I had a sudden ghastly thought that I don’t think the Ninja was serviced AT ALL last year. By the book, it’s 6k or 12 months. I had in my head that all the work done last year when it was knocked over basically covered the service. So I had in my head that it was soon, but not immediate.
The chain and sprockets were pretty new and the tyres as well. These were all replaced after the MotoGP trip. As they had to replace the radiator later and the engine case when it was knocked over, that’s the oil and coolant changed too. That all happened in late 2022 and early 2023.
I was in the middle of running my pushbikes through servicings, when I thought, hold on, when was the last one.
And I panicked. It looked like I’d missed a major. Then after I booked it in, I realised that it appeared my last service was just after 43K and there is a major at 48K. THEN I discovered (because I’ve only been doing short trips it has snuck up) that the bike had 53K on it. I’d almost missed the next service. This has never happened or even close across 4 bikes and several cars and more than 20 years of ownership.
After all this anxiety, the servicing went well. I got another Z900 as a loaner. It’s a shame I had no where to go that day. But I did see how much fun a playful and slim naked is for traffic. And other rides on the Z900 have shown it to be a fun ride.
Since then I was looking at some info to update my records (I have a spreadsheet that tracks kms and time on various parts – like tyres, chain, etc of my bike)(really, are you surprised that I would do that?) when it looks like my rear pads seem to have decreased in wear over the past few services (was 40%, then 20% and now 10%).
BUT
THEN I DISCOVERED
that back in November of 2022 I already did the 48K service.
Soooo, now I’ve done an extra one (can’t see that as a bad thing for my bike, but my wallet doesn’t agree). And I get the relief of the “no, I didn’t miss a servicing feeling”.
I might get a little check over just before MotoGP, but with pretty fresh tyres, chain/sprockets maybe about 30% worn and everything else fresh I don’t think it will really need it. As long as I ride it to keep the battery charged etc, mechanically it should be set for the trip.
I guess for the frequent visitor here, it is not a surprise when I say I’ve started planning my MotoGP24 trip. The dates were released last year and work has recently approved my leave. The usual Wednesday to Wednesday schedule, but this time I have to be at the Island early on both Saturday and Sunday as they are both basically race days now.
Even after returning successfully last time I did have some doubt about camping on this next trip. However, due to changes in where friends live and admittedly, budget I am looking to camp along the way. Not over the weekend though and not in Canberra. So in reality, its only 1 extra night that last time (total of 3 camps). With the obvious option, if the weather really packs it in, I find a motel or pub somewhere to wait it out.
There are a couple of favourite roads I’d like to keep in, a couple of favourites I would like to see return, but also some new ideas for this trip.
So here goes some of the plan.
Day one – looks like a dash to the Canberra region, most likely my old favourite way past Bungonia. There is an alternate plan to head down Kangaroo Valley and up through Nerriga, across to Tarago and then Canberra. I will likely save that for the return trip when I’m leaving from Canberra though.
So once I’ve hit Canberra I am looking at heading North and East, rather than my usual South to Cooma. Most of these options have some dirt, which from current reports is in good shape. Slow going on road bikes, but a couple of these roads are frequently used by road bikes (I’m talking VFRs and K series BMWs, very similar to my Z1000SX). One option is to Wee Jasper (sealed) to Tumut (mostly sealed), Brindabella Rd (partly sealed) or around the Hume to Tumut (sealed but some interstate). Maybe pushing to Tumbarumba on day 1. Maybe not. Camp in either Tumut or Tumbarumba. (for those outside Australia, yes these are real place names!). These are almost all new choices (I’ve done the highway to Tumut but it was 2007).
Day two. Get through the mountains via Tumbarumba to the Murray Valley. This is another new road for me, but another popular route over the Snowy Mountains. Head along River Rd (rather than the Valley Hwy) and through Granya Gap. From there, head to Whitfield and hopefully Mansfield for the evening.
