CHASING THE HORIZON

PMG's TO PI

So it's a been a while eh? This should be worth the wait. Tomorrow me, Thommo and Rohan set out on the great postie bike ride to Phillip island ride. PMG TO PI for short. Had a totally chaotic day getting the bikes ready and working out (after 2 hours) that they run heaps better with the choke off. After much swearing throwing of tools and a pinched tube or 2 they are set to go.
Spot tracking will be available here from lunch time tomorrow.

SpotWalla

 Might be a Late start due to Sams big birthday part tonight. Could be a few sore heads.

We have no idea which way we are going and the Ranga is hopeless at navigation so this should be hilarious. If you have any suggestions on which way to go let us know.
I can't believe The ranga talked me in to another one of these. Hope you enjoy the ride.

Day one. The males must get thru.

So today was the gorgeous Sammy's birthday. We had a great dinner last night with some friends and today to show what a caring sensitive type I am leaving her behind and pissing off on the Postie for a week. I know. Don't say anything it's just what I do.

Sorry bout the redeye girls. If I knew how to do it I would get rid of it.

Rohan as expected didn't arrive till quite late being the piss wreck he is. The race.....er ride  finally started at about 10 am

Of course we only managed to make it about 3 Kay's before we struck our first problem. Seems Ranga sucks as much at mechanical stuff as navigation but we were soon on our way again through the horrendous southern Brisbane suburban traffic.

 I reckon we got every red light. Before long we out in the back blocks although we had a tense moment when we came to a bridge under repair. After some quick calculations We decided to risk it and made it across safely.

Our first bit of dirt soon appeared and I while doing some doughies while waiting for the other boys to arrive I failed to see Mr Plod arrive  Fortunately they were friendly.

Can only post 5 pics so post continues on next page.

 

Day 1 continued

The Wyalarong Dam race track was our next destination and there were certainly some high speed shenanigans taking place but the race was taken easily by yours truly.

And then rangas bike starting spilling fuel everywhere. That was fun. We retired to the pub to discuss options and rehydrate.

The decision was made that it was no big deal if the Ranga incinerated himself

Our mate quolly in wingham is on the job and we will sort it when we get to his place on Sunday.

Beautiful ride through the hills into Tenterfield and we have found a great camp site next to a babbling brook fantastic.

Some day 1 pics

Todays stats

Awesome countryside out the back of Tenterfield.

Our Camp beside the babbling brook.

Raped by a Postie

So we had a great night last night. Ranga cooked up a goremet storm. Ravioli and fried rice. Apparently a secret recipe passed down by his uncle Ben. We sat round the fire and had a few deliciouses and told stories and sang coombyar scout songs.

The day started with an abrupt wake up call at 3 am this morning when my postie decided it was cold and wanted to get into my swag. I had handlebars and foot pegs in places where they should never be. Oh and fuel leaking over me. Great fun. Luckily I was able to wake Rohan and he lifted the bike off me. Oh and then just when we were ready to go I dropped my helmet and it rolled into the babbling brook. Talk about wet behind the ears.

Anyway we finally got away and had an awesome days riding. Spectacular scenery and great roads.

It was heating up and we had to make several rehydration stops at various establishments of ill repute.

 After which The race was on Ernest. Until Rohan got a flat tyre which slowed him up considerably.

Ranga did win a hill climb stage but overall but he also lost a tyre going over the Port Stevens cutting road, so overall I am still wearing the pretend yellow flouro vest.

It was dusk when we finally pulled into the Nundle pub for a quick dinner.

The ducati club were holding their anual rally close by and our little red beasts drew quite a crowd. This happens whenever we pull up anywhere.

 We then retired to our luxurious digs and froze our asses off all night.

 

One mans Kingdom

The race started early this morning with an awesome run over Scrawny pass into Timor then out to Murrurudi where met Quolly the PM of Quolstralia for brekky.

I reached a PB of 87km/h this morning and have the bug splatter to proof it. After brekky Quolly took us on a spectacular tour if his kingdom of quollstralia.  

We were very privalaged to be granted access to the Quollstralian international Moto GP circuit.

Thanks for the ride Quolly. Was awesome but you really should consider getting some knobbies for that thing of yours.

After a quick beer with one of Rangas relations at the Merriwa hotel we said our goodbyes and set off in the light rain towards Capertree via Bylong.

