CHASING THE HORIZON

Great Divide Ride

Ok so the bike is packed and I am ready to go. Just a few things to tidy up at work in the Morning and I am off. I will be meeting a guy by the name of Meindert at Beaudesert tomorrow at Lunch time, then we are away. Bit disspointted that there are not more riders coming. Some of you blokes need to be less focused on your family's & careers and be more of a selfish bugger like me. :-)

Have plotted a bit of a course that will see us head down through central NSW taking in such highlights as Nundle, Hanging Rock Mudgee &  Hill End, Bathurst, Wee Jasper and getting in To Tintaldra on Friday for the Horizons unlimted riders Rally on the weekend. (see http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/meetings/Aus2008.php ) Next week will be spent on a tour around the high country of Victoria before heading to Phillip Island for the World Superbikes, then the following week home via a different route, which I havnt worked out yet.

Well thats the plan anyway, of course anything could happen and I may not come home. (just kidding Sam).

Will try and update daily. Hope you enjoy the ride.

Guy :-)

Nice day for a ride-Brisbane - Deepwater

Managed to get away from work a bit early and met up with Meindert at Beaudesert. He is a very interesting dude. He has ridden his KTM 660 RALLYE from the Netherlands across eastern europe across Russia and Everybloodystan, Iran Mongolia and Japan before shipping it here. For those that dont know the 660 Rallye is quite an exclusive machine. This one raced in the 2003 Dakar before he bought it. It started raining not long after we left and didnt stop, so we have decided to stay the night at one of my favourite pubs. The deepwater inn.

Deepwater to Sandy Hollow

Woke to a cold & rainy morning and despite the fact that Meindert stayed up most of the night and cleaned up the pool comp we managed to get away pretty early. Took some really nice back roads out the back of Glenn Innes & Uralla down to Walcha. Found some nice forestry tracks to hanging rock, which we thought was a bit overrated (see pic)
We then found this awesome track that had about 20 deep rocky creek crossing and for once i didnt end up in the bottom of them , which made a nice change. Had a beer and pie at the moonan flat pub. Then a high speed blast thru the spectacular hunter valley to sandy hollow where have set up camp with an awesome view and a full moon. More tomorrow :)

Saturday- Tintaldra

Spent today taking in some of the travel talks then a few of us went for a paddle down the upper murray river in some canoes. As always it turned into a race but some of there blokes are much better bike riders than canoeists. Tomorrow Meindert & i head to the top of Australia to check out mt Koziosco.

Sleepy Hollow to Wee Jasper

Turns out our idilic camp spot wasnt so flash after all. Who would've thought that 2klm long coal trains would run all night just 200m from our camp. Todays ride took us past all the well known vineyards of the area to mudgee. I got to ride the 660 which despite its age, made my 640 feel a like a shitbox. we then checked out the old gold mine town of Hill End before taking on the famous bridle track which was great fun. We then headed for bathurst for the compulsory 60klm/h one lap race . I of course won the baggage class. The afternoon was some fun twisty's to the pub at wee jasper. Tomorrow Tintaldra.

Tintaldra to Bairnsdale

Had an awesome day today. Rode everything from mountain twistys where I wish I was on the vstrom to single track where i wish i was on the 450. Single track becomes very interesting when your panniers are 1 metre wide and the trees are 900mm wide. (dont ask me how I know OK). We went from Tintaldra to Tom Groggin them up into the mountains over to Omeo. Spectacular scenery and very eery going thru the burnt out forest from the fires last year. Was also very cold and i was wearing everything i had which made me look even fatter than i are. :-) quick service in the morning then back up into the hills.

Wee jasper to Tintaldra

Pretty easy day today. Took some nice back roads into the foothills of the snowy mountains. Had a quick beer at the bridge hotel in Jinjelic them a very high speed blast on the dirt beside the Murray river to Tintaldra. Set up camp and met some of the other riders them watched a couple presentations about travelling the world on bikes. There are over 100 riders here from all over the world and we will spend the next couple of days watching presetations and going to various clinics etc.

