From Saturday, 8th may. 2000 klms of pub crawl on Postie bikes. They keep telling me its going to be fun..............but I'm not so sure.
This is Hurricane, the bike I will be riding. As you can see it is the V6 version.
Its not really a V6 that just means it has very close to 6 hp.
I have fitted a long range fuel tank off a XR250 and YSS shocks to help carry my fat ass and luggage around. I have also fitted knobby tyres and heavy duty tubes.
It also has a high speed fairing fitted, which add 0.2 hp and 1.6 klm/h
Other than its bog stock standard and reaches a max speed of around 90klm/h. 0-60klm/h in about 4 hours and 60 -0 in about 5 klms
We will be doing a loop departing Charleivelle and taking in as many pubs as possible in 7 days.
Not quite sure how I got sucked into this....hope I come out unscathed.
Well the hurricane is ready. Its been a hectic past few days of preparation. There is no truth in the rumour that Sam has been slapping my bum with a ruler to get it ready..............she used ping pong bats... Purely for medicinal purposes of course. Spot tracking will be available at http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=5215 from Saturday. I will be posting from my phone, so will be dependant on network coverage and pics might be a bit dodgy.
Hope you enjoy the ride....in fact I hope I enjoy the ride :-)
We have arrived at base camp one. Apparently we are now in the outback. Temp last night here 0 degrees. Drama has started with Rohan having a flat Tyre. Took 4 tubes to fix. Dinner at the RSL then off to the Cosmos centre.
Posties suck at water crossings. Trust me I know. We left Charleville and headed for Adavale. Typically Glen neglected to get a road reports and at Lake Dartmouth the road was flooded. We pressed on but all of us had issues and we had to dewater Gil,s bike . All good though .
Made it to Adavale for a cold beer and a sausage roll. Then off we headed on the 220 klms ride to Blackall. Unfortunately 220 kays on a Postie takes about 5 hours. Was well after dark by the time we got into to town after both Glen and I ran out of fuel. Fortunately Ken and Oscar were not far behind.
Was a pretty early start. We packed up and headed for Yaraka. Along the way we checked out the impressive Mt Slowcomb in the Lang Lang ranges..
Was a struggle to get the bikes up the steep access road but the views were worth it. We then headed into Yaraka population 16. Unfortunately the pub was closed but Kenny came to the rescue with Kenny's famous hot dogs and cold beer. .
From there we headed for Jundah with a short stop at the Barcoo river. The pub at Jundah Was closed but a road crew who are staying at the pub felt sorry for us and plied us with beers until the bar opened. Huge barbee for dinner with some very pissed people. Have also thrown the yabbie pots in. Yahoo red claw for brekky
Woke to to the sound of Cookie the horse munching on grass right next to my head. Frightened crop out of me. We checked the traps and had a couple of nice blue claw.
Then up the road to Stonehenge. Didn't find any huge stone structures but did find some stone balls. The pub dog was also looking like he had a big night. Had brekky at the pub and the lovely lady told us about an alternative route to Longreach which was great fun.
checked into the van park which is very flash. A spa and a few cold beers then off to dinner at the in house restaurant.
Took the obligatory pic of the Qantas jets then headed up the track towards Muttaburra. Gil the Dil had a fall in the soft sand but no damage done.
Nice cold beer at The Exchange hotel. A local at the pub told us of a nice camp spot on the banks of Cornish creek so that's where we ended up but not before Dil went ass up in the creek crossing. Had a great night sitting round the listening to Dil's hilarious jokes ????
Had a great day today despite getting a bit lost................well a lot lost actually. First taste of riding the Postie in deep soft sand.. Huge fun and I think everyone had a crash. Gil had several and it was decided that his bike should go on the trailer before he hurt himself. He also had a few broken spokes. Ended up having to ride the last 50 kays into town in the dark which wasn't fun but the rest of the day was brilliant.
Was an early night. Everyone was knackered. Dinner in the pub then into the swag out the back. The others were going to take a few days to get back to Charleville, so I decided to leave them and headed off for Tambo. Had a great ride through neverfail station on some deep sandy tracks. Beautiful scenery and heaps of wildlife including huge Eagles and Brolga . Very cool. Had a close call with a wild pig and some goats as well, but I think they shat themselves more than me.
Crossed the 6500 klms dingo fence then Had lunch and a beer in Tambo then headed off for Charleville via the brilliant Ward river road. Even saw where Thommo used to live. :-) and rode through a huge swarm of locusts not fun.
Then out to where we had left the cars and sadly loaded the Hurricane onto the trailer and began the long drive through the night home.
Had great week and thanks to Glen for organising it. Next ride will hopefully be the Transcontinental Safari .. Brisbane to Perth via Simpson Desert and Gunbarrell to chase the Australian Safari in September. Promises to be huge. Cop u later :-)
You've heard of Debbie does Dallas right? Well this week we have a variation. Join us as we set of on the Pinky Tuscadero does Tassie tour.
