STEVE'S OZ ADVENTURES

Home three months later.

2010-07-25T21:04:00.003+10:00

Well I have nearly clocked up three thousand kilometers on the triumph. The only thing I am going to change on it is the seat. I am about to splash out on a gel seat tomorrow. That should give my a bit more padding. I think a wind screen and a rack will be all that is required to turn the Bonny into a touring machine. I love the way the Triumph handles and I wouldn't swap it for any other bike.By the way the Spyder is still sitting in the bike shop....My next big trip will be in early December after uni finishes...

The New Ride

2010-05-14T20:40:00.005+10:00

Well I rode down to my sister's in Kallangur on my new bike, and I must say what a comfortable ride. At the moment I am restricted at what speed I can ride at however the engine and gearing of the triumph is very responsive and the seat is quite comfortable as well, now I need some cash so I can continue my ride around OZ.

The task now is to find a job and so I can save up the required cash to finish the journey. I have been home a week now and I am getting itchy feet so I am planing a trip for the December period, I would like to spend some more time down in the snowy mountains as there are some roads I would like to check out, if there is anyone in blog land that is interested on a trip give me a yell, the more the merrier, all riders and bikes welecome, even Spyder riders.

the saga Continues

2010-05-12T15:47:00.002+10:00

Well I am not having good luck at the moment that's for sure, I took the Spyder in this morning for the swap over and when I was doing the paper work and talking to the spares department the sales guy said that their mechanic found an oil leak.

Apparently when the valves where checked back in Melbourne the Mechanic had failed to tighten up the tappet cover. This was made worse by the clowns at extreme motorycycles at Atherton who didn't notice the oil leak.
fools and incompetents surround me, also folks don't expect a good price for your 2009 Spyders in my area alone there are three second hand ones for sale, the problem is they are not selling , I lost a lot of money on my deal.
Oh well shit happens.

Bye Bye Spyder

2010-05-11T19:14:00.003+10:00

I decided to get rid of the Spyder the problems with the dealer support is to much for me to deal with. I went to get replacement Brake pads for the rear brakes and was met with the answer that Can-Am hasn't got any in Australia. However there was some at townsville and I could have them in a few days. It was the last straw that broke the camels or should I say Spyder owners back.

I went into my local Triumph dealer and have decided on a Triumph Bonerville, I am loosing a significant amount on the changeover howver have decided that it will be for the best in the long run. I checked Bike point and there are three 2009 Spyder's on sale in my local area, it seemes a lot of people are buying them and getting rid of them soon after they buy them. I wonder if it is because they are having support issues as well.

Unfortunately because there are so many secondhand Spyders on the market It makes it difficult to get a fair price when dealing with Motor bike companies. I wouldn't call the Spyder a lemon they are not however white elephant would be a good name.

In retrospect

2010-05-11T11:38:00.005+10:00

The picture on the left where taken after my polish the bike meditation. I reckon the bike looks pretty good considering where it has been over the last three months.

I decided to take this next few days to adjust to not being on the road. I have discovered on this trip that I like to keep moving, rest is rust as an old mate of my dad used to say.

Its been 25 years since I did my last big trip, as many know I rode a push bike from Vancover to LA it took me four weeks and I travelled aprox 3000 km. I was looking at my old Passport and I returned from that trip on the 4th of may 1985. I seemed like it was only yesterday how quickly the years go by. Well I am so glad I did that trip and I am proud of my achievement and this trip was an achievement as well.

Interestingly enough I probably am the first person in the world to cover the distance I have on this trip in a Can-AM Spyder so I have made a first...

Yesterday i practised a technique that I learned from a monk, it's called the Zen of motor bike polishing, one can adapt this technique to any mundane situation, for example the Zen of Mowing the lawn.

The technique involves bringing the attention to the task in hand by focusing fully and when the mind wanders you guide it gently back to the task.

Our mind then becomes like the sky clear and infinite for me the moments of clarity are very fleeting, however the practice does help me focus.
I needed to find some peace as I was over focusing on the negative things that happened on the trip.

In reality the bad things would have only made up 1 percent of the whole picture and only after letting it play on my mind did it become overwhelming.
So now I am focusing on the other 99 percent that were positive, sometimes I think to much so some focused meditation is good to slow the monkey chatter of the mind.

I will continue writing this blog for the next few weeks as a retrospect of the trip

Well Until Tomorrow Night
Bye

Almost done

2010-05-07T15:15:00.003+10:00

It's hard to believe that I have been on the road for close to three months. I road about 450 km today and tonight I am staying in Mackay, my Gps tells me that I have 687 Km to travel and will most likely do that in one day. It seems like a lot of riding to do in one day however I have ridden 15735 km since I left home on the 12Th of Feb.

It has been the greatest adventure for me and apart from a few minor problems with service issues it has been very enjoyable. If you are thinking of doing a similar trip all I can say is go for it.

In regards to Can-Am I am sure their service will improve, the Spyder is a safe and so far reliable machine and Rotax engines can handle the Australian climate, for me however I think I prefer a traditional Motor bike, having said that the Spyder was certainly a lot of fun to ride, if I was earning better money I would most likely keep the Spyder and buy a motorbike as well, best of both worlds.

I plan to do the Nullabour and over to Perth as my next adventure hopefully in the not to distant future.
Well for those of you that have been following my journey thank you and if you want keep in contact via my email steve.dove59@gmail.com if you are ever up in Queensland drop me a line and we will go for a ride.

Check this blog I will be doing weekend rides and bushwalks more often now I have rediscovered the joys of camping and hiking.

Stay safe, God Bless
Regards
Steve d. (old leather arse)

Ingham

2010-05-06T15:44:00.005+10:00

Well what a difference a day makes, I woke up to the sunshine today and the ride to Mossman was a pleasant ride with interesting scenery and a good quality road. I had intended stopping at port Douglas tonight however once I had the wind in my face I felt like going for a ride.

The road from Mossman to Cairns is brilliant it skirts the seaside and it reminds me a little of the Great Ocean Road, when I got to cairns I kept riding and I ended up doing approx 450 km in total today just 110 km short of townsville.

I am going to set out early tomorrow and will attempt a further 500km tomorrow I should be back in Howard early next week, and then I will go motorbike hunting as me and the Spyder are about to part ways.

Five people asked me about the Spyder today I told them that the after sales support leaves a lot to be desired and if you like riding a three wheeled car then buy one however if you are looking for the responsivness and ride of a motor bike then the Spyder is not for you and I have realised also not for me.
Until tomorrow take care
Regards
Steve

A New Day

2010-05-05T11:53:00.002+10:00

Hi folks I deleted my previous post as it was very negative, and someone left a sarcastic message that was inappropriate, it's a shame that certain people find the need to make comments and don't have the fortitude to leave a name.

I am feeling much better today and after reading what I wrote yesterday decided that I don't want to remember the negative aspects of the trip which in the scheme of things is only a minor inconvenience.

I will continue to post entries until I arrive home.
Tomorrow I am heading towards Cairns via Port Douglas, so please stay tuned for photos and news.
Regards
Steve

Undara Photos

2010-05-03T14:29:00.005+10:00

By the way my new email is steve.dove59@gmail.com I got sick of all the spam on hotmail so consequently decided to use Gmail its less prone to spam.

I took at lot more photos of Undara however a lot didn't turn out .
One thing is for sure I know if my health holds out and I get to retire I am going to become a permanent gypsy and spend the rest of my life touring this great country of ours. Maybe I will treat myself a camper trailer for the spyder.

I mean why stay in one spot I am on my own and my freinds will be my friends no matter where I am at in Australia and when I get to retirment I will be most likely on my own, moss dosen't gather on a rolling stone.

Atherton Tablelands

2010-05-03T13:40:00.004+10:00

Well I finally made it up to Atherton today and it hasn't stopped raining for two months so the locals tell me. Due to my dodgy rear tyre I made the decision to take my time from Karumba across to Atherton.

It's a public holiday in Qld so my Spyder will get serviced tomorrow so I have booked into a cabin until Thursday morning. I was going to venture up to cook town, however I am told that the roads are not that good after an exceptional amount of rain. So I will turn towards Cairns I expect to be home in about 10 days.

After I left Krumba I stoped overnight In a very small town, if you could call it a town, a railway station, a pub and a service station, oh wait that sounds like Howard, in fact howard doesn't have a servo.

Sorry of the track there, the town is called Mount Surprise, I stayed in the local pub, there was a young girl in her 20's that ran the bar she was on her own, apparently her mother owned the pub, she was very efficient and when I said I was hungry she offered to cook me lunch, very good service so if you are ever out that way call in for a beer.

I love these old country pubs and sometimes it is worth wandering down to the bar in the evening to have a chat you can learn a lot about an area from it's locals.

The next day I set off early and decided to camp overnight at the Undara Volcanic National park, It was warm and dry so i pitched my tent there at a charge of 10 dollars for the night, the road into the NP camp grounds is sealed and the Lava tubes are worth visiting.

Keep in mind however that you cannot visit the tubes without a guide as apparently some of the tubes are very dangerous, and the NP ranger will fine you seven thousand dollars if found in the restricted area. There are various escorted cave visits from 2 hours to all day visits.

To really do the area justice you would need at least 5 days as there are also some excellent self guided walks that you can do as well which starts and terminates at the campgrounds. For those who don't like roughing it there are cabins and on site canvas lodges available all at reasonable prices.

I have taken some photos of the area however as I am not using Facebook anymore I will post them on the blog.

Karumba

2010-04-30T21:58:00.002+10:00

Well as you can see from the picture , I decided to ride to Karumba, the road there was very much the same as the proceeding road straight narrow and flat with a reasonable road surfice.

There is not much at Karumba, it's a small fishing town so consequently there is not much to do there. However It was a good rest day I managed to eat lots of prawns and drink some beer.

The next morning I drove on to Croydon and I decided to have a early day today, so at 130pm I checked into the local pub.

I was very surprised to be greeted by an English accent, the two barmaids are visiting English backpackers, lovely girls and what an experience for them working in an old school genuine Aussie outback pub. The pub is very old huge high ceilings and cement floor so no yuppie city pub this one, plenty of character and plenty of toothless locals.

I am heading off to Artherton this morning I might make it all the way there today, so I will chat with you all later

Normanton

2010-04-28T18:46:00.023+10:00

Well it was a big ride today and I made it to Normanton , I rode 502 km today

The road up to Normanton is called the bourke developmental road or highway 83. It's a very interesting ride however there are a few things to keep in mind when riding down this road.

Its not a bad road it is a left hand turn off the Barkly just before you get to Cloncurry. Cloncurry is a nice little town and the local cafe do a great breakfast and make tasty coffee, I called in to Cloncurry to feed me and the Spyder.

The main problem is, every 10km or so the road narrows to a track not much wider than my Spyder, and two it is a road that a lot of Road trains use for the trip up to the towns of Normanton and Karumba. Of course I use the word town with a tongue firmly in my cheek.

So you can imagine the potential for disaster long truck Narrow road, red dirt luckily for me though I didn't come across a Road train going either way. I enjoyed the ride even though it was a little challenging

I got a call from the Spyder dealer, up here in Normanton, I rang him earlier today to book for a service.

Apparently at the moment there is only 1 Spyder back wheel in Australia and they won't be getting more in until sometime in May, also they informed me that ,only Can-am sell the tyre, a scary thought I hope that this is misinformation the Spyder is a great ride however the support needs to improve.

How they could let it get to that is beyond me even small companies can keep accurate inventory to me this shows poor management skill for a company, it is not something that can stay hidden for long, with email and blogs the message will spread like a summer fire. I have been an ambassador for Can-am but now I have to mention the issues if someone asks they will get the truth.

Anyway moving right along, I am staying at a place called the Purple pub and I have been told that it is well worth going to Karumba for a fresh seafood feast, I hear the butter fly prawns are beautiful and juicy so I am going to camp there and have a BBQ.

It sounds cool so I will be right near the Gulf of Capentaria hope there is camping there, I need to be near water at the moment, and I need fresh BBQ Prawns and a half dozen stubbies near the beach, sounds like heaven if you ask me.