Bairnsdale to Talbotville

Was hard to get out of my nice warm cabin bed this morning, but i was up early and off to the local KTM dealer to get a new back tyre and get the carb cleaned as it had picked up a bit of dirt and was idleing a bit rough. Huge props to Wayne & Travis at Bairnsdale KTM. Awesome service and not too expensive either. We then headed back into the bush towards Dargo for lunch. We met Norm who is a fellow 640 rider and will be riding with us for a couple of days. Our overnight camp is at Talbotville. An old deserted hold mining town. Not much town left but a very pretty spot on the banks of the crooked river.

Talbotville to Craigs hut

Had the best days riding today of the trip today. We lost Norm early as he didnt want to ride on the tracks we intended to go on although we did see him again later on after he got hopelessly lost. We headed up a queer and rocky track to the top of mt blue rag. Spent a bit of time up there them down the awesome Mt Hotham road to harrietville where met Holger & Anja a crazy german couple riding f650 bmw's around the world. We decided we would all camp together at Craigs hut but they wanted to go the easy way while Meindert & I headed over some brilliant mountain tracks. We have all met up and are having a few beers around the fire.

Woods Point to Marysville

Da da ding ding ding ding ding ding ding diiiiinng (deliverence theme) nah not really. We had a great night at the Woods Pt pub. Locals were super friendly and the publicans Kirrily & Cam were awesome. If your ever in to woods Pt you must spend the night here. $40 bucks including a huge cook up breakfast ...awesome. :) was rainy & cold when we left and Im talking real fucking cold. Michelin man suit on and grip heaters on high for the first time ever. We rode thru the rain down to an old tunnel that was cut in the gold rush days. Then a good argument with the owner of the mc adam gap tavern because we made the mistake of wanting a coffee on the one day of the week they are closed....wanker. Lake mountain were actually happy to see us so they got our money instead. The pics wont show it but they even managed to make it snow for us just as we were leaving...nice touch but bloody cold. Buxton is the home of the worlds largest burger and also where we said goodbye to Meindert who is off to Tassie and beyond.

Dutchie i had an awesome week with you and hope that you find whatever it is your looking for. I reckon you should look in Thailand. :) Good luck mate. I hope we meet again one day. Muz & i have booked into a pub in Marysville where it is pissing down rain and we have hooked up with a pair of gardiners known as the dodgy brothers.

Marysville to Melbourne

Managed to create havoc at the pub this morning by setting off the smoke alarm in my room. Should've closed the bathroom door while having a shower they said. Who would have thought? I made a sheepish exit and would like to apologise to all the other guests at the pub :). After all the excitement I needed a latte to calm down. I think i have been hanging around BMW riding pansies for too long. No not you big Muz. Most BMW poofs would spit their latte flavoured dummies if we took them where we have been. :) From Marysville we headed into the very pretty Yarra ranges to Gembrook where Muz headed straight for Phillip Island, while I met up with Fellow Strom rider Richard who took me on an awesome little ride (80 klm ? ) around Wandin Valley and the Dandenong ranges. thanks Richard I really enjoyed it and hope i can do the same for you if you come to QLD sometime. Checked into a motel them battled the Melb peak hour traffic to the airport to pick up Sam who has come down for the weekend. Tomorrow Phillip Island. :)

Phillip Island

Just got back from a huge day. Sam & I got away reasonably early and off to PI where we met up with some friends Iain John & Glen. The superbike race is much more laid back than moto gp and after checking out the expo site we jumped on our bikes and headed off on a lap around the outside of the track. There was plenty to see and apparently there were even bikes racing around but i am buggered if I saw any :-). The decision was made that the view would be better from the air so a ride in a helicopter was in order. Damn I love helicopters ...best RV vehicle ever invented :-). After Troy Balliss wrapped up superpole Sam and I decided to take the scenic route home via the vehicle ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliffe. Was a lovely sunset cruise and i shouted Sam a romantic dinner of a cold pie & an even colder coffee. Who says I dont know how to impress the chicks eh? I had them hanging off me all day at the supers :-) Unfortunatly due to Sams flight departure time we wont be able to go back to the Supers to morrow , but Adrian has very kindly offered to take us on a short ride in the morning and we might try and find somewhere to watch the race on foxtel. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Adrians Urban Recon - Melbourne

