if I get back to the station and tell my workmates "I've just booked a scooter, towing a camper trailer, doing 114, they would think I'm mad. With that, he warned me to slow down as he drove away as I lit up a cigarette thanking my lucky stars.
My nemeses struck again today, Mariah was on my back hitting my face all day. Let me explain what I mean about this last sentence. Mariah of cause is the wind they call Mariah. If you aren't aware of Mariah being the name of the wind, best you google it. Secondly, Mariah was giving me a very hard time i.e. on my back, as she was coming in from the east at a good rate of knots and something has to give. It will prove to be correct, that my fuel consumption will be way up in comparison to yesterday but, as yet I am to work this out. I haven’t used the “sports” setting on the scooters transmission before this trip but it certainly paid dividends today. Shifting it from fully automatic to the sports setting, I was able to hold it in 5th gear rather than the scooter continually trying to select 6th gear. This enabled me to stick on the speed limit, or slightly above, at all times.
There was a case for me to almost head for the hills today as an oncoming road train was being overtaken by a car as they came up over a crest heading straight for me. There was no way known the car would have been able to complete the overtaking manoeuvre without me giving it as much room as possible. These idiots who have no idea as to how big and fast these road trains move.
Then there was the young couple who were on the side of the highway about 10 kilometres west of Madura with their bonnet up. Not that I am mechanically minded but still, I thought I could have been of some sort of assistance so, I pulled up to find out what their problem was. Now, this couple who are back packers had left Perth to make their way to Adelaide and he claimed to be of English extraction and she Scottish but I have my doubts about this as I am sure there must have been some Irish blood running through their veins. My apologies to all the Irish out there who may happen upon this blog but let me explain. The Cocklebiddy Road House had a power failure so they couldn’t buy any petrol there. They thought they could make it to Madura but found they were running very low on fuel. He went on to tell me he was desperate to get to Madura so, as any Irishman may do, pushed the throttle down further as he believe, if he got to Madura quicker he would get there before the fuel tank was empty. After explaining to him how one should slow down to conserve fuel rather than trying to speed up to get to where he can purchase more, he said he now understood he did the wrong thing. With that done, I was able to give him five of the 10 spare litres I am carrying with me. Once at the Road House he had my container refilled and bought me a coffee.
Along the way today, copped a few spots of rain with the clouds looking quite threatening so we may have a wet one tomorrow.
Now, How did my fuel consumption figures go today? Drum roll please….
Used 55.45 Litres, Distance travelled 710 Kilometres = 12.8 Kilometres per Litre. Could have been worse of course, particularly if I had been riding a Harley.
Day 3 1st March 2014
Eucla to Ceduna 491 Kilometres
Set myself an easy ride today, thought I deserved it BUT, as usual, things didn't go that way. Sure, I arrived at my planned destination but had to really push against the wind which was much worse than yesterday. In ancient Greece and Roman, times Aura was said to be the God of wind. What have we done to upset her for her to unleash such unwelcoming weather although, things could have been worse. Yesterday, I spoke of the menacing clouds above me but we only copped a few drops of rain at Eucla, the same cannot be said for Border Village, a mere 12 Kilometres up the highway. They must have copped a drenching as there were very large puddles around the road house there. The clouds had vanished by 7.00am and the sun had some warmth which it shared with me.
With me now being in South Australia, I was legally able to sit on 110 kph and Lizzie was in 5th gear all the day and she did really well as I was able to go out and over take a few road trains and a number of caravans.
The only time I had any respite from the easterly wind was around the Yalata area where the thicker scrum and trees gave shelter. To ride this area today was pleasurable.
As for tomorrow, it looks Port Augusta may be my destination but the forecast for this area is for South Easterly winds which isn't the best news I've had recently so we will have to wait and see how things go.
Day 4 2 March 2014
Ceduna to Port Augusta 468 Kilometres
Today was one out of the box. I was up and had the camper packed ready to go before the Grey Haired Nomads had even given a thought about their first call of nature of the day, little wonder really as obviously, they are in a hurry to get nowhere fast, what a great life they have.
There wasn't a hint of a breeze and the sun, with clear skies, had just arisen over the eastern horizon. It was a chilly morning so thought I should start the days ride in my warmer riding gear. I changed into my summer gear just before 10am. Gone were the straight flat roads I’ve been riding on over the last couple of days. The highway, in this part of South Australia, goes through undulating crop growing and scrum areas with a number of sweeping bends which made for much more pleasurable riding. The hills will no doubt add to my fuel consumption but that doesn't matter given the very boring roads one rides upon for much of the trip from West to East.
On the open highway, with very little to keep your attention other than those white lines, I got to thinking about selling up all but a few of my worldly goods and hitting the road, God knows I have the crop on my head which makes me ideally suited to become a Grey Haired Nomad. Thinking of this until the time such thinking became too painful for me to continue, I thought it would be fun to take down the lyrics of the 1960’s hit “I’ve been everywhere” by Lucky Starr. From there, I will endeavor to ensure, like him, that, before my days have ended, I will have “been everywhere”. On that note, the towns/cities in italics, I have visited, the plain text, I am yet to visit.
Tullamore, Seymour, Lismore, Mooloolaba, Nambour, Maroochydore, Kilmore, Murwillumbah, Birdsville, Emmaville, Wallaville, Cunnamulla, Condamine, Strathpine, Proserpine, Ulladulla, Darwin, GinGin, Deniliquin, Muckadilla, Wallumbilla, Boggabilla, Kumbarilla, Moree, Taree, Jerilderie, Bambaroo,Toowoomba, Gunnedah, Caringbah, Woolloomooloo, Dalveen, Tamborine, Engadine,Jindabyne, Lithgow,Casino, Brigalow and Narromine, Megalong,Wyong, Tuggerawong, Wangarella, Morella, Augathella, Brindabella, Wollongong, Geelong, Kurrajong, Mullumbimby, Mittagong, Molong, Grong Grong, Goondiwindi, YarraYarra , Bouindarra, Wallangarra, Turramurra, Boggabri, Gundagai, Narrabri, Tibooburra, Gulgong, Adelong, Billabong, Cabramatta, Parramatta, Wangaratta, Coolangatta,Ettalong,Dandenong, Woodenbong, Ballarat, Canberra, Milperra, Unanderra, Captains Flat, Cloncurry,River Murray, Kurri Kurri, Girraween, Terrigal, ingal, tockinbingal, Collaroy and Narrabeen, Bendigo, Dorrigo, Bangalow, Indooroopilly, Kirribilli, Yeerongpilly, Wollondilly
With the above list, it appears I have a lot of riding in Queensland and New South Wales to be done.
With it being such a difficult day yesterday, fighting against the wind, I decided another short day was the way to go, so I set my sites on Port Augusta. This will leave me one more day to reach Adelaide before deciding my options. A group of six I am aware of who have invited me to ride with them. They will be leaving Adelaide to make their way to the Scooter Rally but this would mean I would need to keep myself occupied for a few days. The other option is for me to ride through to Melbourne and spend the time visiting my daughters and hopefully meet up with Rally goers from there.
I’ve noticed the rear tyre wearing so, I will spend the day having that replaced by the local bike shop and sort out the problems as to why I am unable to get internet service, so there is a need for me to find the Telstra Shop in town and hope they can work things out for me.
Yesterday, I failed to record my fuel consumption figures so, will do that now.
Litres Used 62.5 Distance travelled 491 Kilometres = A horrendous 7.8 Kilometres per litre
Today
Litres Used 38.5 Distance travelled 468 Kilometres = This is much, much better, 12.1 Kilometres per litre.
Day 5 3 Mar 2014 Port Augusta
This morning I was at the motorcycle shop in town at 8.15 to make sure they didn’t have a chance to start another job before they looked after my own needs. It was two years ago when I went to them due to an electrical problem I was having with my Piaggio 400 MP3. At this time they stated they couldn’t even look at it for five days and then, may be they could get around and see what the problem was. In the end, I had an auto electrician pick up the scooter only to find it was in need of a new battery. So, given the past history, I wasn’t sure what was going to occur this time around. Come 8.30am, the female receptionist arrived and by the two males showed up, she had shifted 15 bikes from out of the showroom to the front drive area. I was very happy to see the owner get stuck into changing over the tyre after he enjoyed two cups of coffee. Very laid back in this part of the country. While there, I purchased a new pair of riding gloves as mine had warn through the palm of the hand and I bought a palm attachment for my throttle so I will no longer have to keep a grip of the throttle.
Once all was right with the scooter, I made my way to the Telstra Shop and, after 90 minutes there they sorted out my pre-paid mobile internet problem. It turns out Telstra had applied the $60 to my home internet service instead of to the mobile service. With that sorted out, I paid my entry fee to view the exhibits at the Wadlata Outback Centre. Well worth the money, spending three hours in air conditioned comfort and learning a great deal about the South Australian explorers and the setting up of the telegraph service which went from Adelaide, through Port Augusta, up into Darwin. Should anyone be visiting Port Augusta, I heartily recommend a visit to this centre.
I have a very easy ride down to Adelaide of only 307 kilometres but, I may take another route via Peterborough which will see me go over the the Flinders Ranges. Should I take this route, it would add only 80 kilometres to the day and I am thinking of doing it that way as I remember how much fun it was, riding on that same road to Peterborough after the 2012 Black Dog Ride when I was making my way to Sydney.
Day 5 3 March 2014 Port Augusta to Mildura
540 Kilometres
The best laid plans of mice and men are only made so they can be broken. Last night I had thought of a few options I have once leaving Port Augusta. At the time of doing my blog yesterday, I had no intention to travel the route I did today. It was later in the evening when I decided I would head for Mildura today and go on from here to Albury tomorrow. There, I will meet up with the riders coming up from Adelaide before we go onto Canberra then Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains where the Scooter Rally is to be held.
The day started off as normal when I am on the road, up before the sparrows, packed the camper and headed for the local Road House where I tried to enjoy the first coffee for the day. Tried being the operative word because it was dreadful, never mind, it was the best I could get at the time.
On the road with a number of trucks ahead of me which I needed to get passed if I was going to be riding at the speed limit of 110. This took a little time due to oncoming traffic and very few places where I could do the overtaking safely. Rode south by passing Port Pirie and then stopped for a proper coffee which gave me the heart starter I was seeking in Port Augusta. It was during this time, from Port Augusta and Port Pirie, I saw the second dead kangaroo on the side of the road. It is just incredible at this extremely low number as all would know who have driven/ridden the outback.