Will chat again soon
Ps sorry about the odd way this blog looks it went a bit strange I could have re typed it but im a bit tired so sorry.

Mt Isa

2010-04-27T15:35:00.005+10:00

After a long and hot ride yesterday I decided to rest the Spyder and my arse for a day, and I have laundry to do.

So I had a very short ride of 199 Km's and decided to find a cheap air conditioned hotel with foxtel so I could chill out for the day. The first hotel I came to was The Barkly Hotel, it's just out of town.

It was an interesting ride this morning I left Camooweal, for the first 100 km it was very much the same as the rest of the Barkly highway that is until you get aproximately 70 km west of Mt Isa, the vegitation becomes thicker, the cross wind drops and suddenly there are hills and mountains.

After I unpacked my Spyder I decide to go for a walk into town, it took me 15 minutes to get there, I crossed a bridge and noticed beer cartons and that many wine casks I lost count of, on the riverbank under the bridge, looks like the local wino hangout, this seems to be the place to hangout in a lot of country towns.

It's sad when people let themselves go that far whether they are black or white I guess they loose hope and give up on life.

Well then it's an early start for me tomorrow and I am expecting to get at least 500km riding in tomorrow, I reckon I will aim to be on the road by 7am.

Take care all stay safe

Wycliffe Well

2010-04-26T17:56:00.017+10:00

Mulder and Scully eat your heart out, Yes it's the northern territories X-file hot spot.

Apparently there have been UFO sitings in the area.
So the Roadhouse has capitilised on the idea they
have a roadhouse and Caravan Park that is on the Stuart Highway approximately 140Km away from Tennant Creek.

Apparently there have been lots of UFO sightings in the area, I am not sure I believe that however the Roadhouse and the park use the UFO theme to decorate the park, the inside of the roadhouse is wall papered with articles about Ufo's.
The buildings are painted with various themes and are very well done.
so as you can imagine I took many photos' it certainly made an interesting place to stay overnight.

I was going to Stay at Tennant Creek however a local at another roadhouse told me he had left home for the long weekend as there was an Aboriginal Football festival on at Tennant and that they were expecting lots of booze fulled fights, so I thought it best not to stay there.

Apparently they have 32 police for the three thousand residents, so i reckon it would be a wild place on the odd ocasion.

however having said that, when I rode through Tennant creek it was very quiet no sign of a big party, although there were a few wobbly shoe wearing people in the local partk, I refilled at The BP garage there and purchased a 10 Liter Petrol Container.

On the way to what is know as the three ways intersection I stopped and spent some time photographing the Devils Marbles, what a fascinating place that is.

The road up up to The Three ways turn off is a good quality road and the scenery is interesting and varied.

I can't say the same for the Barkly Highway, The terrain flattens out and there are no mountains and very few trees, the road quality is reasonable however the cross winds on this road are a pain in the Arse.

On top of that by about 11am the temp had climbed to about 36 degrees, so today was a difficult, hot and at times monotonous ride, oh well they can't all be the Great Ocean Road I guess...

I had lunch and filled up the Spyder and the 10 Liter petrol container at Barkly Homestead as the cross winds were playing havoc with my petrol consumption.

From The three ways on The Stuart Highway to The Barkly Roadhouse is 199 Km and I can usually do 250 Km before the fuel warning light comes on, however it came on 10 km before the Barkly, I was riding very conservatively so I put the poor consumption down to the cross winds.

It is 280 Km from The Barkly Road house to Camooweal so I needed extra fuel, I strapped down the container very well and it survived the trip, at a small rest stop I used the extra fuel and made it to my bed for the night, without the fuel light coming on.

It was so bloody hot today I had to take off my gloves and riding jacket and wet my singlet and tee shirt every half hour or so.

Luckily for me there is one good thing about main outback roads like the Stuart and Barkley, at regular intervals there are rest stops and quiet a lot of them have shelter, toilets and tank water.

I found the Camel back hydration system a God send because without it I would have got dehydrated very quickly.

The combination of heat and dry wind is a recipe for heat stroke so I am thankful for my medical background it does come in handy i love riding and being on an adventure, it's all about minimising the risk as well we all know.

Tomorrow I will; head towards Cloncurry were I will take the Matilda Highway up to Normanton, I am not sure where I will stay but I am going to try to make it as far as possible.

Once at Normanton I will ride across to the Undara Volcanic national Park, I hope to camp there for a couple of days and then head up to be at Atherton by Friday so I can get the Spyder serviced.

So until then Good bye stay safe and keep your sunny side up..

The Ride,
A poem by Steve Dove

Ride far ride free
Ride safe and above all if it all turns to shit it's ok
there is allways a clear road down a highway
somewhere near you,
I call it ride therapy
come on a journey with me if you dare
Close your eyes,
imagine wind in your face,
on a mild summer day,
the only other sound you hear
is the thump of the motor
You and the bike sometimes merge
Around the next corner appears Ularu
or some know it as , Ayres rock.
Ancient meets modern a collision in time.
just you and your machine,
there's not a feeling much better,
although I am sure we could all think of one,
or two
In fact here's another

I got to dance at a pub in ayres rock to a muso playing some reggage at 10 clock and let me tell you, there was quiet a crowd.
what an odd old man i heard a young guy explain,
I saw his girfriend jab ahim in the ribs and
exclaim at least he can rock
All you do is stand and mock.
If You think I sound like a hippy, never mind the bollocks to that! ( Just Joking)
maybe the red center has worked a spell on me and it has helped me to find my voice.

Alice Springs

2010-04-24T17:48:00.003+10:00

No photos today, after riding 450km in the heat I'm a bit stuffed so I am about to take a nap, The road from Ayers Rock to Alice springs is not an exciting ride by any means it is very straight however the scenery is interesting and the road surface is good.

The speed limit of 130km makes it a bit more pleasant to ride on as it provides a cool breeze, I am staying in a backpackers tonight in a four share room, so far there is only one other person in the room, I hope it stays that way.

I am not feeling the best today as I had a few beers last night at the Ayers rock Resort and with the heat today I am a bit dehydrated and have a slight hangover so my condition is self induced so not looking for pity, just thought I would explain that so you might figure out why this entry is a bit short.

Alice springs itself is a little country town and not very exciting, however there is a mountain range that encircles the town and it makes an interesting backdrop, I rode up to the lookout just before and I was going to get a shot however I left my camera in my room, I was thinking I might get a photo tomorrow on the way out of town.

Ayers Rock Day two

2010-04-23T13:03:00.005+10:00

It doesn't matter how many times you have seen the rock on TV or in books and magazines, you have to see it in person to appreciate how huge it is.

Today I got up early and rode the 20 km's to check out Ayers rock what an enjoyable morning, however be warned take some fly netting with you the flys are plentiful and would drive a dog mad.

I had intended walking right around the rock however I decided against it I felt quiet tired possible due to the 1000 or so km's I had ridden over the last couple of days. I did get to check the rock up close and did a short walk.

I went back to the resort and did some washing, the facilities at the backpackers are excellent and surprisingly the food store is reasonably priced. Entry into the National Park is 25 dollars and that entitles you to three consecutive days of visits.

'Last nigh I spent some time checking out the stars and you can see Ayers rock as well it is only a five minute walk up to the lookout from my cabin.

I met this lovely Californian girl called Alesha and we had an interesting conversation about many things and she taught me about the star constellations and we also discussed our mutual appreciation of chocolate.

Alesha had spent a few months travelling around Oz and is flying out to Bali today lucky girl, I hope to keep in contact with Alesha on Facebook and would love to catch up with her when I visit USA sometime in the not to distant future.

Well that's all from me for today, I am heading up towards Alice Springs and will turn right at Tennant creek for the trip back across to Queensland and home via Cairns.

Ayers Rock

2010-04-22T18:13:00.003+10:00

Well what a ride, I have just rode from Cober Pedy to Ayers Rock Resort a total of 735 Km the most riding I have done so far on this trip.

One more childhood dream has been fulfilled, I have for as long as I can remember wanted to Visit the rock and now I am here, I could die tomorrow and I would be a happy man ( not that I am going to I have a lot more living to do yet), it is very green out here at the moment. So as of today I have ridden my Spyder in every state and territory in Australia except WA.

The road from the turnoff on the Stuart Highway to the resort is in excellent condition, funnily enough I got pulled over by a NT Police man for a licence check and Random breath test, they where parked in the middle of nowhere, tomorrow I will ride out and have a closer look at the rock and get some shots for the Blog so stay turned.

Coober Pedy

2010-04-21T18:31:00.005+10:00

What an amazing day I have had, although I am a little tired and my butt is a bit sore, I rode 537 km through some interesting countryside, surprisingly it was very green as they have recently had lots of rain.

There where times when the road was straight as far as the eye could see and for miles around me nothing but red dirt and small shrubs I felt like I could keep riding for ever, There was a reasonable amount of traffic on the road and quiet a number of Road trains heading towards me. The road quality on the Stuart Highway is excellent and not a pothole.

I was a bit naughty and cruised on about 130 Km for most of the day, like I said yesterday It would be very difficult for a Copper to set up a radar on the Stuart as there are not many trees.

When I left my last Roadhouse at Glendambo it was 252 Km south of Coober Pedy, at about 50km to Coober Pedy the fuel light came on and very soon the fuel gauge showed no fuel at all so I slowed the Spyder right down said a prayer and crossed my fingers and luckily I managed to get to a Garage. The tank was bone dry and it must have been vapours that got me there, thank God for that I didn't fancy pushing a 300 kilo Spyder any distance and would not have liked leaving the Spyder with all my gear while I hitchhiked to the roadhouse. So as soon as I get a chance I am getting a small plastic fuel container so i don't have to stress out.

Tonight I am staying at a budget hotel that is underground it's very different and tomorrow I will head towards Alice springs so an early start for me in the morning and another 700 or so Km ride tomorrow

Port Augusta

2010-04-20T17:10:00.003+10:00

Well what a contrast this country side is compared to the East coast, I can certainly tell I am heading for the outback, the dirt has changed colour to a red dust and the surrounding terrain is flat, trees are smaller and very sparse.

The view is still inspiring and the roads are almost dead straight and it is very tempting to ride way to fast, having said that the lack of ground cover does make it difficult for Coppers to hide behind anything. Today I saw one police car on the side of the road and because of the lack of cover he stood out like a pimple on an arse.

On the way to Port Augusta I noticed a sign that pointed to Snowtown, the site of a gruesome discovery a number of years ago, the bodies in the barrels of a disused Bank vault, I was curious so I took a detour, the main street was very small, maybe 5 or 6 shops I couldn't tell which building was the old bank, I noticed an old bloke cleaning the foot path however I thought it unwise to ask him I imagine the locals there wouldn't take to kindly to some stranger asking them about the murders. In the end I just kept driving and didn't take any photos.

Port Augusta Is a nice place it is very small and has only one street, a lot of the little towns from Adelaide and beyond are worth checking out I do eventually want to come back down to SA and explore the Yorke Peninsula in a lot more depth, Australia is such an large place and so much to see, I think I will spend my retirement years travelling and exploring, sounds like a good plan.

Currently I am staying in a Caravan Park that overlooks a lake and a mountain range and its overcast and before it was blowing a gale, tomorrow I will head up the Stuart Highway and most likely I will stop at woomera for a look and refuel I intend staying at Coober Pedy which is a 500 Km or more day of riding, so an early night for me tonight

Adelaide

2010-04-19T19:49:00.003+10:00

I was going to have a good look around Mount Gambier today however at about 2am this morning I was woken up by thunder and lightening, and it rained from that point on until about 1pm this afternoon, so consequently I decide to head on to Adelaide.

I did the reverse of ride 82 ( The Hema Australian Motorcycle Atlas) so instead of riding from Kingston SE to Millicent (via Robe) I rode from Millicent to Kingston its 132km and well worth the ride.

