So… after having had the SP2 for a little while I decided it wasn’t the bike for me, perhaps it was time to leave the sportsbikes behind and go to something a little more touring oriented. After receiving various suggestions, Miss Behave from FarRiders pointed out that she had a Triumph Sprint ST1050 for sale which was technically her husband’s, and he had always wanted an SP2… they were worth about the same, perhaps we could do a straight swap? Awesome! Except… she’s in Perth! Right, road trip time! I read up on the Sprint and it seemed pretty suitable, there were none for sale in Canberra at the time but I test rode an older 955 and it seemed alright :o). So after much discussion and not much planning, I was due to leave Canberra on Boxing Day to head to Perth to swap for the Sprint.
Day 1 - Canberra to Adelaide - 1179km
Ready to Roll
Friday was forecast to be a scorcher so I planned to get an early start. I sat up far too late packing up the bike so my departure time was pushed back by nearly an hour, I think I was on the road by about 5:45am. It was a cool morning and I headed off up the Barton towards Yass. Saw a couple of bunnies and there was very little traffic. Stopped at Gundagai for fuel then onto Narranderra for more fuel. It was getting warm by this stage so the jumper was lost. Onto Hay and it was getting HOT now. Now to cross the Hay Plain. I love the country out here, it’s so empty, just endless blue skies and very few people :o)
Hay Plain
Got into Balranald and it was stinking hot now. Managed to find an unoccupied bit of shade at the servo for my smoke break, drank a hell of a lot of water, then into the toilets where my top was stripped off and soaked as was my headband :o) Next stop was supposed to be Mildura but the heat was really taking it out of my - I experienced my first real fatigue ever on this stretch of road it was all I could do to keep my eyes open and my mind focussed on what I was doing. I stopped at Euston and headed down to the river and had a bit of a nap on the banks of the Murray River… there are worse places to kick back for a rest. It was really lovely. Still stinking hot. OK after being munched on by the ants for a while, I got back in the saddle and continued onto Mildura for fuel and some KFC (yeah, a Zinger burger in stupid hot temperatures, good move Mel). I thought about stopping as I was still feeling really drained but decided to push on for Renmark. As I neared Renmark the temperature finally started to drop a bit and it was quite pleasant. I got fuel at Renmark and then headed to the river to consult my map, I was feeling much fresher and thought maybe I could continue on.
I parked the bike and sat down on the grass. Then my spidey senses went off, there was a bloke closely examing my bike… he came over, he rides as well so we chatted for a while about various rides and bikes as you do, before he went over my maps with me. He told me the route I had planned to take (backroads to Morgan and then onto Burra) were heavily roo infested and I’d be mad to go that way tonight. So instead I decided to head down the main highway to Waikerie and hole up there for the night before going and crossing the ferry into Morgan. So off I went and it was really pleasant now :o)
At a lookout over the Murray River:
The Mighty Murray River
There were storm clouds brewing and it was getting towards dark so I was looking forward to getting into Waikerie, even though I was feeling much fresher.
Got into Waikerie and followed the signs to the Caravan Park… the sign was up OFFICE CLOSED. Bugger. Okay, well I’d passed a motel on my way in so I scooted around the town a bit before heading back to the motel. The reception door was locked and I couldn’t raise any response. Bugger. OK so headed back out to the main road, had a smoke and decided fark it, I’ll just stick to the main highway until I find some accommodation. Switched back to the clear visor and I was off. Got to Blanchetown and topped up the fuel. Asked the guy in the servo and he said there was no accommodation. Went to the cafe and got a pie, was eating my pie when a guy came up, looked at me, looked at the bike, looked back at me “you’ve ridden here from the ACT?!!??!” he says. “Well yes” says I. He was very impressed and later brought all his mates over to look at the madwoman who had ridden from Canberra. Nevermind the fact that I wasn’t even halfway to where I was going yet!
Kept going, thought Gawler looked pretty big but it was all bypassed and everywhere looked like suburbia and I figured I would probably get lost if I started poking around down there. From my map it looked like I had to turn off soon so I was keeping an eye out for signs for Port Augusta or even more helpful, Perth. Saw one for Port Wakefield but I didn’t know where that was so kept going. Gradually the traffic increased and there were heaps of McDonalds everywhere… not a good sign. I pulled up at a servo and asked the dude “where am I” he looked at me like I was mad (though it was after 11pm on a Friday night so maybe he thought I was drunk?) so I tried again, asking “am I in Adelaide?” and he said yes. Ok so I accidentally went to Adelaide. That’s a new one for me! Went back out, consulted my map and saw where I had to go. I was still feeling pretty good so thought about pushing on for Port Augusta but while I was in transit I had had a text message from Alli who lives in Adelaide so I called her and confused her greatly when I told her I was in Adelaide. She directed me on how to get to the city and she would meet me there. I scooted into the city and waited for her near the big xmas tree. She collected me and led me out to her house where we sat up pretty late chatting, as you do. :o)
Day 2 - Adelaide to Poochera - 634km
Woke up pretty late after the lateish night the night before. We sat around drinking coffee and chatting as you do. Alli decided she would ride with my part of the way so eventually we were ready to go (maybe about 10:30am?) I was still in a bit of pain from the day before (arse and right hand). We stopped up the road for fuel then continued onto Port Wakefield for some food then to a roadhouse near the turn off for Port Pirie. There was a bike copper there (Neil) who we chatted with for about half an hour, he was really lovely and had some good stories. He was pleased to meet two girls who actually ride! After Neil left we got some cold drinks and sat in the shade watching the world go by… there was nothing out there but the road and the roadhouse :o). Eventually we decided it was probably time to hit the road, Alli headed back to Adelaide and I continued onto Port Augusta, getting there around 3pm. Not making very good time today!
