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Frogfoot

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  1. Frogfoot

    Post Crash Update

    By Frogfoot,

    Its been three frustrating weeks now. I hobble about the house finding it uncomfortable to sit, stand or walk for too long.
    I count my lucky stars though and know it could have been much much worse. My decision to wear all the gear saved a LOT of heart ache.
    Here is the bike.



    Insurance has today told me that it's a total loss. I'm really sad about that, but not surprised when you see the damage.
    I won't have enough to buy a replacement new VFR, though I could likely afford a second hand one. However, replacing it while I still retain the Daytona is not likely to go down well with the Mrs.
    I am considering the idea of selling the Daytona and using the money from the insurance and the sale to buy a 2014/5 VFR. I will take some time before I decide that though.
    And here is the gear.





    My boots aren't here as they are barely scratched. My Kevlar jeans aren't here as they were cut up by the paramedics. There was a hand sized tear at the knee where my injury has occurred.
    Weird footnote - when my sister arrived at my place with my ruined gear last week, my wife commented (and she's a theatre nurse in a major city hospital) that she "always thought I was overdoing it with all the gear I wear riding" and that it was a bit silly and over the top really.
    She's certainly changed her opinion now!
    ATGATT saved my butt (literally, you should see the scuffs on the back of the jeans!)
  2. Frogfoot

    Back On The Horse

    By Frogfoot,

    Short version. Ride to work and back on the Daytona last Friday. OMG IT FELT AWESOME to be back in the bike.
    LONG VERSION.
    so I spent the week testing my sitting position on the Daytona. It was so tempting with it there in the garage. Doc hadn't given me the all clear but Wednesday afternoon I started her up and headed out. I got down the drive and then pulled my leg up to the peg. That didn't work and there were a lot of weird aches around the knee. I let my leg hang and wobbled back to the garage, defeated.
    But I couldn't leave it there so the next day I got back on and spent about twenty minutes riding around the neighborhood. The knee is really stiff but not painful.
    This gave me the confidence to ride in on Friday. The ride in was great. A sunny fresh morning on the open road (work is halfway to the next town along some country roads). I stretched the leg out a couple of times.
    The way home was more sore - enough that I was nervous I had ripped something open. I got home safely and hoped I hadn't set things back at all.
    Saturday I saw the Doc and was given the all clear to use my leg fully. So no harm done.
    It is obvious that I really need to work the leg or it's going to lose a big chunk of range of motion. I have already restarted my fitness and will get back on the bike and the push bike to sort out the leg.
    Being back on the bike is so amazing :)
  3. Frogfoot
    Well the big reveal has finally taken place at work (on a week when it seems most of the other riders are away, lol) so I'll reveal it here too.

    I have a new bike, after suggestions from the Mrs that my VFR was too old. As silly a statement as that is, I wasn't one to argue. One condition is that I put the VFR up for sale, which I dutifully have, but have had no interest, no surprise there.

    I had been considering the GSXR750 for several years and it was top of the list, having ridden it and the 600 a couple of times over the past years. I focused on the 700-800cc, just personal preference, it limited the choices quite quickly. I decided that I wasn't interested in a dirt/trail bike, or an adventure/dual-sport bike. I did want something different from the VFR, and previous experience with the Ducati Streetfighter and later the Triumph Street Triple eliminated the street fighter style. So the list was really short. So short, I rang around the various brand dealers looking for something to compete with the GSXR. The Ducati 848 Evo was out of my price range and so was the MV F3. The supersport 600s and the litre bikes were just not what I was looking for.




    Then I rang Triumph and things changed. The new 675 was about to be released and the price was similar to the GSXR. It wasn't far from my 700-800 range, and I expected that the triple would be more rideable than an inline 4 600. It also came with a lot of stuff that the GSXR didn't. With the interest in them building, I put a holding deposit on one simply so I could get a look in. It was subject to final decision and I expect if I turned it down, someone would get an early present, as the guy who paid a deposit the day after me is still waiting for his to arrive on the ship.

    In preparation I rode the GSXR a couple of times, to make sure I would be happy with that style of bike, as well as testing it in city traffic and highway, finding it comfortable. I also rode the new Street Triple which has the same engine as the Daytona. This gave me some idea of the new bike. The GSXR sat as a very strong second choice, and I had a happy grin every time I rode it.

    When 675 finally arrived in the shop it was an easy decision. I still had to wait for my money to be ready and just before Easter I rolled out on my new bike. Yes, on a 600cc equivalent supersport, lol. But its 675 and a triple.




    And a month later I still have that silly grin on my head.

    A totally new bike for this year, it shares almost nothing with the older Daytonas. It is my first bike since I bought my VFR in April 2004, As its the R, it comes standard with ABS, Brembos, Ohlins and a quickshifter as well as some carbon bits. I've put 800km over a couple of rides in the past week or so and I am very very happy with my choice.





    It is quite different to my VFR. The seating is more aggressive, but I don't find it uncomfortable. It's about 80kg lighter and about 20% more powerful than my VFR, so its quick and easy to steer. The Ohlins and the bike feel very positive and I find it very confident in corners and over rougher roads. A little harsher ride than the VFR but much more confidence that it will stay where I point it. At the rev limits enforced in the break in, its actually very economical and I can get around 300km from a tank. That was a surprise.

    It sounds great even with the standard pipe. I'm still running it in, so I haven't had a chance to really let it loose, but the sound is really nice. There's even a little popping, crackling on closing the throttle that sounds very cool.

    I haven't decided what to do with my VFR though at this stage it will continue to be my main ride. The VFR is much more suited to the commuting and poor weather riding, and is better at distance (though not by much) and two up. The Daytona is mainly to be a fun bike for weekends and sunny days.


  4. Frogfoot
    Here i am, 95km to Goulburn on the side of the Hume Highway.

    And here's why.



    Onwards to another 150,000.

    Though I did drop by the local Honda dealer and checked out the new VFR800. I quite like the look of it in the flesh. I asked about a test ride and the guy almost begged me to take it for a ride - I think he wanted the opinion of a 6th gen owner so he could use it to sell them.

    I will take it for a ride, sitting on it - it felt very similar. I'll see how it rides...
  5. Frogfoot
    This time we planned Wiseman's Ferry in reverse, with the ferry being the last leg. We had started this route a couple of weeks back but it was rained out. After several beautiful spring days during the week, the morning dawned cool and heavily overcast. Not promising.
    I headed off to the usual meet point to find the regulars gathering. Only 8 bikes this time, and the newcomer was a Wee Strom (650 VStrom). Headed up towards McGrath's Hill to get started on the route. Initially we turned up the road towards Wiseman's but shortly turned right, staying on the near side of the river as we snaked along, following Cattai Ridge Rd and Bay rd. This leads into Berowra Waters and another ferry. It was a good stretch, but my weakness at downhills meant I ran a bit slower than the others. I will have to keep practising. Uphill I'm a lot more confident.

    Berowra Waters Ferry

    At Berowra Waters Ferry
    The roads were a little busier than normal. Today is a State election and all were out to vote (it's compulsory here). But we had no real holdups. The first kilometres into, and out of Berowra are pretty narrow, really only 1 and a half lanes, not the full two, so you have to watch out for cars not keeping to their side properly.
    After the ferry we headed up towards the Old Pacific Highway. I've described this earlier and its still the same. Busy with all kinds of people, police and inappropriately low speed limits. This picture isn't actually very representative of the Highway. It's mostly a lot lower quality. This is probably a picture of the kind of bitumen we'd really like but don't get in this state very often.

    Old Pacific Highway
    We stopped at another well known cafe on this road, Pie in the Sky. My first time here and I was impressed by the range of pies. I choose a "Lamb, Honey, Chilli and Garlic" and it wasn't bad. Afterwards I discovered that they sold burgers (my staple on most rides) as well so I was a bit annoyed. In previous years, Pie didn't have the same bike culture as Road Warriors (further up the highway at Mt White) however Road Warriors closed down a couple of years ago, to the surprise and dismay of all. So Pie became the default stop.

    Pie in the Sky cafe.
    We hit the road again and headed up towards Central Mangrove. As we passed Road Warriors site I noticed a new cafe there. Plenty of bikes as well, so will have to go past another day to check out the new version.

    Parked at Peates Ridge (Corrugated Cafe)
    About 40mins later we pulled up at The Corrugated Cafe. Having thought that the previous stop was lunch, I wasn't hungry, but snagged a couple of chips of the other guys. Very nice. From here it was up to Central Mangrove (strangely enough a hill, not a swamp??) then down into the river valley towards Wiseman's Ferry. This was probably the longest stretch of the day. It was made worse by the fact I was running short on time to be home and keep the peace there. Mostly the road is falrly comfortable sweepers, but can be narrow in places. The old wooden bridges have all been replaced with concrete.
    From Wiseman's we headed back up to McGraths hill and home.
    Safe...with 15 mins to spare.
    Here's the route on google.... http://maps.google.c...3,0.771103&z=11
  6. Frogfoot

    Riding To Rylstone

    By Frogfoot,

    My wife has made a couple of new friends over the last couple of months through her gym. Turns out that one of the girls husbands also rides (he has an 03 CBR1100XX). Last week he invited me on a ride this Saturday. The plan was to ride up the Putty to Singleton, then the rough idea was to head west, before coming back over the Blue Mountains to Sydney.

    Wife had no objections but I did have a couple of concerns. First up is that the proposed route looked pretty long, like more than 8-10 hours away from home. Second is that I was supposed to be on call at work that weekend. To actually get called out is pretty rare, so I figured I could do part of the ride and then head home. I figured I could head up and back the Putty for a shortish day trip. Killing two birds that would also mean I'd only be away 6 or 8 hours.

    I rode to his place where we waited for the third guy to arrive. He turned up on his BMW R1100 and after a dash to the petrol station for a top up and tyre check, it was off to Windsor to start the Putty.

    Yesterday was the hottest day on record for Sydney. I think it made over 45C in the city, and parts of the suburbs were almost 47C. Today was not. Overcast and only 20C when we started, the forecast predicted rain later in the west. I gambled and didn't take any rain gear. I also wore my leathers and not my summer jacket.

    The Putty was in good shape and the weather stayed even as we found our way to the Grey Gums about 1000. We stopped here for some breakfast (none of us had eaten before we left). I recommend their pies, the bacon and eggs looked pretty good too.