After lunch at Kingston and a quick photo of my new found mate the lobster, I headed off to Adelaide via the Coorong what a wild and windswept place that is, it was a very straight road and there was a cross wind which made for challenging riding.

Although it wasn't what I would call a good motorbike road it was still very enjoyable and interesting due to the scenery, what didn't help however was the excessive amount of trucks heading towards me and spraying me with water, thank goodness for waterproof riding gear.

I arrived in Adelaide at 230 PM I had intended to stay in Adelaide for a few days, however I got very lost due to the GPS taking me on a wild goose chase and like any city the traffic was chaotic, I decided to head out of town and tomorrow I am heading off to Port Augusta and then up to the Stuart Highway.

Today I had a big riding day I did a total of 516 Km and was riding for 6;29 hours in total and no sore butt, so tomorrow I will be doing approximately 350 km, I will be covering big distances everyday once I head up towards Alice Springs. This has been the most enjoyable adventure I have ever had and will Cherish the memories.

Mount Gambier

2010-04-18T16:57:00.003+10:00

I didn't do a blog yesterday as I went for a long ride, I rode down to Geelong and had lunch with a couple of new found friends I met at the YHA in North Melbourne, it was also a good excuse to do what I feel is the best section of the Great Ocean Road again from Lorne to Apollo bay, it's funny much of the Great Ocean Road actually doesn't go near the Ocean, however having said that it is still a most enjoyable ride.

This morning I left Apollo Bay YHA at 730 am and continued along the Great Ocean Road, I stopped and had a look at the 12 apostles and took some photos there, I then rode onto Mount Gambier so I am now in South Australia the road from Portland Vic to Mount Gambier is nothing special just a normal highway nothing of note for you Motorcyclists out there.

Tomorrow I will check out the blue lake which apparently is an extinct volcano and then I will head towards Adelaide, apparently the road from Millicent via robe to Kingston is a good motorbike road and provides a great view of the ocean, I am looking forward to checking out and photographing the big Lobster or is it a crayfish not sure and don't really care and will post the photo so you can tell me what it is all I know is it's big and red...

Cape Otway Lighthouse.

2010-04-16T16:52:00.003+10:00

I enjoyed my ride from Lorne to Apollo Bay this morning, I can see why other motorbike riders rave about the Great Ocean Road, it is a very enjoyable motorbike rider not only for the corners and good road surface but also for the spectacular view.

The YHA at Apollo Bay is very impressive and I would recommend it it is very clean and tidy and the staff are very friendly they have reasonably priced single and double rooms and the multi share rooms only have two bunk beds so you only have to share with three others. At the moment I have only one other person in my room, they have male and female and mixed share rooms.

After I settled into to my room I went for a ride to The cape Otway Light house, It is a very narrow and twisty road off the great ocean road, it was OK as a road but not a great bike road as there were to many cars on it so it was very slow going.

When you turn off the Great Ocean Road, the Otway road takes you through some very thick bush for about 10km or so then into open pastures, apparently there is often cattle on the road according to some warning signs and I had to cross two cattle grids.

The light house is worth looking at, both for the historical interest and for the view when you climb the light house however I didn't think that it was worth the 16 dollars they get you to hand over for admission, That's the last tourist thing I am going to pay for on my trip, there are plenty of things to see and do that are free and 16 dollars would buy me lunch and breakfast.

On The Road Again.

2010-04-15T20:15:00.005+10:00

Well after the recent dramas with lost keys I am on the road again. The funny thing is on Monday I got a call from the Spirit of Tasmania lost and found office and surprise they found my key, they told me that it would be in Melbourne on Tuesday morning, in the meantime dad had sent my spare key via overnight express so come Tuesday afternoon I had two keys.

Thanks to fellow Spyder rider Bill ( pictured above ) I managed to save $600 dollars on my 10,000 km service which is a great relief. Bill put me on to Kon and Jon two brothers who run High octane Motor Cycles In Thomastown, they offer a professional and friendly service and I even got my bike cleaned as part of the service.

So if you are travelling and need your Spyder or other Brand of bike serviced contact them at High Octane on 03 9465 3555.

Bill and his wife Leanne showed me great hospitality, while I was in Melbourne, Bill arranged for my service and on Tuesday afternoon I followed him to the Bike shop which is 35km from the Hostel and he kindly returned me to the Hostel, as well as that he picked me up on Wednesday and drove me to pick up my bike and invited me to stay at his house last night.

On Thursday morning we did a tour around some of the areas that where effected by the Melbourne Bush fires. The ride from Yea to Seymore is a great bike road as well. It is good to see that much of the area is recovering well.

I also got to see Ned Kelly's Home which was built in 1859, 150 years before I was born. I took some photos of it however they didn't turn out, I am still getting used to my new camera, I dropped the other one and when I lost my Key on the ship I left the old camera on the seat of my motorbike in my flustered efforts to find my bike key some arse stole my camera, luckily I had copied all the shots to my Lap-top.. I would lose my balls if they weren't in a bag...

I am currently at Lorne on the Great Ocean Road and will be staying at Apollo Bay until Sunday morning,I will soon be in Adelaide. The great Ocean road is awesome and what a bike ride, with a view to die for.

Once again thank you to Bill and Leanne for your great help and hospitality, come up and visit me and my family in Qld anytime, the welcome mat is out and the kettle is on!

Waiting for a Key

2010-04-11T22:56:00.003+10:00

For those of you that don't have facebook, I will fill you in on the latest news. I managed to lose my motorbike key last night somewhere on the vehicle deck of the Spirit of Tasmania, great hey. Luckily dad is organizing another key and will express post it down to Melbourne so I can continue my journey I should have the key by Tuesday with luck., I will have to stay in Melbourne for another day which isn't so bad as Melbourne is not a bad place for a city.

Lucky for me ride assist sent a tow truck last night and it dropped me off in North Melbourne.

Last night in Tasmania

2010-04-09T12:38:00.002+10:00

Hi all, nothing much to report today, the ride from Cradle Mountain across to Devenport was uneventful, although it is a very good bike road and comes recommended by myself and it also appears in "The Australian Motorcycle Atlas". I didn't take any photos today as I was having to much fun riding and besides the visibility was almost zero.

You probably won't hear from me until next Wednesday as I will be off the road until my Spyder gets serviced, and I need a couple of days relaxing and not riding or bushwalking.

Take care until then
Steve

Cradle Mountain

2010-04-08T16:45:00.004+10:00

It was very difficult to decide what to wear this morning, when the alarm went off at 8 Am it was windy and grey so I put on all my warm clothes however by 930 the sun had come out and it was starting to get quiet warm, so I took off my woollen jumper and put my summer riding clothes back on. I set off on the highway to Cradle Mountain and by 10 am the clouds were back in the sky and the temperature dropped to 10 degrees so out come the warm clothes again. The closer I got to Cradle Mountain the colder it got and then it started to drizzle and then a thick blanket of fog descended on the mountain. Thank God I was on the Spyder as the road was very wet and slippery, I made it safely and even though It was cold and wet, with my gloves and warm gear on it wasn't to bad, and besides I love an adventure and a challenge, and remember what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

I stopped for breakfast at a little cafe in a very small town probably the same size as Howard, because I had to kill some time I couldn't check into my accommodation until 2pm, after I finished breakfast I continued up to cradle mountain and stopped at the National Park office, I had intentions of riding up to Dove Lake however there was a heck of a lot of traffic on the road and the road up to the lake is very narrow so I decided It wasn't safe in the rain to continue.

I stopped and went for a short walk to check out a waterfall and in no time it was 2pm so I checked into my room. There is a shuttle bus that the National Park runs up to Dove lake and the walk takes approximately 1 hour and thirty minutes, the bus will pick you up when you have finished, however by the time I unpacked and had lunch, a very late lunch I might add, it was almost 5pm and getting to cold to do any walking. Tomorrow I will had back to Devenport and stay there in a hotel before boarding the ship for the journey back to Port Melbourne...

Wynard day 2

2010-04-07T21:17:00.004+10:00

Today it rained end of blog.

No just joking, I didn't do any riding or photo taking today as it did rain for most of the day, there was a window of opportunity when the sun came out and that lasted for approximately three hours, so I took advantage of that and went for a walk along the beach and into the shops at Wynard, I managed to pick up some Quells for sea sickness as I have a feeling that it may get rough on the trip back to the mainland and it's better safe than sorry.

I got back to the Caravan park and decided to wash my bike and you guessed it within five minutes of me washing my bike the clouds rolled in and it hasn't stopped raining since. Oh well that's they way the cookie crumbles.

Tomorrow I am off to Cradle mountain for my second last day in Tassie as the ride from there to Davenport is rated highly and it's in the Australian Motorcycle Atlas. I will probably do a few very short walks of an hour or so whilst there.

After I do the ride from Cradle mountain to Davenport it will mean that I have ridden all but a few of the rides mentioned in the above book for Tasmania, I am now really looking forward to tackling the Great Ocean Road and checking out Adelaide and the outback as I have never been there.

I will be in North Melbourne for three days while my bike gets serviced, this will give me a chance to rest and gather my strength for the next big leg of my trip.

I have been on the road now for 2 months and covered 8000 miles since leaving Howard as the Spyder had approximately 2000km on the clock before I left, and no saddle sores yet, I have a tough arse that's for sure. I reset my second odometer when I got the bike serviced at Canberra and I have done 5600km since my last service, it doesn't take much to knock the kms up that's for sure.

Wynard

2010-04-06T15:31:00.005+10:00

What a wild and windy day it has been today, I left Strahan and followed the road up to Somerset which is on the Tasmanian North Coast. I took the road to Zeehan then took the C252 road via the Reece dam, the road actually goes over the top of the dam wall, I tell you what I have seen more dams in Tasmania than any where else on the east coast of Australia.

After I went across the dam the road winds up through some very wild country side and also through some pine plantations, Tasmania is certainly a place of contrasts wild untouched wildness for miles then on the same road clear cut forests and pine plantations.

I rode up the Murchison highway which of course is an interesting bike road with the corners and good quality, today it was drizzling and very windy so add that to a temp of 10 degrees and the wind chill factor of the bike moving and it made for a very chilly ride.

I had intended on riding on to Stanley however I decided to stop at Wynard in a caravan Park called Beach Retreat, the lady that runs it is very nice and it is right on the waterfront I would recommend it there phone number is 03 6442 1998 and the address is 30b Old Bass Hwy Wynard Tasmania 7325. They have camp grounds and a Backpackers lodge as well as self contained cabins besides a great view.

I had wanted to ride over to the Nullabour and on to Perth however It looks like I will have to put off my plans for that side of Australia until another time. I have already covered 10,000 km and that means two services for my Spyder that combined with the fact that accommodation in Tasmania due to the weather and with fuel at $1.50 per liter at most petrol stations consequently my budget has blown out a little.

So when I get back to the mainland, I will head out along The Great Ocean Ride up to Adelaide then up the Stuart Highway to Darwin, back down to Tennant creek and over to cairns and back home, at least I will have covered the east coast and the center of the Australia. So I have another seven weeks left of travel to do hopefully it will be warm enough to camp at caravan parks and the rain will stay away.

I figure that WA is not going anywhere and I will tackle that side of Australia in a year once I have saved up some more cash. I am not disappointed I have had the best holiday with so many memorable moments so far and I am sure there will be many more moments on my trip up through the Center of Australia.

Franklin & Gordon River National Park.

2010-04-05T15:47:00.004+10:00

Let me take you on an modern Australian History lesson. It was in the late 70's early 80's that the Tasmanian government had already screwed with Lake Pedder and now they had the Gordon and Franklin rivers in their sights, the plan, was to dam this pristine river.

After much protest from thousands of people and popular opinion against the Dam the federal Labour government stepped in and had the area declared a world heritage National park, and this stoped The Tasmanian government in their tracks, however not before taking the Federal government to the High Court, lucky for us and the environment the High court ruled in favour of the Federal government and this area remains in its free flowing state.