Attack the Eildon-Jamieson Rd after breakfast on day three. Then down the Spur to Healesville. South from there to my weekend accommodation. Looking at perhaps Warragul, Wonthaggi or possibly Inverloch. The location gives me a head start for the return trip and should be even closer to the island than last time when I stayed in Narre Warren. This will be a hotel/motel stay and is a big chunk of the budget.
Race days – Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully set myself up with some food on Friday evening so I don’t have to buy ALL my food at the track.
Planning for the return is less advanced. But equally, I don’t plan to change much from last time. Something like wherever I’m staying to Khancoban/Corryong. Almost certainly through Mitta Mitta. From there I will head to Jindabyne then a little detour to Dalgety and Maffra before Cooma and the looooong slog to Canberra. Stay there one night. Or over the Snowy’s on my other road to Kiandra and Adaminaby and then through the dirt to Canberra.
The final day, as suggested above, out through Nerriga to the coast and probably up Kangaroo Valley to home.
With the route roughly in mind, I can check out campgrounds and fuel locations. Not everywhere has fuel, Wee Jasper for example, has none. But that section, from Canberra to Tumut, is only 140km or so, easily completed on a single tank, even if I get to Wee Jasper and change my mind.
A garage queen. That’s what she was this year. I didn’t even put enough on her to get her to a servicing. She suffered in a knock over at the start of the year. Then later the battery finally called it quits. 2024 should see a MotoGP trip again. I might camp more, I’ve lost some of the accommodation options I had last time and I will be much tighter on funds I think.
I think my pushbikes sat in the garage the entire year almost. I certainly didn’t take them anywhere to ride.
About Babes
Another year of high school. One has friends dramas, one doesn’t. But they are doing well, they’re just not sure what it is they want to do yet. The eldest has started learning to DRIVE!
About Bytes
Not really a lot here this year, tech wise. I didn’t pick up any new tech. The tech I had trundled along well. Not much spare cash this year to be honest. And mistakes were made in other areas.
It was a bigger year in my other hobbies. Running a D&D campaign with some other school teachers that gets along ok. Next year, I think I will be more flexible and so the game should be more consistent. Beyond that group, my other group finished off Strahd. That was a fun adventure and my character was integral in his final defeat! Then continued as player in the follow on campaign, Spelljammer, which is all new to me. This and the existing Dungeon of the Mad Mage, are moving a little slower and seem a little less dramatic. But I am enjoying the games.
Mistakes were made and I spent way too much on the Battletech Kickstarter, which I hope to see in the new year. That will give me way too many minis…
Battetech Mercanaries
I also threw a little bit of money (I felt a bit burnt by my eyes being bigger than my credit card in the Battletech one) at the TMNT Kickstarter. I just bought the books (in the plain, original colours) and the dice tray.
TMNT
Baldur’s Gate released and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s challenging, massive, and keeps me engaged. Well done to Larian Studios.
Some grumpy old lady in BG3
About Me
So my year on class wasn’t the greatest. My class (by all accounts) was a very tough bunch of kids, that all the other teachers on the same stage (and supported me throughout) all say that they would have struggled with. However, I also think I made some mistakes early on, which a more experienced teacher might have avoided, that were a factor in the struggle with my class. It was a very busy year and in the end I was very happy to see it end.
I will not be on class next year, and part of me worries that it means that the executives think that I have failed. I’ve not had any feedback from them on the topic, so I’m kind of in the dark about it. I did say in my “what do you want to do next year” that I would like a class, but was happy to not be on class and I know the teacher that they swapped me over with was super keen to have a class. I will be working across all stages next year and while it will be complicated, it should also be less stressful. And certainly less administration!
The two pay rises this year will certainly help in the coming year too. Now I just need to finalise my accreditation to get the next one.
Last week, after what seems an eternity, I got the call that the Ninja is repaired and ready for pick up.
I got to the shop, it was a little of asking favours for lifts to work and to the shop, and making sure my riding gear was at work the day before, so there was some planning needed. But eventually a colleague dropped me about half a block away and I walked up to the shop, spying the bike in the crowd as I did.