    A bit of a chat watching various bikes come and go, before we set off ourselves. We rode north to Singleton to fuel up before backtracking slightly to turn onto the Golden Highway. This was all new territory to me, the Highway being pretty straight and a little busy. It was warming up now, clear and 30C. I was starting to regret not wearing my summer jacket.


    We turned left just before Sandy Hollow, towards Bylong and Rylstone. Up to Bylong was okay. The seal had gotten a bit rough and each had unsettled moments on various lumps and bumps along the way, thankfully no one came off. A small shower just before Bylong was a bit worrying as we stopped for a break and to figure out lunch. I was feeling a bit worn out, I think it was mostly dehydration. I drank a bottle of water and munched an ice cream for some quick energy. A sit down (to finally stop the bumping…) helped immensely and we decided to head to Rylstone for lunch, only about half an hour away. More than one choice there.


    We left Bylong and climbed out of the valley. This was a really nice patch probably the second best part of the ride. Once up top though, the rain arrived. I got wet and the locals (and my mates) had a little laugh when I arrived in Rylstone for lunch, looking a bit damp :)

    Lunch at Number 47 Gallery was tasty (we had thought it was a cafe, and it is, but also a Gallery) and the others debated whether to put their wet weather stuff on. I think they were just doing it to tease me :) The rain had lessened a fair bit when we headed off. I wasn't going to get much wetter, but I wasn't go to dry out either.

    We headed for Lithgow in the rain, taking it easy. In the dry this would have been a swift flowing ride until we hit the busier Castlereagh Hwy. By the time we got to Lithgow it had cooled down to 14C, so we were getting a taste of all kinds of weather on this ride. Now I was happy I had worn my leather

    We fuelled up in Lithgow, and said our goodbyes as didn't plan another stop on our ride down the mountains before we split off to our homes. The ride home was a crawl thorough traffic and roadworks. Made even worse by the fact that the Mountains were in cloud, so a good chunk of the ride was peering through the gloom. At one stage I found a traffic light and realised that I was halfway through Katoomba and hadn't even noticed I was in a town, the cloud was that thick.

    It wasn't raining though and the road was dry so the riding was okay, just had to watch the visibility. Eventually the hwy turned into the M4 and I was on my way home, arriving a little after 7pm, covering about 600km. I'd been away for 12hours and was expecting to be sleeping on the couch that night.

    But no, I wasn't in trouble as I had been led astray by the other husband. I figure me not in trouble with my wife, him not in trouble with his meant it was all ok.

    I've attached a map, though if you find Lithgow, I've created the map to loop back to Windsor so it goes down the Bells Line. We actually headed back towards Penrith so went down the Gt Western Hwy.

    I spent much of the ride far behind the others as our pace were quite different. If you're not careful there's a lot of pressure in this kind of situation to ride faster than you're are practiced at and get into trouble, something to watch out for. But if you ride your ride (as one said at a stop… race yourself, not us) you will be fine.

    I think (and the ride turned out like this) I really enjoy starting of with a "We'll meet at XXXXXX" and everyone just rides and there's no pressure to stick in the group. It does mean that if you get into trouble, your friends might not notice as quickly, but with everyone riding their own pace, trouble is less likely. So that's my plan for the next time I go out in a group.

    Sorry for the lack of photos, I didn't want to hold them up more by stopping for pictures. I do reckon I need to get a GoPro or Drift camera, to show you guys the Aussie roads better. Any suggestions on which might be better? I really like Drift's Video Tagging option.

    Bike wise, I am going to book in for the CCTs to be replaced, at some points the VFR sounded like a Ducati with a dry clutch rattle! The original ones last 50,000km and these have lasted 80,000km so not too bad.
  7. Frogfoot
    It seems the only time I get to do a proper ride these days is when work sends me to Canberra. That project is closing up soon, so that will go away as well. I'll have to sort something else out that makes me go to Canberra for work.

    I rode down the freeway, leaving home at about 0230 (0800 Meeting). It was a bit warmer than last time (when I was stupid!) and leaving home was about 7C, Canberra was 0C by the time I got there, but mostly it was around 4C, quite manageable. I only made a single fuel/rest stop and made great time arriving at my accommodation about 0530. I did ride through drizzle for about an hour, but it was light and the road never got wet, and neither did I. Lucky as I packed lighter and left all my rain gear at home.

    I also packed so that everything was in my top box, no backpack or tank bag. I found it a bit better on the return trip as I could ride normally.

    Learning from last time, I had a room booked so I picked up some keys, turned on the heaters and dived into bed, getting an hour or so nap, before having to start my day properly. Much more humane than last time spending a hour curled up on a radiator in the common room, shivering!

    ..... work interlude ....... elevator music playing ....

    The Next Morning....




    The next morning I lazed in bed as I waited for the sun to get up a bit. Last time I rode off with the sun almost in my eyes for much of the ride. With sun up at about 0600 (we're already on summer time here now) about 0830 I was out loading the bike. My plan was to once again Head to Queenbeyan, Tarago, then up the road through Bungonia, popping briefly onto the freeway, before back to Highland Way. That's my third time this way. I then planned to skip Moss Vale etc and perhaps take the Hill Top exit and head up to Picton. No pressure from home this time so I could take it easy.

    On the road, and it was a pleasant 8C and bright and sunny, warming up well. Passed a couple of groups of bikes, all loaded up headed the other way. As I cruised along towards Tarago, more bikes came past. I felt as if everyone was asking me "Hey why are you headed that way, everyone is going the other way??"

    And I know where they are all headed and I would love to turn around and join them. This weekend is the MotoGP at Phillip Island. Casey Stoner's last Aussie race. It would be nice if he wins, but I'm not sure his current performance is up to it? We'll see.

    So much of the road looks like this.





    Yes i know they all look straight, but with no room on the side of the road to pull over I stop in places where the traffic is going to be able to see me and react, not come halfway around a blind corner to find some crazy rider taking photos! I rather not become someone's hood ornament :)

    Ah, that reminds me... no wombats this time, but I must have seen about 10 or more kangaroo/wallaby carcasses on the road on the way down in the night. I kept trying to decide if it would be better to ride behind a truck so he hits the roo, not me, but I think getting covered in offal would be rather gruesome. On the way home, as I rode from towards Bungendore I passed at least two abandoned cars with crumpled fronts. Skippy is all muscle too, like the wombat.

    I passed through Tarago and got some odd looks from a pack of riders when I headed down the road towards Bungonia. I think I know why, as that leg I saw about 2 bikes. Until then I had passed about 50 - 80 bikes. I think not many people know about the leg from Tarago through Bungonia, and all these other riders where taking the turn from Queenbeyan to Tarago.

    Riding from memory, I only got stuck for a moment at one turn trying to decide the right way.



    But I stopped and had a break, munching on sushi from my friends shop (Hero Sushi in Tuggernong, go there) while I pondered the two options. I turned left.

    And that was right.

    So I eventually hit the freeway, dashed about the kilometre to the start of the Highland Way. More bikes again, all pulling me to turn around, join them....

    No I'll be in a wee bit of hot water if I came back on next Tuesday after the race... probably not be allowed in the door!

    Highland Way, duck out at Sutton Forest again. Along the freeway to the Yerimbol/Hill Top exit, and cruise along to Picton.


    These are called Ghost Gums, as their trunks and branches turn all white.

    At Picton I had three options, back to the freeway, northish towards Camden, or Menagle Rd to Campbelltown. Freeway, last choice. I decided to head to Menagle Rd as I hadn't been that way in a while and I've done the Camden way a couple of times in the last couple of years.

    It proved a solid choice and a quite swift ride I was in Campbelltown, hunting the freeway entrance, for the dash across the city to home.

    Rolling up to the door about 1445, that's how you turn a 3 hour trip into a 6 hour one, by adding FUN :)
  8. Frogfoot

    Confounded and Confused

    By Frogfoot,

    Recently Mrs suggested that maybe it’s time to look into a new bike. My 2004 VFR800, I’ve had since, well 2004, and I’m not silly enough to seek confirmation of her suggestion (in case she changes her mind).

    I’ve had my eye on this recently. Though not the yellow one.




    Ducati Streetfighter 848



    Yesterday morning I got to have a ride of the Demo bike at the dealership. First impressions (compared to my VFR)


    very narrow at the seat, but taller
    felt like the front was missing…. no fairing, panel is set closer in etc.
    pegs a lot closer to the ground so legs are a lot straighter. That was a big surprise.

    Fired it up and a nice V-twin warble from the pipes. Bit of a crackle. Very nice sound and I wonder what other pipes would sound like on it. Then we left on the demo ride, basically a follow the leader with a guy from the shop and a couple of others testing other bikes (a BMW S1000RR and a couple of K1300).
    Awesome brakes
    neat sound
    very responsive engine once you’re over about 3000rpm.
    hopeless shaky mirrors (but I think all Ducati’s have that problem!)
    Easy to ride and a fairly upright position

    But I finished up feeling a lot less interested than when I left. Well no that's not right... I'm totally confused. Eventually, I'm sure I could get used to another bike. I've always been the kind of person who rides around a problem, rather than obsess about it. The VTEC change for example. It's never bothered me, I've never felt out of control when it's kicked in (even in the wet, or on curves.
    I think part of it was the newness, and part of it was the whole "don't like group rides" theme that's been growing over the past twelve months. It was a group test and rather than "going for a ride" I spent the session worrying over where were we headed, where is the leader, where are camera and cops, which lane should I be in, are we turning here or there etc etc. So maybe I need to get out with that group again and ride the same route again.
    Or should I try a different style of bike. For example I've always had a soft spot for the GSXR750 or the Ducati 848. Maybe a full on sport bike is more what I am feeling.
    Or maybe its a case of take my savings, and redo the forks, rear suspension, get a rear hugger etc for the VFR.
    As you can see, the ride has left me more confused that ever!
  9. Frogfoot
    Hey, another meeting in Canberra. And hey once again, riding there seems the most convenient option (and again, the most fun!). And the weather is looking perfect, no rain predicted, well for ages. Awesome. Looking at the weather though, my lesson from last time (you know, where I didn't read the temperatures) I almost didn't learn. Hmm Canberra is going to be -3 at about the time I'm arriving. That's going to be cold. At 120kmh that's going to be downright frigid!