Fuel at Port Augusta then onto Kimba. I loved making that right turn just after Port Augusta, and love the countryside around Iron Knob. One day I will actually pull into Iron Knob and have a poke around! Stopped at Kimba for the obligatory “halfway across australia photo”
Halfway across Australia
Got fuel and then onto Poochera, where I got to the roadhouse just before it closed so no dinner for me there. Headed over to the pub which was actually open this time! and for $8.00 I had a spot in the caravan park behind it. Their kitchen had also closed about half an hour earlier so it was a packet of chicken chips and a coke for dinner… go health :o). The mozzies were out in force so it wasn’t long before I crawled into the swag.
Day 3 - Poochera to Caiguna - 965km
I was going to explore new country today (I hoped)! I set off towards Ceduna, where I stopped for fuel and a pie, then onto Penong for fuel again and the FarRider TAG photo :o)
Penong
From here I had decided that I was going to stop *everywhere* for fuel :o). First stop Nundroo where they have that biofuel (whatever that might be). It wasn’t far up the road so it would only be a few litres. I pulled up next to the pump, opened the tank and had just picked up the nozzle when some dude says “are you sure you want to use that in your bike”? I told him it was only a couple of litres and he said that would be fine then. That’s what I had thought! Next stop Nullarbor Roadhouse. I love it so much out there just all that empty space… love it love it love it. Pity about the pain I was in LOL. I was stopping fairly regularly, I tried to keep it just once between fuel stops though. The Nullarbor Roadhouse is notoriously expensive, and now they require you to hand them your licence before they turn the pumps on as they have been having a few drive offs recently. I was hungry so went next door and paid a huge amount for a chicken, cheese and avocado sandwich and a drink. When they handed me my sandwich it looked more like a hamburger they had packed so much into it! Awesome. A bit of a rest and I continue on to Border Village. There were two harleys parked out the front here but I never saw them. I knew the fuel at Eucla was usually cheaper but I decided to get fuel at Border Village anyway because I really wanted to get off the bike! A quick photo at the border…
SA/WA Border
I passed Eucla and then I was into new territory, hurrah! Came down Eucla pass and it is like a part of the earth just sank… pretty spectacular. Mundrabilla for fuel, then start heading up Madura Pass. I am in too much pain to appreciate it and pull into Madura for fuel and a bit of a break. Then onto Cocklebiddy. I really liked Cocklebiddy and almost stayed there but there was still a fair bit of daylight left so pushed on. Got to Caiguna, finally convinced my legs that they wanted to get me off that bike. I knew the 90 mile straight was between Caiguna and the next stop and the sun would be in my eyes for the trip from here on so I decided to call it a day and $15.00 saw me a little spot for my swag out the back of the roadhouse.
Awesome dinner at the roadhouse, possibly the most messy burger I have ever eaten! Got talking to a german girl who was travelling round Australian on her own in a station wagon. I was planning on waiting up to see the stars out in their fully glory but I was too tired so went to bed not long after the sun.
Day 4 - Caiguna to Southern Cross - 727km
I had parked my bike next to a bush which had a nice seat-sized rock next to it. I loaded the bike up and sat on this rock for ages. I did not want to get on the bike and the rock was more comfortable! Eventually I got on and off we went. I was determined to do the 90 mile straight in one hit and I did! I passed an unmarked copper along here as well, lucky I was behaving this trip :o). A few stretches of standing up and letting go of the throttle to shake my right hand saw me across. I pulled up at the end and had quite a long break then into Balladonia for a quick pie then onto Norseman.