Went through the list of items and there was a lot. They did list a foot peg, but hadn’t actually changed it. They’ll order the part and it will be a quick swap. Apart from that it’s actually better, again, than when I first got it. There was some scuff marks on one piece of fairing, but it must have suffered some new damage as it was replaced. Shiny and new looking. The matte black shark tooth exhausts got repainted and looks new too.
Overall really happy. It would have cost a lot to do it all myself, or I would have had to just put up with the damage which would really bother me.
But it’s clearly in need of a new battery.
At least that what I figure after I went to for a ride this Easter Sunday and it “hiccuped” the first time I pressed the starter. So I took a chance, pressed it again. Started.
I did head out for the ride. About an hour after I left, I pulled in for petrol and admit to keeping my fingers crossed when it was start time.
No problems.
So I rode up to Grey Gums. It was a beautiful day.
And the bike worked great.
And it did for the next week or so of commuting as well.
In the meantime, the new footpeg was sorted as well.
But next week, it’s back to driving as school starts again.
I looked here and can’t find mention. Sometime before Christmas I was across town running an errand. I popped into shop for about 5 mins and came back out to my bike. As I opened the top box, my glove fell out. Odd, I thought, I must have left it under the lid when I closed it.
Looking at the contents, it seemed like everything was hard up on the right side of the box. My heart sank, and I quickly moved to that side of the bike.
Bar end, mirror, fairing, peg —- yep, all had scratches. The bike had been knocked over while I was away. I hurried around the other side, but nothing immediately stood out as an impact site.
Now the damage was very minor. Barely even cosmetic. But it still bites.
I went into the shop I had parked in front of (not the one I had visited) but no one had seen anything (they said). Most of the other shops were either closed, or actually vacant.
Small scuffing on the engine coverand on this exhaust.
That was about a month ago now. I’ve put in an insurance claim, the assessor has approved the repairs and the shop is waiting for parts. Along with the items mentioned about, they might be swapping all the locks as the steering lock is acting funny. And they are going to repaint the exhaust as they are scratched on both sides (so guess where the impact must have been). The bike has been rideable this whole time and I’ve not noticed anything out of place or acting funny. (Lucky it was rideable, because I needed the second vehicle to get around it turned out. Just after new year our other car died as well – a hole in the radiator – where have I seen that before….anyway, it’s in the mechanics now too)
It should have almost no effect on my policy and I will only have to pay the excess. No cameras from the nearby shops, no witnesses and no notes.
MOTOGP! Finally. And the ride there and back was great, and the racing was excellent. I stayed in budget (very important this year). I camped, I had adventures… yup, read the two stories here and here. Was worth the wait. The only thing that didn’t work out was Jack Miller getting taken out by Alec Marquez at the new “Miller Corner”. I do think I will stick to my two year cycle and aim for 2024 for my next ride down. It’s at an awkward time of the year, work wise.
2022 Philip Island -Australian MotoGP
I hit most of the roads I had planned, changed a few over, mostly due to the bad weather.
My first night motocamping.
Otherwise the bike was a garage queen at least by comparison to how it (and my other bikes) have lived. It was lucky if it got a ride to the shops once a week. As the year finishes off, I think I’m in the market for a new battery. Even commuting is off the menu at the moment, as work is only 10mins away and I drop my two kids at school on the way.
I got a new bike… sort of. It was fun to build at any rate.
LEGO’s M1000RR
No bicycle riding to speak of really. Some fitness rides on the commuter.
Enjoying the sunshine and open space…. in the middle of the suburbs?
About Babes
Two girls in high school. Both doing well. One won a State Championship for her gymnastics so really well done there. Next year will be interesting as the other one can start learning to drive!
About Bytes
Nothing hugely dramatic here. My Surface is finally getting used a lot, I use as my school device and it’s been great. Except for a dead TypeCover. Replaced, but I am suspicious of the durability of this part.
I upgraded my iPad Pro 9.7 (v1) to the Pro M1 11”. It has been excellent, really nice jump in performance from my last one. They did eventually release an M2 version as I suspected, but it didn’t get the mini-LED display, so I don’t feel like I missed anything. Its keyboard cover has also deteriorated (common theme this year), there are some places where the soft covering material has worn through. It is still working, but has been put away and hasn’t been replaced.