    The plan was a straight run down the interstate early in the morning to the meeting. Arriving early so I could iron my uniform, shower (warm up!) etc. Meeting all day, then dinner and maybe catch a movie (something that has been really hard to do whilst the kids are little), then the next day sleep in (another bonus) and a enjoyable ride back along some of the more interesting roads I've been discovering between Canberra and Sydney.

    So problem one is the cool temperatures, problem two is that I caught some kind of cold when I was on my last trip there and it's still sorta hanging around, so I'm not 100%. Problem three developed on the eve of my departure, the kids had both came down hard with the same cold.

    On the plus side, Mrs was happy to handle the kids, they were mostly sleeping anyway. I wasn't too worried about the cold as I do have some reasonable gear that I have used in similar conditions (though only for an hour or so, not 4), and my cold wasn't too bad.

    Leaving at about 3.30am I rode out in about 4C. Down the freeway out of the city I was getting cold. But it was bearable. But don't imagine a steady even drop across the journey. It basically dropped to 0 as I passed the city limits and quickly headed below that. Until I spent a couple of hours at -2 and hit -4 about 6am.

    I stopped several times, mostly to hang out in a warm building (petrol station) to eat breakfast. The worst part was the last 20 mins, when I knew I was almost there, the sun was up but my knees were cold and my little fingers felt like ice blocks.

    It was uneventful, except for the WOMBATS. Now I'm sure you all know about kangaroos and koalas down here in Australia, and maybe crocs, tassie devils, sharks and snakes too. (and spiders and sea snakes and…) Do you know about wombats? Pretty uninspiring solid little fellows about as big as mid sized suitcase. Oh did I say solid, these guys are built like main battle tanks, and have a reputation of destroying vehicles that they cross paths with, shaking it off and carrying on (not sure about the last part). Riding through the dark at freeway speed the road is suddenly smeared with black marks and at the end is a dark lump slightly to my left on the road. Looking like a large rock, I realised I was headed towards a wombat carcass. I swerved and managed to clear it - I'd rather hit a rock, it'd do less damage! This would occur twice on the way down, but the second one I moved as soon as the streaks appeared on the road.

    Sunrise happened as I rode alongside Lake George. It was gorgeous and made the insanity of the ride worthwhile.

    I spent about an hour warming up, showering etc and was still cold by the time I got to the meeting. Not my smartest idea. I'm now fairly certain I was on my way to hypothermia when I eventually got in.

    The meeting went all day and I was nodding of towards the end, so much so that the chair basically begged me not to head home that night. After the meeting I crashed into the bed, sleeping from about 5pm, to about 7am, only rising for a late dinner at about 7pm (when my eldest rang me to say hi). Mrs was struggling with the kids but I was too tired and it was too cold (and would take me about 4 hours to get home).

    In the morning I awoke to a pleasant -1 and a bike that was coated in a layer of ice. But I wasn't too worried, it was already morning, the day was warming up, slowly, and I was headed back to Sydney, which would be at least 15C or so by the time I arrived. It sure wasn't going to be worse than the ride down.





    I set off at about 7:30 fuelling up in Queenbeyan as I headed off to retrace my route from my last trip, up through Tarago, towards Bungonia and the freeway. I figured this wouldn't take much longer than getting through the city then up the Hume to about the same point. It would be a lot more enjoyable and less taxing.

    This worked well and I hit the freeway only a little later than I would have ridden past the same point. I remembered the route pretty well and my only complaint was the angle of the sun made vision ahead sometimes a difficult proposition unless I put my hand up, even with sunglasses on. This also affected the contrast between the shaded areas in some points where I literally couldn't see the condition of the road. I can see a sun visor (like dirt bike helmets or the more adventurer type helmets) being useful here.

    Also passed a couple more dead wombats. I'm no longer convinced of their indestructibility, however still no need to run into one! Anything smaller than a semi still tends to need some serious repair work or even towing from the scene of the impact.

    I hit the freeway - did some quick maths and ducked off onto Highland Way. I could make it through here and still be home as promised.

    Another hour or so of cruising along this favourite road before I was taking the shortcut out from Sutton Forest to the freeway. Avoiding the Moss Vale stretch which only adds time and not fun. Less than two hours for home, I twisted the wrist and settled in.

    Sorry no photos this time, all talk. Home safe, very sick. I probably shouldn't have ridden, though only because my gear probably wasn't quite up to the task (though not by much) and I wouldn't have had to leave quite so early.
  10. Frogfoot
    Christmas and New Years are gone and my holidays are almost finished. The wife starts back tomorrow, so today, my last chance, I got away for a ride. I decided to head north up Wiseman's Ferry. I wasn't sure if I would come back on the Old Pacific Highway or the Putty Rd, or even just back on Wiseman's, but I headed out about 0730 with the day free before me. I could have called up a few guys to join me, but decided that I really wanted the flexibility of a solo ride and some time to myself.

    It was somewhat cloudy to start, but the forecast was for it to continue clearing with a top of about 25C. Sounded perfect. First place to head for was McGrath's Hill, the launch point really. Fuelled up here and turned up the road to Pitt Town and Wiseman's.

    The trip to the ferry was a nice ride, only the last bit was a little annoying as myself and a couple of cars got held up behind some cyclists. There was no shoulder or straights, so we crawled along behind them for a while. They didn't have the grace to stop and pull off either. Interestingly as we hit the last downhill into Wiseman's they disappeared off the front. They had raced off down the hill faster than the car following dared. Crazy cyclists!


    I was first off the ferry but pulled over to let all the cars go in front. Yes, I know that sounds weird, why would I want to be held up by all the cars you ask..

    First up, at 0900 on a Thursday, they're likely to be locals and therefore faster than average cars. I also knew the road was a bit rough to go very quickly on a bike. Lastly, I knew I would be cautious as I was on my own, it had been a long time since I'd ridden here and I planned to practice technique and didn't want the pressure of the cars behind me.


    It was rougher than I remember almost to Wollombi. It's still fine to ride, but not a sweet smooth surface. I stopped partway at a place called Spencer, where I found their General Store and got something to munch on. Chatted to the shopkeeper about the road conditions as it has been several years since I came this way. The Government is apparently promising some work to smooth it out... I won't hold my breath.


    After the break I rode on to Wollombi where I stopped for lunch. This is a favourite bike hangout, but there were never more than ten bikes there while I was stopped. I even managed this shot with mine the only bike stopped at the Pub. What a difference from the weekends!


    Leaving Wollombi after a large burger, I headed to Broke. The first part out of Wollombi to Broke used to have a stretch of dirt on it, but that's been sealed sometime in the past few years (update: It's been about OMG 2007 when I last rode through here). Broke still has fuel which was nice, topped up the tanks for the Putty Rd.


    The Putty is one of the best rides this close to Sydney. Its far better than the Old Pacific Highway especially since that road has had lots of speed limit changes and such. The Putty is also in very good condition and is more than 50km long, though not all of that is twisty roads.

    It is popular, occasionally dangerous and in the weekend strongly policed.

    In the middle of the day, on Thursday it was pretty empty (still dangerous) and no cops to be seen.

    Partway down the Putty there used to be a coffee shop, I forget the name, but its long gone now, burnt out and not reopened I think. A little further towards Windsor though is the Grey Gums Cafe which has replaced it. It has free wifi and concrete parking that is exclusively for the bikes (cars etc have to park in the gravel carpark). I stopped for an ice cream and a bottle of water before setting off on the last bit home.


    I had a really good day. I'm definitely enjoying these a solo adventures a lot more. It fits my timetable better and the rides are more flexible. And I don't lose three hours riding to the meeting spot, waiting for an hour for everyone etc etc. In three hours today I was halfway down the Wiseman's Ferry road to Wollombi.

    Spotted some kangaroos crossing ahead of me today too - never actually had that happen before. Luckily the mob (that's the correct term for a group of roos) crossed well in advance and were lost in the vineyards by the time I was close, little chance of one trying to kill me.

    I also had something fly in through under the chin of my helmet. I whipped open the visor which seemed to clear it, but I stopped very rapidly and took it off to check. That was definitely a new experience!




  11. Frogfoot

    End Of An Era

    By Frogfoot,

    That's what my sister and my mum separately described it when I told them.
    Sunday night, marginally later than usual I headed down the highway from Sydney to Canberra on my VFR. After my usual refuel at Marulan and a text to wife I was on my way again.
    As I travelled along the edge of Lake George I was passing a car and about level with its doors when it appeared.
    Ten foot tall with red blazing eyes and a t-shirt that read "death to motorcyclists" the kangaroo leapt from in front of the car next to me and landed in front of me. At 110km/h I had enough time to think "fuck this is going to hurt". Well I probably only thought "f" before I'm tumbling down the freeway.
    I didn't resist the tumbling, trusting my gear to do the job I spent a lot of money for. It did seem a while but was probably a few secs later I stopped sliding.
    I could see the wire fence on the edge of the highway only a metre or so away. I was pretty shaken and had no idea if I was hurt but I knew if I could get over to the fence I would be as far away from the traffic as I could get. I didn't want to survive the roo only to get squashed under a semi.
    I lay in the drain next to the wire letting myself take a few deep breaths and see if anything was hurting a lot.
    Nothing grabbed my immediate attention so I stood up. Up the road to my left was my bike about three metres away. Past that a couple of people were just getting out of a ute. (They were apparently very relieved to see me stand up)
    I walked over to my bike with a heavy heart knowing that my bike had seen its last miles this evening. Lying on its side in a pool of oil with the top box burst open I am certain the insurers will deem it uneconomical to repair.
    I took my helmet off and sat down. The guys convinced me to lie down and it seemed like a good idea. My Kevlar jeans were ripped open on my right knee and a nasty set of gashes poked through. We decided to call the ambulance.
    As we waited the guys found a few of my things. I took stock of myself and even with shredded clothing the only other injury apparent to us was a light graze on my wrist.
    But it was cold lying there on the road and I presume the shock and adrenaline as well had me shivering almost constantly (it would be after a couple of hours in Emergency before this would stop) About 30mins later the cops turned up, the the tow truck and then the ambos.
    I guess about an hour later we arrived at Canberra Hospital. It became obvious that I had been very lucky and that my gear had done its job. I have some deep serious gouges of skin (you can see muscle and bone in the holes) taken from my knee but that's it. Nothing broken, nothing internal damaged.
    From there it's been a succession of hospital beds and dressing changes. I am supposed to getting a plastic surgeon to look at my knee tomorrow. It's going to take some work I think and lots of time to heal.
    Some people have gone out and checked out the crash site. They figure the bike slid about 100m. They found the roo, well dead and he wasn't a small one (about 5 feet tall). They found some of the bike with roo hair stuck in it. Most amazingly they found all of my belongings, even down to a couple of USB sticks and my sunnies.
    Thanks to all my family and friends for all their support so far. Thanks to the guys who stopped (many didn't) and I wish you'd left me your details. Thanks to the ambos and other medical folks. And of course thanks to Dainese (jacket and boots), Draggin (jeans), Alpinestars (gloves) and KBC (helmet) for keeping me so safe.
    And rest in peace (or pieces??) to my well loved mighty VFR.
  12. Frogfoot

    Briars at Bowral

    By Frogfoot,

    (EDIT: Added google route)

    So, time for another ride. Another start at work with the crowd. I've missed a few rides, but many of the usual suspects were in attendance. Again a wide range of folks, brought together by our shared love of bikes, rides and service to our nation. A wide range of folks means a wide range of bikes - the learners, the trailies, several cruisers, a couple of sports, and of course the sports tourers (me). 14 in all, so a big turnout.