It had been quite cool on the paddock crossing but it was very hot in Norseman (perhaps just by comparison?). I ditched the jumper here and made a few phonecalls now that I was back in range. I met a couple who were riding harleys here, they recommended that I go up to Kalgoorlie for the night and go “shopping”. well “shopping” doesn’t really do it for me, though I was interested in going to Kalgoorlie but that would have made it a fairly long day the next day which I really didn’t want. I thought that I could push on and make it to Perth that night… but I decided to just get within a few hundred km so I could be refreshed for the morning when I was to meet Fran for the first time (I was felling sore, and feral and quite cranky and very antisocial right then!). I had been debating whether to go left or right at the T-intersection, I rang my sister and got her to look up the weather forecast for me for Kalgoorlie - 34 today, 38 tomorrow and 40 the day after. 34 sounds alright so I turned right :o)
On the Esperence-Coolgardie Highway
I decided to skip Kalgoorlie and headed for Coolgardie. Coolgardie is a pretty nice looking little town, a huge wide main street and some pretty old buildings. I had a good look around as I rolled through, grabbed some fuel and found a little bit of shade for a break. The next stretch to Southern Cross was 180km and I was suffering a fair bit so I allowed myself two breaks in this stretch. Luckily for me there were shady rest areas at 60km intervals - perfect. Got into the Southern Cross BP and asked the dude about a cheapish motel… he said the place I want to go is the Railway Tavern - just been taken over a few months back by lovely new owners, $25.00 would see me a bed for the night. I forgot that one of the reasons I wanted a motel was so that I didn’t have to lug my stuff up the stairs at a pub but anyway. Found the Railway Tavern, parked the bike and walked in the front door. There were four or five blokes at the bar who instantly started questioning me about the bike etc. I finally got to speak to Jo (the owner) and she took my details for the room but she was there by herself at that time and wanted to check the room first so I said I would move the bike around the back then have a drink til she was able to sort me out, no worries.
Bike moved, I walked back into the pub from the other side and the boys immediately demanded to buy me a drink… they weren’t happy that all I wanted a coke! I wondered if they were lacking in some senses as I was looking and smelling very feral LOL but I guess that’s beer goggles for you. It was quite amusing, one of them would start talking to me, then another one would grab my attention then the first one would get the shits. I eventually got the shits with the lot of them so left and by then Jo had some assistance so at last - shower! Felt much refreshed by then. Dinner and watched “The Rich List” with some other dude who was in the pub before heading to bed.
Day 5 - Southern Cross to Perth - 380km
I woke up fairly early. Fran and I had agreed that we’d head towards each other and keep in touch via text message as to where we were. We eventually crossed paths at Tammin while I was getting fuel :o)
Tammin
Before continuing West. We stopped at the Ettamogah Pub:
Ettamogah Pub
and continued down the Great Eastern Highway (I think it’s called) to Mandaring (we stopped somewhere else that I’m not going to try and spell before then). We turned off at Mandaring and there were corners! We visited a few dams and then Fran led me to a lookout where you could see Perth :o)
Chicken checking out Perth
From there it wasn’t far back to Fran’s place where a cold can of lemonade and losing my riding gear was most welcome! Warran (Fran’s wonderful husband) was home soon enough and we all just chilled out, when it cooled down a little retreating to the front verandah and chatting the evening away.
The Sprint and the Pig
So I got
into Perth on
30 December 2008.
31
December dawned bright and sunny and after a brilliant night's sleep and a bit
of relaxing in the morning we set off, Fran on the Sprint and me on the
SP2. We rode around for a little bit before stopping in a big empty car
park with a little walk to look out over the dam. Then it was my turn to
ride the Sprint :o) I took it for a few laps around the car park and I
felt that I could handle it okay (it was very big and heavy compared to what I
am used to). So we took off, me taking it very easy at first. After
a very short period of time I started to feel some pain in my right
wrist/forearm and also my lower spine :o( NOOOOOOOO this was supposed to be the
perfect bike!!!!! It felt a bit better out on the main highway but I could tell
this wasn't the bike for me. I rode it for about 40km before we ended up
below a dam wall with a really pretty swimming spot and a
"beach". We chilled out there for a while and thankfully Fran
was very understanding about me not wanting the Sprint. I'm sure it's a
very capable bike and it went very well... it just didn't suit me.
So...
what to do now? I had vowed to myself on the way over that there was no
way in hell that I was going to ride the SP2 home... so we went back to Fran's
place where she got the Blade and Warran had kindly called a couple of bike
shops at Midland for opening hours (til 5:30pm) so we headed into Mach 1
Kawasaki first of all... where they have the 09 models in *drool* they had the
*drool* monster energy ZX6R (black with the green seat and monster energy
details) *drool* of course waaaaaaaay out of my price range. I had a
shortlist in my head which was: ZX9R (98 or 99), ZX6R (95 - 04), Firestorm
(post 2001 when they got a bigger fuel tank), Bandit (I don't know much about
these so just "a bandit") and a VFR (as long as it wasn't red).
Mach 1 had a couple of ZRX's which I thought might be okay, they looked over
the SP2, had a bit of a chat and came back to me and told me that I would just
be insulted by what they could offer me so they weren't going to tell me.
I said that was fine.
We
headed over to The Honda Shop and to be honest I was expecting about the same
response and was resolving myself to riding the SP2 home *sob*. We got
there and had a quick look over their stock and a bit of a chat with a few of
the sales staff. They said the perfect bike for me would be a Honda CB600
(a hornet I think?) I went over and sat on it but it felt waaaaaaay too
little. (Actually one of the guys had also said a CB400 would be perfect
:S).
When we
had been walking over to where the bikes were there was a shiny blue Kawasaki
ZX9R there - it really stood out amongst all the red and black of their
stock.... I said to the guy "what about the kwaka"? and went over and
sat on it. He told me I didn't want to buy that one because it is a heap
of shit. I asked why it was a heap of shit and he said "Because it's
a kwaka" yeah right!!!! Anyway, I think I fell a little bit in
love with the 9 there and then but we went back inside and spoke to one of the
managers. He came back with a price which was pretty low but he said it
was the absolute best he could do. They were closed the next day (being
New Years Day) but were open first thing Friday morning. I told him I
would think about it. And off we went...