The new PC has been working fabulously, though I really should step up the graphics card. Otherwise it’s been fast and reliable. I’ve since spent many hours using it for gaming, completing the last 3 Tomb Raiders and spending over 100hours in the Baldur’s Gate 3 pre release.
And I can play BG3 on the Mac too
The iMac also has been going well. It has also recently received a new keyboard, a Logitech MX Keys (not the specific Mac one). I’m really happy with this keyboard too.
Having all these devices has meant all my work is available everywhere. The school mostly uses Google’s environment so that was something to get used to. But with it all in the cloud (along with my OneNote) it’s easy to work anywhere. I also switched over to iCloud Photos and this has been working well too.
D&D has been fun all year. Wild Beyond the Witchlight finished up just a few weeks ago. That was a fun campaign for all. It’s been replaced by a journey in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage, which I am not DM, so currently I am a player in 3 campaigns (Dungeon, Strahd and a face to face home-brew) and not a DM anywhere. It’s so relaxed! Strahd is likely to finish up soon and the DM wants to put us in Spelljammer (D&D in space). I have never played in that environment, so I’m a little unsure. I’m writing my own home-brew adventure for when I get a DM slot again.
About Me.
My offical career change occurred in mid-April (not Christmas as planned), I stayed in order to finalise a couple of medical issues with work. Even though that was the offical date, I was on holidays from that work from Christmas until April and actually working as a teacher full time.
I am enjoying my teaching. My school has a really nice community working environment. There are some challenges, partly due to the children and partly due to my limited experience. However, the school has always been supportive.
The pay is a significant cut from my old pay, at least in these first couple of years. Once I complete my proficiency after two years it will jump up and be a lot closer. I don’t think it will ever surpass it.
To help make up for this, I have secured some part time work in my old career for the school holidays and that will be a nice bonus for me. It’s also a way to stay relevant and connected to that old career in case I am needed.
Next year will see me having my own class, and it looks like it will be a Year 5/6 one. Equally excited and nervous, but everyone at work assures me I will do a great job. That makes me feel very supported, but then also nervous that I don’t want to let them down!
So how did all my planning go? You’ve (hopefully) read the actual adventure, but the question is, how did my (years, thanks COVID) of planning go.
Tent
After originally planning to camp twice, then it got up to four days, I ended up twice. Tent went really well. Packed small (almost smaller than the sleeping mat!) and I found it easy to set up. First morning it went away dry as the temperature and wind kept any moisture off the tent. Second morning I was naughty and packed it away wet, as there was a lot of condensation on the inside of the fly. However, I knew it was my last camping night and I would have time to air out when I got home. Overall, plenty of space, kept bugs out, kept the wind off me. I do still wonder how I might keep the inside dry if it’s raining as I set up (or take down).
Camp set up.
Sleeping set up
So my sleep system was 3 parts. My self inflating sleeping mat, a sleeping bag (10C comfort, 6C transition down bag) and a sleeping bag liner. I found down to about 6-8C I was warm enough in my liner, on top of the mat and using the sleeping bag unzipped as a doona. So I guess for me, as a warm sleeper I can push the bag some. That was wearing a t-shirt and shorts no beanie etc. Again, happy with it all.
Bike luggage
As much as I try to love the Kriega T18 that I bought, I’m still frustrated by it. I can never seem to fit it into storage when I’m not wearing it, and I always prefer (on long rides) to not wear a backpack. BUT it’s not the bag’s fault. I couldn’t fit it into the top box as I planned as the top box was fuller than expected (and the T18 is not small). When I tried wearing it, the Kreiga US20 strapped to the seat was quite full and there wasn’t any space behind me for the T18 to fit. I ended up with it lashed to the US20 for the trip. IT DID WORK well on the island (which is where I expected it to). I also found a hydration bladder stashed way in a box, so filled it the night before and put it into my T18. I came down the next morning to find the bladder had leaked all over the floor. From the bottom, so the entire 2L of water was all over the carpet. On a positive, the dry bag part of the 1T18 had kept the electronics dry.