    We hit the road almost directly south from Penrith towards Campbelltown. A wind through some back roads bought us to a gear shop that the guy organising had checked out. Some good gear at cheap prices. If I had known we were going shopping I would have brought my topbox and more cash. I will be back as I'm in the market for a new jacket. Here's a shot of the carpark....



    We rolled on southwest from there, heading up through Camden towards Picton. A couple of wrong turns (though nice roads) led us astray for a while. It was revealed at the sign that read "No Through Road"


    But we eventually hit Picton, we thought to stop for lunch or at least a coffee, but the front runners had other ideas. A hungry mob of riders followed along.


    We left Picton and eventually hit the Hume. There aren't a lot of options here unless you head far south, so a few kilometres of flat top ensued. Never the most fun and the learners with 80kmph limits and little 250s weren't impressed. We left the freeway at Mittagong and followed the old Hume through to Bowral. About the time I was about to head somewhere to eat on my own and damn the rest the front end of the mob turned into the carpark.




    Briar's Hotel - LUNCH. a starving mob descended upon the hapless bistro. They ran out of cutlery, there were missing table numbers and it was a madhouse.

    Actually the place was pretty busy before we arrived. The food was nice but a little expensive that your usual pub bistro. They did let us line all our bikes up out the front and one of the waitresses even came out to take our picture (I'll add that one when I get it off my mate's camera)



    Out the front were a couple of the Bash cars. These cars join big convoys of similarly extraordinary cars raising money for the outback.







    After lunch we headed home, following much the same route. Until Picton. Here we took a road directly north that I hadn't used before that lead us up towards Warrigamba. The party spilt and I headed with the group heading home. This lead me onto a couple more stretches of excellent roads so it wasn't like our fun had immediately finished.

    With the long days here now rides can stretch past dinner time in good light. But with Mrs probably run off her feet by our two little princesses I figured I had probably better head home to relieve her :) And stay in the good books of course so she lets me out again :)

    I will try and link a route in here, once I figure out where we went :) Okay, I think this should be the route.
  13. Frogfoot

    O Canada

    By Frogfoot,

    Down under is currently hosting Pat, otherwise known on this forum as dunn2007. He's been here a week and already clocked up 2000km on the 2000 VFR that he procured for his time here. Go Pat!

    I spent the week trying to pick a day to take off and go for a ride with him, but work commitments made it impossible. I suggested we catch up on Saturday for a short ride up the Putty to the Grey Gums. While the weather initially was forecast as showers, I was convinced it would be clear by Saturday. I invited some of the regulars from work, but with the short notice and they didn't believe me regarding the weather, only two turned up.

    Of course it dawned a little cloudy, but the kind you know is going to burn away leaving only sunshine... perfect. We left Windsor with me leading. My first time leading a group and while I kind of enjoyed not playing catch up the whole time, I didn't really like it. So it was a easy ride up to the Grey Gums Cafe.



    We stopped here for a coffee break. The plan was to head back again down the Putty and home. However we pulled out a map I had brought along and started talking with Pat about where he wanted to head and what his plans were. Turned out he really wanted to head north, ending up near Brisbane.

    Well, says we, you're already a couple of hours on your way. With some of the best roads around stretching north towards Brisbane it was suggested that he head north from Grey Gums. It was only about 10am so he had a lot of (very nice) daylight to use up.


    So I bid farewell to Pat and turned to follow the others home.

    We headed almost the same way home, with a little detour to the Sackville Ferry. There's another ferry on the river, I didn't know about this one either. It wasn't really a great detour as the road wasn't in the best shape. Though much nicer than the north side of Wiseman's!





    I arrived home sometime around 1pm. As I write this, I presume Pat is winding away north, enjoying roads such as Thunderbolt's Way. I hope to catch up with him on his return this way.
  14. Frogfoot
    A cool but sunny late autumn day dawned on the Friday for my trip back to my family in Sydney. It seemed like a great opportunity to try a alternate route that had been recommended to me. The main reason that I hadn't yet tried this way is that I estimated it would take around 6 hours - that's double my normal time, door to door, and being a new route, I would be taking it easy.


    I also had been warned that snow and ice were real possibilities on this route so weather was also a big concern. But we've had a long unusually warm autumn in South East Australia this year (barely making the single digits, let alone snow and ice temps) and several rain free days before today. A quiet week at work meant that the chances of getting away early where high - all I needed was an early knock off.

    I slipped away early and soon after I hit the road west from Queanbeyan. My route took my to Tarago, but here I turned North to Goulburn, where usually I head straight across towards Bungonia. At Tarago I deviated slightly to check on a couple of bikes I saw stopped in case they were lost. No problems there so I turned north. This road is the more well known route than my normal way, and its' not a bad ride. A bit shorter and straighter than via Bungonia. Plus it adds more interstate.


    After getting a little lost in the streets of Goulburn, I fuelled up and turned for the unknown. Again, more northerly towards Taralga (NOT Tarago or Tarana... can get a little confusing). The roads were pretty open and flowing, mostly through farmlands. Some resurfacing was underway and the low winter sun often annoying, but otherwise the ride was very enjoyable. And the kms were swiftly covered.

    The road continues north over the Abercrombie River. The descent and climb down to the river crossing were fine twisty roads, without markings, but generally wide enough.


    Up from Abercrombie you head towards the back side (from a Sydney perspective) of the Blue Mountains. Again the roads were wide and flowing, but empty. The area is obviously pine plantations and the odd logging truck may need to be avoided.

    I arrived in Oberon, grabbed a small lunch and topped up the fuel again. This should easily last me until my doorstep, so no requirement to stop again.


    From Oberon, you join up with the road from Jenolan Caves and head towards the Great Western Highway at about Mount Victoria. This stretch before the Highway is the last fun before the grind over and down the mountains. And it's a pretty good bit with some nice vistas of Aussie mountains (so really slightly bigger hills than the rest of the area - not real peaks with snow etc)


    The Highway is being expanded and sorted in a massive upgrade that has so far taken several years so there are slow speed roadworks zones, and the newer areas have reduced limits (because the tin tops can't help running themselves into barriers and off the road all over the place). And the traffic was .... well there actually was traffic, so the fun was over. Still takes about another hour to get over the mountains to home.

    A really nice ride and I think heading the other way would be nicer (get the annoying bit out of the way at the start). Pity it is so much longer than my normal route so I'll have to save it for next time the stars align.

    Of course the mighty VFR ate it all up without hesitation. It's now about 500km short of 150,000 and then only 11,000km until it rolls over 100,000miles. Its not impossible to hit that by Christmas.
  15. Frogfoot

    Meeting Ajourned

    By Frogfoot,

    Work insisted that I attend a meeting in Canberra. The nation's Capital, about 2.5 hours away on the Hume Highway (or Doom Boreway). Unfortunately as I was attending a different meeting away from work for the two days before that it was going to be really awkward to organise a car from work, the normal way to head to Canberra. With a grin, I decided that the most convenient solution was to ride down.

    Watching the forecasts from about a week prior, they steadily improved from predicting solid rain for the whole two days to the forecast the day before described some light morning showers. That I could easily deal with and would still be able to enjoy the ride.

    So, Thursday morning, 5am, just before the sun is peeking over the horizon I did a last check of the various weather radars online and geared up. There had been a little bit of rain overnight, but the roads were already dry. I did wonder about the roads further out, less traffic and more tree cover, but I would see. The alternative was to split off the back roads, back to the Hume and continue that way if I decided it was too wet or the weather really turned nasty.

    My planned route took me past Bowral from my last post before continuing to parallel the Hume through Moss Vale to Bundanoon and rejoin the Hume just before Goulburn. Here, depending upon time I could turn off again towards Bungendore and eventually approach Canberra from the west (actually closer to where I had to go in Canberra for the meeting) or follow the Hume and rush in from the north. It's the route I took that's listed as Sydney to Canberra in my Catching Up post. Only about 7 years later.

    So after getting quickly out of my area I was on the road towards Picton and followed the route I had taken the other week. The roads were dry, there was some cloud, but it wasn't even 7am by this stage. I had miscalculated the temperature though. The day before at 7.30am it was 23C. Today it was more like 10C so the summer jacket with a very light t-shirt (actually designed to wick away sweat) just wasn't cutting it.

    At a stop I dove into my top box and dug out the other t-shirt and light fleece that I had packed. Though still drafty through the summer jacket it did improve things a little. None too soon as the temperature continued to drop as I rose up into the Southern Tablelands.



    Eventually I was past Bowral and Moss Vale. I turned away from the main road here as it leads back to the Hume and I headed for Bundadoon, Tallong and several other funny Aussie named places. The stretch we had covered the other week, that I had just finished was lots of small busy towns, with 50kmh speed limits and very little "open road". This all changed from this point on.

    I had a good hour or more of 100kmh roads with sweeping turns and no traffic. Even now it was still early (9am) but while cool, it was fine and I really enjoyed it. I determined to investigate if I can cut out the previous parts of the route by staying on the Hume in order to get to this new part much quicker next time I come this way.



    Eventually it had to end and I was on the Hume. I decided I should actually get to my meeting seeing as I was already late (they had been warned not to expect me before lunch) so I followed the Hume down around Lake George to Canberra, eventually arriving at my meeting just before 10am. Cracking open my top box I was happy that my tricky packing meant that my uniform looked no more crumpled than if I had been wearing it in a car and had just driven down from Sydney.