We had a
pretty quiet evening which was just perfect for me. The New Years
messages started coming through which was pretty funny, being two hours behind
:o) A fairly early night because the next day - we were riding!
A total
of about 250km for the day :o)
1
January 2009
Got up
pretty early, loaded up the bikes, and we were underway. I was trialling
the sheepskin seat cover that Warran and Fran had designed and manufactured for
me the night before (champions!) and it helped quite a bit at first! We
went to Floopers (I'm sure that's not the town) where we were to meet Robyn on
her CBR600RR - what a beautiful bike that was - I've never seen one in
white! As Fran pointed out we had three girls on three different
champsionship winning Hondas!
Three
champions :o)
Our
route for the day took in: Dwellingup - Marradong - Quindanning - Boraning -
Collie - Mumballup - Charlie Creek - Kirup - Cundinup - Nannup - Ballingup - Bridgetown - Nannup -
Augusta. We stopped and took lots of photos everywhere and when we were
at Nannup a dude on a black gumby came through... sounded good, looked good
:o) We went to Bridgetown next and when we pulled up there was a van with
a black gumby on the back.... same dude! Him and his partner (whose
Bandit was in the back of the van with a thrown chain) had driven their bikes
down from Kambalda(sp?) to do some awesome riding and not destroy their
tyres. (Turns out later that the dude is also on KSRC - it's such a small
world!) We sat around for ages talking, then back into Nannup for another
awesome stretch of road :o)
IsleofNinja & Rosie at Bridgetown
We were
running very short on time by this stage so we hauled arse into Augusta then onto the Cape Leeuin
lighthouse where we made it with just a few minutes to spare. We walked
up the lighthouse, had a few photos at the meeting of the two oceans before we
were kicked out. We examined the fence to see how we could get around for
when we came back to watch the sunset :o)
Can you
see the dotted line?
We
headed back into Augusta
and got our accommodation sorted. We relaxed for a bit then headed over
to the pub for dinner - we got a menu, sat down, looked at the menu and the
prices and got back up and left! Ridiculous! Up the road to a
takeaway and it was fish and chips all round :o) We then walked up to the
servo (the IGA was closed) for some supplies, then loaded up, back on the bikes
and back out to Cape Leeuin to watch my first sun set over the ocean :o)
It was spectacular. The sun went down and we made our way back to the
bikes and then back into Augusta
and to the pub for a quiet one before heading to bed.
What an
awesome way to kick off the new year - awesome roads, awesome scenery, AWESOME
COMPANY and a beautiful sunset to finish it off :o)
2
January 2009
We got
up fairly early and headed off to do the Caves Road. Spectacular. Fran
picked a spot for us to stop and appreciate the forest, it was so
gorgeous!
Caves
Road
A few
more good roads and then into Busselton with the traffic - the Kawasaki Dealer
there was shut but there was a small Yamaha dealer there that we pulled into -
the only road bikes he had was a demo R6 and a very old GSXR1100 (I
think). He kindly rang the Kawasaki
dealer in Bunbury who I had a great chat with - he had two possibilities, a 97
ZX9R and a 98 ZX6R. The 6 sounded pretty good (it was the same colour
scheme as Aussie Ninja's old one) but he said he would have some problems with
the cash exchange he'd have to give me for the SP2 - fair enough so I thanked
him greatly for his time, was awesome of him. So I made the decision -
the ZX9R from the Honda Shop it would be :o) I rang through and asked
them to try and source a ventura rack for me and said I would be in later this
afternoon.
We
hopped back on and went to Donnybrook to try and find the big apple - we
couldn't find it (Fran had stopped at the tourist info place and they had said
it was about 1km out of town and we could see it from the highway - we went
really slow and none of us spotted it) so onto the next one (I can't remember
the town but it was supposed to be a big cow - it was more like a
life-sized cow but on a pedestal) so a quick snap there and then onto Harvey
for the big orange. From here Fran and I swapped bikes so I got a go on
the Fireblade which was very nice to ride!
Not THE
big apple... but some big apples nonetheless
From
there it was on to Brunswick Junction for the "big cow" which wasn't
really all that big, more life-sized... anyway:
The Big
Cow
Next
stop - Harvey
for the Big Orange:
The Big Orange
Fran and
I swapped bikes here for the trip into Floopers - the Blade was very nice to
ride! I particularly like the upright position, made it very comfortable
to stand up on (my arse was still giving me grief LOL). We stopped at
Floopers again and farewelled Robyn then a quick stop at Fran's place to
offload our luggage and to pick up the bits and pieces for the SP2 and then
back to the Honda Shop. I had rung through the rego and VIN etc details
and when we got there, there was a bit of a problem - the REVS check was fine
but then they ran the numbers through the Honda Warranty system and the frame
and engine numbers didn't match - I unfortunately didn't know much of it's history.