Turned off Highway 1 and on to the Goyder Highway, which I had never been on before. This morning, with the heat of the day yet to be prominent, could not have been better riding conditions, warm but not hot and no wind at all and I rode through a long distance of rolling hills and crop fields having recently been shaved, on to the town of Gladstone, which claim of fame being, it has the largest grain silo in inland Australia.
Being a Christian, this morning had me thinking of how blessed I have been and am. Being born an Australian, growing up with the best parents one could imagine, having two wonderful girls, both happily married with families of their own, and being able to travel this land I love so much. It was time for me to count my blessings which I don’t do enough.
By this time, I could feel the sun doing its best to make me feel a bit uncomfortable with the humidity at large. Saw a shaded rest area coming up and thought I would grab what water I had left in the small thermos in the storage area of camper to wet my whistle before going on, always conscious of being hydrated sufficiently on the hot days while riding. Pulled into the way side stop and was greeted by a couple of Grey Nomads who have been on the road for two years and are loving every minute of it. He, John, offered me a cuppa tea, I thanked him but declined as I told him I wasn’t a tea drinker. With that, he called out to his wife, who was busy in the caravan, to make me a coffee. Shortly after, Doris appeared with my cup of coffee and two cups of tea, together with dry biscuits topped with ham and tomato, two for each of us. Chatted with them for an hour before we all agreed we make tracks. We said our good byes and I rode off as they waved and wished me safe travelling.
Shortly after, I was riding alongside the Murray River and, in Morgan, I waited on the Ferry to take me across Australia’s most important River system. From here, the road wandered quite a bit with Orange groves and vineyards on either side for miles on end.
Further on, the surrounds changed with it becoming much flatter and filled with mallee scrub covering the very dry country side. As I rode the day became hotter and more humid and clouds began to gather ahead of me. I'm not one who appreciates riding in the rain but today, I would have been very happy for a shower to come my way and it wouldn’t have bothered me, having my summer riding gear on, so I should be soaked, it would have been wonderful. But, alas, this was not going to happen. A very few tiny drops of wet stuff hit my cheeks and before I knew it, they were gone.
Pulled into Renmark to refuel and bought a bottle of water. I had a drink, with the remainder; I lifted up over my head and tipped it to ensure it had the best effect in cooling me down. It did the trick.
Back on the road, I was relieved to pull into Mildura and made for a caravan park. There will be no Camper Trailer for me tonight as I wanted air conditioning so, have hired a cabin for the night.
As I now look out, I see the clouds have now completely filled the sky and we have had a very brief shower with, what looks like, a thunder storm to follow very soon.
Tomorrow, I have a ride of 618 kilometres down the Murray Valley Highway to Wodonga.
Todays Fuel Consumption 36.8 Litres Used Distance 540 Kilometres = 14.6 Kilometres per Litre
Day 6 5th March 2014
Mildura to Wodonga 618 Kilometres
The thunderstorm eagerly awaited upon did not eventuate, it must have rained just before I awoke at 5.30 this morning as there were a few drops on the scooter but I heard none of it as I slept like a log from the time my head hit the pillow.
Still incredibly humid this morning as I set off just before first light. Not use to daylight saving after living in Perth without it. Took things very quietly until the sun was over the horizon for fear of hitting one of those bloody stupid, idiotic and dumb kangaroos. Come sunup, at which time I was riding straight into it, at times, almost blinding me. I decided to pull off the road for a cup of coffee as I saw no point in not being able to see the next semitrailer coming toward me. Then, if I am travelling slowly, due to my inability to see the road ahead, I thought a vehicle coming up behind may not be as cautious as I was and may just plough straight through me. Always better to be safe than sorry.
My Tom Tom and I were at logger heads all day as it wanted me to go different ways when I wanted to stick to the Murray Valley Highway. I have travelled this way and via the Riverina and Sturt Highways which is the way the Tom Tom directed me to go. The Murray Valley Highway is much more scenic and, by far. the less travelled upon. The Riverina/Sturt Highway Route is the main highway used for transporting goods between Sydney and or Brisbane to Adelaide and points west of their, so you are having to deal with continually having to pass these semi-trailers all the way.
Speaking of passing Semi-trailers (I’m glad you brought the subject up), I arrived in Wodonga this afternoon and, as is my custom on such a day, I check the travel statistics my GPS has recorded such as distance travelled, fastest speed, average speed, time moving, etc. . Today my GPS stated I had hit 133 kilometres an hour which shocked me. Then I got to thinking when this could have possibly occurred? Then I remembered sitting behind a semi doing a touch over 105 kph with oncoming traffic far enough down the road for me to overtake the truck. As I was about to commence the manoeuvre, I dropped down to fifth gear and opened up the throttle. With my hard acceleration, the scooter decided I needed more power so it dropped itself further down to fourth gear and I felt it really picking up a great deal of speed very quickly. When overtaking, you don’t watch the speedo, my full concentration was on the task ahead of me. It wasn’t until I was half way passed the truck when I put it up a gear, to fifth and then, very soon after, I placed it back into sixth gear. By this time, I had begun to slow down as I was safely back in the left hand lane, well ahead of the semi. At no stage, did I wish to go anywhere near the 133 kph, it just wasn’t necessary but geeeze, it is nice to know the scooter has that ability in case an emergency occurs where I need such acceleration, towing the camper or not.
By early afternoon, I had completed the 618 Kilometres and arrived at the caravan to set up the camper. Before doing so, I stepped into the shower, fully dressed, and stood under the cold water for a few seconds. Boy, did that feel good or what?
All set up, time for grocery shopping as I was determined to cook my first meal tonight, baked beans mixed with onion, tomato, garlic and mushrooms. Half went down really well, with the camp kitchen fridge, the rest will do for breakfast in the morning.
Tomorrow is a rest day for me. I will see the sites around Wodonga and Albury and may even ride up ten or so kilometres north of Albury to the original Ettamogah Pub and enjoy a cold ale. In the afternoon I will be expecting to see those riders coming up from Adelaide to join me on the ride up to Jindabyne on Friday.
Kilometres
Today’s Fuel Consumption 46.1 Litres Used Distance 618 Kilometres = 13.4 Kilometres per Litre
Day 7 6 March 2014 Wodonga
Another rest day, this is becoming a habit but, I will be on the move in the morning as the five, not six, arrived in Albury this afternoon. From here, we will be making our way up to the Snowy Mountains. Enjoyed some time with Adelaide group in the late arvo and we finished the day off having a pub meal. The sixth member came off his scooter in Bendigo today and is now in Bendigo Hospital and will be having a number of pins put into his leg bone (not the technical name for it) tomorrow morning and will then need to undertake some physio therapy to get things working properly again. No fault of his but the sealed road was covered in loose gravel causing him to come off his scooter at speed.
Was able get my housework duties out of the way this morning before going for a dip in the Caravan Park’s swimming pool. The day was not quite as hot as it has been over the last two days but the humidity still very high. Thought I would enjoy swimming around for a while but that wasn’t to be. I would rather have had the pleasure of having my photo taken while diving into Antarctic waters rather than spending ten seconds in that pool today. No fame for jumping into a swimming pool but one could always say they have swum in waters close to the South Pole. I’m sure the effect on my body would have been very similar to that I experienced today.
Very much looking forward to tomorrow’s ride as I haven’t been up, anywhere near Jindabyne since my parents took me as a child.
Day 8 7 March 2014 Wodonga to Jindabyne 291 Kilometres
Could it possibly get better than this?
From all the blogs I have scribed, I don’t believe I have ever given one day a heading like I have today. Riding on such roads with magnificent scenery, no matter which way you looked, Yes, it did get a little on the hot side but I would have ridden the roads today in 45 degree heat just for the experience but, more of that a little later.
I awoke shortly before 5 a.m. wishing I had set the ceramic heater up, ready for me to turn it on but no, it was with the rest of my luggage in the trailer section of the camper. It was, by far, the coolest morning I’ve had on this journey and the cold was permeating through the air mattress and sleeping bag so, there was nothing else for me to do other than to get dressed and have my first cup of coffee for the day before breaking up camp for the run to Albury to meet up with the crow eaters who were expecting me to turn up sometime between 8 and 8.30.
With so much time to spare, I jumped on the scooter and visited the local service station to have breakfast. While on the road, it is always best to keep an eye out for 24 hour fuel stations as they will normally cater for the trucking community doing their interstate travels. Where they eat, you can, as a rule, count on a good meal at a good price and such a place I made note of yesterday. See a couple of semis parked out the front and make a mental note of it.
First things first, I fueled up the scooter for today’s ride. Then, it was into the dining area to order my breakfast of bacon and eggs. While waiting for my meal to be served, a truckie had seen the “bike” and the W.A. number plates and was interested about my travels. It took a lot for me to convince him it was a scooter and how I was towing the camper with it. Shaking his head and wishing me safe travels as he left. Prior to going to his truck he went and had a closer look at Lizzie.
With breakfast and a coffee in my stomach, it was back to the caravan park to pack up and with plenty of time to kill, I decided to do a ride through Wodonga making my way down to the river before crossing into New South Wales via the causeway rather than getting on the freeway. With enough time spent, it was time I made my way to the caravan park where the South Australians were staying the night. I arrived there a little after 8.00am.
Not long after 9.00 we made our way to a service station for them to refuel before we left Albury behind us, with me not knowing today would turn out to be the best ride I have ever enjoyed.
Our leader, Dr. Phil, obviously had done his homework as to the roads we were to take on our way up to Jindabyne except for one road closure which caused us to go dirt road riding for 12 kilometres. This gravel road snaked its way up and down several hillsides before we came upon tarmac once again. Prior this part of our travels, three of us had left the remaining two scooters behind and they missed a turn off and caught up to us again while we were enjoying morning tea in Corryong on the Murray Valley Highway. As we had traveled a good deal further than the other two, we believed they may have been there waiting for us but a motorcyclist stopped where we were having morning tea to advise they were still back along the road.
Once again, the five scooters were heading east, climbing higher as each kilometre was traveled. The road could not have been better for riding. It was Dr. Phil and I who then made some distance in front of the others as we made the most of the ever bending road. The scooter and camper performed extremely well and I couldn’t have been happier. We were slowing down every now and then so we could catch sight of those following, only to speed up again for another burst of enjoyment. Who needs drugs to be on a high?
Then, it came quite apparent something was wrong so Phil turned back to find the followers and I headed along the road to find somewhere I could get off the road before my bladder burst. Once I had relief, I sat on the side of the road when, to my amazement, the slower of the scooters appeared. I learnt one of the scooters had lost its brakes, thankfully, no harm done to it or the rider but still a concern. It is believed the brake fluid may have boiled and some braking was possible enabling the scooter to travel on but at a much reduced speed. I waited for a number of minutes before catching up to the slower scooter, stopping several times thereafter until all scooters were again on the road as a group.