Today I had the pleasure of doing a cruise that lasted 6 hours through this area, I even got to do a tour around St Helena Island that was used as a penal settlement for convicts that offended in Australia, it was used for that purpose until Port Arthur was built. I would recommend to anyone that travels to Tasmania to make the trip to Strahan and to take the cruise, it is informative and interesting.

Well I only have till next Saturday left in Tasmania so tomorrow I begin the journey back up to the North Of Tasmania, I should be in Stanley by late tomorrow afternoon and will camp there until Wednesday.

Strahan

2010-04-04T15:02:00.004+10:00

Hi folks I am still alive, there was zero Internet coverage at Lake St Clair, so that's why you haven't heard from me for the last three days.

Lake St Clair is well worth the visit I went on two walks over two days, the most interesting was the Shadow lake walk which took me 4.5 hours to do, the lakes in this area apparently were formed by Glaciers.

The accommodation at Lake St Clair is average and a little expensive for a Backpackers, also they charge you one dollar for a six minute shower and when I went down to the office they didn't have any change that was until I complained and they mysteriously handed me five dollars. Also they charged me five dollars for a liter of milk, ordinarily I would have told them where to put the milk however there wasn't much choice it was either their milk or no milk on my cereal.

I am finding that Tasmanian traders like to rip off tourists and the service here is of very poor standard in some places, I think they have the attitude if you don't like it go somewhere else, I certainly found that with the Can-Am dealer down here trying to charge me $1000 for a service.

I would recommend spending time at Lake st Clair however avoid the accommodation at the National Park as it is a RIP OFF. there is a pub with 30 dollar a night rooms which is only 5 km away on the Lyell highway just past Derwent Bridge on the left hand side heading towards Queenstown. I wish I had discovered the pub before I checked into the National Park accommodation.

I left St Clair today at 9am and the ride along the Lyell highway was very enjoyable a great road and once again brilliant scenery it takes the sting out of bad customer service and reminds me of what is enjoyable about Tasmania.

Queenstown has changed since I was there many moons ago it doesn't like as barren and bare as it was when I toured there with Mom and dad, even the quality of chips have improved...( Family Joke) no toenails sis....

The road from Queenstown down to Strahan is called the Lyell Highway and it's a tight and twisty road excellent for testing your skill and nerve for those tight corners, it's not a road for those with a nervous disposition and I wouldn't recommend it in winter or if it is raining and you have only two wheels.

Strahan is also the place for a cruise along the Gordon river and for 89 dollars you can go on a five hour cruise which includes an all you can eat dinner and endless cups of coffee and tea, I am off on a cruise tomorrow at 0800 hours. By the way daylight savings has now finished in Tasmania so I put my clock back today.

I have to be back in Devonport by the 10Th so I will stay two days here and then head up to Stanley and spend two days there the last two days I will spend in Burnie and then it's off to Melbourne and the Spyder will get it's 10,000 service.

The Photo above on the left is the mountain on the way into Queenstown and the photo on the right is at Lake St Clair.

Lake Pedder Ride.

2010-03-31T15:02:00.002+10:00

Like the Australian Bike Atlas states this is a ride worth doing, you end up at the Gordon dam, it is a fun bike road and the world heritage forest is worth checking out.

They are still cutting old growth forest down in Tasmania, it's hard to figure out how they justify this when just a few miles down the road is world heritage forest that isn't being logged, I wonder how many members of the Tasmanian Labour party have shares in Guns ( Tasmania's forestry giants ) I guess the truth will eventually surface, why chop down 400 year old trees and sell the wood pulp to the Japanese for paper pulp when there are some very good alternatives out there Hemp for one.

I can see both sides of the arguments, however the young bloke that is manning the forest blockade is dedicated to say the least, it must get very cold out in the forest however the protester's camp there come rain, hail or even snow. The young fellow who showed me around was very articulate and polite I certainly do admire there dedication and passion.

Tomorrow I am off to Queenstown, the Aussie Motor Cyclist atlas rates this as the best ride in Australia, all 285 Km of it so I will let you all know tomorrow.

Mt Fields Campground

2010-03-30T14:26:00.003+10:00

I am still in Mt Fields and will be here until Thursday morning. Last night I froze the temp dropped down to zero degrees and I had every piece of clothes in my back pack on and I was still cold, after what seemed an eternity I managed to get warm, only just mind you. I had intended on going bush walking however due to the excessive cold I decide to head back into town to source a warmer sleeping bag and a woollen jumper.

I thought that the sleeping bag would be expensive however I managed to get one that is rated to -minus five degrees for 59 dollars and that coupled with a warm jumper should give me a more restful night.

Tomorrow for the third attempt I intend riding out to Strahgordon and lake Pedder which is rated in the Motor Cycle Atlas as an excellent bike road and supposedly it has some great scenery.

I will report back then If I can get my power supply to work again, Dad rang Acer for me and they will send one for free as the PC is still under warranty. However that will take up to seven days and then dad will forward it to may I will be back on the mainland on the 10th of April.

It was still very cold this morning when I set of to New Norfolk and even the Spyder stalled when I tried to rush off before warming her up properly, I checked the ambient temperature and it was 6 degrees at 9AM.

Rest Day

2010-03-28T09:29:00.003+10:00

Hi all due to the fact that the power supply on my laptop has decided to die I won't be doing my usual daily blog, I have to use Internet cafes at the moment and they are few and far between down near Port Arthur, as soon as I get back to Hobart I will try to source a power pack and start blogging with photos again......

I managed to get the stupid thing working....for the moment. Today I went for a tour around and had a short walk to what is called Remarkable caves. The photos I have included are from the cave.

Tomorrow I am off again this time I will be camping out in my tent for three nights at Mt Fields National Park, I was there for a short walk the other day and decided I wanted to spend some more time there.

There is a camp site which is very close to the National Park visitors center, and it has a camp kitchen and showers, the unpowered sites are only 10 bucks per night, so for the cost of one night which I normally pay I can stay for 3 nights. The good thing about the visitors center is that there is a cafe there that serves reasonably priced food and it's open from 8am to 4pm.
Steve

Port Arthur day 2

2010-03-27T12:48:00.001+10:00

I survived the very creepy ghost tour of port Arthur last night it started at 9.30 and went for close to 90 minutes, very spooky at times, especially when we went underneath the surgeons house where he did dissections, I could actually smell a strong smell of formaldehyde which is a chemical used to preserve organs. Today I went on a 3 hour Cruise and got to check out some of the most stunning coast line I have ever seen, check out my facebook page for more photos
It's steve dove as the title of my facebbok profile for those that haven't checked it out.

I was unable to display this page as the power supply on my laptop is playing up, and after much stuffing around I was able to get it to work. To book a cruise you can visit the office which is on the left hand side of the road in Port Arthur just before you get to the historical site or check out their website. http://www.tasmancruises.com.au/

Like I have stated it was the best three hours I have spent on this trip and one of the most memorable boat rides I have ever experienced.

Goodbye to Hobart.

2010-03-26T17:33:00.001+10:00

Well after five enjoyable days I left Hobart and once again set off over the derwent river bridge, this time I wen to my next port of call Port Arthur, I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, however it has to be said, the road to Port Arthur is another typical Tasmanian country road, reasonable surface and great corners. The only problem today was I was stuck behind a mobile road block that was belching thick black smoke from its exhaust as it crawled up the hill, luckily the driver was very courteous and when he could he pulled off to the side of the road and let me pass.

It didn't take long to get to the Caravan park at Port Arthur as it was only 90 something K's from Hobart, I stopped at Sorell for breakfast and then I stopped at this little Museum with a bizarre collection of everything you could imagine. Apparently the old guy that started the collection was a bit of a hoarder, he died some 20 years ago, I have an idea that I went to the same "museum" with mom and dad back when I was 15 years old.

After I arrived at my accommodation in the bunkhouse at the Port Arthur Caravan park I unpacked and went for a walk down to The historical site of port Arthur, I bought a bronze pass and for that you get a cruise around the harbour of Port Arthur which runs for 30 minutes and also a very interesting guided walking tour of the site and tonight at 930 PM I am off to do a 90 minute ghost tour of the site with a guide, all this for only $49.00 also I can go back and do a tour again tomorrow.

Port Arthur is very different than when I was there with mom and dad, there is a modern information center that has a restaurant and the boat that you do the cruise on doesn't look very old.

Tomorrow I am doing a Cruise that goes for 2 hours around the coastline adjacent to Port Arthur, they take you near a seal colony and some of the magnificent coast line, The cruise was recommended to me by a local I met in Hobart. Ordinarily I wouldn't have spent the money however because I only have to pay $20 per night for my accommodation over the next three nights I decided to treat myself.

Mt Feilds National Park

2010-03-25T15:36:00.003+10:00

What a beautiful Day 27 degrees in Hobart today and not a cloud in the sky. I had intended to ride to Strathgordon and lake Pedder today, however I decided to call into Mt field National Park, and I am so Glad I did.

I decided to do a walk through the bush and tackled the Russell falls and tall trees walk, I arrived at the National park at 1030 am and it took my close to 1 and a half hours to do the walk, so by the time I had lunch it was 2pm and a little late in the afternoon to undertake the rest near 90K's that would have been required to finish my journey.

I would recommend this area to anyone and I am thinking of heading back there after I visit Port Arthur this weekend. The road out to Mt Fields is a typical Tasmanian country road, plenty of corners and reasonable quality.

I am off to Port Arthur for a couple of days I intend doing some bush walking and I think I will attempt the ride out to Strathgordon and camp for a few days at the Mt field National Park, apparently there is a night time self guided walk where there are glow worms and several more walking tracks I would like to tackle.

Hobart to Richmond Circle

2010-03-24T14:08:00.005+10:00

Today was only a short ride, 84km circut. I rode out over the Derwent river via the Tasman Bridge, I remember as if it was yesterday when an ANL ship hit the bridge, my dad used to know the captain that was involved in that unfortunate disaster.

The road continues across the double causeway which was built by convicts in 1872. Eventually the road takes you to Richmond and to some historical buildings worth a visit including the oldest Catholic in Australia, the church of England church and the Richmond gaol are worth spending time exploring, the road takes you through some nice country and it is a good quality road with some nice curves to test your skills.

If you are hungry and are at Richmond there are many places to eat I came across Antons who is an Italian fellow who makes a very nice pizza and his coffee is pretty special as well, the name of his establishment is "ANTONS BEST OF TASMANIA". it's on the main road at Richmond and there is plenty of parking and outside tables so you can keep an eye on your ride.

Post Card Moments

2010-03-22T16:11:00.003+10:00

The thing I like about Tasmania is that within 10 minutes of leaving a Tasmanian city you are confronted with views and country roads, they are what I call Postcard moments. I left Hobart for a ride this morning, I travelled along the Channel Highway to Huonville and then I rode down the Arve Forest Drive To Geeveston and the Tahune Forest Reserve.

The postcard moment today hit me as I left the outskirts of Hobart and road up a hill and then down through some Forrest and I came out into an open stretch of road and to my left was a lake the view was breathtaking and just to difficult to capture in a picture.

It would be great if we could bottle moments to take home with us and every time life got a bit tough we could take that moment off the shelf and go back there to experience it and be in the moment, but alas this of course is a pipe dream, so a picture will have to do.

The roads where once again fun to ride on but with an 80km speed limit a little slow, worth doing is the Tahune Forest Reserve Air Walk which is an suspended platform that stretches out along the rainforest, for those a little weary of heights it is quiet high, however if you can overcome that fear it is amazing and the view well worth the climb up the stairs to the platform.

Hobart

2010-03-21T17:20:00.004+10:00

After close to two months of great weather I had a bad run today, now I am not a wimp when it comes to motorbike adventures and I can handle cold, rain, and wind however when all there happen at the same time it makes for a difficult ride, having said that I used the words Motorcycle adventure on purpose because that is what this holiday is all about it's taking the good with the not so good and enjoying each minute of the journey.