We did mucho waiting outside while they did whatever inside - eventually I got
to test ride the 9 :D It was a bit strange - they have to accompany you
on a test ride there! So I got on the 9 and Glenn (one of the salesmen)
got on an older GSX1400 and off we went for a little lap around Midland. It was
over all to quick but I liked how the 9 felt - it felt a little
"soft" but I guess after what I'm used to riding that's not
surprising! (Fran told me later, she was outside with a few of the other
salesmen so they were watching as we were turning back into their car park - I
took the corner and they're all like "maaan she took that corner
fast! That's faster than I would have taken it!" hehe).
Sean had decided that he wanted to talk to CMC before they could do the deal -
and of course with the time difference it was now 6pm in Canberra, no way in
hell would anybody be there still, so we did all the paperwork "subject to
confirmation" and they were going to call CMC first thing in the morning
and let me know. OK so the pig is with me for another night! Back
to Fran's through the hills :o).
Saturday
3 January 2009 - The day of the new bike!
I woke
up pretty early with a message from Stevo - "so what flavour green is
it?" LOL how well I am known! (It was a bit of a
secret). I got him to text me the number for CMC and I spoke to Seb -
told him about what the problem with frame numbers and stuff - he was a bit
horrified I think, he had no idea, and wanted me to know that he had known
nothing about it. I said that's cool, just wanted to let them know that
they'd be getting a call from the Honda Shop about it in a couple of hours so
he was going to talk to Jamie as he'd never heard of anything like this
before. Anyway it must have all been cool because before long I got a
call from Glenn of the Honda Shop - it's all good, I can go pick it up!
yay!
Got out
there, finalised the paperwork - yay! I had arranged the night before
that Max was going to come out and take a look at it, and he turned up with his
mate Murray and they had a really good look over it - at one point Max looks up
at me and says "you've already bought this, haven't you? You should
have waited til we looked at it". Anyway everything was mostly okay,
just a weepy right fork seal - Max went back inside and stood over Sean and
they agreed that they would fix that up for me at no charge - only problem -
they couldn't do it til Monday Morning! Ah well, there goes being
"FarRidden" out of town on the Sunday! LOL.
the '99
ZX9R - welcome!
Eventually
we were done there, we left Max and Murray looking over some beast of a Honda
thing and headed for the Swan River - we parked the bikes and it was very
touristy so feeling very touristy I went into the souvenir shop and bought some
lame bits and pieces for my family - I'm sure they'll love them :o)
We had a
bit of a wander around and Fran pointed out bits and pieces to me - then a
quick Mrs Mac's and back on the bikes to take the freeway back to her
place. Just as we were pulling in, I looked down and the bracket
holding the brake fluid resevoir had broken - bugger! (Warran kindly
knocked me up a new "bling bling" one though :o) )
Bell Tower
Through
Perth Street Bikes we had an offer to borrow a gearsack rack, so it was into
the car and out to Waikiki (yes Waikiki!) to
collect it - it was very adjustable so we were hopeful that it would
work! We took a bit of a scenic route on the way back to check out the
coastline - very pretty!
Got back
and Warran started playing around with the gearsack rack - unfortunately there
was no way we could get it to fit without damaging the body work :o( so plan B
- get a cargo net and a smallish bag of some sort to strap onto the pillion
seat and send the rest of my stuff back on a truck.
Sunday,
January 4
Fran and
I left pretty early to head into a shop to try and get a cargo net... instead I
came away with soft panniers! Perfect!
We then
headed down the road for the meet point for the ride to lunch, Bowie and Mrs
Bowie turned up and we took the scenic route to the Kalamunda Hotel where we
were having lunch - Al was there waiting for us (Al who I met just before
Winton on my last big trip and who was also stuck in Winton when I was!)
Was good to catch up and reminisce about good ole Winton, QLD! We sat
around for a few hours gasbagging, then Al had to leave and eventually we did
too. Was a great day.
Bikes at
Kalamunda
As we
had done most evenings, sitting outside on the front verandah killing march
flies was a great way to spend a few hours... the local Kangaroo family
usually put in a bit of an appearance... check out the studly male!
How you
doin'
It was a
fairly early night, as Fran and Warran had work the next day, and I had to get
to the Honda Shop fairly early. So my holiday in WA came to a close.
The
hospitality of Fran and Warran was just awesome. The biggest thank you to
both of you for putting me up and for putting up with me, and to Fran for
patiently leading me into the Honda Shop just about every day and to Warran for
all the bits and bobs on the bikes :o) and Fran... best potato salad
EVER!!!! :o)
THE RETURN
Monday,
5 January 2009 - Perth to Lake
King 593km
Woke up
fairly early, just missed Warran as he left for work, but had a quick coffee
with Fran and all to quickly it was time to go.
Packed
and ready to go... again
Fran
led me into the Honda Shop for the last time, we said farewell then she was off
to work and I had a bit of a wait ahead of my while they replaced the right
forkseal on the 9. I was hoping that I would be able to leave it loaded
up but no, had to take everything off so I claimed a corner and dumped
everything there. Finally, by about 11am(?) I was ready to go!