Those of you that know my long suffering wife Samantha, will be well aware of how accommodating she is when I decide at the drop of hat to drain the family bank account and head of to all corners of the world in my quest for world domination. She never complains when I wake upon the middle of the night and tell her of my plans to head of into the desert just because it seems like a good idea at the time. You never hear a whimper when I set off my spot tracker and she has to drive out in pissing down rain to winch me out of a flooded river. Nor does she belly ache when she discovers that I have maxed out the credit card on that must have widget for one of the bikes. So when she mentioned that she would like to go on a ride where she is actually riding rather than sitting on the back or waiting patiently at home for the police to ring, who was I to deny her?
So one night out in the desert when drunk I inadvertently mentioned this to to my great mate Thommo (aka Scrawn AKA Ranga) and a plan was tentatively put into place. What was that plan I hear you ask dear reader.? Well seeing as Sam is a complete gumby when it comes to motor skills, there was no way I would let her loose on a full size bike, but as she actually rides a postie bike to work most days of the week, it was decided that a tour of Tassie on the posties was in order. This was actually easier to put into practice than normal, seeing as I forgot to bring my postie home from the Moto GP last year and it was sitting at Thommos house in Melbourne just waiting to be set loose again. As it happens it appears that my postie and the Rangas postie had been breeding and somehow or other another Postie has materialised in Thommos garage.
So with the bikes sorted we set about preparing for the bike ride. This involved me totally forgetting about it until earlier this week and Samantha doing her nails. Check them out.
Fortunately the scrawn was on the ball and he has spent the last few months quietly toiling away in his shed with a couple of Oompaloompahs getting the bikes ready to go.
So anyway the day has arrived and it was an early start.
Brissie airport was a hive of activity.
Melbourne looked its usual glorious self as we jetted in. That's it in the distance through the smog.
We had a short stopover in Melbourne,
where I taught Sam the finer points of adventure gluttony and nose in the trough etiquette for factory postie riders.
Meanwhile back in Melbourne the service crew were getting ready to board the big red tinny for their crossing across bass straight. The ute which is normally used for picking up smoko orders was loaded up with bikes and all manner of other equipment.
Along with the Scrawn we shall be joined by his lovely partner Sandy, who has decided to leave her Hayabusa and DR at home and will drive the support ute for a few days.
As you can see Scrawn has let himself go
So it's shaping up to be a great few days. Although we have absolutely no plans in place We are really looking forward to catching up with some friends and generally have a look around.
If by chance you happen to see the help signal go off, please don't call the police like what happened last time. They get a bit snakey if you drag them away from their donuts.
So hope you enjoy following us along. I will be getting Sam to post her thoughts on this trip as well, so that should be interesting. I hope.
PINKY SAYS
Feeling very excited about this. Also feeling very nervous but the wine is helping to settle the nerves.
I know I am in good hands with Thommo and Sandy. (Guy I'm not so sure about)
Not sure where we will end up, but hopefully not in hospital.
Am definitely up for the challenge though. Hope you enjoy following us along.
Was an uneventful flight over Bass straight. Wasn't long before the coastline came into view.
We made our war into Launceston where we checked into the Star hotel. Not a bad pub with great meals and friendly staff. Sam and I went for a walk around town while waiting for the Service crew to arrive.
The guys at the bar very kindly let us store the bikes inside the rear of the pub which was great. Only let down was the the noise that went on into the early hours of the morning which made for a sleepless night, but otherwise it was fine.
This morning was a beautiful sunny morning but pretty at cool at 4 degrees. Thommo and I set about getting the bikes ready to go.
Also fitted some new stickers that are sure to add 0.75 horsepowers.
We had a huge brekky then as the weather was so good we decided to head for Ben Lomond and the famous Jacobs ladder road. Nothing like chucking Pinky in at the deep end.
Ben Lomond soon came into veiw
Jacobs ladder is reminiscent of some of the great passes in the European alps but not as long and much rougher. Slippery and rutted it is no place for the faint hearted. Its a dauntingbriad forthe inexperienced. Luckily for Pinky, ignorance is Bliss and she blasted up without missing a beat.
She was pretty pleased to get to the top, but went into panic mode when she realised she now had to head back down. She need'nt have worried as she easily made her way down like a pro.
The Scrawn on the other hand had all sorts of trouble suffering from vertigo and actually falling over at top, but he was quickly on his feet, so no pic. Some silliness on my behalf also nearly saw me come to grief.
It was still pretty cold so we had a bush coffee stop on the way back down, which was fantastic.
From there Sandy and the Smoko truck headed off to Scottsdale via the main road, while us three, took the scenic route over Ben Nevis ridge road, which was just brilliant.
Pinky was on fire and at once stage even passed the road boss, which pissed him off no end.
So much for her being a learner
The final blast into Scottsdale via the scenic twisties was great fun.
At Scottsdale we checked into our salubrious B&B then headed into town and ordered a gourmet takeaway dinner from DoJo's of curried scallops and pizza and a couple of bottles of wine before heading to the local park to watch the Platypus frollick while we dined on our fantastic meal.