Admittedly today when I was riding and I was cold my hands were frozen and I was being blown about I was having a good whinge to myself, however now that I am warm and dry I can look back and appreciate the ride, the midlands highway is a good quality road and it takes you through some picturesque countryside, there are a lot of historical country towns along the way one that I would recommend is called Oatlands it's full of old sandstone buildings circa 1800's and the above photo is a mill that was built in 1837.

in the background of the photo of myself is a lovely lagoon and picnic area and there are some friendly and quiet hungry ducks and geese that get close and personal when food is produced. There are times when I wish that I was travelling with someone else, Oatlands would be a great place to share a picnic with a friend, in fact if the weather was nice today I would have enjoyed spending more time there.

Once again I am very grateful for the safety features of the Spyder as it definitely saved my life today, I was doing the 110 km speed limit and noticed a car waiting to turn left onto the highway, well he waited until I was right on top of me and if I hadn't of accelerated around him I would have t-boned him. I had a thought when I saw him that he was going to do something stupid like that and that combined with the very responsive 990cc Rotax engine and a lot of good luck helped me avoid a serious accident, had I have been on my old bike I don't think I would have lived to tell the tale.

Oh by the way when I was walking around Hobart I noticed that the rain goes sideways and it rains in Hobart even when the sun is shining bizarre.

Tomorrow I will take a ride out to Huonville, the long way round via the Channel Highway, then down to Geeveston then up to New Norfolk and back to Hobart

Bridport Beach Walk

2010-03-19T14:11:00.001+10:00

Maybe I should remember to smile!

After a very relaxing sleep in, till 9am I was confronted with a very black sky and some heavy rain, since I wasn't going to ride today I wasn't particularly disturbed about this. I had planned to go for a walk along the beach on the 2km return Historical beach walk.

Luckily by the time I had finished breakfast, patches of blue were starting to appear in the sky so I decided to do the walk. I would recommend this walk to anyone as it is a gentle stroll along the foreshore every so often there are small information displays that describe historical facts and features.

I managed to nearly complete the walk without rain except for the last 10 minutes when it started to rain however it was only a light drizzle. I decided to take a friends ( thanks Les ) advice and took my Tripod along with me in order to get some shots of myself. It can be difficult taking holiday snaps of yourself when you are on your own, however a tripod does help.

Depending on the weather I intend doing another round trip ride and hope to remember to take the tripod. The road is number 65 in the Hema motor cycle atlas it takes you over the mountains, it starts at Deloraine and continues to Longford, as some of the road is dirt I will be taking only part of the road due to the fact that after this rain it will be full of potholes and a mud pie, so not that much fun unless you are on a dirt bike.

2010-03-18T21:23:00.005+10:00

Well I am sitting on my bed at the bridport Hostel writing this blog tonight, I am a little stiff as I managed 363km of riding today, and what a great day I had, I wish all the roads in this country were as much fun as the ones in Tasmania and I enjoy the little country towns along the way and some of the old style buildings such as the one in the photo above.

The scenery along the roads is of such an interesting variety, on one hand today I saw Alpine type forest, and plantation pines and Marsh land and beach scrub all in the space of 60 miles on one part of the trip, unfortunately the only wildlife I saw where dead on the side of the road, lots of wombats and little wallabies sadly.

Today I road down through Scottsdale and went on to St Helens and did a big loop back up through Launceston and then back to Bridport and once again all great bike roads with plenty of challenging corners to keep most bike riders happy.

I stopped at a few interesting small roadside cafes along the way and had an interesting conversation with a Harley riding, logging truck contractor about the pros and cons of wood chipping and the dependence of a lot of the small towns in the North West of Tasmania on the forestry industry, a lot of what he said was valid, I didn't bother giving him a lecture regarding conservation and the environment because I figured that would only alienate him so I spent time to find out what his take was on the issues confronting the locals, we also talked about motorbikes of course.

Tomorrow I am having an off bike day and I am going to do some of the walking tracks around Bridport, beside which it will give my butt a rest for the day.

It's raining at the moment It managed to stay fine all day for my ride even though it was cloudy all day, I have been very blessed with good weather so I guess I will get some not so nice weather and I am not complaining, like most of Australia Tassie has been needing rain.

Devenport to Bridport.

2010-03-17T16:58:00.002+10:00

It was time to leave Devenport this morning and venture forth. So I decided to do two of the rides in "AUSTRALIA MOTORCYCLE RIDERS ATLAS, which features 200 top bike rides as chosen by Peter Thoeming and is published by HEMA Maps. I fully recommend this book to fellow riders as Peter writes some entertaining and informative briefs on the various roads in the Atlas.

In ride 67 Peter talks about riding from Exeter to Port Sorell, however as I was leaving Devenport it was easier for me to to the ride in reverse, so I left Devenport via road B74 which took me along the coast to Sorell, this is a great road both for it's ride quality and scenic views, even the tin top owners would enjoy this road. The road from Port Sorell to Exeter is a typical Tasmanian country road however it is heavily populated with logging trucks so be careful. Before I road to Exeter I took a side trip to Supply River, whilst it was a short diversion it was well worth it, as the photo shows this church was built in 1861 and it is claimed to be the original structure, I dare say it has had a few coats of paints since being built.

I road on from Exeter along the Tamar Valley road and just before I got to Launceston I stoped for a drink at a small roadside cafe, I came out of the shop and started to chat with an elderly couple whom were fascinated with my bike ( not unusual ) I told them where I was off to and what I had seen on my ride today, and when they heard I enjoyed looking at hysterical oops I mean historical buildings they suggested I take a detour to a place called Low Head, I am glad I did, apart from the fact that this was another brilliant bike road, there was some lovely old buildings there as well as a light house that is still in use.

After leaving Little head I took the road along the coast to Bridport the place I will be staying at until Sunday, it's a tiny seaside village that is lovely and has some interesting walks that I intend tackling over the next few days. Tomorrow I am off on an all day ride that will take me down to Scottsdale then across to St Helens and down to St Marys then back up to Launceston for lunch then back to bridport in time for a grandpa nap back at Bridport a grand total of 250 km for the day....

Sheffield

2010-03-16T16:58:00.003+10:00

Tasmania where else in the world do you get some great motorbike roads and get your photo taken with a Lama ( not a monk from Tibet) and a giant teddy bear in one day.

What a brilliant day I had today, I slept in this morning and wasn't going to do anything as I was feeling very seedy. However after a hardy breakfast I felt better and decided to go for a ride. I rode out to Sheffield via some interesting bike roads and some great places with names like No Place Else and Paradise.

I met some interesting people such as the German Guy and his pet Lama ( sounds like the start of a Monty Python Sketch ) and I was looking through a shop window trying to take a photo of a giant Teddy Bear and the owner invited me in and took my photo.

The name of the shop is CRADLE MOUNTAIN CANDY COMPANY 44 Main Street Sheffield, and at the same address is BIG TED Honey Boutique, they make liqueur honeys on the premises using local honey so if you are going on a ride around Sheffield in Tasmania check out the shop the guys are very friendly and only to happy to chat and Jim Bean rum mixed with honey sounds great.

I was sitting in front of a shop when this fellow bike rider came over to chat and he gave me directions to get back to Devenport via Mole creek and Deloraine, what a great road and some great scenery as well. so I got to meet some interesting people ride some great roads and saw scenery that took my breath away.

Tasmania

2010-03-16T07:13:00.003+10:00

After a very early start we were off on our journey across the Bass Straight, The sea was a mill pond today, very smooth indeed. They put a big chock under the tyre of my Spyder and some tie down straps onto the handle bars, none of the cars had straps and they didn't even use the stabilising bars because it was so smooth.

The Ship has a cinema on it so I watched a couple of great movies, Bran nue Dae, and the latest Shirlock Holmes movie. The journey seemed to be very quick and even though we left half an hour late from Melbourne we made it by 7pm which was the normal expected time. There was a delay getting off the dock as every car was checked for fruit and fresh food by the quarantined service.

I was a little worried that I might get sea sick that didn't happen, well not on the boat anyway. When I arrived at the hotel I checked in and decided to go down for dinner, that's when my problems started I spiked a temp and started to sweat like a pig, waves of dizziness overtook me and I new I had to get to my room as quick as possible. Without going into to much detail I was very sick eventually I settled down and went to sleep. I woke up feeling reasonably well this morning however I have decided to not do any riding until tomorrow.

St Kilda

2010-03-14T13:32:00.002+10:00

What a brilliant day, not a cloud in the sky a cool breeze blowing off the sea and a 28 degree temp made for a great morning walk.

I walked from the Backpackers down along the Beach road and walked as far as the Tassie Ferry departure point so all up it was a 10km walk.

The foot that was injured in the work accident is a quiet sore at the moment, however I can put up with the discomfort after enjoying such a great walk.

St Kilda is a nice place and I may spend a day or two here when I return from Tasmania, after I got back for the walk today I took the Spyder out for a jaunt it's a nice ride along the beach there just for the views alone.

Now its time for an afternoon nap as my foot is aching and I am feeling pleasently tired, nothing like a dose of sunshine and exercise to blow the blues away.
I have an early start ahead of me tomorrow, I have to be packed and down to the Wharf by 0815 at the latest.

St Kilda

2010-03-13T17:26:00.003+10:00

The above photos are of my accommodation for the next few nights, before I left Brisbane I booked the above accommodation online mainly because it is close to the Tassie Ferry departure point, however I am glad I did because the staff are very friendly and helpful and the rooms are well worth the money, I would recommend them if you are in Melbourne, They are called Olembia and they are at 96 Barkly Street St Kilda telephone number 03 9537 1412.

Hi all I have like moses come down from the Mountains, however unlike Moses I am not carrying any commandments just some fond memories of natures wonderland called the Grampians, I have to say it was a real let down coming back into the city but having said that I don't mind my accommodation and St Kilda is an interesting place, I am a bit tired today so I will explore St Kilda tomorrow and take some photos while I am out and about, after I have done that I will post the photos and report back.

The ride from the Grampians was straight forward as I chose the Freeway route this time around and with a speed limit of 110 Km I managed the 260km's back to the city in quick time,I Stopped at Ballarat for brunch, the weather has been kind to me with a blue sky for the last four days, in fact it was a little warm after 11am this morning.

Wonderland Walk.

2010-03-12T15:54:00.003+10:00

Hi Folks It's great to be alive, me and this fellow called Ian whom I actually met at the Belligen YHA went for an 11 KM walk today, from the hostel at Halls Gap along what is known as the Wonderland Walk, what an enjoyable walk it was even though there where parts where I found myself a little out of breath, I didn't have a heart attack so that's a bonus.

I had the best day I have had so far on this trip and feel it was quiet an achievement that at 50 I can still keep up with the young ones.

Tomorrow Sadly I have to leave the Grampians, however I would recommend it to anyone both as a great place to ride a bike ( even if the signs tell you otherwise) and a great place to spend some quality time relaxing or walking in the bush.

I am off to Melbourne ( well actually I will be staying at St Kilda) again tomorrow as I have to catch the Ferry across to Tasmania, a place I have wanted to visit on a motorbike since I was in my early 20's, so it is good to finally get to fulfil a dream, every bike rider I have met that has been there raves about how much fun on a motorbike Tassie can be, and what excellent bike rides there are.

Dirt road boogie

2010-03-10T15:13:00.004+10:00

I made the mistake of listening to one of the teachers whom was staying at The YHA last night, he suggested a road for me to take, it was called Mount zero road, one would think that the name alone would indicate the quality of the road, in a word this road was crap.

You might suggest to me that why didn't I turn around well this road played a confidence trick on me it wasn't that bad for the first 5 km or so then it was 15 km of corrugation, very small and annoying pot holes and an assortment of stupid wild life that continued to play chicken with me, including to of the dumbest Emu's that God created.

Having said all that it is all part of the adventure and when I eventually got back on to the sealed section the road was great, I stoped along the way at Mackenzie falls this was a 5 km return trip down then up some very steep stairs but what a top spot, I also did a 2km round trip walk to The balconies and back that walk rewarded me with a breathtaking view of the valley and some rock formations, all in all I had a great day and came home feeling satisfied that me efforts had been worth it, so after a an afternoon nap I decided to blog today's effort.