Headed straight out on the Great Eastern Highway (it is hard to type that, my
fingers want to type "Western" LOL) to Meckering for a photo in front
of the Big Camera (I had stopped at the same unspellable servo Fran and I had
stopped at on my way in and was talking to two blokes there, they reckoned it
didn't exist... if only they could somehow see this!)
The Big
Camera
From
there a short way west and then a turn off for York. A very nice little country back
road... there were a couple of forks in the road, the first one was easy, the
second one, well I'm still not sure if I took the right one or not, but
eventually it came to an unsignposted but fairly major road where I took a left
and I ended up in York so all was good! Was pretty hot again so I was
stopping fairly regularly to rest. Next stop, Wagin for the
"Giant" ram:
The Big
Ram
The
signs coming into town all referred to, not just the "big" but the
"giant" ram. Not sure what they'd classify the one at Goulburn
if this one is "giant" LOL! Anyway, photo taken and map
consulted - next town was Kattaning and then I was to look for a sign for
Gnowerangarup (I made up the spelling on that one!). Before long I was in
another town, and saw a turn off for Kattaning... that didn't seem right so
after another map consultation I had taken the wrong road out of Wagin...
oops! Ah well might as well keep going. Got to test the fuel range
on the 9 a bit here, as there was going to be a fair stretch without fuel - got
to Lake Grace with 278km on the trip metre and still 1.5L to go before reserve
- sweet! Kept going and coming into Lake King
- that was an impressive sight - so white and sparkly it looked like ice!
Shame there was no where decent to pull up for a photo.
At a
rest area towards Lake
King
Got into
Lake King and decided to call it a
night. $10.00 saw me with a little patch of sand in the caravan park, the
pub next door made good chicken and gravy rolls! The mozzies were very
bad out here, in the lenght of one smoke I killed 17 - and then there's the buggers
who got away. Slept really badly for some reason, and the wind shifted in
the night and every time a gust came I got sand blown all over me.
Lake King
Tuesday
6 January 2009 - Lake King to Madura - 995km
Woke up,
packed up and hit the road. It was cold, and heading towards Ravensthorpe
there had been some rain overnight as the road was a bit wet in places.
Stopped in Ravensthorpe for some fuel and the BP tanker pulled up across
the road and came over - "weren't you at cocklebiddy the other day?
But on a different bike?" he says. Yep that was me!!
Ravensthorpe
Onto
Esperance where I finally remembered to find a bank, then I rode around
checking it out for a little bit before pulling up to check my messages and to
have a bit of a break.
Esperance
Meant
to get fuel here... but didn't so stopped at Gibson Soak for some fuel and
another drink as it was starting to warm up by this stage.
Gibson
Soak
Onto
Norseman where I had a quick lunch and then turned left :o) Was very hot
by this stage! Balladonia for fuel and then it was photo time:
90 mile
straight
The
temperature was starting to drop a bit by now so it was much more pleasant
riding. In fact by the time I got to Caiguna I was ready to add my
jumper, so I did. The lady in the roadhouse there remembered me from my
trip across - I was feeling much better this time though still a bit sore (I was
still recovering I think!). After a smoke and a drink I felt good so
hopped back on, passed Cocklebiddy and headed for Madura. The sun was
getting pretty low by now and I got sick of watching it in my mirrors so pulled
over for a bit, about 20km out of Madura.
Sunset
I had an
awesome shot lined up after this, it was just the profile of the front of the
bike with the sun behind... and my camera batteries finally gave out.
Hopped back on and did the squinty-eyed ride into Madura at a much lesser pace
as it was a bit hard to see now (tinted bug splattered visor/visor up and
squinty eyes). Got into Madura and pulled up at the servo - they're
padlocked - turns out they're closed already. I really wanted to continue
but it was too dark so had decided I was going to stay there for the night
anyway... this just confirmed it! Over to the reception area and I got a
camping spot, and the last sausage roll (as the food was all over, they were
about to close as well). Found a spot, ate my sausage roll and just lazed
about before having a shower and then I just lay on top of my swag looking at
the stars - the moon was a bit bright so they weren't spectacular but very
pretty all the same. Eventually crawled inside and slept very well.
Wednesday
7 January 2009 - Madura to Ceduna - 676km.
Woke up
and went in search of a coffee... then packed up and went to get my fuel.
I had to check my tyre pressures as I had felt a bit strange yesterday leaving
Caiguna, had a close look and the rear was pretty flat. Bugger.
Filled up then pushed it over the air hose and filled it up. Started to
wipe over the tyre with some water to try and see where the problem was and the
guy in the servo came out, so I explained to him and he said to just go to
Eucla and get the "green stuff" to put in, he said I'd be right to
there. Rightio, so off I went. I stopped at Mundrabilla and it
looked alright. Got off and had a coffee with a few of the truckies out
there (one of them said to me "you mustn't of had it long" I said how
did you know that? and he said "because you can't take your eyes off
it!"). Got into Eucla and they didn't have the green stuff so fueled
up and pumped the tyre back up (it had been down to 15psi) and onto Border Village
- same deal.