    Lake George is funny thing. A massive lake with very little water for many years. Occasionally it fills up (originally they didn't know where the water came from as there are no rivers flowing into it, I'm not sure if they've explained it yet) and before they built the dual carriageway, could even cut the main road out of Canberra. Most of the time, probably 3/4 of the lake is used to graze animals.
    Day One Route



    I spent the night at a nearby base and again reviewed weather and routes. I decided that I would head though Queenbeyan then Goulburn to hit the nice part of yesterday's ride. Then after that part, I'd hit up the Hume to get home to family. Again, weather looked okay, though during the evening there was a lot of dark clouds and a little bit of rain about.

    About 5.30am I left the base and started out. Another great road was the stretch all the way from Queenbeyan to Goulburn. About 90mins of 100kmh, open roads with nice curves to cruise along at a steady, quick pace.

    It started to get pretty wet, so a stop and I was off again in my wet weather clothes. I use goretx jacket and over pants that I bought at camping stores as I find it much more effective than most "wet weather" gear that is available in Australia. It stopped raining about 15mins later and when I stopped for breakfast in Goulburn about 7am, I put the gear back in the top box. It didn't come out again for the rest of the trip, but it had done its job :)

    Breakfast at Goulburn was a hot pie, but I was having the same trouble with temperatures that I had yesterday. Note for next time, check the rain AND the temperature forecasts.



    That beautiful leg from Goulburn to Moss Vale awaited and it didn't let me down.

    I missed a turn somewhere and ended up on the annoying stretch from Moss Vale, past Bowral etc that I had planned to avoid. I checked the map eventually and decided to carry on as the next on ramp to the Hume was at the end of the Mittagong stretch. No point in doubling back, too far.

    Day Two Route

    I did have one bad moment. I had been following a school bus looking for somewhere to pass. I called it and pulled out and was about even with the bus when I decided that there wasn't enough road left to get in front, pull in, slow down and make the turn that was a lot closer and tighter than it had first appeared. I braked to let the bus come past and turned back behind him. Safe, but there was several seconds there where I was on the wrong side of the road on the facing any traffic that decided to come around the corner. That could have ended very badly. A poor decision, that thankfully didn't end badly.

    I got home about 10am, so both rides took about 5 hours. I had a great time, found some fun roads and put some proper miles on the bike again. Harking back to an older post, I definitely enjoy solo touring/riding much more than group ride. I enjoy the social part of those rides, but maybe I could just meet them at every stop rather than riding with them or something like that. Something to consider for the future.

    Now it's time to put up the Christmas tree, fix up the lights on the house, and I have a lamb roast to cook :) Yum.
  16. Frogfoot

    Somethings Wrong...

    By Frogfoot,

    The VFR spent most of the last few weeks in the shop waiting for a water pump. It started the afternoon after getting home, I popped back into the garage and noticed a small puddle of coolant on the floor. Not a good sign.
    I rang the local bike shop, a new one as I'm in Canberra now. The guy on the phone said something about "Don't worry, they'll do that when its hot and the overflow tank fills. No need to bring it in."
    I sat back after hanging up. I've had this bike for ten years and 140,000km. I've ridden in hot weather, sat about in hot traffic and parked it when it's been much hotter. It's never done this. And certainly not with an almost empty overflow tank. I decided to head to the shop. Somethings wrong.
    Up the road is another shop, so I dropped in and asked to grab some coolant. I topped a little in the tank and it immediately ran back out. Yeah, nothing wrong huh*. I carefully rode on to the local Honda dealer.
    In the end they decided it was in need of a new water pump. Spent a couple of weeks waiting for the part. I guess a good thing about the VFR is that 12 years later, Honda are still making the same bike (and even now, it's going to be basically the same bike in the new one). So parts are easy (though as they always seem to need to order them from Japan, they don't break often.... but we all knew that)
    Got it back and headed up to Sydney for my normal weekend at home. That's when I noticed that the speedo was all over the place... it was like speed roulette.
    It has been sort of liberating, riding without speed limits, so to speak.
    So I'll have to take it back to the shop. Maybe the speed sensor is out (has happened before about 6 or so years ago) or the shop nudged or bumped something. They can take a look and fix it.
    Not sure about the shop though. I'll give them this chance.
    * to be fair, the tech was trying to diagnose over the phone, that's never easy.
  17. Frogfoot
    So I've moved down to Canberra where I live during the week, and head home every weekend. One of the problems with this has been that whichever bike stays in Sydney won't get ridden, and its not fair to my family to be away all week, come home late Friday and then spend all Saturday riding, before leaving for Canberra mid afternoon Sunday.

    I always planned to move both bikes down here, but how do I do that. I'd really need a lift from a buddy or maybe catch the intercity bus.

    My mum and dad were headed to Sydney on their way to my sisters, so my dad suggested he rides the other one down. Which was a really good idea.

    Except he's ridden my VFR for a total of about 20minutes in the suburb only (no freeway, no back roads) and not ridden this far (to quote him "furthest he's ridden in 50 years"). We can't leave until after 4pm as my wife doesn't get home from work, giving us about 4 hours of daylight. If it takes us too long we can't ride on the back roads as the kangaroos are a real hazard around dusk. Then to add to it all, we turn on a bit of a heat wave and we're expecting about 38C, clear skies all day.... he's from NZ so not so used to our temps.

    But in the spirit of adventure... stuff all that, LETS RIDE!

    And so here we are, all geared up ready to go.

    Just about to head off





    It was warm, and it took Dad a little while to get used to the higher speeds (and glorious smooth comfort of the VFR, his normal ride is a KTM 690 Duke, he calls a tractor by comparison). I bought a set of Scala Riders several months back and they did great work on this trip.

    Our route took us down the freeway at first, partly to build his confidence and partly trading fun for time so we could do the best bit at the end.

    By Moss Vale Service Centre we both needed a stop for a leg stretch, but more importantly some water. It was very hot and no clouds to relieve us. We spent a couple of minutes drinking up and chatting to a bloke doing the run on a Speed Triple.

    At Marulan we'd made up enough time that I was happy and we turned off into the country roads. Dad's first taste of the country NSW on a bike. The comms worked well and I was able to give him general tips and warn him about hazards and tighter turns coming up... I'm sure he was sick of me nattering in his ear. But I was protecting two things very important to me.

    And I gotta say he did really well. He enjoyed himself but even he admitted he had the death grip on the handle bars for most of the day - part of that was the pressure of not smashing my VFR I guess. The forested roads gave us a lot of relief from the sun and evening was stretching on as the sun came down - into our eyes.

    Then, about 3h15m after we left we rolled up to my garage, safe, sound, tired and thirsty. I usually take just under 3h so we made really good time. This is my Dad, pretty stoked about the whole thing (and quietly a little amazed I let him ride my VFR - so am I)


    Time to put the feet up and drink lots of cold cold water. Well done Dad :)



  18. Frogfoot

    Spring Is Here

    By Frogfoot,

    Oh dear, it's September and I haven't posted for months. Yes I have been riding, I am back to commuting everyday due to some child care changes :) And we've had this crazy warmish, sunny August (and really Winter was pretty tame even for here).

    The VFR gets ridden most days, but I make sure the Daytona gets out once a week. That new bike has been kind of a pain as it's had several factory recalls - great they're proactive about fixing things, annoying as its been in the shop several times.

    While the weather has been nice, my wife's schedule has not been so well timed, so getting out for a ride other than a commute has been problematic.

    I did get the VFR up the Putty, where I spent the morning practicing my photography on passing bikes. Need a lot more practice.








    The Daytona is proving a really sweet ride. Initially I was starting to think I would actually get rid of the VFR but the VFR comes into her own on the commute, and about town far better than the Daytona at that. I'll also be doing lots of Sydney Canberra trips next year and she will shine on that too. So happy to keep them both.

    However, get the Daytona on the open winding road and she is just fantastic. I have managed one full day ride of about 350km trip and had a ball. Definitely no regrets there.









    I've upgraded my gear as well, with a jacket and pants from Berek, new boots to fit. Never had full leathers and they are way more comfortable than I expected and kinda confidence boosting too. Still it may be a long time before the knee sliders get any scratches, I just don't ride like that.

    In other news, my 70 year old dad has dug up his licence and bought a KTM 690 Duke in order to get some practice in - I think his idea is that next time he comes over (he lives in NZ not AUS), we can go for a ride together. He'll ride my VFR and I'll take the Daytona. What a cool idea. (oh and if you're worried about his age... he took up mountain biking at 60 and last year completed a 100km single track mountain bike race so he's no slouch)

    I may get out this Sunday and can post after that. Are you interested even if it's not VFR rides?

  19. Frogfoot

    Muddy Waters

    By Frogfoot,

    Another Sunday means another ride to Canberra. The weather was warm with some scattered clouds. A pleasant, if dull ride ahead.

    I was about forty five minutes from home when I noticed all the cars headed the other way had their lights on. At five in the evening, that wasn't a good sign. About five or so minutes later the road ahead seemed to disappear into a cloud.

    I quickly pulled over... rain ahead. As I pulled my rain pants from the top box it started to rain a little. Big drops, but not much. Pants on, I hit the road as it really started to rain. Then about 1km up the road was the petrol station I had planned to pull over at anyway! Ah, well. at least I was dry.

    And a fellow VFR rider was just pulling up as well. Not only was it a fellow VFR rider, but a mate from Sydney who has also moved to Canberra. We chatted as we filled our bikes up and geared up for the rain. We decided to ride together, as heading out together was a lot safer into the heavy downpour that the rain had turned into.

    The ride, though heavy rain was fairly uneventful for about another half an hour. As we started to clear the heavy rain, the traffic in both lanes ahead started slowing and clearly stopping.

    Not wanting to get caught at the end of a line of stopped highway traffic in poor visibility I decided to split up the middle - the main reason so that we wouldn't get flattened when someone didn't pay attention and squeezed at the back of the queue. I also hoped to split right past whatever accident was ahead (conditions as they were, it was pretty likely someone had gone off the road or tapped another car).

    At the front was something else... water. Lots of muddy rising water.

    The highway was flooding. My buddy came up... "We have to keep going, it's only going to get deeper"

    At this point it was over the sole of my boots. And rising quickly. I remembered all those images of cars floating away on flooded highways. "Are you sure?".