We went into Thredbo and then, back on the main road, Dr. Phil and I raced ahead again with the speed of 100 k.p.h. being the legal limit on this section of the highway which had long sweeping bends.
We arrived in Jindabyne at a little before 2.30 and made our way to the “The Station” being a hotel where we are to spend the next two nights while enjoying the National Scooter Rally. At the bar, we enjoyed the beer while chatting about the best ride all of us have ever experienced.
After a meal, we were all exhausted and retired to our rooms for the night. Thunder all around us, it looks like it could be a wet weekend.
Day 9 8 March 2014 Jindabyne to Thredbo and return
The resort where we are staying put on a great breakfast for us this morning. Really enjoyed the Egg, bacon , sausage and grilled tomato I served for myself, followed up with natural yogurt covered in berries. The coffee was the only downer. It’s been awhile since I took a few sips out of a cup and never drank the rest, it was woeful.
After the storm last night, the morning was bathed in warm sunshine with the weather being perfect for a mass ride up to the highest point the road reaches going over the Australian Alps then back down to Thredbo.
Riding into Thredbo has some great significance to me as it was on the 30th of July 1997, the day so many were killed with the avalanche in this mountain village. It was on that day I was up in Monkey Mia, enjoying my caravan trip around Australia with me planning to be in Perth in two more days, to see my parents before returning home in Victoria. Having been seeing the sites on that day, I arrived back at the caravan park after dark and was met by the Police who had been doing their best to locate me. My sister had asked them to find me so I could be advised, my father, the man I have most admired and loved, had passed away. This news had come as a great shock. He hadn’t been well however, last time I had spoken to my mother, just a few days earlier, things seemed to be on the improve with him. Having heard the news on the car radio about the avalanche just moments before I heard of Dad’s death makes me relate to these two incidents as being connected though they obviously aren’t.
Once in Thredbo I, with a few other riders, made our way to the chair lift to take us as close to the summit of Mount Kosciusko as I could get without someone carrying me. All those who know me, know my idea of any walk is a long walk but a 3 kilometre hike, all uphill, would need me to pack a meal of 5 meals and those meals would have to be carried by someone else.
On my return, down to Thredbo, I found my Crow Eating riding buddies had disappeared so I thought it would be a great time to make my way back to Jindabyne before it rained as the storm clouds were again gathering with lightning making it’s presence known and thunder rumbling only kilometres away. I thoroughly enjoyed 34 Kilometre ride back down to Jindabyne, arriving only minutes before the rain began.
This gave us an hour before the Show and Shine of all scooters on the Rally with those present voting for the winner of the different categories. I had been made aware of five who had voted mine as being the best maxi scooter but the winner, at this time, I am unaware of as the presentations took place after I had left the festivities. I was later presented with the trophy and a very nice glass beer stein for the award for the longest distance ridden to attend the rally. This was a no brainer as all were very much aware of me coming from Perth by way of Facebook, well before the event started.
With the Rally having ended tonight, most riders will be hitting the road tomorrow but I won’t make any decision, as to when I leave, before checking up on the most up to date weather predictions available to me in the morning. When I do leave Jindabyne, I will be heading south, down to Cann River in Victoria. Once there, I will decide my next move.
Day 10 9 March 2014 Jindabyne
Riding these roads in the Snowy Mountains, over the last three days will make riding never the same for me and the Crow Eaters I have been riding with. We have been spoilt to the point, from this time on; we will judge every other road we get to ride on against these. Every man, even Winston, have made comment on how beautifully the roads have been made and obviously maintained. Then you take into account the scenery which, in every direction, is spectacular.
Today, three of the Crow Eaters and myself were back out on the road today, this time, we went up pass the Thredbo turn off to Charlottes Pass with the weather looking threatening but this wouldn’t have made any difference, at least for me, I would still have gone if it had been raining. This part of the road was faster with longer sweeping bends. Each crest we reached gave us more magnificent vistas and there was one particular spot where there was a narrow gully reaching out before us and you could see into the distance the road snaking along for a number of kilometres. It was so stunning and yet, photographs taken never it gave it justice.
You get on roads like this and there are always clowns (mainly Harley riders) who don’t know how to behave on the roads. There are so many Harley riders who own Harleys for one or both reasons. First reason being, they are left wanting something between the legs and/or, secondly, something between their ears. I’m not sure how many idiots passed us while taking no notice of double lines running up the centre of the road. To them I say, Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, never in a woman, seldom in a man. Or, should that be the other way around?
I must admit, I took off ahead of my fellow riders to get the most out of the road. How could one resist? After all, in Perth, we see a round-about or two, close together, and we consider it to be a good road on which to ride.
We arrived back at our base and spoke of the mornings ride. I wonder if there is such a thing called “road worship”? A very quiet afternoon was spent before heading out for our evening meal at the Jindabyne Bowling Club where I enjoyed a meal of Kangaroo Rump steak.
From reading my blog, I hope I left no thought that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy the weekend’s scooter rally. The organisers did a commendable job ensuring all present enjoyed themselves and I can’t think of anywhere else better suited for scooter riding.
Now, as for my movements of tomorrow.
Phil, one of the Crow Eaters, and I will be riding down to Cann River in East Gippsland, a very picturesque ride of 194 kilometres, from there is still in question but, I would imagine we should be at least in Lakes Entrance by the end of the day.
Day 11 10 March 2014 Jindabyne to Bairnsdale
353 Kilometres
I had a bad night’s sleep, had trouble getting settled then woke up several times during the night and finally got out of bed just before 5am. Waited for the sun to rise before starting to pack up my belongings for the ride which lay ahead of me today. I have never ridden down the road from Jindabyne to Cann River but have been informed it is a very scenic way to make our way into Victoria and so it was.
Before leaving Phil and I said goodbye to the other Crow Eating friends who were going to make their way to Canberra before returning to Adelaide.
At the NSW/Victorian border I stopped for a quick one while Phil rode ahead. Back on the scooter, as I was travelling down a hill, the scooter’s motor went dead. I slowly came to a stop thinking the worst. RACWA, no further coverage for towing so, any need for me to be picked up would all be at my cost. Looking at the dash, only one light, being oil, was glowing. Then, to my great relief, I noticed the cut out switch was off. Could not understand how I could have possibly hit this but, no matter, problem solved.
Down the road further, I caught up to Phil as we were riding into Cann River. This town, as a rule, very quiet, was bustling and it dawned on me it was Labour Day in Victoria and every man and his dog, may be a few Winstons’, were on the road for one reason or another. We stopped for a quick drink and then Phil’s scooter wouldn’t start. We left it standing there for Phil to go have a leak. On his return he realised, his scooter didn’t like having his portable charger, charging up without the motor first being started. With this problem solved, we set off for Bairnsdale.
As soon as we were in the cabin, at the Bairnsdale Caravan Park, Phil was straight under the shower for Phil and there was no reason why I should have been concerned as he didn’t, thankfully, use all the cold water. Yes, the cold water as the day had been most humid and hot. He could have used all the hot water and I wouldn’t have minded one iota.
After checking emails and facebook, we were off into the centre of town to enable him to use his phone as Optus had no phone connection here at the park however, strangely enough, he could use his Optus Mobile Internet. Don’t worry, it didn’t make sense to either of us either.
Telephone calls made, I took him out of town some 8 kilometres to Eagle Point where I spent most of my Christmas holidays, from the age of two. That is where I was to meet my ex, my children were bathed, as babies, in the same laundry tub I was bathed in and now, that they both have children of their own, do exactly the same thing in exactly the same place. So many fond memories of that place.
I then took him up to the Eagle Point Bluff to show him a view of the second longest isthmus in the world, second only that of the Amazon River. This isthmus enables anyone to drive their car or ride five kilometres out into the middle of the lake. Of course, it is possible for anyone, if they were mad enough to walk out that far but, who would be silly enough to do that?
Once back into Bairnsdale we went to the pub to have a cold one and later found out they weren’t cooking a meal for customers as it was a public holiday, so, it was off to McDonalds before returning to the caravan park.
Phil is dead tired and will, I am sure, be in bed very soon. We will be saying our goodbyes tomorrow as he will be spending some time with his daughter and son in-law who live in Melbourne, while I will be setting up the camper trailer and annex for the very first time in a caravan park in Dandenong. As a rule, I would be staying with a daughter and her family but they are in the process of moving home.
The Crow Eaters I have travelled and been with have been great company and I will be making contact with them, not only through Facebook but, in person when I am travelling through their part of the world.
Day 12 11 March 2014 Bairnsdale to Dandenong oops, make that Frankston via Walhalla
279 Kilometres
What a day! My first full day back in Victoria and believe me, I didn’t need reminding why I now live in W.A. Thor, the God of thunder new I was back in town and turned it on for me just before I was able to get the annex fully up. He cracked his forks of lightening and the heavens opened up. I’m sure it is his way to let me know he has great displeasure in my opinion of Victoria’s climate. Yes, it stinks and that is in the best of times. Anyway, enough of that, back to the start of the day.
Awake at just after five with Phil not far behind me. We checked our email and I got back to date with my “Words with Friends” games before getting ready to shove off with the first port of call being McDonalds for a very healthy NOT breakfast and a coffee.
Clouds were massing early and it was obvious we were in for it today from the outset but never got any rain until we were pulling out of Trafalgar but it was brief however, the threat was still there.
From Bairnsdale, we rode along the highway cutting off having to go to Sale, which, it turns out, Phil wanted to run through the city. If I had only known! Prior to Traralgon, another place Phil wanted to go through (if I only knew this) we headed off the Princes Highway, north, up into the Victorian Highway to the very picturesque old and barley lived in, Walhalla (this place being one I knew Phil wished to see) where my ancestors, on my mother’s side, first settled when they immigrated from Worcestershire in the UK in the 1860’s.
While over east, if Thor will give me some decent weather, I shall return to Walhalla, to do some research in the cemetery where many of my relatives of the 19th century are buried. I have the death details already recorded but am most interested in the tombstones as many record the names of their children. The Walhalla Historical Society have done an amazing job in restoring very old buildings and beautifying the very attractive township.
The road leading up, up and up then down, down and down to Walhalla, is one not to be taken to lightly. It is narrow, very windy with a number of very acute hairpin bends along the way and, just to make matters worse, is frequented by very big and fast moving semi-trailers carrying timber down to the paper mill in Heyfield. At one time, I would have clasped my hands together and began to pray if had not been riding my scooter for, one of these huge trucks took a blind corner way to wide forcing me to hit the gravel on the side of the road to ensure I got out of its way. Who am I to argue with anything of such mass?