Most of the time, I had it packed this way (though I got better at strapping the T18 down)
I tried the luggage configuration a couple of ways along the trip, even to the extreme of repacking everything across the various bags and then back again over the trip. I am not surprised to find that I ended up liking my original set up the most. So tent, sleep mat, groundsheet, extension cord, mallet and puffy jacket all in the US20 strapped to the seat. T18, with a few items, including rain overcoat on top. Everything else in the top box. I did rearrange the top box internally to get better flexibility and that helped. It did rain, a lot, and nothing in my luggage got wet. I did use the two US10 I have, but they ended up as packing cubes inside my top box, and I might have saved some space if I had just used lightweight dry bags (which I also used a lot on the trip).
Experimenting, this time, the US10 are on the outside, not in the top box. Didn’t like this as much
If I had not been camping, there would be a lot less gear, probably to the point of just the top box and the T18.
Cooking Gear
Ah, weren’t you paying attention, I didn’t take this as I had no intention of cooking. So food wise was mostly from local bakeries. In Melbourne I was upgraded to a room with cooking facilities, so I went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of supplies to feed me for the entire weekend. I cooked for myself and took snacks and lunch to the racetrack with me. I even had leftovers on my first leg on the way home.
Technology
My tech worked fine the whole way. I used several SD cards, swapping them often in case of failures. My backup process using the NVME drive and iPad also worked fine. Footage looks good. etc.
One heartstopping moment as I was backing up the first night. I selected all of the videos on the SD card and pressed “Delete”. WAIT WHAT!!! First thing I did NOT do was to remove the card to check… I looked around for an UNDO in the Files app on iPad.
No, but there was a “Recently Deleted” folder, and in here I found my files to recover them. All good. And I was very careful the following evenings. Poor UI design. When you have a file selected the choices are Share, Duplicate, Move, Delete and More. Copy is inside More. There isn’t infinite room along the screen I know. But….
General Comments
Apart from the emergency stuff (like tools) I used everything I took. I also didn’t feel like I was missing anything. That’s two massive positives. Everything worked as I had planned and expected. The item I didn’t use as much as expected was my puffy jacket. This was meant to be the liner for the bike jacket as well as around campsite. I did use it the campsite, but wasn’t cold enough on the bike to wear it, along with the thermal under shirt and fleece mid layer I was already wearing (which I only had because I put it on the morning I left). I probably could have left it behind and coped fine, but especially on the first evening, it was nice to have.
Overall, I was really happy with how my gear turned out. Not bad for a first time, but I do have a fair bit of travelling on the bike under my belt already, just not camping. And I have camped a fair bit before as well, the difference this time was merging the two.
Saturday and Race Day I could leave all the extras in the hotel.
Would I do it again – ah, I’m not sure. I liked the camping, and it was flexible. But I don’t think it would be any more flexible than arriving in a small town and seeing if the motel or pub has a free room. And if I took away the camping gear, I would have only used the top box and the T18. No need for the US20/10s. If I did go camping, I think one of the US10s would provide space for cooking if needed.
So I would “go camping” again on the bike, but probably for an Island trip again, I’ll just book/stay along the way next time. Which might be a while – it’s awkward to take off at that time of year in my new career.
Everything was packed. Work was organised. The family prepared. Then I went to bed, ready to start the adventure in the morning. Please grab a coffee, it’s a long post.
Day One – Sydney to Merimbula
The day started as a pretty normal day. I got the family out the door to school and such, then packed the last couple of things and hit the road. I got away at about 8:30, earlier than the 9am plan. Good sign.
The first part was freeway to put some kms out of Sydney, before cutting across the backroads towards Kangaroo Valley. The ride down into the Valley was pleasant and without much traffic. Then up the other side and towards the coast.
Once I hit the coast, I followed the Princes Highway for several hours. Stopping for fuel and breaks the day was pleasant. The highway is not a huge multilane road, but its not a back country twisty road, so it was fairly benign.
This was random.