SA/WA
border
The Big
Kangaroo at Border
Village
Continued
on to Nullarbor Roadhouse, where the tyre was down to 15psi again - a quick feed
and a TAG photo, pumped up the tyres and underway again.
The
big (little?) whale at Nullarbor Roadhouse
Continued
on to Nundroo where the tyre was down again - but alas - they had the air hose
but no ummm thingy to go on it! That's right, there's a mechanic there,
so went over to see him, he said he can't do bikes but I'd be able to get it
sorted in Ceduna. Penong for fuel and finally I discovered the problem -
this time I could hear the air hissing out, and found the nail! I had my
tyre repair in a can with me but I didn't quite trust to the foam to fill up a
hole that big, Ceduna was only 70 odd kays down the road so just pumped it up
and headed on to Ceduna.
The guys
at the quarantine inspection told me where the two tyre shops were so I rode
around, located the Bridgestone place, then treated myself to a motel room (at
the back of a servo so I could pump the tyre up before riding to the tyre shop
in the morning! Dinner at the Mobil roadhouse, mixed grill and it was
awesome! I also decided on a new career path while I was there - there
was some food show on the telly, this chick just goes around, pretends to be
interested in whatever the chefs are doing, then gets to eat all this awesome
food. I want that job. Back to the motel, phone calls to home now
that I was back in service and then early to bed.
I had
had a brief thought of just continuing to do the pump up the tyre everywhere
thing as I felt good to go for another few hundred kays but common sense
prevailed.
Thursday
8 January 2009 - Ceduna to Pinnaroo - 996km.
Woke up
bright and early and was down at the Bridgestone tyre shop by 8am. The
guy said he'd never done a bike tyre before, and that the whole tyre would have
to come off and he'd plug it from the inside. He said he would not plug
it from the outside (which was the only way I'd ever heard of tyres being
plugged before). He was there by himself at that time but we got the bike
into the workshop, jacked it up and he fixed it up. He said I could have
left the nail in and used the foam to get me out of trouble, but he agreed that
removing the nail would have been very bad, so in the end I had done the right
thing. He was done by about 9:15am so back down to the motel, loaded the
bike up and on the road.
Stopped
at Wurilla (the town with a secret apparently) for a quick wee break - pity I
was still out of batteries because these public toilets are called "the
thunderdome". There is a dodgy photo on my phone that I haven't
uploaded yet. Then onto Poochera for fuel then Kimba (my Kimba photos are
also on the phone) then Port Augusta where I finally bought batteries!
Quick call to Alli to confirm that I would see her at Pinnaroo that night and
then for Horrock's Pass - yay! Caught up to a couple of cars there
unfortunately, one was particularly slow so I pulled over and gave him a bit of
time to get ahead... all too soon I was right behind him again and then at the
end. I was sooooo tempted to turn around and do it again but a) I was on
a time limit and b) I'm a little superstitious and cutting laps. So into Wilmington then Orroroo
(what a name!)
Orroroo
From
here to Peterborough
for fuel and then a little road to Terowie and then into Burra. Burra was
a pretty cool little town but no time for poking around. Fuel and a quick
smoke stop and a bit of a chat to the locals - they reckoned I only had about
200km to go... so wrong! LOL.
From
here into Morgan the road was empty - glorious!
Miles
from nowhere
Even
though I was in a bit of a rush, I couldn't help but just stop and feel the
emptiness... I love it out here so much! A few photos and a few moments
of just standing still - spectacular. Into Morgan and across the
ferry :o)
Morgan
Ferry
and
then back into Waikerie. The sun was getting pretty low by this stage and
I continued on to Barmera where I went down to the water and watched the sun
going down for a little while - so beautiful.
The sun
goes down on another day
Then to
the servo for a very dodgy pie (I only ate half). By this time it was
pretty much fully dark. I headed off towards Berri and realised my
headlight wasn't on... WTF?? I flicked it to high beam and it was pretty poor
but at least it was on. I tried flicking it to low beam again and high
beam came on for a second before the lights dying altogether... ahhh so the
switch is back to front. A few flicks and I could get high beam on but it
would completely die every now and then. I ended up sitting on a pretty
low speed and eventually about four cars overtook me - brilliant now I had
someone to follow! But unfortunatley they turned off just before
Loxton. I sat at the turn towards Pinnaroo for a few minutes hoping
that someone else would be heading in the same direction but no luck so I
continued on with my headlights on low beam for a while and then I got highbeam
to stay on... but I still felt really "wrong" about being out
there. Usually I love riding at night but I just didn't feel right that
night. So I did the whole trip at about 80 - 90km/h. Didn't see any
wildlife but just felt really edgy. I think about two cars and one
truck came the other way on that whole stretch and that was all I saw (and had
problems for a while with the lights each time I dipped the high beam). I
stopped at a rest area about halfway and it was gorgeous out there... the moon
was about full and so very, very bright!
I
eventually made it to Pinnaroo about five minutes after Alli had arrived, at
around 11pm. The pub was still open - just and we sorted a room, a drink,
a bit of a chat with the barman and then to bed.