Tomorrow I am heading off on a 11 km round trip walk to a place called the pinnacle, should be interesting.....and no more bloody dirt roads, I don't think me or the Spyder could cope.

Overall I have been happy with the performance of the Spyder my only complaint would be that the foot brake needs adjusting again, after I paid big money for Canberra Motorcycle's for it's 5000km service so I am not happy with this as I have to be careful where I park and have taken to putting a rock or piece of wood under the big rear wheel, will get this rectified hopefully when I am back in Melbourne or if not when I get to Tasmania, it means forking out more money so not happy Jan.

Dunkeld

2010-03-09T16:55:00.002+10:00

The Road from Halls Gap to Dunkeld is called Grampians Road, it is 65 km of motor cycle heaven a great surface and just enough corners to challenge a sports bike rider. The view from Halls Gap to dunkeld is awesome majestic mountains and in some places a canopy of eucalyptus trees line each side of the road. My only complaint was that it was drizziling rain so that made it a little colder than I found comfortable.

The town of Dunkeld is a quaint little country town there are a number of cafe's and eateries there, I stoped there for an early lunch and it was tasty and reasonable priced.

On the way back to Halls Gap I took the Victoria Valley road, this was a great ride as well however it was a little narrow in places the road was only the width of the spyder, having said that the surface was good.

I detoured to Silverband Falls and parked the bike in the car park there, the falls were aproximately 1.2 km from the carpark and what a relaxing walk it was, fresh air and a babiling creek was my only company, there is something about the sound of running water and the quietness of nature that soothes the mind and gives rest to the soul.

I am glad that I decided to stay here for 5 days there is so much to do and it looks like the sun is coming back I can see patches of blue peaking through the clouds, It has been peacful here today that was up until about 15 minutes ago when a bus load of 14 year old school kids arrived with teachers in tow, they are currently running amok, up and down the corridor, let's hope they don't do that all night otherwise uncle steve gonna get the shit's big time.

The Grampians

2010-03-08T15:25:00.004+10:00

I left Melbourne this morning at 530am and as I pulled out of the Car park at the YHA it started to pour with rain, once again I was glad I was on the Spyder as there was quiet a bit of water over the roads as I left Melbourne and it continued to rain until I stopped for breakfast at a macca's in a servo on the outskirts near a place called Baccus Marsh.

Instead of taking the highway I rode along the Geelong Ballan Road which took me out into the countryside where there was farmland and some very nice scenery, I went up through a mountain road and eventually arrived in Ballarat to refuel, the back road was a great ride even though it was a little narrow in places, the road quality was adequate.

After I refueled at Ballarat I took the Western Highway and had reasonable weather until I got to Ararat which is about 70 km and the sky opened I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me, once again I was glad that I was on the Spyder.

I arrived safely and in one piece even if a little cold, to the YHA at Halls creek which is a very peaceful place. I am staying up in the Grampians until the 13Th as there is a lot to see and it is very peaceful, on the 13Th I will head back down to Melbourne and stay there until the 15Th when depart for Tasmania.

Poor old Ned

2010-03-08T14:49:00.003+10:00

"Such is Life" Ned Kelly's reported last words before the executioner pulled the lever and the door opened that ended the life of one of Australia's Bush ranger legends. I guess Such is life is a polite way of saying shit happens!

Yesterday I did a tour of the old Melbourne gaol what a place to spend your last day's on earth. For those that haven't been through the Gaol I recommend it.

There was one particular case that was very interesting and quiet sad, there was a fellow who was hanged in the 1920's ( not sure of the exact date) apparently the police nabbed him for murdering a young girl that was found in a Melbourne back alley, the only evidence they had was that they found an hair on a blanket that the fellow owned that the cops claim matched the girl's hair, and without the use of microscopes or DNA the poor sod was convicted and sentenced to hang.

There was a big outcry in the papers of the time for a conviction. The man maintained his innocence right up to the day he was hanged, the have a letter on display that the poor bugger wrote to his family. Also unfortunately a different type of rope was used to hang this fellow and they botched it, it was suggested that he took from 10 to 20 minutes to die.

Apparently just recently due to some research they reopened the case and they did a documentary and a book was written on the subject, the author was able to obtain information on the case and surprisingly the hair samples had been kept, a forensic expert examined the hair and proved it didn't match, the poor bugger that was hanged was given a pardon.... A bit bloody late if you ask me, more evidence to support the case against capital punishment, in fact if you read some of the information on a few of the cases at the old Melbourne Gaol you might realise that there were a number of people hanged that probably shouldn't have been.

After I spent some time looking through the Old Melbourne Gaol, I did a tour of the watchouse next door which was in use right up until the early 90's some famous in mates that spent some time in there were Squizzy Taylor and Chopper Read.

They had an actor dressed in a cops uniform and as we walked in we were treated like we were being arrested which made the whole experience even more interesting, and it reminded me of my time in the army, getting yelled at and being called Fart brain.

Melbourne

2010-03-06T14:49:00.003+10:00

The ride from Wangaratta down to Melbourne North was via the Hume highway so nothing fantastic to report just a reasonable highway and a 110 km speed limit. However the nightmare of Melbourne city to navigate is another story. My advice is if you are on a motorbike give Melbourne city a wide berth, those bloody hook turns and the GPS drove me insane,having said that the Metro YHA is a nice place to stay even if it is a little busy. I got rain yesterday and after I arrived at Melbourne and parked my bike we had an electrical storm with hail and wind, a pretty impressive show. I was going to go and have a look around the city this arvo however it is still raining so I decided to catch up on my washing.

I was going to download the pictures I took today however this pc I am using belongs to the YHA and it won't read my sd card, because it is ancient, not the card the Pc....

Great Alpine Road

2010-03-05T13:45:00.002+10:00

What a great ride of the top of the Victorian Snow Fields, The ghost gums line both sides of the road, it looks like another planet on top of the mountains there are a lot of blind corners and not for the faint hearted however what a great ride, the Spyder handled the corners without a hitch and I am becoming more confident as each day goes by, the clouds grew black and I was worried it might start raining, the last thing I wanted was to ride down the mountains in the pouring rain.

However my luck was with me today I managed to ride down the mountains and there wasn't any rain until I got to the foot of the mountains, I stopped for coffee at Bright and then the heavens opened, I had intended to camp at Beechworth for a couple of days however it is torrential rain at the moment, so I decided to stop at Wangaratta for the night I am heading into Melbourne for the weekend and on Monday I am heading up to Halls Gap for a week. I rode 184 km today. The funny thing is I am not stressed out about the rain I have been on the road for 3 weeks and have had fine weather for most of the trip so I can't complain.

Cann River to Omeo

2010-03-04T17:16:00.004+10:00

A journey like the one that I am undertaking has many benefits I am enjoying some great scenery and enjoyable bike riding and meeting some interesting people.

Last night I met a fellow Biker Rod, Rod rides a Harley I won't hold that against him ( just joking Rod) we shared a beer and some interesting conversation.

Rod was telling me that he was on his way to Maroochydore with some of his mates they were all on a riding trip, however they didn't quite make it, unfortunately Rod's mate got banged up by an idiot that caused a chain reaction, so Rod turned around and I met up with him last night and his friend is in Gosford Hospital with some serious fractures to both legs. For God sake all you Car drivers out there in Blog Land take care.

Rod I had a great night and enjoyed our conversation, so if you are ever up in Queensland do drop in.

I left Cann river early and had intended riding through to Wangaratta, howver I only made it to Omeo which is on the great Alpine road, on the way there I took the Buchan Orbost Road which starts just outside of Orbost, what a brilliant road and some of the nicest country side so far on this trip.

The above mentioned road is very narrow in places so caution on some of the corners is required, luckily there was no on coming traffic, having said that if you are on a normal bike then this road shouldn't present a problem as long as you keep to the left.

The spyder handled the road with no problems however because the road is a little narrow I went a little slower than the open speed limit that is on this road. Once I reached Buchan I headed down to Bruthen which is a nice little country town I stopped there and had a fish and chip meal for brunch.

Bruthen is the start of the Great Alpine road and it certainly lives up to it's title, at first the road is almost like a highway with big a big wide road, however this soon narrows and begins it's ascent up into the mountains I stopped at a little spot called Ensay for Petrol and by the time I got to Omeo I decided to stay there for the night as I was starting to feel really tired, all that concentration does take its toll.

Omeo is an interesting little town, I went for a bush walk along a track in the town that takes you past some early gold mines that some Chinese people worked in the 1800's and also the court house is worth looking at, I eventually walked about 5 km and my bad foot is playing up a little, however I was fascinated by the history and it was well worth the effort. I intend having an early night and will continue my push up the mountains.

Jindabyne to Cann River Victoria

2010-03-03T14:41:00.010+10:00

I enjoyed Staying at Jindabyne Last night however at about 1AM this morning it was absolutely freezing, I had on the following items of clothes on: singlet, tee shirt, thermal top, flannie, and jumper, beanie, undies, thermal pants, jeans, and socks....and it was still cold.

What made it worse there was an heavy frost on everything so when I sat up and hit the roof of my tent freezing cold water dripped on me, I am not sure how much sleep I got last night, my intention was to ride to Bairnsdale however I found myself getting very tired and almost falling asleep, which is not a good thing when you are on a motorbike, so I decided to call it quits for the day when I arrived at Cann River in Victoria.

The road from Jindabyne to Bombala is an excellent bike road, there are stretches of gravel however it is being upgraded to a tar road and when that happens it will be a great bike road and the scenery is fantastic. . When you leave Jindabyne you need to take the Barry way to Dalgety, then take the Snowy river way which eventually takes you to Bombala. From Bombala another great road for bikes and scenery is the Monaro Highway which ends up in Cann River I throughly enjoyed riding on this road and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, while in Cann River do check out the local pub, it's a classic even if it is a little worse for wear

Along the Snowy river way I had a close encounter of the furry kind, as I rounded a sharp bend doing the speed limit of 1ookm a fox darted straight out in front of me, I applied the brakes and slowed down, if the fox had of kept running the same way all would have been good, however the stupid bugger changed direction and ran back in front of my bike, unfortunately for him he went under my left hand wheel at this time I was doing 60km the wheel went up in the air only slightly, probably no worse than hitting a small pot hole, however once again thanks to ABS and the vehicle stability system I am hear to tell the tale, if I had have been on my old bike I would have most certainly lost control and been hurt or worse.

I am staying at the Cann river pub tonight it's very old and run down but the beds are comfortable and the sheets are clean and best of all it's very cheap. I have a big day tomorrow as I will be riding through the Victorian Alps on a road they have christened the Great Alpine Way, I hope to make it to Daylesford. I was just chatting with a fellow motorbike rider and he told me that Daylesford is about 600km from here so I am not so sure that I will make it all the way to Daylesford, I am not going to pre book accomadation for the rest of my trip as it ends up putting pressure on me to be at a certain place at a certain time and that is not what this trip is about. So once I arrive in Tasmania I am going to book each day I think that will be a more enjoyable option.

Oh by the way Ann in answer to your last message, the caves didn't have any glow worms, I am not sure why.

Almost Heaven

2010-03-02T15:57:00.001+10:00

This Harp is on a park Just on the outskirts of Jindabyne, it is a tribute to the Irish workers that helped build the Snowy Scheme.

My great camp spot on Lake Jindabyne at a recomended Caravan park called Jindabyne Holiday park, what a beautiful spot they only charge $22.00 per night and there is a nice camp kitchen and tv room and the facilities are very well looked after, the staff are friendly and helpful.

I was planing on staying at the YHA in Thredbo however when I got there I discovered that I couldn't park near the hostel and I was short of breath climbing down the three flights of stairs to get to the hostel, I thought it might be the high altitude as I haven't been that out of breath before, or maybe I am not that fit, that to is a posability. So I decide to head back down the mountains and found this lovely spot.

The locals told me that it was -3 degrees last night at thredbo and it is expected to snow in the next few days, so I am glad that I didn't stay there, although apparently it was ony 2 degrees here in Jindabyne so I hope my long johns work.......