I was a bit slow on the camera, but we really did see a platypus which was pretty cool. Then back to our room where the service crew checked over the bikes.
it's been a early night so we can catch up on the sleep we didn't get last night.
A great first day for Pinky' first big ride and she is doing fantastically well. Very proud of her.
PINKY SAYS
I was very nervous when we woke this morning, The cold didn't help and I needed several nervous wee trips.
I was concentrating so hard going up Jacobs ladder that I forgot to take in the veiw, but once there, I was pretty pleased with myself. Coming down was much more stressful for me and I was very happy to stop and have a coffee.
After that I started to relax and really enjoyed the rest of the ride into Scottsdale especially the winding bits.
Having dinner with the Platypus was lovely, as is the room we are staying in. I am very pleased with how I went today and am now really looking forward to tomorrow.
Was another cool start to the morning, and a slight drizzle that soon cleared to beautiful day. Sandy left early to drive down to Hobart to visit some friends. We decided to back track a bit to Ledgerwood, because somehow or other I had totally missed the tree carvings when we came past yesterday. Don't ask me how, they are massive, but I was totally oblivious to them. Tree carving what tree carvings?
The carvings are memorials to locals that fought in the various wars and are extremely well done.
We headed up into the beautiful Mt Victoria state forest to Ralph falls.
The walk down to the falls was spectacular. Huge green mossy trees with mushy's growing out like steps. Was like a scene out of a fairy tail.
Was even a scrawny troll under one of the bridges
The falls themselves were a bit underwhelming, but the walk was nice. More of a water trickle really.
Pinky decided that she wanted to pay a visit to her old friend Priscilla at the pub in the paddock, but when we arrived we were saddened to hear that Priscilla had passed away. Probably too much piss we Presume. Anyway Pinky tried persistently to coax Priscilla's replacement (also know as Pinky) out of her apartment to partake in a pint of Piss, but Pinky was'nt keen to participate, despite Pinky's persistence. So we decided to piss off and leave her in peace.
Pinky trying to persuade Pinky to partake. ( Puck there where a lot of P's in that last paragraph.)
We found some awesome back tracks on the way to St Helen's, where had some excellent fish chips on the blue boat.
We decided that the fish and chips were'nt quite filling enough, so pancakes on the Elephants pass were in order, but first we had to burn off the fish and chips, so we climbed high into the Scamander state forest where the views back over St Helen's and south to Bicheno were breathtaking. Unfortunatly the iPhone pics won't do it Justice.
The pancakes as always were brilliant.
At about that time we received an invitation to stay at some friends of Thommos in Longford. Was a quite a way to go, so we set off, looking for short cuts as we went, and tryed to stay off the main roads as much as we could, but all we found was some place called Mangina. A great piece of road past Rossarden, which we have done before on previous trips and the Ranga and I had a great race down the hill.
It was a hard slog all the way up to Longford, but we were made to feel very Welcome by Peter & Caroline who have very kindly let us stay in their very comfy cubby house and cooked us a huge feast. Thanks guys was great to meet you.
PINKY SAYS
Big day today. About 300 klms mostly through the bush. Had a great time, but am totally exhausted.
Conquered a couple of big hills which was great.
Pretty pissed off at Pinky the pig. Priscilla was much more personable and pleasant.
Was a cold start again. The wind was blowing so hard thru the the night we thought the cubby might fall down. Took a while for the support crew together the bikes ready.
But eventually we got away and rode 30 seconds into Longford for an awesome big brekky at the Bakery.
There was a bit of confusion about what direction we should take, but eventually we all agreed to work as a team and do it my way, and after confirmation from the locals we headed in a southerly direction towards the very peculiar town of Poatina. Not quite sure how to describe this place. Reminds me of Woomera in Sth Australia. Seems to be stuck in a 1950's time warp. It was freezing cold after racing up the range, so we headed for the cafe which featured great coffee complete with period style wing back armchairs and Elvis playing on the wireless. The town itself was deserted but I got the the distinct feeling we were being peered upon by unseen people behind the curtains as we rode around the deserted streets. Very unconcerting and very wierd. We learnt later that the whole town is owned by some wierd ass religious types, so that goes some way to explaining it.
Our favourite shanty town of Flintstone was next and we had a yabba yabba do time checking out all the new shacks that have been built since our last visit. We then froze our asses off all the way to Interlaken which looked surprisingly like the Interlaken Switerland.
At least the lake wasn't frozen, but our hands certainly were.
On the way into Bothwell we decided that we better organise some dinner, so Pinky went hunting for some Venison which we carved up into some lovely steaks. The scrawn reckons 'twas the best viddles he had seen since Christmas at cousins Mary's place.
Actually that last bit was bullshit, we just happened to come across some dear hunters while sipping lattes at the cafe.
We found a back road that took us through the Ouse valley that was really weird. Full of dead trees and burnt down farm houses. Real duelling banjo country. The Scrawn felt right at home.
We had an appointment to meet back up with Sandy in Hamilton, so raced each other to the historic Hamilton Inn built in 1801, where we had a great meal and were entertained by the very funny Dan behind the bar.