Friday 9
January - Pinnaroo to Corryong - 822km.
Today we
had to reach Corryong for the swim ride, we knew it was going to be a big day
so tried to get an earlyish start. We were just relaxing over a cup of
coffee (well Alli was, I think the milk was off so just had water) when we got
a message from Bec (who we were to meet at Glenrowan) that she was just setting
off - damn she was going to be there heaps before us! We got going,
fuelled up and were on our way.
Pinnaroo
We stopped
at Sea Lake for fuel and pies, so lucky, just
after we'd filled up and paid all the pumps died so nobody could get fuel (and
I had just hit reserve so wasn't confident about making it the 70km to the next
major town). From there we went to Wycheproof and then to Boort (boort
boort), Durham Ox (great town names Victoria
has!) then Shepparton and onto Glenrowan. Bec had been there for a couple
of hours by the time we got there. We decided to just slab it up to
Wodonga before hitting the Murray
Valley Highway and taking that into
Corryong. The Hume was boring and we stopped in at Tallangatta for a
break and were just standing around the bikes when a couple of BMW's came
past... the first one went by and the second one, the rider looked at us, did a
double take and turned around... was JC from FarRiders! Quick chat and a
warning about Constable Care up the road and we went our separate ways.
Sure enough the 4WD with the handheld radar out the window was waiting up the
road, we wound our way into the Caltex servo at Corryong for supplies (i.e.
coke to go with the 1.125L bottle of bourbon Bec had brought along!) and then
on to the pub where an icy cold can of Jimmy was waiting for me (I didn't even
get off the bike, just got the helmet off enough to be able to get can to mouth
:o) ). Best can of Jimmy ever.
So There
and Back Again is done... and I will definitely be doing it again :o)
SWIM RIDE:
Arrived
at the pub at Corryong with Alli and Bec to be greeted by Lurch with a can of
Jimmy - legend!
Hurrah
for Jimmy!
We were
pretty late and didn't have much time before the kitchen closed so it was park
the bikes, and up to the pub for dinner (well to order dinner, the food arrived
much, much later!). Much catching up to do with everyone and after dinner
we all retired back to the rooms where the bar was set up:
Friday
night
A fair
amount of bourbon was consumed and before long everyone started heading to bed
to be fresh for the morning... hehe but the girls had different ideas...
SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!!
Saturday
dawned bright and sunny... of course! I got up and had a coffee then went
straight back to bed... I got up a few times (cheers to bec for bacon and
cheese bread rolls!) and eventually got up properly around midday.
Everyone else had left around 9am apart from Tess and I who had opted to sleep
in and meet everyone at Biggara so we could get some sunbaking and reading in
first (no mills and boons this year though!).
We went
into Corryong to buy some lunch to take out with us, and as we were parking
there was a bike approaching... and SP2 (actually and SP1 in SP2 clothing)...
he stopped and it was Ron! Hi Ron! He had gotten into Corryong and was to
try and get in touch with Steve to find out where everyone was at - he ended up
grabbing some lunch as well and headed out with us.
We got
to Biggara and it looked... different :o( They had chopped down all the
trees!!!!! We parked and Ron took up the only available shade for his bike!!!!
which we gave him a bit of shit about so then he moved it (never mind the fact
that we were there for sunbaking!). I didn't last long in the sun anyway
before heading for the scant shade. Eventually a few others started
showing up and we went for an explore around the bend to where the rope was in
the tree (they hadn't chopped down over there, just in the picnic/camping
area). We hopped in, swam around for a good hour or so before making our
way back to the bikes and then the rest of them rolled in. Drifted
between reading, socialising and sitting in the shallows chatting with the
girls. Very pleasant!
Eventuall
we packed up and headed back to the pub, quick shower and it was time for more
tea ;) then up to the pub for dinner (yum!)
We had a
huge circle of our chairs outside the rooms after dinner and much bullshit was
discussed :o)
Saturday
night
There
was much talk of shenanigans but I ended up heading to bed around midnight.
Sunday
morning once again dawned bright and sunny... dammit! LOL. Everybody
packed up but I opted to leave a little later and make my own way home (the
suspension on the 9 really wasn't confidence-inspiring) so everyone rolled out
leaving Bec, Alli and I there. We chatted for a bit and I slowly got the
9 loaded up. I was underway about 10am and headed out through Towong,
Tooma, Tumbarumba, Batlow, Tumut and onto Gundagai where I stopped at the BP
for fuel, a rest and some KFC! I quite enjoyed this stretch apart from
some bumpy sections which were unsettling the bike a little, but they have been
doing some work on these roads and those bits are good now :)
After
lunch and a smoke I hopped back on for the last stretch - 150km to go!
This passed uneventfully and I was home by 2:00pm.
then up to the pub for dinner (yum!)
but Matt had spotted a bakery (I was just going to go for a red bull and a milky way LOL) so went to the bakery, the pie was no Mrs Macs but not too bad. Not far to home now, I would make it off this tank. Through Harden, Binalong and onto Yass for a final break and then home along the Barton. 