About an hour before Merimbula, I turned off as a road following the coast (the highway headed inland at this point) had looked interesting and I was not disappointed. The road links Bermegui, Tathra and Merimbula was probably the second best part of the day.
I arrived at Merimbula about 4:30pm, and look, 30mins earlier than planned.
Here is the moment. 500km from home with my bike and a tent. Would it all work?
Campsite at Merimbula, cliffside
I got the tent set up and established in good time. Time to find some dinner. Being a small town, the off season and a Wednesday night I ended up with a burger from a fish and chip shop. And was happy with that.
It was windy off the ocean all night, and quite cool. I chatted to some other bikers in the cabin next to my site. They had left Sydney about an hour after me and gotten drenched! They retired inside for the evening and so did I.
Day Two – Merimbula to Tallangatta Wodonga
It was windy, overcast and cool the next morning. This was best weather all day. An enormous front had been gathering across southern Australia for days, heading east. I (and all the other riders) were headed west, right towards it. My concern was that conditions would prevent crossing the Snowy Mountains as planned today.
I continued to monitor the weather, and at this stage, the main front was still on the other side of the mountains and not moving much. I guessed I could probably get over the highest parts before the weather really turned. Then the idea would be to run along the valley as far as I could.
From Merimbula north towards Cooma. I did have some options through Bombala, but these would take longer and I was worried about the weather. Brown Mountain is a fun road and it wasn’t busy.
Going up Brown Mountain
From here, its over the plateau to Cooma where I fuelled up (a lucky decision). I then turned north again for Adaminaby and it was about here that the roads turned wet. It wasn’t raining on me much, but showers passed through around me. After Adaminaby it was a left turn and into the mountains proper.
The turn is quite confusing. It’s now called Link Road (not what the map shows) and there’s a great big sign saying “Cabramurra is closed to public”. I knew that this related to one of the turn offs, so I could still get through (Also, the NSW traffic app showed the road open AND I had talked to a local who had come through here yesterday). Up the road I headed.
Deep in the Snowy’s
This road was very wet, which is a shame as they have upgraded it due to the large amount of heavy vehicles using it to support the Snowy 2.0 works. In the dry, this is a great road and usually a little quieter than the better known roads across the Snowy’s. However, Snowy 2.0 has put a lot of large and long vehicles on the first half of this road and you must be careful as they sometimes use the whole road to negotiate the tight turns.
I found my way eventually to Tumut Pond Dam where I had stopped in 2018 for a break. I planned to stop and recreate a couple of the pictures. I pulled over and…. 8 other bikes turned up! Suddenly it was crowded. These guys were a bit worried as they had planned to fill up in Adaminaby but discovered that one petrol stations was under renovation and the other had no fuel. Like I said, lucky I filled in Cooma. The ZX-10R rider was expecting to be on fumes by Khancoban. I would still have half a tank by then. They took a pic of me 🙂 and left. I followed them away.
Looking a bit wet, but its only on the outside.
Out the other side to Khancoban without any drama. The roads dried a little, but the clouds threatened (or drizzled) for the rest of the day as I road along the Valley. I passed Corryong to spot the other group all parked at the pub and I gave them a wave. They had made it.
Originally I had planned to camp in Tallangatta, but with the weather predicted to get worse, I took up the offer from a family friend (who I hadn’t really talked to much) for lodgings in Wodonga. I took the offer of a dry house over a wet camp and pushed a little further down the valley.
Day Three – Wodonga to Melbourne
Day three dawned and at least at that moment in Wodonga it wasn’t actually raining. The bad weather was still around and was causing significant flooding in parts of Victoria and associated road closures. So I again, watched it closely overnight and in the morning.
Decisions to made, so looking at the situation, I decided to start down the interstate and see what happened at my first fuel (which would be soon).
The rain started shortly before I stopped, so it was a chance to fill up, add my extra rain layer and check the situation. It was getting worse, even the interstate being affected in parts. Certainly rumours of massive potholes and strings of cars pulled over with multiple wheel/tyre damage were being passed about between the travellers around me.