The roads from to Cooma to Thredbo are very good motorbike roads very good quality surface and some great bends to test your skills on, however I did notice a number of dead animals in fact I came across 4 or 5 of them between Jindabyne and thredbo, so if you are riding do take care. They charge you $6.00 per day to use the National park road and give you a sticker to place on your screen, I don't know what they might do if you didn't have a screen. Tomorrow due to the posability of even colder weather I will head down the NSW south coast to Victoria and will probably stay at Philip Island YHA.

UNTIL THEN BYE ALL STAY SAFE
STEVE D.

Yarrangobilly Caves at Kosciuszko National Park

2010-02-27T20:25:00.002+10:00

I have allways been amazed at structures like these and at the time it would take to form them one tiny drip at a time over a millenia .

Shots of my trip to the caves

2010-02-27T20:20:00.000+10:00

Yarrangobilly caves

2010-02-27T17:17:00.005+10:00

I awoke this morning very much rested, compared to my night in Canberra I slept in a comfortable and warm bed last night at the Alpine Hotel Cooma. It's funny although I have been on the road for a little over two weeks I am only beginning to feel like I am on holidays. I guess because I had done the trip to Sydney on my old bike last year and it was only after I left Cranebrook that I was venturing into new territory as far as motorbike riding is concern.

I had a top day of riding today, I rode out along the Snowy Mountain Highway, the first small town I arrived at was the new Adaminaby when they created lake Eucumbene they flooded the old town, however before doing that they moved everything over the mountains to where the town exists today. The Snowy Mountain Highway is an excellent Motorbike road, although I have been told that early morning and on dusk there are lots of Kangaroos so be warned if you choose to venture along it during those times, admittedly the only roos I saw were dead ones on the side of the road, although I did see heaps of piles of roo poo along the road.

Another danger along this road are other Motorbike riders especially those that are on sports bikes, I had a couple overtake me on blind corners and across double center lines, I think those sporty types feel like they own the road, myself I like to do the speed limit and enjoy the scenery, although I can see their fascination for going fast however nowdays I enjoy the scenery just as much as the bike ride.

My goal for today was to visit Yarrangobilly caves, I arrived at the signposted turnoff only to realise that the road to the caves was approximately 10km of dirt road, The Spyder handled the road with no problems thanks to traction control, I am glad I wasn't on my old Honda it would have been an interesting trip. Luckily the road to the caves was one way, because I would have hated to come across a tin top coming towards me on some of the blind corners.

The rough road was well worth negotiating once I arrived at the cave complex it cost me $25 dollars to visit two caves the first cave was a self guided cave and what an amazing structure, I had taken a few photos however It's a case of you would have to see it for yourself to appreciate the size, just the same I will include the photos on the blog. The second cave I toured was with a group of seven other people and a National park guide the cave was called Jersey Cave, unfortunately my camera's batteries went flat so I didn't get many photos.

I did a total of 200km's today and the Spyder handled the roads with great ease. When I returned to the alpine hotel I met the owner whom was down for the weekend he lives in Sydney, for a rich guy he was very down to earth, he used to own a Harley so we had a chat about bikes, he noticed the dust on my Spyder and asked me if I would like to give it a hose off, he produced a sponge an a bucket of detergent and as I cleaned he helped me hose it off, after that he produced a spray can of tyre black and sprayed my tyres for me... now that's service for you.

After cleaning my bike I went and had an hamburger in the hotel dining room, the food there is very nice and reasonably priced, I would not hesitate to recommend The Alpine Hotel at 170 Sharp street Cooma 02 6452 1466. Use it as a base for exploring the many great roads and other sights in this great part of Australia. And know I didn't get paid for this endorsement. all the staff are friendly and helpful and the rooms are quiet in fact you wouldn't know that there is a bar down stairs.

I have a big riding day ahead of me tomorrow so I am up for an early night. Take care all Steve......

Canberra What Can I say?

2010-02-26T17:09:00.007+10:00

The Picture above was taken at Braidwood which is on the road from Batemans Bay to Canberra, what a picture perfect ride through the mountains that is I recommend it to all you bike riders and I guess you tin top drivers would enjoy it as well. For the trivia buffs out there Braidwood was used in a couple of Australian movies the one most of you would know is Ned Kelly made with Mick Jagger in it, the lady in the coffee shop told me they covered the streets with dirt to make it look realistic, a lot of the buildings there are from the same era, it's a pity Mick Jagger couldn't act to save his life but Braidwood was the star.

I arrived in Canberra at the Canberra Carotel & Caravan Park the NRMA rated it as three stars, I wouldn't give it one, there was no camp kitchen, the only TV was on a bracket in the laundry room and I would have needed extensive physio of the neck if I had of watched it for any longer than 5 minutes. When I had a shower the hot water tap came off in my hands, and there were ants the size of small dogs all over the place. Lucky they only charged 15 dollars for a tent site.

After I pitched my tent I decided to go for a ride into Canberra and like most cities there was very little parking and the Taxi drivers where trained by Kamikaze pilots. I was going to park and have a look around however the fees where expensive and I had had enough of suicidal Taxis. I eventually went back to the camp site, during the night the temperature dropped to 10 degrees and I was frozen, eventually I put on my long johns and socks and managed to get some sleep.

One Good point about my stay in Canberra was I had the Spyder serviced at Canberra Motorcycles, I must say the staff there were friendly and helpful, as part of the service they sprayed the dash with UV protection and painted the Tyres with Tyre black. So if you are in need of good and friendly service check out their web site. Canberra Motorcycle Center.

I was going to stay another night at Canberra however I decided to move on to Cooma, I like Cooma it is a small and friendly town. The ride from Canberra to Cooma is well worth the trip, some great countryside and a good quality road surface. There is a great little restaurant in a little town called Bredbo called the Bredbo Pancake & Crepe Restaurant I stopped there for brunch. I arrived in Cooma and booked myself into a pub recomended by The Australian Roadriders Magazine, thanks Bear ,it is called The Alpine Hotel the rooms are reasonable priced, it has just been renovated and for you Motorcycle riders there is a lock up for your rides and the staff and management are very motorcycle friendly. I have booked the room for four nights as there are many great rides in this area. Tomorrow I am off to Yarrangobilly Caves to do a tour and to go for a swim in the hot springs there.

Well that's all from me will catch you all later.
Steve

PS rob you were right so there!

Relaxing at Batemans bay

2010-02-24T10:34:00.003+10:00

After a couple of days of long distance riding I decided to spend three days relaxing at Batemans bay. Batemans Bay for those of you who don't know is a quaint little seaside town on the South coast of NSW. To put it in perspective Canberra is approximately 2 hours drive inland.

This seagull show knows how to relax.

The YHA I am staying at has a small pool and I have been going for a swim in the heat of the afternoon. I have been going for walks into the shopping center and later on today I intend going for a walk along the beach.

Yesterday I went to the movies and watched a very clever movie called Shutter Island staring Leonardo De Capro, if you like suspense then go see this movie, It is similar to many Alfred Hitchcock movies I have seen I won't spoil the story however it is set in a 1950 Mental Institution and De Capro is a federal Marshal investigating the disappearance of a inmate.

Tomorrow I will ride over to Canberra, I was going to go To Cooma however I need to get my Spyder serviced and couldn't get it checked in till Friday, so I will stay in a Camp Grounds for a couple of days and then head up to cooma on Friday and do the walk to the top of Mount Kosciusko on Saturday morning.

A big Riding Day.

2010-02-22T19:36:00.004+10:00

I am writing this Sitting in a cabin at the YHA in Batemans Bay, I am lucky because normally there are four other people in this room, however I have it to myself this situation may not last for long but I will enjoy the solitude while it lasts. I am here until Thursday morning, i will check out the surrounding area over the next few days.My Spyder is due for a service so tomorrow morning I will ring Canberra Motorcycles up and attempt to book it in for Wednesday, it's not that far from here to Canberra and there are some great roads I can ride into Canberra.

I left Roberts this morning at 0600 and rode out to Richmond, my first destination for the morning was Lithgow, along the bells line of road, what a great bike road and very nice country side as well. From Lithgow I took the Tarana road from lithgow which will eventually take you to Bathurst, this is a poor quality road in places with more potholes than road, having said that it is still fun to ride on and the Spyder handled it without to many problems. Before the road went to Bathurst I took the road to Oberon and from Oberon I rode onto Goulburn

I stopped at Goulburn for Brunch at a place called the Paragon, it should be called Charge a lot, although the food was nice I didn't think that a Bacon lettuce and tomato toasted sandwich and a cappuccino was worth 12 dollars, If I had bought my reading glasses with me I wouldn't have ordered anything and I couldn't find MacDonald's for my usual breakfast.

After the most expensive BLT sandwich in the universe I continued my journey, I rode to Moss vale, which is a very pretty place and full of Bric a brac shops that mom would love. We all know that Bric a brac is actually the Latin word for crap, but that is another story.

I rode from Moss vale through Kangaroo Valley and eventually to Batemans Bay. The last 90 or so K's where hard as I was hot as hell and everything from the waist down was numb but that is to be expected occasionally on a long ride like today.

According to the Stats on my GPS today I rode 545 km and was moving for 8:03 hours an average speed of 68 km/h and a maximum speed of 119 km/h, my distance from home is 1177km so no wonder my bum was numb.

I could have taken the easy way out and rode straight down the highway but this holiday is not about the destination it's about the journey and the adventure, warts and all. It dosent take long once I am off the bike to recover anyway and I used to feel stiff if I drove a car over a long disitance.

This is a video of some of the things I did in the first week, I have posted it on facebook however it is here for those that don't use facebook.

Well that's all for now folks until next time take care everyone.

Steve

Oberon to Goulburn

2010-02-22T19:19:00.000+10:00

The back road from Oberon to Goulburn the road surface was good quality and the Countryside was very pretty, sometimes a photo dosen't fully capture the vibe of the place.

The Spyder had no problems with the road surface today and it is a pleasure to ride.

This allways upsets me I know we need wood however it is sad to see a picture like this.

A Weekend at Roberts.

2010-02-22T18:45:00.004+10:00

Me sitting on a rock at Glenbrook lagoon....

After a well deserved rest up in the fresh air of the Blue Mountains, I woke up refreshed and ready to go, unfortunately the night in the hotel room cost me $100 dollars because I couldn't find anything cheaper, that won't be happening again, I would rather sleep under a bridge than pay another $100 dollars for a bloody bed. Any way as they say in the movies Shit happens!

So back to my weekend, I woke up early as It is easier to get most of my riding in the morning before it gets to hot. I decided to go for a ride up the Great Western Highway to Katoomba, I wanted to take a look at the old House I lived in when I was there with Leesa. I stopped at Lawson and couldn't remember the street we lived in, so I rode up to Katoomba, It was a lovely fresh morning but not cold enough for warmer clothes so after a coffee I rode down the mountains to Cranebrook and Robs place. Boy it was hot there I remember it being hot when I lived in Penrith and Cranebrook is right next door, I swear it must have been nearly 35 degrees.

On arrival to Rob's place I unpacked the Spyder and slipped in to my Shorts Robert cooked me a BBQ lunch "steak sandwich" and we downed several large cans of Guinness...very refreshing, Rob has a salt water pool in the back yard so we dived into the pool and downed a few more cold cans to quench our thirsts. After Lunch rob took me to his local fishing hole and we did a spot of fishing, or should I say attempted to do a spot of fishing, Robert was the hero of the day and managed to catch an outstanding fish, he kissed it and threw it back which was probably the most sensible thing for him to do as the fish was not that big.

In the evening we chatted and I attempted to watch a movie called The Departed however I was feeling tired and couldn't concentrate, Maybe it was the Guinness that clouded my mind my guess was that it was the close to 400km I rode the day before.

The following Day we went for a bush walk to a lovely spot in Glenbrook we found a rock to sit on near the water hole and it was a very nice way to spend a morning, the water in the lagoon was a bit murky to swim in. After that we went back to robs and had another dip in his pool, hard work if you can get it. I must say I had a very laid back and enjoyable couple of days. I love riding however it was nice to chill out with great company for a couple of days... Thanks to Rob and Tianne for their hospitality.