After a coffee and a bit of site seeing, Phil and I were off once again, next stop Moe where Phil enjoyed a lunch and I, a nice cool thirst quencher. It was a warm morning and quite humid. Back on the road, we bypassed Warragul and Drouin while making our way toward Melbourne. Our next stop was to be Selby in the Dandenong Ranges, very close to where I spent most of my childhood days as Phil had a friend there he wished to call upon. My TomTom, set at the quickest way to get from point A to point B, which, in many cases, isn’t the shortest, while, it appears, Phil’s GPS gives the shortest route. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was leading the way when Phil left the freeway and followed his GPS instructions. I will, hopefully, catch up with him in Adelaide, when I am on my return trip to Perth.
After being told where to go by the friendly man in blue, I headed for the caravan park in Dandenong where I had planned to spend the coming week but alas, they had been fully booked out for months due to the Camp and Caravan Show which is being run in Caulfield, an inner suburb of Melbourne. They kindly called a number of caravan parks until I was advised a Caravan Park in Frankston had a site available so, out the door I was to ensure that site had my name on it.
Once I had arrived at the site, in the caravan park, I set about putting the camper trailer up and, with thunder clapping in the distance, work out a way as to how I was to put up the new annex without any assistance. I had this annex made just prior to me leaving Perth and hadn’t thought much about being able to hold one pole up while trying to get another pole, 2 metres apart set in just the right position while trying to hammer in pegs and set guy ropes all at the one time.
It wasn’t long before I realised a big error I had made after designing this annex and leaving the plans with Sew Right Annex’s in Perth to finish the job for me. Let me explain, Sew Right had a dead flat concrete floor and it was on this floor they made the annex to suit. Well, how many dead flat caravan park sites have you ever seen? Not many I dare say. Honestly, I am very happy with the annex, now that it is up and keeping the rain from soaking me.
I was about to finish setting up when the power went out, thanks to Thor, and I heard a woman say “the power has gone out, I wonder if the gas is still working?” Unbelievable.
Tonight will be a good night, going to sleep with the sound of rain hitting the camper roof knowing I am warm (with my ceramic heater close by at all times) and snug in my sleeping bag.
Day 13 12 March 2014 Frankston
“Listening to my body saing “Let your brain do all the work today, I need a rest”? I know I have to get the clothes laundered before they decide to get up and walk out but, what would one more day hurt? It looks like rain anyway, so they wouldn’t dry. I have one can of baked beans to heat up, that won’t take too much to do and, if I conserved what energy I do have, I wouldn’t be burning any kilojoules so, that would do me for food intake for the day. But wait, I haven’t any sugar in which to place in a coffee.
The above were just some ramblings I had going on in my head after waking up to a bleak Melbourne morning. It was the need of sugar that eventually got me out of bed and dressed. While out shopping for the sugar, I happened upon a McDonalds so popped in there for breakfast and a double shot Coffee which went down really well. As for the laundry, it is still here and I will get around to doing that tomorrow. With other supplies purchased, I rode back to the Caravan Park where I vegetated for the day, playing Sudoku with the heater working brilliantly as the sun has gone on strike. It too, must be very upset with me about the rumors I’ve been spreading about Victorian Weather.
Have called the Honda Dealer in Dandenong to make an appointment to have the Scooter’s 12,000 kilometre service carried out tomorrow so that will mean an early morning ride into Dandenong to be there by 8am.
Then, I remembered I had an invite to Number 1 daughter’s home for the evening meal so showered after having a mid afternoon nap. Sonia and Gary are bringing my precious Grand Daughter, Isabella, in a very loving and happy home which is a delight for any grandparent to see. Have made tentative arrangements for both Daughters and their families to have a family BBQ in Walhalla this coming Saturday.
Enough is enough my entire body is now telling me. It’s bed time.
Day 14 13 March 2014 Frankston
Of all the days I have been on this trip, why oh why did I leave it until today to sleep in? When I say “slept in”, it was 7.30 when I awoke and instantly realised I had to be in Dandenong by 8am as requested by Peter Stevens Motorcycles so they could get started on the servicing of my scooter first thing. In a mad rush, I was on my scooter within 5 minutes of waking up knowing it would take, with high traffic loads, at least half an hour to do the trip. I must have done just a little over the speed limit as I pulled up to their service entrance right on the hour.
When I make a commitment to be somewhere at a particular time, I do my best to keep that commitment but, do business’s work on that same basis? Certainly not Peter Stevens. It wasn’t until after 11am when one of their mechanics steered my scooter into the workshop to start the work. Meanwhile, I’m sitting in their waiting room playing stupid games on my Ipod. Three hours later, having missed breakfast and lunch, the job was completed. Before I leave Melbourne, I will get a new front tyre fitted.
What a wasted perfect Autumn Melbourne day given, by the time I paid for the servicing and had the scooter back on the road, it was too late to do any serious cruising. Due to my racing to be in Dandenong on time, I saw the best route as being via the, one of many, toll freeways in Melbourne. I had hoped it would not be necessary, during my short visit, to have to open up an account to ensure I was legally on those roads but now, have opened one up so, I guess, I might as well use it.
With a perfect day forecasted for tomorrow, think I may go up and over the Black Spur, a beautiful part of the country. Have I said it before, I love Victoria, the Hills, the Greenery but not the weather?
Then, on Saturday, it appears as though my daughters, my Ex and I will have a family BBQ in the Dandenong Ranges. It will be great to see them all together once again as I seldom have the chance.
I have the Black Dog National One day Ride to do on the 23rd of this month which I am looking forward to. I do this ride in loving memory of my beloved Meredith who suffered from bipolar and took her own life in 2007. All funds raised on the ride will go to Lifeline and, should you wish to assist me in raising funds, you can contribute to this by going to https://onedayer2014.everydayhero.com/au/leigh-kestle . No need to dig deep as all donations, no matter the amount, are greatly appreciated.
Day 15 14 March 2014 Frankston
Another totally wasted beautiful day wasted in the bay side suburb of Frankston today, the worst day I’ve had being on the road but not on the road. The plan was for me to head up over the Black Spur then down to Eildon but that did not eventuate.
I needed a few things before I left so I went to the local shopping centre, Bayside, here in Frankston. With my keys and gloves in my helmet I went in and did my shopping and on returning to the scooter, I found the keys had been stolen from my helmet which I carried with me. I retraced my steps with no luck. Went to Centre Management and enquired if anyone had handed in my keys but not luck there. So, I spent the next 8 hours standing by the scooter in case the person who stole the keys had tried to take the scooter. No lunch, no tea.
I made a few phone calls to have a locksmith make up a new key. With the technology of today, keys aint keys just like Oils aint Oils. The first quote I received was for a frightening figure of $1,900 with the second one being $100 more. Basically, the front end had to be removed to allow the locksmith to get to the computer chips, have them reconfigured, then, and only then, could a new key be used to start the scooter.
My daughter, Sonia and her friend Leah, came to the rescue by hiring a trailer to bring the scooter back to the caravan park. The Police are going to spend some time tomorrow, looking at videos, tracking me to see if they can identify the thief. In the meantime, without any form of transport I will have to sit and wait, while a mate in Perth breaks into my unit to enable him to send me my spare key. Will just have to let my 24/7 Security monitoring service know what’s going on before that happens.
Day 16 15 March 2014 Frankston
Often, when things just don’t go as they should, it takes a little time to understand there are more consequences than the one which immediately to mind. It didn’t enter my mind that all my clothes, other than the ones I am waring (of course) are in my scooter panniers for which I need the key to open. As good luck would have it, I did do a wash of undies yesterday, so I was able to retrieve these off the clothes line. But, for my shirt, socks and jeans, they will have to stay unwashed and on me until I can get into the panniers.
Sat in the annex today feeling very down which isn’t surprising I guess, given the circumstances. Jim, my mate in Perth made attempts to have a locksmith open up my Unit. This was so he could get the spare scooter key and post it to me but the contacts he had made failed to come to fruition as all stated the owner of the property must be present and give his consent.
Enquired on Facebook of anyone of my friends in Perth knew of a locksmith on a personal who could be of assistance, no luck there until Steve Andrews, the Original Black Dog Rider, said he did and would make every effort to have Jim be given access. Steve is one who never seems to stop giving of himself. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, he is the man I most admire for his efforts in making all Black Dog Rides in Australia, what it is today.
It rained very heavily this afternoon and the camper and annex coped well with the downpour that never seemed to let up until late in the evening.
A family of four have set up their tent very close to my camper and they, as adults and parents, lack a real understanding of their duties as parents. Listening to them verbally abuse their two kids was disheartening and troublesome for me. The boy, of about 9 or 10, I saw walking around the park, all appeared normal except, for one thing, I never once saw him not sucking on a babies dummy. May be, just may be, as he obviously didn’t feel secure with his parents, the dummy was his security?
With a lot of time on my hands and very little to do with it, thought I might clean up some of the photographs and videos taken along the way.
Videos taken by Phil, one of the crow eaters I was riding with who ran down into Victoria with me.
http://youtu.be/AnJB-YPjSbM and this video taken when in Bairnsdale http://youtu.be/re-KDPOtJDc with more to come when I get home and not having to rely on mobile internet.
Day 17 16 March 2014 Frankston
There have been very few times throughout my entire life in which I have spoken out about matters which are annoying to me but last night I couldn’t bare it any longer. Trying to sleep, as many do at 10pm,
all I could hear is the constant opening and closing of the sliding door on a campervan which had pulled up in the site next to me. The couple could not have had any preconceived ideas that others may be trying to sleep at that time of night. I actually shouted at them this was the case. The male walked up to my window having heard me and stated “I should f_ _ _ _ _ g well get over it or pack up and move elsewhere, the sooner and further the better.” The door continued to be worked overtime, I think, just to annoy me further. Thankfully, I drifted off sometime later.
This morning was like any other morning when you are in a caravan park, with grey clouds covering any blue that must be up there somewhere, you’ve got terrible neighbours, now on both sides, no transport and nothing to occupy your mind other than Facebook and computer games. I know things will get better as soon as I can get a key, any key, that will have the scooter’s motor running but, for now, that doesn’t seem to be any closer than the time in the next 4 days at least. If I sound a peed off and depressed, well folks, I’m here to tell you that is how I am feeling at this present time.