Capertree capers

 The Ranga lost his title of hill climb champion when I totally bitched him not once but twice on the run into Capertree. Great fun dicing at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour through some very pretty scenery.
I retain the pretend flouro yellow vest and the celebrations continued into the evening as we watched some amateurs  splash around Malaysia on TV. Moto GP would be much more entertaining if they fitted panniers and knobbies and had to navigate using a GPS with flat batteries.

The postman Pat award

The Postman Pat award is a very prestigious award given only to those who have performed extreme acts of dickheadness. We have decided to issue a award retrospectively to Quolly. Not because he took on the wrong road yesterday but because he took 27 klms to realize it. Congratulations Quolly you are a worthy innugural winner. Read on to see who won today's award.

The day started chilly and only got worse. We headed into the Gardens of Stone national park. Spectacular is an understatement. Massive sandstone cliffs and dome steep climbs that defiantly wer'nt designed for posties. There was a definite waft of burning clutch and at one point I thought we were going to need to bury the scrawn as he almost collapsed from exhaustion.

Bloody attention seekers

The run out and down to Crookwell was great fun but bloody cold. We even had sleet at one point.

The race continued on to Gunning where I made a spectacular entry to the afternoon tea stop at the Gunning pub. The locals loved it and I am very proud to have been awarded the postman pat award for today.

Staying at Captains Flat tonight where we have the run of the beautiful old pub.

Into the high country

A very deserving winner of the Postman Pat award for acts of Dickheadness today. Thommo left his backpack at the hotel this morning then left Rohan on the side of the road. Causing us to backtrack about 20klm. The road captain had to have a very stern talk to young Ranga.

 

An awesome days riding although bloody cold. Felt like my fingers were going to snap off. Race was on from the get go. Rohan even passed some patsy on a massive BMW monstrosity. Wanker nearly soiled his brand new systems 2 BMW suit she was so shocked. Reminded me of another wanker BMW rider I know. ( hi Dan)

Had a brilliant brekky at a Greek cafe in Cooma.

The roads were awesome fun and the scenery incredible. Still some snow on the hills too which was nice.

Refreshments at Jindabyne then again in Thredbo and Khancoban.

 

Flogging a dead horse

Forgot to mention that Rohan is trying his hardest to earn to Postman Pat award. Today in Jindabyne we decided to head to the pub for a relaxing drink. Somehow Rohan ended up in a gay bar. While the Ranga and I went to the real mans pub. Not sure what that's about but never mind Rohan there is always tomorrow.

From Thredbo it was up and over dead horse gap. Great fun indeed. And drinks were required at Khancoban after that little effort.

Stage win for the Tasswegian

The coppers are out in force so we decided to get off the road and into the bush. Found a great connector called Ginghi walls fire trail. Just brilliant. The howls of laughter could be heard for miles and honest injun we didn't know it was a closed road till we got to the other end.

 

The last stage into Corryyong was a torrid affair with Rohan finally taking a win but only just from me. He did cheat, but alls fair in love and war.Myself and Thommo had a massive tussle on the final hill climb that even the car following enjoyed as he came it to the pub to tell us how cool it looked from behind. Little did he know that we were milliseconds away from a helicopter ride.

For the kiddies of Lakes ck primary

Found out last night that the grade 4 kids of Lakes Ck primary school in Rockhampton are following our spot tracker and using it as part of their geography lessons. How cool is that?

So kiddies this picture is for you.
On the left is uncle Ranga and the other man is uncle Rohan who is from Tasmania which is why he looks funny.

Unfortunately uncle Guy couldn't be in the pic as he had to duck off into the bushes to attend to a slight case of gastro.

For homework you are to write Sassafras pass 100 times then say it 10 times. Miss Irene will be looking at your work so make sure you do it otherwise you will get a flogging with a cane ok.

Love from the posties. x

Victoria the place to be ??????

So we crossed into Victoria last night. Apparently its the place to be but i am not so sure what that means. Seems the Victorian police have declared war against their good citizens and have troops positioned behind every tree and signpost. A lovely welcome for all the bikes heading to the island to boost the states economy but I guess they want their share as well. We have eluded them so far but many others not so lucky we shall swutch to stealth mode from here on in.

 

Had a great feed at the Corryong hotel then into bed reasonably early but not before a nice hot bath.

 

 

Then off to bed for a nice nights sleep.

It was cold as we headed out with speeds approaching 100mph (but closer to 30). Quick stop at Sassafras gap then into Omeo for brekky.

Wheelie man goes down

Rohan made a feeble attempt at claiming the postman Pat award today when he bought and paid for a litre of oil then promptly left it sitting on The fuel pump but this paled into insignificance compared to my own efforts later on in the day.