The rooms here are quite luxurious but lacking in head room so you need to be a bit careful when standing up.
PINKY SAYS
No pinky says tonight as she s fast asleep. (Could have been too many beers)
Was a bleak and overcast morning today. Perfect weather to head into the Tasmanian wilderness.
Pinky didn't get much sleep due to the resident ghost keeping her awake all night, and sadly we said goodbye to Sandi who has to head back to Melbourne as her evil employer wouldn't give her any time off work. She came with us as far as Russell falls then headed to launceston, while we three headed for Strathgordon dam. Sam and I had done this road previously, Scrawn hadn't but we were happy to do it again. Its a great road even at 80 km\h.
The logging trucks held us up a bit.
And then it started to rain. The wind was so strong, we were being blown all over the road. Luckily it was only 8 degrees as well.
We decided against the creepy crawly nature trail.
Was pretty difficult conditions, But Pinky overcame all the adversity and claimed her first ever stage win. (and didnt she make sure we knew about it)
Scrawn suffers from vertigo even more than me so it was only a quick look at the dam wall.
It was still bitterly cold and raining. We decided a quick lunch at Lake Pedder was in order. An hour after ordering our toasted sammiches arrived, so we had plenty of time to take in the veiw.
It was getting late so we made quick time back down to the National Park hotel for a drink and scoffed all the free pies and sausage rolls. Then set off into the forestry looking for a short cut to Huonville, which is near to where Eva and Simon live, and where we are staying tonight. Got a bit confusing with tracks going everywhere.
And things got a bit prickly at one stage.
With darkness descending and us with no working headlights, we just made it to Simon and Eva's , where we had a great night chatting drinking and eating.
An awesome day!
PINKY SAYS
Wow what a day. Very challenging. The weather up to Strathgordon was diabolical, but I was pretty pleased with my stage win. There will be more of those to come.
Had a few scary moments on the loose gravel, but no crashes so all good.
Staying with the lovely Eva and Simon and their very cute 4 month old baby Lilly.
We had a great night with Simon, Eva and Lilley. They live in a little piece if paradise known as Mountain river and the veiw from their patio is brilliant.
The bikes needed a little love this morning, so we got stuck into that with a little help from Simon. While Pinky got all maternal like.
Thanks again Eva and Simon, was great to meet you.
We had a quick brekky on the banks if the beautiful Huon river.
Then took some great roads across to Kingston in search if a headlight globe. Which of course no one had.
We had to go to the north side of Hobart to get a globe, which was quite a way and we considered catching the train, but it would ave been too slow.
We headed up to the top of Mt Nelson to get a veiw across the Derwent, mainly to check if Dan & Rosie were back from Sth America yet, but the lights were off, so we had an icecream and will have to wait till Thursday to see them.
With the globe sorted we did a tour of the suburbs of Hobart and Pinky made a pilgramige to the Cadbury factory, but luckily we were too late for a tour.
The famous Joes garage was our next stop where we met our friends Leigh & Sarah. Also met up with Andrew who is going to come for a ride with us tomorrow.
We left our mark in Joes then headed to Salamanca place where we had a Pizza before we put our newly acquired headlight globe into use and set off into the night to Leigh and Sarah's place.
Tomorrow Andrew is taking us on a tour of Bruny island.
Pinky says
Bit stiff and sore this morning.
Great ride today though.
Great to meet up with Leigh and Sarah again.
Joes garage was pretty cool, with everyone very interested in us and the posties.
Riding home in the dark was interesting. Luckily it wasn't too cold.
Was so good to catch up with Leigh and Sarah. As always it was all to brief, but we really enjoyed the short time with them. Thanks for everything guys and have a great time in Hawaii. Make sure you send us some pics of the wedding.
We got up early to see Leigh off to work, then Sam and Sarah went to feed Sarah's prize winning Alpaca's, which Sam just loved.
After dragging Sam away from the animals we set off, but not before doings some modification to Leigh's WR that is sure to add 5 hp and make it handle like a KTM.
We met Andrew and his awesome 1959 Triumph T100 at Salamanca place for a coffee, where we decided that Bruny island would be our destination.
Had a quick pee before we set off. Check out the veiw from the pisser.
Andrew led us over some brilliant roads the Kettering, where we boarded the ferry.
Actually Pinky led some of the ways well.
Bruny Island was brilliant. We had the best time exploring the island, which is spectacular. It's like a whole different world.
Even had a bit of shenanigans on the beach.
Was a great adventure. Check out the Grin on Andrews face. Sums up the day perfectly.
Lunch was at the Bruny hotel and it was very good.
We really had the best time and Defineatly a place to revisit sometime.
Andrew invited us back to his place for a coffee. What a dump! Check out the crap veiw from his patio.
And how could anyone wake up to this shit veiw from their kitchen every day.
He also has a crap collection of motorcycles.
Andrew then very kindly offered us the use of his shack at Dodges Ferry. Was expecting a tin shed out in the bush, but it is in fact a beautiful little cottage, located just a stones throw from the beach. Very very comfortable.