One thing good has come about this episode and that is, never, not in my wildest dreams, am I ever going to leave home without a spare key hidden away somewhere. Let this be a warning to those who are driving or riding a modern machine you have, to get you from point A to point B, it is no longer possible to start the thing without the proper key.
Speaking of keys, a saying my father taught me “Let love adorn your actions and reason be your guide, never use a crowbar where a key can be applied. May be I was a little uptight when I spoke to those noisy campervan travelling neighbours of mine. May be I should go out and apologise but, I bloody won’t!
I will have some relief from this boredom come tomorrow. Number two daughter, Tammy, is coming to collect me for an outing, we are going shopping. Something I have always detested but, a change is as good as a holiday they say so, let the holidays begin. I am grateful for having brought the annex with me on this trip as it gives me a lot more space under cover and with the heater working overtime, I am keeping dry and warm.
First port of call tomorrow morning will be to the Post Office to get my house keys sent off to Jim in Perth so he can get in and out of the unit without setting off the alarm and get my spare scooter key sent over to me in time for the Black Dog Ride which takes place on the 23rd of this month.
Day 18 17 March 2014 Frankston
I was up with the birds again this morning which wouldn’t be too bad if I was at home where I could at least think of doing some house work, think about it but that’s as far as it gets as a rule. I’ve been so bored these last few days, you never know, I might take two minutes out to actually give the camper and annex a good old fashioned spring clean in Autumn, that’s all it would take to be able to invite anybody of any significance into my home away from home, but wait, I’m only dreaming. May be I wasn’t up with the birds after all, just dreamt I was.
I was woken up by a number of school kids who apparently live permanently in the park getting ready for the school day ahead of them. Checking the time, I find it is 8.15 proving I had slept in way beyond the normal time I would be out of bed, being bored.
Was looking forward to having my number two daughter, along with her twin 15 month old boys, to come and pick me up at 9.30 to go shopping with the first stop being at the Post Office to send my Unit keys off to my mate, Jim, in Perth to enable him to get access to my spare scooter key. Shopping is something enjoyed by the female gender, not which I, nor any other man I have ever known, to be fond of, but today, that’s different.
I have only had a brief “get to know you” with the twins and that was in September of last year so today gave me some time to spend with them and my daughter, Tammy. It was great to be able to walk them around the shop and make them laugh. I don’t think there’s a more pleasant sound than an infant, in this case, two, laughing. I don’t know about others but this joyous sound is makes me feel warm inside. With shopping out of the way, we sat down to a meal, which, as usual, I wasn’t able to finish, then back to the caravan park before my daughter left for her drive home in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
This afternoon I had found something interesting to take my mind off things. Thank heavens for Facebook and my lax recording and posting of photographs of my past travels. In the past I have never set about creating different albums for different photographs and trips I have made in recent years. This has taken a few hours this afternoon with another few to get this right. Once this is done I will need to record where and when each photo was taken which should keep me busy for all day tomorrow. A great diversion, don’t you think?
Day 19 18 March 2014 Frankston
I woke up wondering if my keys to my unit will reach Jim today, with very little else to occupy my mind, it was a great relief when I received the phone call from him saying the keys were received and he will be heading over to my Unit. Yahoooooo!
Not long after, Jim called again. He has the keys in his hands but wasn’t able to escape the property before sirens began to sound. Just hope his ears haven’t been too badly damaged by the experience.
I’ve made comment of Jim in previous blogs, he is a great mate to have when you need a boost and always happy, where ever possible to lend a hand. It’s a big thank you to him that I send and the first dozen drinks are on me when I get back home, Jim. Not only did he place the keys in the post but sent them Platinum post with $2,000 insurance cover to boot with Australia Post guaranteeing delivery to my daughter’s home in Victoria tomorrow.
Checking up on this method of postage, I found someone had to sign for the item upon delivery so, with that news, I called Sonia to see if she could pick me up and put up with me sleeping over so I can be at the door the minute the postie arrives. Tonight for the first time in a week or more, I will be sleeping under a solid roof not that I’ve missed it as the camper, with the air bed and heater going when needed, suits me just fine.
Boy, did the heater get a work over last night as the temperature continued to drop. A few times I awoke feeling the cold and readjusted the thermostat on the heater so it would come on more frequently and stay on until the air inside the camper was warm enough for this West Aussie bloke to sleep comfortably.
It will be a great relief being able to get the scooter back on the road and that, I will be sure to do sometime tomorrow.
To finish off today’s blog, again Jim, thanks mate, your blood is worth bottling.
Day 20 19 March 2014 Frankston
Through rain, sleet and snow, the American Postal Service claim, they will deliver. While Australia Post didn’t have to work through such weather conditions, they did deliver my keys today, just 24 hours after they accepted them in Greenwood, W.A. from Jim. From the time they were mailed, I was always expecting something would go wrong but it didn’t. Needless to say, I was thrilled to have been able to take delivery.
That was the most important event of the day closely followed by going out for the evening meal with my daughter, Sonia, her husband Gary and Issy. Having spent the night at their place, I am now back at the camper trailer which is comforting. Strange but, I do enjoy this life style. No T.V. , which I admit, I do miss at times, but this is my second home and where else does one feel more comfortable than in their own Home Sweet Home?
The first thing on my agenda tomorrow is to have three duplicate keys made up so I will be assured nothing like this can reoccur. I just don’t need the stress. To buy the keys will cost $26 each, then I take them to a key cutter for cutting then back to Honda to have them aligned (don’t ask me how) with the on board computer on the scooter.
I also have to make a decision as to if I should go to another caravan park more centrally located or, do I stay here until the One Day National Black Dog Ride is done and dusted on the 23rd?
Day 21 20 March 2014 Frankston
I had a wonderful day today with the Melbourne weather perfect for riding (thanks to Jim). After an early wake up, I sat around for a couple of hours until the sun had taken effect before jumping on the scooter, leaving the Caravan Park behind me.
Feeling a touch nostalgic, I headed for my boyhood and teen years home town of Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges. The roads have improved, you would expect this of course, by a huge amount but, disgustingly so, the speed limits have not increased in fact, in some places, they have further restricted speeds. Stupidity as the roads and the vehicles used today are much safer and can handle the winding roads around the Dandenongs easily if speed limits were increased by, say 10 kilometres an hour. But, this didn’t make the day any less special.
The Emerald Lake is always a beautiful spot. As a kid, I almost lived there throughout the summer months when we weren’t up in the Gippsland Lakes area on holidays or at school. It is there where I gained my Gold Dolphin badge with the scouts. They used to have a huge tower we used to dive off but they have pulled that down as someone may get hurt. Nanny State, it just goes too far at times.
From Emerald, I rode down to Cockatoo for a meal then back through Emerald to Monbulk, Olinda, where I was stopped for a breathalyser by the local police, then down to Ferntree Gully where I attended Technical Scholl, before heading back to the Caravan Park feeling very happy with the day that has been.
It is because of these years, living in this area of the Dandenong Ranges, that I miss the hills and the greenery we just don’t have in Perth but, the weather keeps me to the West. Today, I have been able to get some really good video of the ride which I am looking forward to viewing it fully when I arrive back home. With these videos and the videos taken while we were riding around the Snowy Mountains, I am sure I will look back at these few weeks fondly.
There was only one thing that soured the day. While riding down the freeway, there were signs up stating the freeway would be closed on the 23rd of this month due to the Asian Pacific Iron Man competition would be held using this road. Now, I am fully committed to ride in the National One Day Black Dog Ride on the same day. I cannot be at two places at once so, I will just have to miss out on coming first in the Iron Man event. The organisers of this event needs shooting, fancy putting this on the day I am already booked up for.
Day 22 21 March 2014 Frankston
It was a warm night, given this time of the year in Melbourne. Didn’t sleep at all well and feeling quite ill for most of the day so, I stayed within the caravan park and was pleased to get my laundry done.
Sundays forecast isn’t looking that hot for the Black Dog Ride but I guess we will just have to wait and see. I have decided, should I have decent weather when I start to make my way home, I will do the Great Ocean Road ride once again.
It’s late and I’m off to bed with knowing the Mighty Bombers won their first game of the Season, hopefully, with many more to come.
Day 23 22 March 2014 Frankston
Not much to mention about the day, other than it was very grey overhead without any sun light breaking through the thick cloud cover. A few drops of rain kept me off the scooter for much of the day as it looked like it could pour down at any time. In the late afternoon, I set off for Scoresby to have the evening meal with my ex, daughters, Sonia and Tammy, their husbands and my precious grandchildren. It was great to have all around the same table, enjoying everyone’s company.
Tomorrow is the Black Dog National Day Ride. Hoping all riders in all states and territories have a safe and successful outing. I am certainly looking forward to the departure point at Pakenham. We will be riding through some of the most picturesque areas of southern Gippsland.
Day 24 23 March 2014 National One Day Black Dog Ride
Another very restless night without much sleep and in the end, I slept in, waking up just before 8am when I was supposed to be in Pakenham, a 42 minute ride from Frankston, by 8.30. Oh well, I miss out on being the first for breakfast and registering in to take part in the ride. No biggie. The morning was looking very gloomy with no blue skies at all, rain was certainly looking like being part of our day but, thankfully, this didn’t occur.
Arrived at the meet up point in Pakenham, grabbed my first coffee for the day then realised I never had a card for one of my cameras so, it was off to Big W to purchase one. Finally, it was getting close to the start of the ride and as some riders, me included, started to get into a line, we were very quickly told to halt until the marshals had all assembled to lead the way. It was at this point, the rider who was to lead the entire ride, found he had lost his key to his bike. After searching frantically for them through his pockets and panniers, he raced off to look elsewhere for them. Sounds like something I would do and a definite Moments like these you need a minty moment. No doubt it caused him a great deal of embarrassment with all riders keen to hit the road after waiting around for so long.
I don’t mean to be critical but, here goes. From my experience with Black Dog rides, the organising of the officials and roads we were to ride on could have been managed much better. The leader of the ride indicated where he wanted a rider to drop off to ensure he or she could point the way to following riders, which obviously, is the norm. This occurred at round-abouts where we were to go straight on. The difference today was, once the cornering had been made, there was another rider, who had been instructed to confirm to later riders, they had made the right turn and were going the right way. Seemed overkill to me.
Then the roads we travelled on were below par as far as maintenance was concerned. While, in most parts, the road surfaces were good, in some parts it was extremely bad making riding conditions very dangerous. In fact, three riders came off their bikes at highway speeds because of the lack of warning of very large pot holes in the lane we were to ride on. If there had been marshals set up just before these “black spots” to warn riders to slow down and take extreme care, this would have been far better than posting two riders at each corner and three riders would have remained upright.