At the top of some mountain or other we came across a big group of dirt bike riders on a tour. They were great blokes and they even gave us sammiches and beer. Very cool. 

And that's when the trouble started. After we left the boys I was thinking about how much fun this place would be on my 450 and decided to see if I could pull a wheelie up a hill. It all started out good but soon turned to shit and I augered in to the embankment at a great rate of knots. It took Ranga several minutes to untangle me. But no damage to me and only a broken indicator and mirror on the bike. Gotta give Vicpol something to book me for. I shall humbly accept the postman pat award with much appreciation.

We were very much in need of cold beer by then so into the famous Dargo pub, where Rohan got a bit too comfortable so we had to leave him behind.

The Ranga and I had an awesome run along Firestone ck rd into Stratford where we have having relaxing Bevvies and cooking up another of Uncles Bens recipes at our remote camp in the bush.

The bikes

Everywhere we go people want to know about the bikes so I thought I would give you a run down on each machine.

Firstly Rohan's.
Based on the classic euro grand tourer this bike is brimming with luxury. Its actually has a lot in common with the Starship enterprise that Buzz rode in Europe last year.
Air hawk pneumatic seating, iPod connectivity, in helmet surround sound and with with over 4000 cubic liters of storage There is plenty of room for all of the luxuries from home like hair dryer and gel, hand cream and tissues etc etc, that Rohan likes to bring along.

 

Now Rangas
The quintessential outback tourer this thing is held together with zip ties and fencing wire. Not pretty to look at but after years of touring in the outback the Ranga knows exactly what is needed and only takes the essentials. While it may look like it is carrying more shit than you can think of, the Ranga always has enough space to strap on that bit if road kill for the evening meal by the fire. As Ranga always says " dah ya gots to hav ya viddles"

And finally mine.
Built entirely from unobtainium this bike represents the pinnacle of motorcycle design. Built by an elite team ofoopaloompa engineers at a secrect facility in Vladivostok. The feature list is impressive. Things like
Automatic self deflating rear tyre for extra traction.
Automatic self despoking rear wheel
Hi tech rear shocks straight from the Moto GP bikes of 1945.

Lightweight pretend carbon fibre mirrors
Twin 0.25 watt headlights that turn day into night
Wind tunnel tested fairing system.

High performance flow exhaust (has holes in it)
Stealth mode rear tail light
Run dry oil system.
And fitted with the latest GPS and tracking systems this machine has had no expense spared.
Sports touring its finest.

 

But none if them compare to the bike we saw in the cafe at this mornings brekky stop in Rosedale.

Grand ridge race track

The run run over the Grand Ridge race track was awesome. Reminiscent of the Isle of man TT circuit in some parts. The first part was slippery gravel which provided several pucker moments and big skids. The second half was spectacular with great road and views. 

 

Lots of big Skids

No wheelie crashes this time.

Thommo got all arty farty with the camera.

A couple of fortifying beers at the  brewery before the final sprint to the island. It's going to he a close finish.

And the winner is ??????

The run into the island was a torrid affair. Bar to bar and pannier to pannier. It really was brutal. There was a lot at stake.

Got bailed up by a couple of Thommos mates also on their way to the island.

We headed down bass straight to the Bass hotel then got caught up in the mass of bikes riding on the Barry Sheen memorial ride but we made short work of them and got to the front if the field where we got a police escort onto the island and unbelievably after 2500klm the race was declared a dead heat. Amazing I know. .

 

The postman pat award will be shared between the Ranga and myself. Rohan put in a claim as winner but as he didn't complete the full course he has been shown the black flag. The Ranga and i would like to thank our sponsors Rectinol, Anusol And Bombay Sapphire, also all the people who have supported us in the past week. It has been a total blast and possibly one of the funnest rides I have ever done.

We hope you have enjoyed following us along. We love getting all your messages and emails. Sorry we can't reply to them all.
We will he spending the next few days watching some amateurs going round and round so I won't bore you all with details of that.
Preparations for the next big ride start next week. Be sure to subscribe on the home page or check back on the 1st of January for what promises to be an epic ride to follow the Dakar in Sth America. Can't wait for that one.
One final thing. If you have enjoyed reading all this crap please consider making a small donation to either the Royal Flying doctor or Canteen via the paypal button on the home page. Let me know which charity you would like to donate to and I will pass on any donations in full on your behalf.

See yas

Guy x