In fact it is so good we are going to stay for 2 nights. It even has a fridge full of beer and a bottle of gin than I intend to demolish.
Andrew you are legend! thank you for an awesome day and for letting us stay at the shack.
Tomorrow we hope to catch up with our bestest mates Dan & Rosanne , who only tonight are returning from a huge Sth American tour.
Check out their blog at http://www.altroutemotorcycle.typepad.com it's hilarious.
PINKY SAYS
Feeding the Alpacas was great fun. They are all named by Sarah after luxury cosmetics and clothing brands. Eg Coco Chanel, Armani, etc.
Wish we had more time with Leigh & Sarah
Bruny was fantastic. Lovely to meet Andrew.
Staying at Andrews cottage which is brilliant.
Looking forward to seeing Dan & Rosanne again tomorrow.
Was a very leisurely start to the day. Slept in for quite bit before getting up and going for a walk along the beach where Pinky and the Ranga did their best marine biologist impersonations seeking out all sorts of weird creatures.
We decided to do a lap of the Tasman peninsular on the way stopping at the Donnelly pub for a beer. Pinky had a whale of a time.
The bridge is also pretty cool pivoting in the middle to allow boats to pass.
Unfortunatly there is also a sad side to Donnelly, with many people having lost everything in the recent fires. The devastation is still quite apparent and many are now living in tents.
The scenery on the Tasman peninsular is brilliant especially on a day like today. The colour of the water is amazing and the roads are great fun.
We headed back to Dodges ferry and tried to take some sunset pics while waiting to meet Dan & Rosie.
Had a great time catching up with Dan & Rosanne over a pizza and a few beers then back to the Shack to stoke up the fire.
Tomorrow we start our trek North.
PINKY SAYS
Was nice to have a gentler day today.
Enjoyed the Tasman peninsular and the chocolate factory ..
Sadly we had to leave the shack today. It was a great place to stay for a couple of days and we can't thank Andrew enough. After packing up we headed into Sorel to buy some top up oil for the bikes then made for the hills with no particular destination in mind. It's amazing how these sorts of days turn out to be some of the best. We just wandered around basically just heading in a northerly direction, stopping for regular choccy and coffee stops, not fussed about which road or track we took. We had a ball and saw some beautiful scenery.
Even had time for shenanigan along the way ..
Had a great lunch at the bakery in the very pretty town of Ross
We got lost a couple of times and with the sun starting to fade we headed up to the great lakes region and checked into the Central highlands lodge where I had the best lamb shanks Eva !
Going to be a cold night tonight and will be a bit nippy in the morning.
PINKY SAYS.
Really enjoyed today. Am so much more confident than at the start of the ride. Even passed the road boss a couple of times.
As predicted it was a very cold start to the day. We set off down the Great Lakes road taking in some of the spectacular scenery along the way.
The race down to Deloraine was great fun.
We had brekky at a cool 50's diner.
Soon after the weather started to close in, so we decided against Cradle mountain. No big deal as we have been there before. We ended up just taking some back roads to Sheffield, where there was festival going on. We checked out some of the steam tractors and a few of the murals in town.
Had the only crash of the trip in Paradise.
Soon after we had our bit of trouble with the bikes when the needle in Sam's carb broke. Minor problem though and we soon had it sorted.
Our friend Barney had very kindly offered the use of his Shack at Liffey and what a place it is. Hidden away in the most idyllic setting near Liffey falls.
Barney took us for a look around the place, before he headed home, while we took a spin up to the local waterfalls.
Then back to the shack to cook up dinner and drink Barneys beer and a early night.
Thanks again for the use of the shack Barney. We love it.
Sadly tonight is our last night in Tassie. It's been a fantastic trip and was great to meet up with some old and new friends. Thanks to all those that made our trip so great. We did nearly 2500 Klms and Samantha had an absolute ball on her first solo ride and she did unbelievably well. Not even a single crash, which more than I can say. I think she is now ready for Vkadivostok to London.
Huge thanks to Thommo as well for supplying her bike.
Tomorrow the bikes get loaded up and sent back to our top secrecy facility in Frankston, where a team of highly skilled Oompaloompahs, will service them and get them ready for the next ride which is scheduled for June. Talk is Victorian high country. Hmm Vic in June. Now There's good idea.
Hope you enjoyed coming a long for the ride.
PINKY SAYS
Very sad that today was our last day. The boys were racing everywhere today, so I just took it easy, took in the veiws and had a great time.
I have had the best time. Met heaps of people. Everywhere we went people would stop and chat ask about the bikes and what we were doing. Most thought we were nuts.
Also am really pleased how well I went. My confidence grew every day.
Huge thanks to Thommo for letting me ride his bike and also to Guy for taking us on to some brilliant roads.
Can't wait to do it again. Maybe on a full size bike next time.
So I get this phone call from the Scrawn. The Oompaloompahs have sorted your postie he says. You should come down for a ride in the Victorian high Country he says. Cool when's a good time to come down ? says I. June is always good he says with a slight giggle. June I say ! Won't that be a bit cold? Nah he says dont worry about it. It does'nt get cold down here till August. You know Global warming and all that shit.