We had a regrouping stop in Leongatha and were supposed to be in Warragul, for lunch at 1pm when, in actual fact, we didn’t leave Leongatha until after 1pm with a ride of over 30 minutes to get to Warragul. Riders continually try to outdo one another and sit far too close to the rider in front. I was able to break away with the leading bunch but would allow plenty of room between me and the one ahead and each time I did this, another would pass me, sometimes over double lines on these tight, narrow and twisting roads, meaning I would then have to allow space for them. Some are truly insane and you have to keep your eye on the ball at all times on this sort of ride.
Having arrived in Warragul, I had lunch, chatted to a number of riders then the pack dispersed to all points of the compass not long before 3pm..
Over recent years, I have always thought I should visit cousins who have lived in the same family farm house, just out of Warragul, as my father did when he was a boy. As I was now in that vicinity, I decided now is as good a time as any so off I went. On my arrival, I was made very welcome and invited in for a late afternoon tea. One of my cousins had died only a month ago and I spent my time talking to his widow who suggested I go call on the brother who lives about 12 kilometres off the highway which I did. It had been such a long time since I had seen them, it took some time for him to recognise me but saw the family resemblance. From this visit, I have learned much to which I will add to my family tree with further correspondence being agreed upon.
I arrived back at the Caravan Park, here in Frankston, right on 7pm after an exhausting day. A good night sleep, hopefully, before I get into Dandenong to organise a few things I need to have done on the scooter before turning my head to a westerly direction, leading my way back to home.
Day 25 24 March 2014 Frankston (Still)
I awoke this morning with dark clouds up yonder once again with things not getting any clearer throughout the day. I had my breakfast and a coffee before setting off to Dandenong to arrange for the valves on the scooter to be serviced and to have a spare tyre replaced as it was well passed its use by date with much of its tread having disappeared. This is to be collected on Thursday at the time I pick up my scooter from the work shop.
As I was not wanting to get caught in the rain, I made my way back to the Caravan Park but on the way I stopped in at the Big4 Caravan Park in Dandenong to book a site to which I will be moving to on Wednesday to make it easier to deliver the scooter to Ray Stevens Motorcycles in Dandenong on the Wednesday that evening so it will be cold for them to work on first thing Thursday morning.
The rest of the day, I spent in the annex, taking a short nap just after midday. The day remained cold and my heater, set at its highest level, remained on constantly. I even considered getting back into my winter riding gear to keep the warm in. Feeling quite down at the moment and wanting to get back on the road and home as soon as possible. With this in mind, if the weather is favourable on Friday, I will be heading towards Adelaide, not bothering to do the Great Ocean Road on this trip.
From the weather details I have seen for Perth today, it looks like they are in for one big storm. Just hope everyone on two and three wheels do take it very carefully with the build-up of oil over the last few months as Perth has seen no rain over that period and the roads will be treacherous. There is the possibility I may get the tail end of this rain as it moves east. In which case, I will just stay off the road, no matter where I am.
Day 26 25 March 2014 Frankston (Still)
Today was extremely quiet for me as I did a little reading, a book by my favourite author, Bryce Courtenay titled Fishing For Stars, while sitting out of the wind with the sun warming the day. It certainly made for a very pleasant and relaxing day although, if it wasn’t for the work to be done on the scooter on Thursday, I would have much preferred to have the scooters nose facing west on my way back home. What made today so good is that, as has been the case while I have been here, most of the days have been spent with me almost sitting on the heater in the annex, closed up to keep the cold wind from chilling my bones.
With the tomorrow morning promising to be fine with a change coming in early in the afternoon, it is an ideal time to pull the annex down while it is dry then move the camper trailer to the Dandenong Caravan Park. Once there, I will just have to put up with not having the annex up for the two nights I am there before leaving Melbourne, Adelaide bound on Friday.
It is my intention to ride to Bordertown, just over the Victorian / South Australian border where I will spend Friday night before meeting the South Australian Scooter Riders I rode with in the Snowy Mountains at Mount Barker, an outer suburb of Adelaide. After a bite to eat, they will escort me into Adelaide where I will spend Sunday night in a Caravan Park in the City. I am sure we will have time to have a few quiet ones before they leave me.
Home is calling me back to Perth.
Day 27 26 March 2014 The Big Move, Dandenong
Last night, the camper rocked with the wind gusting in off Port Phillip Bay, but this didn’t stop me from having a great night’s sleep. I won’t say I slept like a baby as babies are always waking up, screaming their heads off for a feed, a nappie change or just because, they can’t sleep so why should anyone else in the house. No, I slept like a log and woke up quite late for me. My IPod telling me it was already 8.30, time to get up, have a bite to eat and a coffee, before I started packing up the camper for the short trip to Dandenong, only 20 kilometres up the road.
I had some concern as to how I, without any assistance, would be able to fold up the annex into a nice tight parcel as they can be difficult enough with help but my concerns were laid to rest as, only 5 minutes later, it was neatly atop the camper trailer with me ready to go. Over the coming days of my traveling west toward Perth, it won’t be the same of having the benefit of the annex up but, it is something I am just going to have to live with.
Just before leaving the camp site, I took an opportunity to take a photo of my camper along side someone else’s home away from home. Now consider this, what would you rather have .............................................
............................................................. to tow.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................behind a scooter? I would take mine any day of the week.
Forget towing the monster, it took up two caravan park sites, double the length than most of the bigger caravans and double the cost of pulling into a caravan park not to mention the fuel, any vehicle would gulp down, towing the thing. As if they didn’t have enough room, most of the left hand side of the van, or should I call it a palace, moved out to make the rear bedroom, kitchen and lounge area bigger still.
Anyway, back to the day. I pulled into the Dandenong caravan park just a bit after 10am and set up the camper on a shaded site, just right to be able to sit outside and to take a few hours out to continue reading the book I started on yesterday. The weather in the morning and early afternoon was perfect with the sun shining brightly and yet, not too warm to make one uncomfortable.
It then came time for me to take the scooter into Peter Stevens Motorcycles in Dandenong for the work to be done on her tomorrow. Having dropped Lizzie off, noticing the clouds begin to darken the skies and it becoming more and more humid, I made for the closest hotel to have a quick one before ordering a cab to take me back to the caravan park.
With baked beans on a toasted crumpet for tea and the clouds looking more and more threatening, it looks like a storm is brewing once again. I have been able to store the annex and my camp chair in the park’s laundry to prevent them getting wet should it rain.
Tomorrow, regardless of the weather, I will continue to read while I wait upon the phone call advising me Lizzie, with her valves checked and adjusted, if needed, and a new front tyre, is ready to go.
Day 28 27 March 2014 Dandenong
Freezing cold night with the heater going just about all night but, one can accept this given the morning sunshine I enjoyed while doing some more reading and looking forward to that phone call advising the scooter is ready to be collected which didn’t eventuate.
I ordered the cab to take me to the Bike workshop at a little after 3pm. By that time, dark clouds had moved in spoiling the day. After a wait of an hour and a half, the scooter had been test ridden and all was in order. Riding back to the caravan park, it began to rain which was surprising but with a new tyre up front, I had to be doubly cautious. I wasn’t up to going out again and, having used up my emergency rations of baked beans, I went without the evening meal.
I set the alarm for 5.15 so I could be up, showered and pack up the van ready to hit the toll roads in and through Melbourne before peak hour.
Day 29 28 March 2014
What a joke, my last sentence, of yesterday was. Melbourne’s freeways have double in width and length since I lived there and yet, at 6.30am, they were full of cars, bumper to bumper but continued to move at all times which is certainly an achievement given the number of vehicles on the road.
In such traffic, I wasn’t going to stop for a coffee anywhere so, it wasn’t until I was out the other side of Melbourne when I pulled into one of their “service centres” which, in all cases have a huge servo with either a McDonalds or Hungry Jacks. These service centres are set up specially to service the highway/freeway traffic. A great idea.
It was at 8.45 when I pulled up for my second coffee and a smoko, just 13 kilometres short of the first turn off to Ballarat. It was frightening and I thought my travels today were over as the blue smoke poured out of the scooter engine area. I cut the engine immediately and moved away from the scooter just in case it was to catch fire. Thankfully, it didn’t but it was obvious that oil had been coming out of the engine at a great rate of knots. Anxiously, I checked the oil dipstick which showed the sump was extremely low, if not empty of oil as nothing showed up on the stick. I bought some oil and was able to get some into the sump and found there was a Honda Dealer in a suburb of Ballarat.
I made my way there by going very slowly and keeping in the emergency stopping lane. A phone call was made to Peter Stevens in Dandenong to advise the mechanic had not seated the rocker cover gasket correctly and they acknowledge, after a very heated debate, they would cover the cost of the repair. UNBELIEVABLE. Three and a half hours went by before I was able to get back on the road.
Back to the weather. It was the warmest night I have had since being on the road and wasn’t surprised as the morning sky was fully insulated by very heavy cloud cover. Very humid and fog laid about in places, at times, very thick. Up over the Great Divide, for the last time on this trip, saw me in even thicker cloud until the road dropped down in elevation and all of a sudden it was bright sunshine with clear skies ahead of me. It became very warm throughout the day and each time I pulled up I was looking for shade.
I am now at the Bordertown Caravan Park for the night and will go on to Tailem Bend tomorrow where I am to give those Crow Easters a call and we will then meet up in the Hills I have to traverse before ending up in Adelaide tomorrow night.
Day 30 29 March 2014
Bordertown to Boliva 291 Kilometres
After doing my blog last night, I was invited for a coffee with a couple who had their caravan set up on the next site. Chin wagged for a couple of hours while the mozzies were enjoying their feast of me. Enjoyed that time but would have been a great deal better if I had just reached for my Aeroguard stored under the camper.
Two disappointments today but otherwise, it was a good day to be out on the open road. Disappointment number one being, the Caravan Parks I tried to get into in close to Adelaide were all fully booked. You have to love these Grey Nomads keeping the tourism industry alive in Australia. Number two disappointment was, due to a mess up of my own making, I didn’t get to say G’day once again to my Crow Eating mates. For some reason, I had advised Phil I would be leaving Melbourne on Friday morning, which I did and would be staying in a caravan park in Adelaide on Sunday night. I don’t know what I was thinking, where did Saturday go? So, with that information, the Scooter Club in Adelaide had set up to join me for lunch in Mount Barker on the day after Saturday which I had forgotten existed.
Setting off this morning, the temperature was a little chilly when I awoke and having packed the camper with all that strenuous exercise, I was silly enough to think I wouldn’t need my pullover underneath my riding jacket. That soon changed as I headed into some thick fog making it even cooler. I also dug for my winter gloves which made me feel warm once again until the sun started to burn away the fog cover then it was off with the pullover and the winter gloves.