As many of you will know i have dived with sharks in Vanuatu, heliskied in NZ, braved the highland rascals of PNG and ridden bikes far too fast on both the dirt and road for many years but did one of the scariest things of my life today... Yep I braved the traffic and chaos of the Melbourne CBD. How we survived I will never know. Car drivers intent on running you down. Trams that have a whole set of rules that noone else knows, Suicidal cyclists and you have to turn left to go right .WTF ???. Our day started with a nice big brekky at the pier where the Spirit of Tassie departs. I was tempted to ride straight on but Sam was muttering something about growing up and being responsible or some crap like that. :-) This was also where we met Adrian who had mapped out an adventure ride that included the Albert Park F1 track, Cobblestone back lanes,riding up footpaths, tricky one way streets that we of course rode the wrong way and all the landmarks of the city. Was great fun and saw some amazing sights including the making of a bollywood movie. I asked them if they wanted me to help out and they said they would call but I havent yet. :-) Ended up at the cesspool of society that is the casino hoping to watch the supers but all the screens only had blokes playing with their balls and batting each other off. can you tell i hate cricket? Had a couple of overpriced beers then off to the airport to drop Sam off. Was a great day and huge thanks to Adrian for being our tour guide. Mate we had a ball. :-) Tomorrow the ride home begins. Am meeting Glen & John at Taralgon at 8 so will be an early start.

Braidwood to Millmead

What a day. Have no idea how far we rode but we did some amazing roads & tracks. Left early and went up the dirt towards Nerriga but took a short cut up a forestry track that had a tricky creek crossing. Glen did an awesome job of getting the big strom across. Took a wrong turn and ended up in a huge flash place in the middle of nowhere with security cams everywhere. Not sure what it was all about but we got out as quick as we could. Glen them ran out of fuel right in the middle of crossing the Hume highway and within 1 klm of the servo. was going to make him push but i relented and drained some fuel for him. More fun dirt (Glen would disagree) then awesome twistys into Oberon. Quick lunch then into the amazing Jenolan caves. The road in was great fun and the tunnel and caves spectacular. From there more great twistys to the famous Bells line of road. Have read about this road in mags for years but never had the chance to ride it. No idea what the fuss is about. Have ridden much better and even the the view to Smogney was crap. Nice touch was the piccy taken of me by the NSW govt. They must want to hang it up in the pool room at Parly house i think. :-( . The road into Wisemans Ferry was brilliant and we celebrated with a quick beer. My bike also developed a strange misfire but after draining the carb all appears well. I also thought the road out was brilliant but Glen wasnt so pleased due to road being 6 inches deep gravel. He did say something about killing me at the first opportunity but i made sure i kept my distance :-) Have set up camp in the middle of the local motocross track at Millmead. Am totally stuffed and looking forward to hitting the swag. In the morning Glen will be doing a runner and heading for Bris. He says he has work commitments but i think its because i ran out of deoderant about a week ago. Maybe he is off to buy a dualsport bike. He really should have one if he is going to ride so much dirt :-)

Millmead to Woolgoolga

Glen was up at dawn and quickly packed up and off for his sprint to Brisbane. Thanks for the past few days mate I had a blast... ya funny bastard :) Sorry for taking you on those shitty dirt roads {no not really :) )}. Looking forward to many more adventures on the Stroms.