So it was with some trepidation that I cashed in a shit load of frequent flyer points and headed to the airport. Of course as luck would have it someone forgot to change the plugs in the plane and it was 2 hours late getting into Melbourne. This Was the first omen. Bit fuckin chilly I say to the Scrawn as I wedge my self into his mini me ute just as the sun started Lower itself into the western sky.
So we'll just head go to your place for the night and head off in the morning then shall we ? I ask. Bullshit he says we have a room booked in Warburton and I know some awesome short cuts he says. Who was I to argue?, So we headed back to the Oompaloompahs workshop changed quckly into riding gear and 3 sets of thermals and set off into the thick traffic and quickly oncoming sunset.
The looks on the faces of the commuters confirmed to me that yes we were off our fuckin trees. We split traffic like mad bastards to the outer village of Gembrook, along the way heading into some tracks that Scrawn had scouted out earlier. Just where you want to be at 8pm on a freezing Thursday night. It's going to be a long cold night if we get lost in here I remebered thinking. The next to useless headlights on the posties doing nothing to help as we dodged suicidal wombats and mini kangaroos.
At Gembrook we met up with Sandy on her DR and Uncle on his pristine VFR800. Leigh was also meant to meet us but he went all girlie claiming he was having problems with his vagina or something like that.
From Gembrook we set off into the inky blackness......destination Warburton. A stop to thaw out a little and scoff down a Parma was called at Wesburn. Are you blokes on posties? enquired one of the locals as we cleaned the snot running down our faces at Sam Stotts hotel. Your fucking mad !! he exclaimed and at that moment I sort of had to agree with him. It was so cold I couldn't get a clear pic I was shivering so much.
From there it was a short run to our luxurious digs where every heater and electric blanket was rammed up to 11 on the dials that only went to 5.
It was a slow start to the next day and we were defineatly asking each other who's idea was this?
We had a great brekky at the local bakery and I took a walk around the pretty town while we waited for Leigh to arrive, after sorting out his hormonal issues.
After waiting quite some time we finally got a call from Leigh to say he was lost. A plan was hatched to head up the Reefton spur where Sandy and Uncle would peel off and meet him in Marysville, while Scrawn and I took the scenic route through the bush.
The run up the Reefton was invigorating and the race was on. Great bit of road, usually police infested, but it must have been too cold for them and before long we arrived at the junction, and while Uncle did his impression of a Victorian traffic officer and blended in with the scenery, I borrowed the VFRs heated grips.
A this point we temporarily said goodbye to Sandy and Uncle as they set off in search of the lost boy.
The Scrawn and I descended into the lush Victorian forest and within minutes the race was back on.
There were various acts of death defying derringdo including one very spectacular attempted dismount by the Scrawn. I scored him an 8.
We met up with the others at the Eildon pub for lunch.Uncle pushed his luck with the pub rules. He was lucky notto be tazed.
The next leg was to be known as the Eildon Jamison TT.
57 Kay's of some of the funnest twisties I have ridden in Australia. Our mission had been set by our mate Phil Canning who had allegedly set a time of 35minutes 32 seconds on his supa dupa BMW S10000rRR. Could we better his time on our humble mail delivery vehicles?
Check out the vid.
Phils time is safe, at least for the moment, we will be back. Just for the record We were closer to an hour but it was bar to bar and scratching plastics the whole way. In fact it was so much fun we had to go back up and have another crack as we had forgotten to set up the videos. The views from the lookout were pretty cool as well, with a snow capped Mt Buller in the background. This wouldn't be the closest we got to snow though.
The presenation ceremony was held in the public bar of the Jameson brewery which makes some fantastic beers, of which a few were sampled. However their can only be one winner, so suck eggs Ranga ya whiney loser.
The twin rivers cabins would be our accom for the night and Leigh made straight for the comfort of the warming fire, although this apparently failed to cheer him up.
We had a great feed and about 4 million G&T's (ladies drinks according to Leigh) at the Jameson pub and then settled in with our supply of brewery takeaways to watch the rugby.
The 2 girls (sandy & leigh) were asleep within minutes.
It was a frosty start the next morning. The Scrawn and I went for a brisk spin to check out the frost and came across these. I think this is what the NZer's call chilly bins.
We found a nice little cafe just as the Scrawn attracted the attention of the local trail bike squad, who were intent on ruining someone's day and despite trying, failed to do so with us, Despite marching into the cafe and demanding to see our licences. They left dissaponted having not being able to pin anything on us. Good thing they wer'nt bright enough to spot all the defects on our bikes though.
Uncle just wanted his coffee
So after breakfast we said goodbye to Uncle and Leigh who had to get back to Melborne. The remaining three of us had a decided a run through the Jameson state forest to Licola was in order, but not before several anxious minutes were lost looking for the Rangas gloves which he had misplaced. I reckoned the coppers had pinched them, but eventually they turned up where he had left them next to his phone in the cabin.