Riding in a strange city is hard enough but when one has a camper on behind, it makes it that little more difficult. South Australians appear to respect interstate drivers / riders as they all seemed to give me that little more room. Having gone through one intersection three times following instructions from my Tom Tom on where the closest caravan parks were in a particular area, I decided enough was enough. Set the Tom Tom up to point me in the direction of Port Wakefield which is on Highway 1, then asked the Tom Tom to advise me of a caravan park en-route. That is why I will be spending tonight in the Highway 1 Caravan Park.
Tomorrow, all being well, I will wait for the sun to rise before getting out of bed as I have a very easy ride of only 286 Kilometres to Port Augusta.
Day 31 30 March 2014
Boliva to Snowtown
THE MANY TRIALS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RIDER
This morning I awoke to find the sun shining brightly without a cloud in the sky and conditions looked perfect for the easy ride north to Port Augusta this morning. I had a quick shower then folded down the camper trailer and headed off for breakfast at the local Road House just adjacent to the gates of the Caravan Park. Bought my toasted sandwich and coffee and went outside and enjoyed the meal under a beach umbrella attached to a picnic table very close to where I parked the scooter. The servo was kept very busy by passing traffic and those staying in the caravan park.
The scooter and camper trailer attracted a few interested who wanted to know more about the camper and how well it towed behind the “bike”. I was answering their questions while trying to finish my toasted sandwiches. Breakfast took quite a bit longer to get down due to this than would normally be the case.
Finally on the road on my way to Port Augusta then, as I passed through Port Wakefield, the wind came up trying to defy me from proceeding from going further with the scooter making a hard job of it into the head wind.
It has always been from this area to the Western Australia border which have given me the windiest of conditions during my riding days. To emphasise this fact, I have copied and pasted from earlier blogs of mine about this wind problem.
On the 2nd of April of 2012, I wrote “ To fight the wind, now hitting me from the south east, I had to lean the bike into the wind with most of my weight being placed on the left hand side the scooter saddle. Any trucks passing me coming from the east would stop the wind from hitting me, edging the scooter toward the trucks. I have never been so physically and mentally exhausted so I had to get off the road for a rest.”
Two days later “Began to think I could even manage to get to Adelaide today but this was not to be as the wind turned ugly once again after heading south between Port Augusta and Port Pirie. This wind was coming in from the west and I had to reduce my speed down to just over 50 kph just to be able to stay upright. The road was busy with school holiday traffic making it all the more dangerous with a continuous stream of vehicles overtaking me. It seemed to take me hours to finally reach Port Pirie where I checked into a motel for the night.
On the 17th of April, on my return trip to Perth, I recorded “A very wet morning which slowed my progress but no wind. I am able to handle that but after lunching in Adelaide the wind picked up a notch hitting me from the North East and was extremely strong and the scooter, which has been easily sitting on 110 k.p.h. for most of the trip, was having difficulty getting to the 100 k.p.h mark this afternoon. What started out to be an easy ride in the morning changed now to be very difficult. Pulled into Dublin, a small town 60 Kilometres north of Adelaide to be told the closest accommodation would be in Port Wakefield, a further 35 kilometres up the road. This was one of those occasions I thought to myself "Why did I ever make this trip" such was the dangerous riding conditions at the time.”
On the 22nd. August 2012 I recorded “Port Augusta to Coober Pedy 554 kilometres
Before the end of the gathering last night, all riders were asked to attend the Channel 9 filming for the Morning show with Steve Jacobs reporting. This meant us having to be up and about at 4.00 a.m. giving us enough time to pack up our tents and, if we were lucky, find somewhere open we could get a heart starter by way of a coffee. Filming and waiting took a couple of hours and, to be honest, we all wanted to be on the road. They filmed our departure as we set off for, what was supposed to be, a very easy ride of only 500 odd Kilometres.
Yes, a ride of this distance should have been the easiest ride of the entire Black Dog Ride but it turned out to be, by far, the hardest. Somebody got that Wind they call Mariah very upset today as all of the riders, at one stage or another feared being blown off the road. Many may well be sitting on the side of the highway still having run out of fuel if not for the aid of the back up vehicles carrying spare fuel.
I hope I never have to ride in such conditions again and if it wasn't for us needing to be in Coober Pedy that night, I think most, would have been very happy to get off the road and wait for things to become a lot less dangerous. About 30 kilometres short of Coober Pedy, I became concerned about my fuel or lack there of, so decided it was time I conserve as much as possible, riding the rest of the way doing no more than 70 kph. I pulled into the first servo in town to fill up. Ended up taking 11.94 litres for my 12 litre tank.
Having no chance to relax and just enjoy the ride, I had to give 100% concentration on just keeping the scooter on the road. There was certainly no time to think any more about that chicken who supposedly crossed the road. Speed reduced well below the limit today, for safety reasons, meant I was absolutely spent at days end. Found a hotel room, ordered a meal to be delivered then found myself in bed much before 8 p.m. with another media call at five in the morning, before we complete the last leg of this journey into Alice Springs.
On the 26th September 2012, I wrote “Adelaide to Wallaroo 159 Kilometres
I was out of bed just as the sun was brightening up the morning sky. Stepping outside to have my first cigarette, I was very surprised to find how mild the temperature was, so much so, I thought there would be no need to don my coveralls, the first time since they were purchased in Sydney. Looking up at the sky, there were quite a few very dark, threatening clouds but the forecast was for a day of 29 degrees with no likelihood of rain. I showered and dressed and headed off to find a coffee before I had any kilometres under my belt after all, it was going to be a very easy and comfortable ride of just 157 klms. WRONG!
Before getting to Two Wells, I noticed the wind getting up with it coming in from a westerly direction hitting me at an angle of about 45 degrees. As I traveled further it came much more intense and I was having a great amount of trouble keeping the scooter upright and on my side of the road. It was gusting terribly and my impression was that it was worse than the wind I and all of the Black Dog Riders suffered with on the leg from Port Augusta to Coober Pedy. Riding on very flat country, I slowed down to be traveling at 65 to 70 kph in an effort for me to have more control of the scooter in these conditions. My arms, neck and even my jaw began to ache with the tensing of muscles due to the amount of continued pressure I was under to ensure I remained upright. I was finding it necessary for me to pull over and relax after every 15 minutes or so. On one of these occasions, with my back to the wind, it pushed so strong, it forced me to take a few steps to keep my footing.
As I turned off the main highway onto the road to take me to Wallaroo, the countryside became more undulating as I neared the coast. At the first rise, with me now heading straight into the wind and traveling a touch over 60 kph I tried to open the throttle but found Lizzie was already doing the best it could with no more throttle to give. This, I know, shows how strong the wind was, Lizzie and I were battling.”
Then, 2 days later, I recorded “Day 39 28th September 2012 Ceduna to Nullabor Road House 295 Kilometres
The last few days, with riding conditions being so difficult, it has had a bad effect on my state of mind. It isn't easy being out on the open highway when you are constantly fighting the wind to keep you from either, being pushed off the road or down onto it. Now that I am homeward bound, the sooner I get there, the better. But, I must also take the necessary precautions to be safe and that is why I pulled in to the Nullabor Road House at 9 a.m. this morning, deciding this will do me for the day as the winds were gale force. Shortly after paying for my room I heard winds gusts were up to 150 kph from west of south west.
I did manage to travel the 295 kilometres this morning, leaving Ceduna a little after 6.00 pushing Lizzie well over the speed limit to try to get as far down the highway as I could before riding became too dangerous to continue about 25 kilometres back. The outlook for tomorrow appears to be much brighter with the wind expected to decrease in strength to a more rider friendly speed.
The caravan parking area here began to fill up shortly before noon as those towing a caravan and traveling west thought a short day is far better than throwing away many dollars in excessive amounts of fuel which would be wasted fighting the wind. Meanwhile, those traveling east, would be loving it.”
I have done this to prove, Instead of South Australia being known as the “Festival State”, it should be “South Australia, the Windy State”.
The head wind (is there any other sort), this morning, while strong, I know very well it could be a lot worse. What was worse is the problem I had with me stuck in the small town, 126 Kilometres from where I started today’s ride, of Snowtown with a broken drive chain.
So often, in my life, things have gone pear shaped and so often in life you come across people who have been sent there, for one reason or another, to give that helping hand when all seems lost. Today, with the chain problem, this could have happened in far worse sections of Highway 1 than a small town called Snowtown, South Australia. It could have occurred in the middle of the Nullabor but it didn't. For those who don't believe in God, you may as well stop reading this now.
It is my belief that there are angels out there. In this particular case, there was an angel who happened to smoke and had to come 30 kilometres from out in the bush to the Service Station, only100 metres short of where I had broken down. There were four fit and strong healthy young men who watched me push my scooter and pull my camper up the road who never offered any assistance but knew I was there. This angel took that 30 kilometre drive only to get paper rolls for her loose tobacco. She walked down the road and assisted me to get, both my scooter and camper to that service station. She then towed the camper into town after us hiding the scooter as much as possible. She took me to this hotel and wished me all the best. About an hour later, I get a knock on the hotel room door. It turns out, Melissa, my angel, had a husband who was a mechanic and he, after hearing about my woes, drove the 30 ks back into this town to see if he could help me further. Well, he was able to and was able to fix my chain. God is there and, yes, he sends angels.
Tomorrow, again, all being well, I will be in Port Augusta and will probably spend a few days there organising to have a new chain fitted.
By the way, Just as a matter of interst, if you Google Snowtown, South Australia, you will find it is the place where one of Australia’s most gruesome murders took place. A comforting thought.
Day 32 31 March 2014
Snowtown to Port Augusta 161 Kilometres
A very long and tiresome night was spent with me not being able to sleep soundly. With no alternative than to park the scooter and the camper trailer on the street in front of the hotel, my concern about it being stolen was uppermost in my mind. Through the night, I don’t know how many times I climbed those stairs to my room after checking they were both were where I parked them. Finally dawn broke and I was able to get on the road.
I couldn’t see any life within the hotel so I left a note for the publican which gave my name, debit card details and mobile number should there be a need for him to make contact before donning my helmet and headed for the BP servo to fill up the fuel tank and have a decent cup of coffee rather than the stuff the hotel made available. Really, not fit for human consumption.
I was very cautious about accelerating given the broken chain and was most concerned it may snap once again if I placed too big of a strain on it so, it was a slow and steady ride to Port Augusta this morning keeping the speedo on a steady 90 kilometres per hour.