Rest stop
I did have some errands to run in Melbourne and having to do them on Saturday was really annoying me. It’s only 3 or so hours down the interstate to Melbourne (Victoria isn’t the biggest state in Australia), so a call to my hotel for Saturday night – they could fit me in a day early the decision was made.
Partly due weather, partly to get to Melbourne early and run my errands on Friday and partly to avoid getting hung up with any floods or closures I decided to barrel down the interstate directly.
And it was without incident – though the stories of potholes were very accurate. Long stretches of the interstate had one or both wheel track torn up. Most were easy to spot and I rode mostly in the centre of the lane where potholes were uncommon. I spotted at least 6-8 cars stranded with multiple wheel damage along some of the worst parts (later I would hear that truckies earlier were seeing 20-30 cars at a time). Some of these potholes were longer than my bike.
As I drew close to Melbourne the weather cleared to partly cloudy with an occasional shower. I ran my errands and got out to the hotel. Here I found myself upgraded due to water damage in some rooms to a 2 bedroom with full cooking and laundry. Perfect.
In the evening I went to the supermarket and stocked up, getting food for all my meals and snacks for the races.
Day Four – Qualifying
Saturday was a lazy morning. With my errands done and I didn’t really plan to be at the track until qualifying started I didn’t have to head off until about 11am. After sorting out all my gear, getting laundry done and some cooking done, I was ready to go.
The ride from Melbourne to the Island is about the WORST and MOST BORING and NEVERENDING ride in my life. Every time I’ve done it, it has been a struggle to keep motivated to get to the end. I’m sure part of it is impatience to get to the Island. Even staying 30mins west of Melbourne it is over an hour of highway to get there.
But eventually you do get there, and the trials of the ride are forgotten as you see all the bikes and hear the race bikes long before you see them.
Almost camouflaged..
I got to the track, walked around looking at all the displays and such (knowing it would be a lot busier tomorrow). Bought a couple of hats, tried some of the super expensive food.
And qualifying happens so fast, though I did nod off during Q1 I think.
Jack Miller got a corner named after him, but disappointingly only got P8 for the start.
And it was time to go home and get ready for the main event.
Day Five – The big day – RACE DAY!!
I guess because I had just done it the day before, but the ride wasn’t too bad this time. But I should have guessed, the Island was packed. I arrived around 10am to find that all of the bike parking was full. There were paddocks of bikes (later, it came out that 91,000 people attended, double the last race in 2019). I wandered about a bit lost, before parking on a side road, about 2km from the track with some other riders.
Nowhere to park 😦
And then we were at the track.
There had been a few showers in the morning, but by 10am it was clear, windy and not too cold. Perfect. (Well about as perfect as you get at Philip Island).
Race time, and Jack was going hard. It was a thrilling race to watch.
Can you see the bikes?
Then Alec Marquez messed a coroner entry and rams Jack off the track. At Miller Corner no less. Irony. And Jack was out of the race, breaking the hearts of the crowd.
Nevertheless it was a really exciting race, with podiums changing all the way to the end.
Then it was the epic walk back to my bike (I’d been saved a walk on the way in as a passerby had stopped and given a group of us a lift, no such luck on the departure). Took 45mins and was quite warm. Steps for the day done!
And the ride home. More bikes in the crowd than 2018, but not 2007. May have been because I was about an hour behind the main departures.
Day Six – Melbourne to Wodonga Tallangatta Corryong Khancoban
It was foggy as I loaded the bike. It was foggy as I left Melbourne, it was still foggy as I got to Warragul in Gippsland. But about here it started to clear to a bright and clear day. Probably the best weather of the entire trip.
By Sale, it was a clear, bright day.
This wasn’t the route I had planned. I had planned to head up through The Black Spur and the around Lake Eildon. But there looked to be some road closures and I didn’t want to get stuck or turned around. I found out later that the roads were fine, but by that time it didn’t bother me.
I followed the Princes Highway (the same highway I had been on the first day to Merimbula) along until I got to a small town called Bruthen. Along the way, I passed or was passed by several groups of bikes. Everyone heading home. Well, maybe not. One group were all South Australia plates and they were definitely headed away from SA. I never got a chance to check if they were just really lost.