    "Yes" He headed forwards.

    We split some way up the road until we were past all of the cars and the flooded highway stretched out ahead of us. But we could also see clear road.

    "Keep going, otherwise we're stuck here" he said, just as a semi trailer crept past. "follow him, he'll clear any debris"

    So we did. The bow wave of the truck kept tugging at the front wheel trying to turn the bike. Sometimes we'd ride over the centreline that we couldn't see, but we could feel the cats eyes. A few hundred metres up the road we were out of the water.


    We pulled over to check nothing was caught in the bikes. The water had gotten to mid calf, not quite over the tops of my waterproof boots when I was on tiptoe. Riding, it was lapping at my boots on the pegs and the bow wave as we rode through it was at least twice that. We looked back just as the police arrived and shut the road. They wouldn't have let us through I'm sure. Good choice. (or lucky??)

    Not long after that the rain stopped and eventually the roads dried. More than an hour late I rolled into my garage to get dry and warm.

    Safe.
  20. Frogfoot

    Off The Road

    By Frogfoot,

    Took the bike in for a service today and rolled out with bad news. The water pump and the fork seals need replacing and they didn't have the part to complete that today. So I've ridden home, with one eye on the temperature, to put the VFR in the garage and walked away for a while. So for a couple of weeks I'm going to be driving to work. The part is in stock locally, but the shop is having some staff issues as well as I have a busy calendar making it hard to drop off.
    I'm thinking about what I might have noticed that could have indicated these to me. I haven't noticed anything on the floor of the garage to indicate leaks where I park the bike. I don't remember noticing anything whilst washing the bike either.
    Did it ride different? Not that I noticed, but with my benign riding style, I'm not really surprised, especially with the simple commute up the freeway. And the daily temperatures have been cold, helping the water temp stay in normal limits.
    And I'm positive that the temperature has never spiked or overheated, so no worries about further damage. I've previously ridden a bike without coolant and the speed at which a bike will heat up is extreme and very noticeable.
    I do think I have been hearing the pump, perhaps, but the sound I occasionally hear, I put down to the CCTs needing replacing soon and I've been waiting for the occasional little sound to get constant and louder as they deteriorate. My original CCT were replaced around the 55,000km mark and I've not had a problem since. However as the current ones have over 70,000km I've been expecting to replace them sometime. Maybe the sound was the pump, not the CCT, but my lack of experience, and lack of other indications meant I assumed it was the CCT.
    Still I think 130,000 out of those is nothing to be too worried about. If it was 13,000 I'd be worried, instead I'm just sad :(
  21. Frogfoot
    Once again, work had sent me to Canberra and once again it works out a lot more convenient for me to get myself there... and that means a ride. And once again, the weather was doing its crazy thing. Summer here was complete washout, but Autumn had been pretty nice. Warm, not hot, not much rain... perfect. But of course the weather changed as the ride drew closer.

    I left on Tuesday. On Monday they were warning us about flash flooding and downpours for the next few days. If it rained, whilst I could still ride, it wouldn't be as much fun and I may be tempted to slab it. I was already planning to slab it home anyway due to time constraints again. If the weather meant slabbing both ways it would be a real disappointment.

    As I had all day and generally it takes me about 5-6 hours to get to Canberra the scenic route, I planned to leave about 9am. However 6am the dark clouds were getting ominous and the weather radar was starting to show lots of pretty colours. I hit the road.

    The rain was costal initially, the opposite way to Canberra. A dash from the city limits was decided, and then from there I would take it as it comes. My routes to Canberra do generally give me an option to change to slab about every hour or so.

    Down the M7, then the M5, which becomes the Hume Highway (31) and rolls all the way to Melbourne. I arrived a the Picton turn off, still having avoided the rain and decided that it was time for some fun. I followed the road up into Picton, then a pleasant 30 mins or so along the road, headed towards Mittagong. This eventually lead me back to the Hume.




    Now my previous few runs down here, I've turned off at Mittagong and wound my way through the small towns, before reaching Moss Vale and eventually turning up towards the good bit along the Highland Way. Over the years these towns have grown so that they almost merge together and the ride becomes a stretch of slow speeds, traffic and towns. Not a lot of fun.

    So something I planned last time, but missed the turn. This time, from the other direction it was a lot easier. I slabbed along until the turn for Sutton Forest. This got me back on the back roads, but skipped Mittagong - Moss Vale. I'd been on the road for something over an hour and hadn't even had breakfast so I stopped to take a break and eat the sandwiches I'd packed. As I stood around munching away, the rain slowly started. I geared up and headed off. A few shaky moments as I settled into the wet roads, and my wet gear again. I'm sure the car caught up behind me was shaking their head.


    In Bundanoon I stopped for fuel and the shop owner described the wet weather chaos I had left behind, third hand from callers to the radio station. Sounded like I got out of there just in time as the rain was only light here. On the move the rain swiftly dissipated until and for the remainder of the ride I had a mix of overcast or broken clouds but no more rain. The wet weather gear stayed on for a long while just in case.

    I cruised along what was fast becoming one of my favourite rides, the Highland Way. Nearly no traffic, mostly 100 limits, good condition road, though not always a full two lanes of seal. An hour or so later I arrived back at the Hume. Another quick bite and took off.

    This time for something new. I had been browsing Google Maps a few days back and hit on a new route, which I asked some other trusty explorers I know about the condition. It came as a recommended option. Turning at Jerrara Road, towards Bungonia (don't you love Aussie place names!) then on through Windellama (or Windy Llama!) before turning west again towards Tarago, Bungendore and eventually Canberra. That was the plan.

    And I almost stuffed it. Whilst on the short stretch of Hume towards Jerrara Rd I came across road works where they were building a new overpass/on ramp. The signs read "South Marulen Rd" but as I passed the new overpass the old road appeared just past it. I spotted a sign down the road JERRARA RD. Crap, the turn off. Luckily we're still in the construction zone so I braked and veered into the cones. in the relative safety of the cones I did the most insane thing, turning around and heading the wrong way up the freeway. Inside the cones or not, any copper gong past would certainly come over to have a quiet word. About 5 metres later I turned up the road.




    This road wasn't as quite the same build standard as the Highland Way, but it was in good shape and flowed nicely at 100 (or a little more) So another hour or passed smoothly as I wound my way south and then west. Eventually I passed through Bungendore and into Queenbeyan and finally Canberra.






    Overall several pleasant hours winding away at a brisk and not usually licensing worrying speed through the countryside. I even arrived in Canberra in time to catch a movie on cheap Tuesday (Tuesdays the cinemas traditionally have almost 50% discounts)

    The route on Google

    Day Two

    My meeting was scheduled for the morning, and it turner out that the drizzle and rain finally caught up to me so Canberra awoke to some light rain. I wasn't too disappointed as the return trip was always going to be Hume Hwy the whole way.

    Gearing up I was on the road with about 90mins of extra time up my sleeve. The rain though got steadily more constant and steadily heavier, until I'd been riding in rain for about 3 of my 3hrs and 30 min trip. My visor completely lost the plot when I hit the city freeway traffic, no idea why, but it made for a very nervous rider as cars appeared out of the gloom. Sadly my rain gear didn't quite live up to its own previous standard and I was very wet in some areas. Though I'm not sure any rain gear would have held up, I was wet, but not cold so it was alright.

    But slabbing is absolutely no fun at all!!!

    I have to go back to Canberra in May too..... hmm
  22. Frogfoot
    Stopped at the petrol station on my way to work yesterday. Filled up the tank and got organised to set off. Turned the key, all the lights, and hit the starter. A bit of an noise then nothing. A couple more attempts and nothing. The bike wasn't starting.
    Here I was at 6am on a highway petrol station with a bike that wouldn't start. Nothing obvious (like leaving it in gear) so I pushed it away from the pumps and into the parking. Called a rescue company I know, but it was a little too early for them and all I got was an answering machine. Texted my staff to tell them I was running a little late and pondered my next move. Realising that standing out in the cold when I could push the bike 10m up the road to the McDonalds and be warm and have breakfast was silly.
    Waited in McDs hoping the company would call me back or until the bike shops were due to open. About 7.30 decided to give the bike a try. It fired on the first stab of the button!!!! So I ran around getting my riding gear back on with the bike running (didn't want to risk it not starting again) and hit the road.
    About 30mins later I pulled into the carpark of my local bike shop as one of the techs is arriving. Switched it off and showed him... "Here look at this" I didn't even get the dash lighting up. "Flat Battery" was our consensus, but I also had a niggling concern about the RR.
    After several hours charging the battery, and a test ride. The verdict is a blown alternator. I've been running on battery only for i don't know how long.
    It wasn't a very nice train ride home.
  23. Frogfoot

    Winter is over

    By Frogfoot,

    The weather has been really mild this winter, but the Mrs has been putting in a lot of shifts over the weekends, so no opportunity to ride. However today was different and she took the kids to the gym, whilst I went off for a ride. I wasn't actually sure where I wanted to go. I didn't feel like an all day one, so the Putty/Wiseman's was out. I was torn between riding somewhere new, or picking somewhere close and staking out a photo spot to catch whoever might come past.

    I decided to head to somewhere new, and a loop from home down Mt Keira and then back up the (famous) Macquarie Pass, both of which were new to me, seemed like a good idea. Mrs headed to the gym about 8am and I was on the road shortly after. I headed south on the freeway to the Picton exit. Instead of turning north to Picton, I turned south to Wollongong.

    Not long before the descent out of the tablelands, I hit the turn off for Mt Keira and headed down. The road here was very much a third level road (and quickly turned into a paved one and half lane one). I immediately felt unsettled. I had been struggling all morning with turning the bike and the narrow technical road I was on only made it worse. Of course, I really hate down hill too! One thought is that having spent weeks hundreds of kilometres on a straight run along the freeway the front was probably very square, which would't help turn in. But at this stage I don't really know what was happening I was just feeling a strong lack of confidence in the bike so I took it real slow.

    I stopped at a lookout at the top, taking this series of photos

    (Of note, this shows the place where I joined up with the Charlie Boorman ride several years ago)




    (I also suspected the front for being slightly overinflated, so made a small adjustment here)


    I got back on the road and felt a bit better. I wandered slowly down the hill and reached Wollongong before long. At this point I was really not interested in continuing to Mac Pass, but still had to get home. I fuelled up, turned around and headed back up the hill.