I had thought I may need to spend a couple of nights in Port Augusta thinking the new chain I had fitted, once I arrived in town, would need to be sent up from Adelaide but, as luck would have it, Northern Motorcycles had one in stock and fitted it as soon as I pulled up at their workshop. This service was tally different from the effort they made not to help me out when I wanted them to look at the Piaggio after the 2012 Black Dog Ride when they said they were just too busy even to ask what the problem was.
At the local Caravan Park, I hired a cabin given the temperature was expected to top 37 degrees and the night wasn’t too cool making sleeping, which I need tonight, comfortable. The air conditioner is doing its job very well.
Tomorrow, ALL BEING WELL, I head off for Ceduna, a ride of 468 kilometres.
Day 33 1 April 2014
Port Augusta to Ceduna 468 Kilometres
I was up and out of bed well before first light with the temperature outside quite warm. This led me to don my summer riding gear without anything up top other than a T-Shirt on under my riding jacket For the first half hour I rode very sedately, ever on the alert for those bloody stupid Idiotic kangaroos but, once the sun was at my back, I opened up the throttle without a care in the world. For the first two hours, it was great to be on the road with conditions near perfect for riding in however, this wasn’t to last.
At 10, I was thinking I would reach Ceduna by 12 noon and then, after a bite to eat, I could ride on to the Nullarbor Road House or may be further. The slight breeze, although coming in at me from the North West was not of any concern.
At 10.30, I was thinking, if this wind, which had increased in speed, doesn’t get any worse I should be able to ride through to Nullarbor Road House at a push.
At 11, I was thinking, this wind is out to kill me today. Mariah had had enough of me enjoying today’s ride and wanted to show me she was still in control. The north westerly had increased its velocity and it made today, the worst riding conditions I have had to deal with on this trip. Earlier in the day, Lizzie was able to sit on the 110 kph with ease but by the time I was getting closer to Ceduna, she had troubles staying above 90.
I topped up the fuel in Poochera, a distance of only 210 kilometres and over that distance, Lizzie had gulped down my full tank and most of the 10 litres I carry as spare to reach Ceduna. Once in Ceduna, I again topped up both fuel containers and the tank to show I had used a total of just under 23 litres. That works out to a bit more than 9 kilometres per litre. Today has been very physically and mentally draining with me fighting, for the last 2 and a half hours, to stay on the road not to mention the heat of 38 degrees in which I was riding in. As previously mentioned, I thought I could get into Ceduna by Noon, I eventually arrived just before 1.00.
For the rest of the day, I will sit down and recuperate and look at the weather forecast for tomorrow. Currently they are indicating showers, possible thunderstorm with southerly winds and much, much cooler. We will see. I may hang around here for a day longer. It all depends ….
Today, I have come up with a revelation. There has been quite some conjecture over many moons as to where does the Outback begin and end., I now know how to define if a town / Road House is in the Outback. The starting place is the local caravan park, go for a wander. If you don't come across any grass, that is a very good sign you are "Back of Bourk" or "Beyond the Black Stump" there for you could well be in the outback. To confirm this, check on the flies that land on your face. If you find they outnumber the local human population by one billion to one, there is no doubt, YOU ARE IN THE OUTBACK! Just like I now am in the Ceduna Caravan Park. No grass, billions of flies.
Day 33 2 April 2014
Ceduna to Cocklebiddy 767 Kilometres
I set the alarm for 7a.m. this morning, thinking I could check out the wind before deciding to move in. To my surprise, it was still very dark outside and there was no movement of wind in the caravan park where my camper was parked which wasn’t all that surprising as the caravans were all tightly squeezed in. I went out onto the street and felt a southerly breeze blowing. The speed of this breeze gave me some hope of it being a lot calmer today and so it was. Throughout the day, the wind direction changed very little and wasn’t a concern with me travelling west. In fact, the southerly meant it was able to blow any gusts caused by passing road trains away from my side of the road.
The high and low points for me today was, The High – Crossing the border into WA meaning I was that much closer to home. The Low – Crossing the border into WA meaning I had to ride at the ridiculously low speed limit of 100 k.p.h. while other bikes and cars, not towing anything, could sit on 110.
There was one thing that really made me smile today while I was riding. I think it was in the blog I did in 2012, I spoke of the Australian salute, not the same salute as was used so often yesterday, trying to keep the flies at bay, but the salute you give to passing motorists when travelling in the outback. Normally, it is just the case of lifting one finger off the steering wheel to signify to oncoming traffic, should you have met in the last or any future Road House, you would say “G’day”. Well, it happened today, I came across an oncoming 4WD with a caravan trailing behind, it wasn’t just a polite finger solute, nor was it a wave similar to what the Queen would give a crowd but a full blown wave as if we were long lost friends or family. No doubt these travellers were newbies to the open road or their hands would have fallen off by now. But, it did its magic that a one finger off the wheel just wouldn’t have; it bought a great smile to my face.
I pulled into the Nullarbor Road House for lunch and on my leaving there, a convoy of 14 road trains, fully loaded with hay, were travelling from west to east. My thoughts are, having no internet connection to confirm this, is that farmers from WA are providing this to drought stricken farmers in the east. It is just an assumption I have made at this point as I have heard of it being the case a few years back.
Having pulled into Cocklebiddy, feeling happy with today’s efforts, I decided to have a room as there was a forecast of rain overnight and I didn’t wish to pack up the camper with the canvas being wet. I then headed for the bar for a cold one, where I met two characters by the name of Neil and Elaine. Neil is 76 and Elaine Nearly 78. They were both enjoying a beer having just walked 30 kilometres today, yes, WALKED. They set off from Norseman and intend to take 30 days to walk to Ceduna. They camp along the side of the road, carrying their basic needs in a small trailer they take turns in pulling along. We chatted for well over an hour. It happens, Elaine was on her last day of walking across the Great Sandy Desert and Neil was on his first day crossing it in the opposite direction. This took place a few years back and since that time, they have walked in many areas around the world together. I assumed they were, there for, a couple but no, Neil’s wife is at home waiting on his return from this adventure while Elaine is a single woman. When I suggested they may have been a couple, Neil said “Not on your life, I’ve never seen Elaine naked and have no wish to do so in the future. As they left me pondering my thoughts of any walk being a long walk, I said “If I didn’t have a brain, you two would be very inspiring for me to do something similar.” The both of them had a great sense of humour, as one would need to have given their epic walks, and wished me safe travels.
Having said my goodbyes to Neil and Elaine, I made for the room where a Kiwi couple, Mike and Jenny were sitting outside the room next to mine. We chatted for a bit before I headed off to the shower. Refreshed, Jenny asked if I would like to have the evening meal with them in the bar which I was only too pleased to accept. Jenny, a midwife, has a job waiting for her at the Karatha Hospital and Neil, a metallurgist, has a job with one of the mining companies in that area. They have been living in Queensland for a few years after moving over from New Zealand. After our meal, we went back to the rooms and Neil and I shared a quiet ale while we were trying to figure out what the local time was. Really, we had no idea as we had passed through two times zones in the one day as they too, had come from Ceduna. So, it was guess work for me as I set the alarm for 7.00am with the knowledge of only one thing, the sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning.
As earlier stated, there is no internet connection here so, I will have to up load this daily blog after tomorrows ride toward home.
Day 34 3 April 2014
Cocklebiddie to Southern Cross 787 Kilometres
The alarm went off and I was out of bed to check if there was any sign of day light occurring, which there wasn’t, I dressed in any case and went outside for my first cigarette for the day and I found Neil and Jenny out the front having their first as well. Mike offered me his chair as he asked if I would like a coffee. I naturally said “Yes please”. They are having their belongings shipped over to the west but made sure they bought along with them their coffee maker. Very smart people, these two. We chatted for another 45 minutes, and by the time I had had my second cup of coffee, the sun was up enough for me to hit the road. We all agreed it would be great if we see each other on the road sometime today as they waved me off. They are having breakfast at the Road House before they make a move.
This morning was very cold and I had all my winter riding gear on and that still wasn’t enough to make me feel comfortable. It wasn’t long before I got off the scooter to warm my hands with the exhaust as I have done once before on my previous rides. This time I also held my winter gloves to the exaust enabling the insides to be warm as well. The sun didn’t have any warming effect on me until ummm, still not sure what time it was.
Those bloody, stupid idiotic kangaroos gave me two frights this morning as a pair bounced out in front of me but were over the road before I had to take any evasive action but still, it was enough to cause me to slow down, not that I was anywhere near the speed limit at that time. Then, about 10 minutes later, yet another dumb kangaroo played the same trick on me, this one really had me braking hard but thankfully, got out of my way JUST.
At, still don't know the right time but about mid morning, riding conditions were almost perfect. In fact, it would have been perfect if the very light breeze was on my back. I stripped off my winter riding gear and on went the lighter jacket and protective trousers.
I had pulled into refuel and have some breakfast at Balladonia, when Neil and Jenny pulled into to pump the most expensive petrol into their car. They weren’t at all happy, having to pay, in excess of , $120 to fill up. The price was 2.19 cents per litre. They are going onto Kalgoolie today, just to have a look at the Big Pit and whatever else may attract their attention and will be back, heading for Perth, the day after.
Anyone who has been along this stretch of road will no doubt have noticed the pipeline which supply Kalgoolie with water. I have always noticed where repairs have been made on this pipeline but never thought I would ever see where damage has occurred, enabling water to gush out but this happened today. I was riding along and noticed water spurting out of the pipe just 45 kilometres short of Coolgardie. When I arrived in Coolgardie, I made my way to the Police station for them to contact the local water board office so they are able to effect repairs. I gave the Police Officers the approximate location of the leak and they took down my details incase the Water Board wanted any further info on the location. I said I could only add one more thing to help them identify where the problem was and that was rather odd, given the circumstances. I made mention that the leak was in between two signs which read "Road is subject to flooding". Obviously the flooding had ever had anything to do with this particular leak.
I have finished today in Southern Cross, leaving me a very easy ride home tomorrow.
Day 35 4th April 2004
Southern Cross to Mirrabooka
If it wasn't a perfect day for riding yesterday, it certainly was today. I was awake and ready to ride at sunrise and was extremely happy to be able to reach home today. The sun was warm and, believe it or not, I had a reasonable tail wind, the first for the entire trip. My first stop was at the local Road House to by a coffee and a D-shackle having found the one I had fitted yesterday had come off meaning I never had the camper chained to the scooter for however long a distance.
As with previous year's blogs, I will give it a couple of days before I do my thoughts on this trip.