From Bruthen I turned up towards Omeo and Mitta Mitta. This would take me up over the Victorian Alps. A fantastic road and in great shape. Over 100km, but taking more than 2hours as your average speed is around 50kmph. That gives some idea of the twisted nature of the road.
Between Omeo and Mitta Mitta
And it was fun. And dry. The only hiccup was some kind of vintage car rally through the same roads. And by vintage, I’m talking 1900, 1910’s era cars. Some were slow, some were faster, some weren’t really good at staying in their own lanes. At least one decided that it wasn’t really two way and would use the entire road whenever he liked. Made him really awkward to pass.
A pleasant place to have a break
I got to Mitta Mitta about 2pm. Tallangatta is about 30mins from there, and Wodonga a little further on but in the wrong direction. I didn’t really want to stop for the day at 3pm. The weather was nice, so I decided not to head back to my family friend at Wodonga. Corryong was about an hour up the road, putting me ahead for the next day. Khancoban is only another 20mins past that.
I got to Corryong about 4:30, and called ahead to Khancoban who were still open and had space. I pushed on. I did feel a little bit of regret as I passed through Corryong as it was clear that this was a bigger town (more food options) and that plenty of riders were stopping here (more people to talk to).
It was a beautiful evening as I arrived in Khancoban about 5pm. Got the tent set up and looked forward to a relaxed evening in the sunshine. I headed up to the pub for dinner and then back to the tent. To find a great big caravan had set up right in front of me and my sunshine.
Before the caravan spoiled it.
It was a cool and clear night, but my set up worked well.
Day Seven – Khancoban to Canberra
Being an hour further down the road and only about a 4 hour ride to Canberra I took it easy in the morning. I also knew from experience, if you head east at dawn, the rising sun is directly in your eyes, and it’s quite annoying to ride in. Plus it gave extra time for any dampness to leave the road surface. I think it was almost 9:30am before I left. I had heard many bikes passing as I broke camp.
Before long I was up in the Snowy’s. It was a quiet, peaceful ride without much traffic. There was a moment just as I started in Khancoban to turn around and go back the way I came over on Thursday, but in the dry. I decided I didn’t want to repeat roads this trip. And I’m sure there will be other trips.
Part of the Snowy 1.0A lookout part way across. Near the top. Stopped here in my 2018 trip too
The ride went pretty easy, stopping for a break part way along. I didn’t find the last place I stopped for lunch in 2018, but I did stop near the top where I do remember stopping on that trip. I think the road has been improved in the past 4 years. It feels like the surface is newer and in a lot of places, much wider.
Before long I was coming down through Thredbo, Jindabyne, Cooma (where I stopped for lunch and fuel) and eventually Canberra.
I recreated some photos and videos from last trip and also from my time in Canberra with the VFR.
Canberra.
Day Eight – Canberra to Sydney
With a request from the Mrs to be home ASAP, I headed off as soon as I could after breakfast. I’m writing this four days later and I’m still not clear on the need for urgency. Anyway, this was a tiring leg, mostly as I didn’t stop except once for fuel.
My normal back road is having some work done, so it was a bit slower than usual with a couple of long roadworks. Most noticeable was the ford that I passed through last December was getting some improvements to raise the road and create some drainage.
So after almost 4 hours I rolled into the gate and home.
In summary
So about 2800km, 8 days of riding. 2 days at the Island. 2 nights camping, 2 nights at friends and 4 nights in my hotel later I’m home. My planning numbers were not that far different from what I actually achieved, a little over estimated in some cases, and of course the leg where I did an hour extra.
I’ll write a seperate post about my gear as this has been long enough.
And your guess is as good as mine for the weather. It is really wet today and tomorrow, but a rough look across the various destinations from Wednesday sees mostly clear, cool (8-20C) and perhaps some rain Thursday night.
Island is expecting cold (max 15) and windy.
My collector’s ticket has arrived too. It doesn’t look like much but it’s one of those “3D” plastic cards.
bikesbabesbytes 