Tamworth to the Blue mountains.

2010-02-19T16:28:00.005+10:00

Well what a day today has been I have ridden close to 450km, so consequently I am feeling quiet stiff at the moment. I left Tamworth at 0630 this morning, I was going to ride Via Captain Thunderbolts way, however After doing some research I discovered that the road that I was going to take from Tamworth was very narrow in places, ordinarily that in itself wouldn't worry me however It looked like rain and visibility would have been crap.

It was very cool this morning and I had to dig out my warm shirt to warm me up, I decided to take the highway down to Singeleton and to take the Putty road the plan was to camp at Colo Heights Caravan park....As they say the best laid plans of mice and men....I managed to get lost and instead of taking the putty road the GPS took me down a road I have travelled on before called the Wollombi road, a great bike road anyway but I really did want to try the putty road...Damn GPS I think I will stick to paper maps and use the GPS for city roads.

When I arrived at Singelton It started to rain and continued to pour until I arrived at Windsor, so consequently I didn't camp today a decided to head up to the Blue Mountains for the night, tomorrow I will head down to my Craenbrook to visit cousin Robert. Due to the rain I didn't stop to take any photos today, so you will have to take my word for the fact that I got to appreciate some beautiful countryside.

The highlight of the day was when I rounded a corner approximately 10 km outside of Broke I spotted a huge Wedge tail Eagle feeding on a dead Kangaroo in the middle of the road, I got within a few feet of the bird before he flew away, he flew up into a tree, unfortunately there was no where to stop on the road otherwise it would have made an excellent shot. So even though it was raining all day I still had a most satisfying day and I appreciated the fact that I was on The Spyder with all it's safety features, it ate up the many slippery corners on the Wollombi road with out a problem, well folks until next time.....

Glen Innes answer to Stonehenge

2010-02-18T16:25:00.001+10:00

Two Days In Bello

2010-02-18T16:14:00.005+10:00

I haven't had Internet Access since I Left Glen Innes, The ride across over the top of the Great divide via The Gwydir Highway was awesome, I still find it amusing what we Australians call a Highway,having said that what a ride the spyder handled the road surface, which was of reasonable quality and of course it ate up the corners remember to take some warm clothes it was very fresh even though it is summer. On the outskirts of Glen Innes are standing stones which a very similar to Stonehenge, see the photos. I had breakfast a Mac Craps in Grafton then went to Belingen via Dorrigo.

I highly recommend the YHA at Belingen and do spend some time exploring the Dorrigo wildness. One of the fellows that Works at Bellingen YHA took a group of us for a three hour bush walk through the rain forest at $35 dollars for the day it was money well spent, to be honest I liked Bellingen better than Byron Bay and could easily spend a week there.

After I left Bellingen I rode via the Pacific Highway to the out skirts of Port Macquarie and then I took the Oxley Highway into Tamworth, It was a big ride today close to 300 km, my butt was a bit sore by the time I finished the ride, The oxley is another brilliant bike ride one of the best I have been on to date once again it runs over the top of the great dividing ranges so it was a little chilly in the shade, there was a little traffic and I would recommend caution as there are logging trucks that work this road during the week.

A warning DO NOT STAY at Armidale YHA, I had booked a room online and when I arrived It seemed pleasant enough, the lady in the office was very friendly, she gave me my room key and it went down hill from there she had put me in a room with three dodgy old derros and one of them abused me, I wasn't very impressed and left and gave the lady the key back, the rooms where tiny and there were no lockers and the old guys stank...not happy Jan, the lady did offer me my money back. Usually YHA hostels are of a very high standard, not Armidale.

Byron Bay to Glen Innes the land of the Beardies

2010-02-15T16:21:00.007+10:00

What can I say about Byron Bay, It is a pretty place however I feel it is going the same way as many beach side places, death by popularity, don't get me wrong I did enjoy my stay there but I have never been over impressed by the beach, I enjoy the bush and little country towns. After a while sand and salt and way to many people get up my nose.

I did manage to meet some very nice people at The Cape Byron YHA. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about sharing a room with four strangers, however the people I shared the last two nights with were very friendly,I met a young Canadian fellow, well actually his mother is Australian and this is is first trip away from home, there were two British backpackers and an older Italian Guy Called Fabritzio, he was a very interesting and might I say lucky man. Apparently he owns a charter Boat and spends summer Cruising the Greek Islands, and the rest of the year he travels....What a Life that would be!

I set off for Glen Innes early and managed to miss my turnoff so after a quick breakfast at Maccacs in Ballina I found my way to Casino and then via the Bruxner Highway to Tenterfield. This is a Particularly great bike road, it traverses over the top of the Great Dividing Range, there are plenty of great corners and the road surface is in a reasonable state of repair that added to the fact that there was very little traffic on the road today made for a fun ride.

I did manage to run out of petrol today, when I had about 190km on the mileage the low fuel light came on, there where no petrol stations between the out skirts of Casino and Tenterfield. So I had no options but to keep going and pray that I didn't run out on top of the mountain. About seven Km's from Teneterfield the engine gave a splutter and died. I had phone coverage and was going to ring Ride Assist as they will bring fuel.

However I was standing near the bike and a couple of locals stopped and asked me if i needed help, I explained my predicament and the fellow said no problem he could help me out. He owned an earth moving business that just happened to be a few k's up the road. So we went to his business and he gave me 10 liters of fuel and got his offsider to drive me back to the Spyder I gave him 20 dollars for his trouble and off I went. Country people are the salt of the earth I reckon, in the city you would be lucky if someone would piss on you if you were on fire. I reckon If I hadn't of got lost and went out of my way I would have made it to Tenterfield without a hitch. The bike does better fuel figures on the highway oh well once bitten twice shy.

I had intended to camp today however by the time I got to Glen Innes the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the sky was black, I managed to find a cheap Hotel for the night before the heavens opened and will head off well rested at the crack of Dawn, that is if dawn doesn't mind of course! So all in all I have had a very intersting day.

So folks until tomorrow stay the sunny side up and be excellent to one another.

The Adventure Begins

2010-02-13T15:14:00.006+10:00

I set of early this morning, in fact I was up and showered by 0330. I couldn't sleep I was like a kid on christmas eve waiting for Santa to arrive, Well what do you expect after waiting for two years? Just because I am an old godger doesn't mean that I am not allowed to get excited about something.

Anyway back to today's blog, after packing the bike I was on my way by 0430. I headed into the city and rode out to Beaudesert on the mount Lindsay Highway, a highway it isn't however it is a great bike road.For those of you that love to ride there is a great Atlas put out by HEMA Maps it is called the Australia Motorcycle Atlas it has 200 top rides as described by Peter Thoeming.

Just before you get to Rathdowney there is a turn off to The lions Road which is another Great Bike Road it takes you eventually to Kyogle. The Syder was a pleasure to ride on both these rides and the traction control was a bonus on the corners. After I fueled up at Kyogle I headed of to Nimbin, now that's not a road it's a goat track and a couple of Hippies ran me of the road into the dirt, I was going to spend some time in Nimbin, however after that near death experience I had a coffee and headed of to Byron Bay.

The Final Countdown.

2010-02-10T14:06:00.005+10:00

Two more days to go and I am on the road for four months, The bike is packed and ready to go I have packed and repacked many times. At first I had my gear in three bags and there was no way possible to fit the mountain of luggage onto the back of my Spyder. In the end I placed everything out on a table in the shed and removed everything but the essentials from the mass of gear I thought I might need. It is amazing what you can convince yourself that you might need.

I had to be ruthless in my packing and managed to get the load down to a bag containing my tent and blow up bed ( At 50 I deserve some comfort!) and another bag containing the majority of my gear. I managed to fit a majority of my camping gear into the front compartment of the Spyder.

If I was rich then I could afford to stay in Hotels, but alas this is far from the case. In order to stretch my limited funds to cover a complete circuit of the almost 15000km I wish to travel then some camping out is required.

New Technology

2010-02-04T21:23:00.005+10:00

I have always loved technology, it makes life easier, we have mobile phones to keep in contact, GPS to help us find our way, Ipods and Mp3 players to keep us entertained, video and still cameras to share our adventures.

Like most things there are downsides, here's a couple, bloody batteries for one, why is that nine times out of ten, I assume that the new gadget I have bought comes with batteries, so i race home excitedly to learn how to use the new gadget and you guessed it, no bloody batteries, so after a quick visit back to the shop and much cursing and muttering to myself, I purchase the required batteries.

I fill myself with resolve to never make that mistake again and promise myself to ask the spotty computer geek at the shop if the new gadget comes with batteries. I never do maybe for the same reason that most blokes would rather get lost than ask another for directions, some of us never learn.

Another beef I have with new technology is the more gadgets I acquire the more USB cables and manuals and power supplies I accumulate and somehow manage to loose at the most inappropriate time, tell me folks is it just me? Or do other people have the same issues? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject.

Recomended companies

2010-02-02T21:31:00.010+10:00

While I was obtaining equipment for my trip I had the pleasure to deal with the following companies and would recommend them to anyone for their prompt and friendly service:

RYDA CAR RADIO: www.ryda.com.au.
I ordered a GPS for my Spyder on the Thursday night and it was delivered by Monday morning. I will certainly use Ryda for future electronic equipment.

DRAGGIN JEANS: www.dragginjeans.net
I have owned a pair of Draggin jeans for two years, they are well made and comfortable, the staff at this company provide friendly and professional service. The best thing is that Draggin Jeans is an Australian company. Check out there website and check out the YouTube video of how they test their products.

HERVEY BAY MOTORCYCLES: www.herveybaymotorcycles.com.au
I Recently bought my CAN AM Spyder from this company, Gary" Whiskers" and his staff provided me with professional and efficient service. I would have no problem recommending them.

ANDY STRAPZ: www.andystrapz.com
Andy Strapz is another Australian Company that provides gear for motorcycle touring. I am impressed with his innovative luggage strapz which are a safer option than the old fashioned occy straps that I used to use to hold gear on my bike.

What If?

2010-01-29T08:42:00.004+10:00

Sometimes we can get caught up in what I call "The What if?" syndrome. This syndrome is inherited from a parent it's main symptoms are a failure to take action due to an overwhelming fear of what might happen. It can be exacerbated by reading to many newspapers or watching television news and current affairs programs.

It may start simply by a comment from a well meaning parent for example. "When I go to NSW I will stay in the national park it only costs seven dollars to stay overnight" A typical reaction to this from the effected parent might be "You cant go camping by yourself, what if you get mugged, bitten by a spider, snake, bunyip (insert fear in here)? The thing is usually I am not worried about these things however once infected by the parent the fear of the unknown creeps up on me and I start to think of the negative possibilities.

I once read a really good definition on fear they framed it as False Evidence Appearing Real. The way I beat this fear trap is started to use the "What if? " question as an antidote to fear and inaction, my approach nowadays is to Ask What if nothing bad happens?
A wise man once said "What if shit was clay? well my son we could make a lot of bricks.

ARE WE THERE YET?

2010-01-27T20:25:00.002+10:00

After waiting patiently for 2 years I now have the funds to Start my Journey. It's funny how things go, When i was younger it was all about the destination, are we there yet? Was my constant cry, nowdays it's about the journey, to embark on the road less traveled, follow with me if you will as I embark on this three wheeled odyssey around this great country of ours. The count down has begun if all goes well I hope to be on the road by the 8th of Feburary. Stay posted for videos and comments as I journey into the unknown.

ADVENTURE BEFORE DEMENTIA......

Around Oz on a Spyder.

2009-04-10T17:35:00.009+10:00

INTRODUCTION;

It has been a life long dream of mine to travel around Australia. I had planned to do the trip on my Honda Shadow 750c, however recently I purchased a Can-AM Spyder 2009 SE5 and this is going to be my ride. I have decide to keep a blog of my journey. For those of you that want more info on the Spyder check out this website. http://spyder.brp.com/en-AU/