I took my time and after packing up made my way to Maitland via a great dirt road thru the Werakata national park. This is a very nice area and everyone is bike mad. Just about every acreage block has its own MX track and all the kids on their way to school wanted me to do wheelies. (so i did) :-) No wonder so many good riders come from the area. Chad Reed grew up just down the road. Had a very nice breakfast in Maitland then headed towards Dungog. Headed up the Buckets Way thru some spectacular scenery. was like riding thru a postcard. Found a great track that followed the river but the bridge had been washed away and it was too deep to cross so had to back track to the Thunderbolts way :-(. By Nowendoc I was sick of the picture perfect scenery and smooth mountain twistys so did what any self respecting recon rider would do and hit the back roads for the 80 odd kays to Walcha for fuel. Besides my front tyre is now so stuffed that it slides about 4 inches into the corners before hooking up. Sphincter tightening stuff that :-). Had a crap roast beef roll at the Walcha royal cafe. (flash name but shit food) then took more back roads thru sheep country (yes they are starting to look attractive although I am more a goat man myself, you know being european an all , but i should add that i am growing quite fond of the Llama ) to Armidale. Had another scary moment when a logging truck came round a blind corner on the wrong side of the road. If it wasnt for my extreme athletism and supreme reflexes I would have been in the bushes. Actually I was just lucky and the prick didnt even stop to see if I was ok. asshole !! . I hate truck drivers.

From there it was a high speed run along the Waterfall way and down the Dorrigo range to Bellingen & Coffs to the super luxurious Bark Hut Spa resort where I have checked in for the night.This place is very exclusive and has a staff to guest ratio of 2 to 1. Actually it is my friends Brian & Janelles house, but they do have a spa so that makes it a resort as far as i an concerned. The closest thing i have to a spa at home is when I fart in the bath. :-)

Woolgoolga to Home

Thanks Brian & Janelle for putting me up, giving me an awesome meal and filling me with too much wine. Was a great night . Oh and Brian you make an awesome coffee, but if you sell the Triumph and buy a BMW, you will never hear the end of it. :-)

Although it was only 400klms home, there was no way I was going to just drone the highway, so I headed up into the familiar territory of the Sherwood state forest. Some of you losers out there will know exactly where some of these pics were taken.

After that I headed up the Orara Way to Grafton, where I was bailed up by Werner & Claudia, another crazy German couple riding around the worls. Wish I knew how all these Germans can afford to do this stuff. They were heading to Nimbin for the night and we decided to ride there to gether.

Stopped in Casino for a coffee and then the rain started. Was good weather for ducks.

Amazingly the weather cleared for about 10 minutes while I was in Nimbin, but there was this very strange smoke haze and on the way out I couldnt wipe the stupid grin from my face. :-))))

The rain started again and the roads over the tweed ranges was very treacherous. In fact so much so that one guy threw his bike away. He was only slightly injured and the bike was carted away on a truck. The rain stayed until I reached the Queensland border, then as if on que the sun came out and it was all clear for the boring run up the M1 to home.

So there it is. 6500klms in 16 days thru some amazing scenery and met some awesome people.

Made it home wet, tired, cold, hungry and horny, but would head off again to morrow if I didnt have to go back to the real world. [would need to sort of the horny bit first though.....Hi honey i'm home :-)))]

And I can still get it up :-))))

Next big ride will probably be the QLD channel & corner country in June. If you can get your toenails dry, the cat shampooed and the letter box painted, feel free to come along.

I will post a heap more pics including some of Glens & Meindert over the next day or so make you sure you take a look.

Hope you enjoyed the ride.

Cheers

Guy  :-)

DAY 16 MILFORD SOUND-INVERCARGILL

Turns out Mavis was an early riser as well. Had brekky while sailing back to the harbour  and Sam had a go at the helm as the skipper seemed to be lost.

He almost drove us straight into this huge waterfall.

then it was back to the harbour. It was a great night. If you ever get the chance...do it but perhaps not on the boat Mavis on.

We made our way back to Te Anau stopping in at the quirky little hiking camp of Hollywood.

thats Tom cruises house on thr right.

Then it was onto the southern scenic highway which couldnt compete with the previous days scenery but was pretty good just the same.

stopped at Whil McCrakens look out.

 
 
 I have managed to catch a cold (no idea how that happened) and the wind was blowing at 400klm/h so we decided to try and find a cosy nook to stay in near Invercargill.