I've been following the TAG thread and really liked the idea of it... the Nindigully Pub photo went up, I googled where it was and thought hey, sounds like a good ride! I decided that I'd keep watching the thread and if nobody had tagged it by Friday off I'd go...
Thursday night and it was still untagged so I cleaned and prepped the bike and packed my bag... went to bed about 10:30pm but couldn't sleep... I was too excited!
Friday I checked the weather forecasts, I might get a bit wet but it appeared that the floods were further east so I decided to go ahead. Finished work, went to the Melba servo and filled up and was on my way at 4:30pm. I had decided to head for Dubbo and probably stay overnight there, depending on how I was feeling.
I headed up the Barton Highway then a short stint on the Hume before turning off for Boorowa where I stopped for a little break.
Rest area at Boorowa:
Then onto Cowra for fuel
then through Canowindra and onto Molong where I swapped for the clear visor, before heading through Wellington and into Dubbo. I got into Dubbo about 8:50pm. I was hungry and had a mad craving so stopped for dinner.
Got some fuel and continued on my way. Just out of Dubbo it started raining lightly... grrr. I pushed on and stopped in Gilgandra to wriggle into the wet weather suit (I have one of those one piece ones). The temperature was really nice so I was a little hot in the plastics but there was a fair bit of lightning ahead and I'm glad I did as there was a lot of water over the road (and I spent a lot of time behind trucks) and also heaps of rain.
I got into Coonabarabran about 11:20pm and fuelled up. I felt okay, and I thought I might push on for Moree but a little part of my mind told me I was crazy to be out riding at night in the rain and possibly storms (there was still lightning flickering about) so instead I found a motel (The Poplars - apparently the only one in Coonabarabran with a night bell) where the staff were very friendly and $65.00 later I had myself a motel room. I was still too excited to sleep, didn't end up getting to sleep til about 1:00am.
I decided to have a bit of a sleep in so set the alarm for 6am and was on the road by 7am. Before long the sun was shining, the road was rolling away beneath me... awesome. I passed through Narribri and stopped at a rest area somewhere before Moree for a smoke break then into Moree for fuel. After Moree I was into new territory (I could have gone up through Mungindi but that was the way I came home from my "big trip" so I decided to go a different way).
I stopped at another rest area for a smoke break and oh no!!!! my mohawk has started to come unstuck!
so I pulled it off and packed it away... I felt naked without it Onto Goondiwindi to top up the fuel and have a sandwich. Hurrah, I'm in QLD! It was getting very warm by this stage
Public toilets at Goondiwindi Tourist Area:
Then onto the Barwon Highway - I stopped at Talwood?
?? for a bit of a break... 
Then onto Nindigully!
Bit of a problem here - I walked into the bar, ordered a can of coke and I couldn't undo my jacket!!!!! I managed to wriggle my wallet out from inside my jacket then went outside to try and fix it but nope, it wouldn't budge! Was really hot now so figured best to just keep moving. Into St George to fill up then headed off towards Hebel and Lightning Ridge for my return trip.
There were *heaps* of harvesters out on the road - and they take up the whole road! I passed about five before I got to Hebel. They are pretty cool, soooo big! (but not as cool as road trains, which I saw quite a few of too... was very glad to see them again
)I stopped at Hebel for a break... it had become very, very windy and I was copping quite a beating. I had a pie at the General Store
Then topped up the fuel again before setting off for Lightning Ridge.
Lightning Ridge was somewhere I had always wanted to see but I was much later than I had initially thought I'd be getting there so I just had a quick ride around town, stopped for a quick photo (a post office this time!), topped up the fuel and kept on going.
I had thought Walgett was about 200km away but it was only 70km so I rolled through and then stopped at a rest area somewhere between Walgett and Coonamble. I like this "night toilet" set up - a set of mirrors to reflect your headlights through the skylights on the toilet!
Stopped in at Coonamble for fuel and to get something to eat.. also swapped the visor and put the wets back on... it was getting cold and not being able to undo my jacket meant that I couldn't put a jumper on and I was freezing! The wets helped but I was still cold. Saw a few bunnies and one fox between Coonamble and Gilgandra where I stopped for a hot chocolate to warm up again! It was about 9pm by this stage and I was feeling pretty good, though cold. I thought that I would head to Forbes and reassess there whether I'd stop for the night or ride on though to home.
Just after I left Gilgandra it started to rain... where did that come from?? I had been admiring the stars coming into Gilgandra. Then the wind picked up and it was cold and wet and I was being blown around everywhere so I got into Dubbo, got fuel then went and found me a motel, that was about 10:30pm. Managed to get the jacket undone enough so that I could get my head through the neck hole then wriggled out of it so I didn't have to sleep in it.
I didn't set my alarm and slept until 9am! Ooops. So it was a late start... lucky I'm not on any time limits! I set off from Dubbo and it promptly started raining on me... it was cold so I had the wets on anyway. I rode through to Forbes where I stopped at the Caltex Truckstop where $14.95 got me "Pom's Big Breakfast and Coffee". The breakfast was so huge the toast had to come on a separate plate because there was no room for it on the first plate! 4 sausages, two eggs, two hash browns, bacon and baked beans... yum! With a full belly I felt better so hopped on and headed for Grenfell then Young, I was keeping an eye out for places to make the next TAG location if I had got it (I don't know why but decided it would have to have the new bike in it, and I didn't really have any photos of the new bike anywhere!) so I stopped a few times for piccies and just for.
A quick break at Yass for fuel and smoke then it was onto home where it promptly started raining once I walked in the door