It was a great run up to Mt Skenes through some spectacular scenery. At first The road passed through some rolling farmlands before climbing up into the clouds.
The road sign says open and thevsunis shining.
We climbed for about 40 Klm's and before too long little bits of glistening white stuff started to appear on the road. At first I thought t was some sort of glistening stones, but it soon become more visible and the temp started to plummet.
It wasn't long before the road was covered in ice with snow patches on the side.
The higher we went the thicker it became.
And before too long we were riding through full blown snow drifts.
We pulled up to asses the situation and as the Ranga had never seen snow before the obligatory snow fight was in order.
The bikes were struggling in the snow , so I decided to go ahead to see if it was possible to get through. The snow just became thicker and deeper.
Sadly we had to make the decision to turn back, but at least Sandy got to ski the postie back down the hill.
We backtracked our way down to Jameson and while dissaponted we didn't get through to Licola, we had a great time anyway.
Sandy decided she had had enough, so headed back to Melbourne via the main road, whilst the Scrawn and I decided to go via the Woods points road, which quite likely may also be covered i nice and snow.
We had a great time racing along the scenic road and through the abandoned gold mining towns of A1 settlement and Gafneys ck.
It was quite chilly and it was along this road that I had my biggest moment of the weekend when I hit a patch of black ice and had a massive slide. The Scrawn was amazed I didn't end up on my ass as he was right behind me at the time and saw it all happen.
Decided to take it a bit easier after that as the sun was dropping along with the temps and the ice got thicker and thicker. Plus the banjos playin in the distance were freaking me out.
By the time we got to Woods point it was clear we were not going to make it back to Melbourne before dark. It was also at this time that we discovered that my headlight had stopped working. It was useless anyway, but I didn't fancy riding through the night with no light at all, so we made the decision to over night in Warburton again.
The roads were progressivly being closed down as we sped (well sorta sped) back through the forest and onto the Reefton spur for the drop back down into the Yarra valley. Interestingly the roads were being closed down behind us by the authorities as several cars had left the road in the slippery conditions. By the time we got back to the pub it was dark apart from the light of the super moon. This was my veiw. Useless super moon.
The fire and drinks were veryenjoyable along with the hot roast dinner.
We had a great nights sleep but a bit chilly with the heating in the old pub not working, but rose to a glorious morning for our final blast backin to Melbourne. The Scrawn took me on some fantastic tracks out the back of Gembrook which were great fun before battling with the traffic and back to the Oopaloopah workshop where the bikes will be prepared for their next trip which I can guarantee won't be in fucking winter.
And so ended one of the most memorable weekend rides I have had. Riding in the snow was great fun. Would have been great to get across to Licola but there is always next time.
Huge thanks to my little buddy the Scrawn for arranging everything and gettin the bikes ready. Thanks also to Miss Sandy for arranging the accommodation and also Uncle and Liegh for the great company even though they drink like girls.
Off on another Postie Corse expedition today. While I sit here in the airport lounge practising my gluttony skills the Postie Corse corporate jet is being fuelled up and prepared for the long haul to Postie Corse headquarters in Frankston where the Oompaloopahs have been toiling away preparing the bikes for the challenges that lay ahead.
If you would like to know where the fuck we are follow our spot tracker here from tomorrow morning.
Plan is to head west across Vic to the Horizons unlimited travellers meeting at Cavendish then loop around to finish at Phillip Island for the Moto GP.
Sammy will be bringing Sammiches down next week.
Of course that's just the plan but anything could happen, specially with the Scrawn once again being in charge of Navigation. Seriously I wonder why I put myself through this shit sometimes.
Updates when I can.
So the Postie Corse corp jet got me safely to Frankston international airport where I was met by chief Ranga Ooomoaloompah.
Upon return to the Postie Corse secret bunker I was finally united with my recently purchased Gemini 50. Same model as my very first bike way back in 1972. The thing is in amazing condition considering it is over 40 years old. I love it.
We spent the rest of the night doing final preps and talking shit before hitting the sack.
Was an early and very chilli start. We took off down the coast road towards the ferry at Sorento and arrived just in time to see the ferry disappearing into the distance. Bugger. We decided to have Brekky at a local cafe and enjoyed the veiw as we waited fir the next ferry which was an hour later.
Was a smooth crossing and we were met at the other side by the Scrawns friend Suzy who must have thought we looked Hungry and promptly invited us back to her place nearby for breakfast. How could we refuse. And what a spread it was. Pancakes and fruit and then a huge big Brekky spread. Was awesome. After making complete gluttons of ourselves. Suzy led us out for a ride along her favourite local loop. Was fantastic. Thanks for everything Suzy (ya gotta live a chick that works in her bike in the lounge room) was great to meet you. I'll be back for Brekky again some time. We spent the crest if the day meandering around the back roads. And fighting a brutal headwind. Not what you want when you only 4hp.
Arrived at the pretty little town of cavendish and set up camp along with about 100 bike riders from all over the place. Here fir the Horizons unlimited travellers meeting. Even met up with our great friends from Tassie Dan & Rossane.