    I explored a couple of other roads briefly as I headed back up the hill, before eventually picking one and heading to intercept the Princes Freeway rather than the Hume Highway for the leg home. I managed a stop before I got onto the major roads for a little photo session.







    Coming home on the freeway it was clear that I wasn't riding right. I struggled with confidence even on this flat top and was slower than much of the traffic on several parts of the freeway. I was feeling very unhappy.

    After a total of about 3 hours I arrived home safely. And to be honest after the way my ride went, that is probably the high point of the day.... making it home safe and sound.

    So what happened in the ride? Apart from the idea of the square front with a little overinflation (I'm talking a single psi or two) I think my own state was a major player. I realise that I'm actually really tired, I didn't feel it when I woke up, being fresh and awake with a good breakfast. Its also been several weeks since my last ride, so some skills perhaps a little stale. I'm glad I cut it short, but I probably shouldn't have left in the first place.

    Still haven't ridden Mac Pass!
  24. Frogfoot

    Catching Up....

    By Frogfoot,

    I'll leave this photo here so people know what BR was referring to, but it's not in order here, being from my second move to Sydney. It's taken from my previous workplace and the view is basically the entire Sydney basin, from the mountains to the sea. On most days like in the photo you can actually see the city skyline, some 80kms away. On some other days all you can see is the top of the fog below you

    My first ride, the Kawasaki ZZR250. In 2 years I put 50,000km on it, before I traded up to the VFR.
    I've gone back to a single post. I think it makes a little more sense this way. Basically this is a summary of the rides I've been on since I took up riding. Doesn't seem like much, but I've touched on most of the rides within easy reach of Sydney and Melbourne. Please note - the stuff written like this is supposed to be a caption for the picture above it :)
    Firstly, Melbourne
    Melbourne is reasonably bike friendly for an Aussie city and there is plenty of us around Melbourne no matter what kind of rider you are. The city has provided a lot of motorcycle parking around the CBD and we have marvelous idea of footpath parking. The rule is that you can park on public footpaths for as long as you like with two conditions, don't block the footpath and don't block people getting out of their cars. You aren't supposed to ride onto the footpath... I said you aren't supposed to. Another tip for Melbourne: watch out for tram tracks when its wet.
    Phillip Island, MotoGP: I got my Learners while living in Melbourne, and while still on my L's the GP circus came to town. Well why not ride there! Actually this is a rather boring ride. The road is continually being upgraded and is pretty much a double lane divided road the whole way. It takes around 2 hours from Werribee in Melbourne. There are several fuel stops and towns so no dramas about fuel and refreshments. For the GP the parking is in a big field next to the track [For the Superbikes, you park inside the track fences and can even ride about instead of walking!] Take a bit of wood to rest your stand on if you are worried about it sinking into the ground and toppling your bike over.
    The race is great. My favourite spot is Lukey Heights, but I can recommend anywhere. You can see almost the entire track from anywhere and they place massive screens so you can catch the rest of the track, replays and all the stats.
    Almost as good is the ride home. For about the first 50 kilometres there are bikes everywhere. The locals come out to view the spectacle and wave at all of the riders going home. Something a little different. Cops seem a little more lenient of speed on the open road, but will not budge if you're playing silly buggers in the towns.
    Off to Sydney
    I had been in Melbourne for a few years, but only picked up my licence about 6 months before I was expecting to move away. As such it was mostly spent knocking over my Learners and getting onto my Provisional licence, as the Provisional can be transferred from state to state.
    Sydney. I am not a fan of the place and their total disregard for motorcycles doesn't get them any extra points. Almost no parking, no consideration in tollways [forced to use electronic tolls, but no devices available for bikes, what are we supposed to do?] and a complete disregard from the cagers on the road. You can get away with parking on private property. You won't be booked, but you run the risk of the building security having your bike towed. I've gotten away with it two New Years Eve's running parking right next to the harbour road closures, so it can be done.
    Wiseman's Loop: Soon after MotoGP I moved to Sydney where there are some nice rides. Amoungst my workmates were a lot of riders, about 20 all up. We had a wide range of experience including two Stay Upright instructors. We often met up in the weekends for rides. The first I managed to attend was a Wiseman's Loop run. There are several ways to do this run. We start at McDonalds McGraths Hill and head up to the Ferry [and it is actually a ferry!] then either head left towards the Putty or right towards the Old Pacific Highway. I have done both. Can't say either way is worse/better. Both have their fans. The Putty has a bit of a boring patch and some gravel. The OPH has a lot of cops, low speed limits and plenty of silly buggers.
    The first time we went via the Putty. We had a small incident, some minor fairing damage and some more stories to tell. It has a lot of nice curves but you do have to watch out for gravel where it shouldn't be and cars/bikes on the wrong side of the corner. Fuel is a little sparse so I recommend filling up at every chance you get. Premium is espcially rare.

    The work crew on a Wiseman's Ferry ride (that day was 40C) - by some digital trickery everyone is in this picture!
    Picton: I lived in Liverpool in SW Sydney. There are several roads to Picton, which is a popular weekend day ride to the coffee shops for Sydney riders. It isn't far (less than an hour from Campbelltown) and the roads are generally smooth and not too busy. A short day ride to get back into the swing of things.
    Sydney to Canberra: While still on my little 250 and on my P's I decided to visit my mates in Canberra one weekend. Firm in my resolve to stay off the Hume Highway (the main interstate freeway) as it would be boring and dangerous with my 90km/h limit (the road has a 110km/h limit) I decided to try the scenic route. I had already ridden to Picton, which was the start of my route. I then linked together towns such as Mittagong, Moss Vale, Bundanoon, Goulburn, Tarago, Bungendore and Queenbeyan, eventually coming into Canberra as the day ended. It had been a long ride, but I took it pretty easy and had a ball. The mighty ZZR250, with tankbag and backpack strapped to the backseat handled the job well.

    The first time on the ZZR

    And then about 18mths later on the VFR
    I highly recommend this ride. The roads are in great condition and aren't busy. There are several well spaced little towns with coffee shops, pie shops, and fuel. The roads are quite flowing and nice to cruise quickly along. I managed to avoid the freeway for almost the entire distance, only the patch between Marulan and Goulburn proved a little too difficult to find a way through (about 30kms?) I returned the same way and have repeated it since on my current VFR800. In fact it took about the same length of time on the bigger bike! I think that says more about my easy riding style than anything about the bikes.
    Royal National Park: I did a few rides up Wisemans but was looking for something different, so hooked up with some guys from the internet for a ride through RNP to Kangaroo Valley. The Park is quite twisty, with a couple of very tricky turns that catch a LOT of riders out. It is also narrow and often slippery (being under tree cover and damp and mossy in places) so I wouldn't recommend it. The view once you hit the coast is pretty good though.
    It quickly became obvious that these guys rode a lot faster than I was comfortable with. When I caught a glimpse of them again, I waved them good bye and returned via Picton. I probably wouldn't head up the RNP again.
    Old Pacific Highway: I've had some poor luck on the OPH. My first two rides were wet. Not really a good opportunity to experiment on the roads. My third ride was up to see a Motorcycle show. I wasn't paying attention to my speed while trying to find the show and got nabbed by the cops. A silly as the limit may have been for that piece of road, I had no excuse. Ah well.
    It is a popular road. And the cops know it. But it's also popular with the "Fast and Furious" type cagers as well, so there can be cars all over the place, oh and cyclists.... the list goes on. It is popular because it is a nice road to ride, you can do the whole thing in one gear if you practice! Then you can rest up at RoadWarriors Cafe, at Mt White for another round. A real motorbike hang out, you can find all kinds of bikes there, especially on Sunday. The food's great too.
    Bell's Line of Road: For people in Western Sydney this is quite a short ride. It is often ridden as part of a longer ride, but my first time up that way it was the ride itself. You ride up the Great Western Highway for a ways, until you are up in the Blue Mountains. Then you hang a left either at Lithgow or Mt Victoria, joining the Bell's Line of Road. This leads you back over the hills and down to North Richmond in Sydney. It's a really nice ride, but the Highway can get pretty busy as evening arrives with people headed back to the city. There are a lot of fuel stops on the highway side, but not so many on the Bell's Line.
    Sydney by night: One of the groups I rode with in Sydney, ORoadSports.com, meets in different places, all over the city, every friday night for coffee night. This often involves a ride to the cafe as people gather from all over. There are also often rides that start from coffee night, usually as its winding down. These rides can end up a bit of a tour of the city as you wind through back roads to places like Bondi or Watson's Bay. An interesting way to see the city, but you can quickly get into unfamilar territory so getting home can be an adventure itself!
    Sydney To Newcastle: And Back...Work sent to Newcastle for a weekend. I hadn't managed to get on a ride for some time and this seemed like a great opportunity. It was. I will add for all you out there with partners, don't forgot to mention that you are riding up, not taking the company car! Loading up the VFR with my uniform, I set out by heading up Wiseman's Ferry. Then I turned for Wollombi. This is also the route through to the Putty, so I had been this way before. At Wollombi I was on new territory. Unfortunately the pub's bistro was shut by that time and so I grabbed a bag of chips and hit the road. I headed towards Kurri Kurri and finally towards Williamtown, my destination. I had left after lunch so the last couple of hours were in the dark and quite busy as it was Friday night.
    It was a pretty good ride and if I had left earlier I am sure I would have enjoyed the last stretch more. In the dark, hungry and not entirely sure I was still headed in the right direction was a bit more stressful. Fuel is sparse between McGrath's Hill and Cessnock. But I got there, did my work over the weekend and returned home. I was in a hurry to get home so headed down the main highway. While quicker, it was dull. I also had little fuel left and there is a long stretch south of Newcastle where a petrol station is nowhere to be seen. I finally pulled off at about Wyee and found somewhere. Almost cut off the motorway onto the OPH for the last leg, but needed to get home.
    Sofala and Bathurst: The ORS lads often organise rides and when work and my new wife permitted I joined in. The intended route was up Bell's Line from North Richmond to Lithgow, then on to Illford, then to turn back to Bathurst. This was carried out with a mix of twisty stuff (Bells, Sofala to Bathurst) and highway (a patch out of Lithgow) We rode around the famous track, some more than once and got a photo of us all at the top. We left as the cops turned up. The track is a public road, and the locals quite rightly get fairly pissed at hoons racing around it. They must have a hotline to the police. We were mostly well behaved.
    We had intened to head for Jenolan Caves from Bathurst, but the day was getting on, so we got on the highway and headed home. A really great ride. Fuel was only a problem between Lithgow-Sofala-Bathurst (150km).