So had a great time at the travellers meeting saw some really cool presentations and met some truly inspiring people. Makes me want to pack up the Postie (or one if the other bikes ) and piss off for good. One day.
Was a cold and Showery night. But fortunately the sun came out just in time
For us to pack up quickly. Thommo and I set off into the spectacular Grampians national park via as many dirt tracks as we could find.
We had a great time racing each other on the Sandy tracks before popping out on the windy race track into Halls Gap. Unfortunately the weather turned nasty again so we made the decision to grab a room and settle in at the pub to watch the big taxi race and get pissed.
Just had an awesome day. Started out with a run through the brilliant scenery of the Grampians
We had an extra in Elissa who is from Seattle and travelling around Aus on her super Sherpa. That gets a little tired from time to time.
I think she has desires for a postie.
The Scrawn spent the day trying to impress her
Had a tea break on the banks of Rocklands dam
From there the race continued and we have ended up at Portland where our new friend David has very kindly put us up at his place and given us an awesome tour of the area.
Thanks heaps David. Hope we can return the generosity some time.
Was a pretty cruisey start to the day. After sending David off to work we loaded up and set off in no particular direction. But just outside of port Fairy we found an awesome mini GP circuit disguised as some nature reserve. One way single lane postie bike perfect.
Elisa had a good crack at it as well
We had a very nice lunch with a veiw at the Warrnambool surf club.
The Timboon distillery was the next stop where we sampled some very nice whiskies and liqueurs. Got sucked into buying a few bottles even though we don't have space in the panniers but somehow we managed to squeeze them in.
And then it was onto the great ocean road. Did the obligatory tourists stops along the way. Although we gave the 12 apostles a miss as there are only about 6 left.
The weather was pretty shitty and the road was treacherous but the race was well and truly on into the Otway national park and Scrawn finally won a stage but only after I had a very close call with some Japanese tourists on the wrong side of the road in their rents car. But all credit to Scrawn he won fair a square.
Was a fun day and we have set up camp in a very nice location.
> So some minor maintenance was required this morning. Fortunately there was a fence close by and Scrawn was able to reattach the exhaust to his bike.
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> Elise decided she wanted to just cruise along the the great ocean road while Scrawn and I decided to backtrack a little and find some tracks and back roads to take.
> Once again dumbasses woeful navigation skills came to the fore and he zigged when he should have zagged and somehow or other we ended up bogged up to our asses on the very soft beach with the waves rapidly approaching.
> Was some serious huffing and puffing going on as we pushed the bikes out of harms way and back onto the right track.
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> We found the old great ocean road which was an absolute blast.
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> Had Brekky at Lavers hill and had a bit car park rage with an Asian tourist who thought he was still in China and could park wherever he liked othen headed into the Otway ranges via some very pretty forestry tracks Including one known as Turtons track.
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> If ever a better postie road has been made then I would like to know about it. The race was on in earnest and there were several times that we came close to putting ourselves into a helicopter. Fortunately we both stayed upright and the Scrawn scored the win. Celebratory drinks were had at the Apollo bay hotel which indecently is a fucking rip off and should be avoided at all times.
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> Wild dog road led us back up to the ridge top where we took the very scenic Erskine falls forest drive back into Lorne.
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> We met up again with Elisa, who has scored us a house owned by a friend and us letting us stay for a couple if nights.
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> Amazing generosity from someone we have never met but has just told us where the key is and to make our selves at home. Brilliant !
> The house is high on the hill and has an amazing view overlooking the water. Even has some very friendly parrots that liked to be hand fed which Elisa loved.
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> Scrawn just wanted to cook em up as viddles.
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So this morning PORNA (The international organisation of postie bike owners and racers) announced that today's race would be a declared a wet event. Fuckers didn't mention wind and hail though.
The day started with Elisa cooking up a huge breakfast while the Scrawn set about preparing his bike for the wet conditions. This primarily involved him dropping his bike and breaking the front brake lever. And no spare.hehe sucks to be him.
But to his credit he didn't back out. The run up the range was cold and wet.
At Deans Marsh we found a nice park complete with wood fire pizza oven and taught Elisa how to slam TimTams.
And then the fun started. Slimey slippery red clay tracks that were just about impossible to ride.
Elisa's bike needed another little lie down.
With no front brake it was hilarious watching Scrawn sliding his way down the hills.
While he got a laugh at me pushing mine up.
Was bitterly cold and wet but when it started hailing we decided it was probably best to head back to the house via a slight detour to the lookout and the bottle shop. We had a coastie race back down the range which was easily won by me which was quite a surprise considering Scrawn had no brakes.
Back at the house now and as I get this update out and devour a few delicuoises the others are tucked up on their blankies.
Hardcore recon riders indeed.
Tomorrow is last day on the bikes as we head back to Corse headquarters to meet Sam who is jetting down on the Corse jet. It's been an awesome week some 1600 klms through a lot if country side I haft seen before.
Were off to off to Phillip Island for the Moto GP. Hope the weather gets better.
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