    Stopped for photos on "Skyline"
    Jenolan Caves: Having failed to get there the first time, a second attempt was quickly organised. This was from North Richmond up Bell's as well. We cut across the Causeway and up the Western Highway until turning off for Jenolan Caves. After lunch at the Caves about half of us headed home, the others staying on for some cave tours. I had seen the caves before so joined the group for home and we rode back on the highway.
    Another good ride this. There is no fuel after Mt Victoria (I think, might be at Little Hartley) until you get back there (about 140km). The last couple of kms to the caves wind down the gorge wall and are extremely twisty, tight and slow. Traffic is one way (or was) and they were in the middle of upgrading it a year or more ago. Watch out for road works. When you get to the caves go past the hotel area, the carpark is up the hill on the other side.
    Back to Melbourne:
    After 3 years, I returned to Melbourne, now on my full licence and with the VFR as my stead. I was also married now and about to find out what it's like to live in your own home. I also discovered shift work :(
    Brisbane Ranges: Yes it would appear that the Brisbane Ranges are near Melbourne, not Brisbane? I was looking for something close by and a map off the internet showed a route that looped around these ranges starting and finishing from my part of town, so why not? The route was a bit more complicated than the few intersections on the map suggested. I missed several turns and rode quite a different route in the end.
    From Werribee I headed north and west to pass by Bacchus Marsh headed around the back of the Brisbane Ranges. I missed a tiny place called Durdidwarrah completely and found myself in Anakie travelling in the opposite direction from what I had been expecting. I backtracked to turn up Granite Rd, missed a turn and ended up on Staughton Vale Rd. Realising my mistake and after some consulting of the map, I cut across to the Geelong - Bacchus Rd via a dirt track, before regaining my the planned roads and and heading back towards Werribee. There was practically no fuel for my entire route (140kms) and only a few kms of twisty roads. These range from gentle high speed curves on two lane roads to a nasty hillclimb up a single lane sealed track climbing up out of Yaloak Vale. So I ended up not returning to this area.
    Once again the birds were out to get me: I disturbed a large eagle off his roadkill and he took his time getting any altitude. Later a flock of about 30 cockatoos were roused from their trees and were a little unsure as to which way to head to avid the noise. Both were avoided with judicous use of brakes and I got home safe and sound.
    MotoGp 2006: Once again the MotoGp rolled into town. I managed to not be working that day (how did that happen and a mate and I rode down there. Once again we were in for all seasons. It was cloudy when we set out but early on it cleared to a beautiful day. About 2/3 of the way we hit fog, before it cleared around the Island again. The one rule of Phillip Island - Always, I mean, Always pack your wet weather gear and a hat and some sunscreen. At lunchtime I was worried about sunburn, and the GP bikes had to come in for wet tyres.
    The ride itself is an easy couple of hours down freeway or open road. There is plenty of petrol, but the round trip from the city is only 270kms so if your bike has the legs there's no need to join the (long) queues. It's still a dull ride, but the variety of bikes can be interesting. The venue is great still and the ride home is unique. Even the Superbikes in March aren't even close. There must be 10,000 bikes trying to get home. Just amazing!
    If you do head down, there are things happening in the area from Thursday (Barry Sheene Memorial Ride, The Cowes ride) until the Sunday, so it may be worthwhile to spend lots of time there. I understand the Superbike School runs at Phillip Island the next day after the race as well.
    Mt Dandenong area: There is an area behind Mount Dandenong where there are a lot of twisty roads, according to the maps. With some days off, my wife away and some nice weather it gave me a chance to explore. The first morning I rode up Mt Dandenong from Olinda to the lookout (only to find it doesn't open until about 10am and you have to pay). I turned around and headed down the eastern side and wound my way up a mix of B & C roads towards Launching Pl. Then I turned and headed south to Gembrook. This would have been a really nice leg of the day, but it turned to heavy rain for this part(probably the best riding on the trip) and I had to take it easy. By the time it stopped I was headed back into town. However I resolved to explore further. The distances are small between towns and there is petrol quite often.

    Enroute to Gemstone - It starts to rain moments after this picture.
    A few days later I headed up towards Healesville. Turning off the Maroodah hwy I headed up the Warburton hwy planning to cut north. Eventually I found the roads I was looking for and turned north, only to strike an unsealed road. I have ridden on gravel a few times, and this was hard, well packed, smooth gravel so I took a chance. It was annoying and slow, but no harm done. I arrived in Healesville and filled up. I had planned to ride the road known as "The Black Spur" but couldn't figure out where it was. I was in the line behind a couple of other riders and asked them. Its actually the Maroondah Hwy from just past Healesville heading northeast, for about 5kms or so.
    And can I say, its very nice. Top grade asphalt, wide and well marked. Corner after corner, many sweeping pleasantly into the next. I was up there on a weekday so I do not know how busy or heavily policed it is, at a guess I would say yes to both. It was a great ride. And you can turn around and do it again... and again.

    The worst of the road at the Spur. The main part is far better surface than this picture.
    But todays adventures weren't quite over. Having hit gravel on the way up I decided to try the other road I had spied on the map. Well the gravel was the same, but it was a bit longer. At the other end I decided to head downwards, having completely lost my sense of direction and having no idea where any towns were, I figured the road builders would more inclined to start at the bottom of the hill rather than the top! And I had a pleasant ride down what became the Warburton hwy into Warburton. It was the Donna Buang Rd. I made it home about 2hours later than expected due to the gravel slowing me down. I would still recommend both these roads, its only unfortunate that I can't see a loop that can incorporate both without practicing your gravel riding.

    After twenty minutes of gravel, stopped waiting for the GPS to tell me that it's actually lost - strange because I used it to get here in the first place. The GPS knew where I was, it had the road, but couldn't find a route to anything. It wouldn't be the last time that GPS put me wrong.
    The Great Ocean Road. I spent a year in Melbourne and didn't manage it on a bike. I did start, but picked a bitterly cold day and the ride was more about getting out of the house. I calmed down before I got too far from home and turned around. I have driven the route, and it can easily be looped from Melbourne in a single day. It basically winds along the south coast of Australia, from Geelong to Warnambool. Much of it is scenic but there is a lot of traffic and plenty of police presence. It is still worth it, but don't expect to let the bike open up too often. The day I drove it I returned via the highway further inland, simply out of expedience.
    Pink Ribbon Ride. Several hundred bikes nearly filled a Bunnings carpark (kinda like a Walmart I guess?) as they gathered in preperation for a fund raising ride for breast cancer research. Seriously, who doesn't like breasts so everyone was there! We had police escort and they pushed us straight through traffic lights so they kept the behemoth moving (read my Charlie Boorman ride on how NOT to organise one of these). We rode up into the the dam (forgotten the name) for a BBQ and prize giving. ALmost as neat an experience as ride back from the GP and a good cause. Brillant weather and a great day.
    Going Round in Circles - Sydney again
    Work returned me to Sydney after only a year in Melbourne. It also kept me in town until well after my wife had finished the removals and settled in. I had planned to ride up, but extra shifts meant I ran out of time and sent the bike up on a truck. Subsequently I was waiting at the Sydney Domestic Airport Train Station only to meet Casey Stoner and his new bride. Said hello and exchanged pleasantries. I even had my helmet with me but not a single pen you could write on it with! Nice bloke, and he sure can ride. Later after he'd left the train I remembered I had my camera in my pocket! Doh!!
    However this time work and now two little ones mean I have little time for rides apart from getting to work. That, as many will know, can sometimes be an adventure or at least entertaining in itself, whether from taking the "long way" or just the crazy stuff other road users get up to.
    Up the Putty: Public holiday, no chores left and a donation to charity got me the chance to get out for a rare ride. I met up with the ORS crowd at McGraths Hill and we headed up the Putty Road. Basically head west out of Windsor and veer north. The road itself is in pretty good shape, with some long open stretches, and some winding bits as well. Best stop is the Halfway House. The petrol station comes up quickly and its easier to go past the first driveway (a rutted dirt track) and turn in at the second (gravel, but much smoother). We then headed to Wollombi to eventually head towards Mt White.
    I really enjoyed the stretch from Broke to Wollombi and then to Mt White. Nice, flowing roads, rather than down to nothing and away again. No fuel at Wollombi so make sure you fill up and can make it through. It is, however, a popular spot and the food at the pub is reasonable. We stopped there before riding on to Mt White. Unfortunately I had family stuff to do, so didn't stay to enjoy the festivities at Mt White and headed home. A really nice day ride, highly recommended.
    Sydney to the MotoGP: That's right, I actually pulled it off. To save myself the trouble, here is the link to the write up in the main section. Storm the Island Haven't decided if I'll do it again. If I did, there are some things I would do differently. Like taking more days so that I can avoid the interstates all together. And bring some sneakers to wear when not riding! Also with two small kids now, the chances of getting permission from the Mrs is pretty small.
    Charlie Boorman!!! Again a link to a post here already. By Any Means
  25. Frogfoot

    Down Again

    By Frogfoot,

    Well, time for another entry and its not a good one. I hit the road again. This time I can only really put it down to my own fault.
    On my normal commute to work, was following a line of cars who were passing a tractor driving along the verge. The guy was going steadily and keeping as far left as he could. Mostly the cars ahead were filing past easily, but I slowed some as the car in front had its turn. Moments later he braked hard and so did I. I guess it's been too long since my last emergency practice and I presume I grabbed too much. Bike is quickly down and I hit the road next to it. We both slide a few metres to a stop. Distinctly remember my head hitting the ground and being very concerned about the very full lane of traffic (including large trucks) headed the other way, that I was kind of sliding towards.
    Came to a halt and stood up, getting myself of fhte road as quick as I could. Can see a car pulling up behind me on the verge. The car and tractor carried on, but in all honesty, they may not have seen anything until well down the road. I didn't hit either so they didn't need to get details etc.
    Pulled off the gloves and helmet and headed for the bike, lying silently on its right side on the road. The guy from the car is asking if I'm alright, and to be honest I'm not sure. I know I'm walking and thinking so it can't be all bad. We lift the bike and push it off the road. He's still asking if I'm ok and amazing a couple of other cars have stopped. My pants are torn , but my BDUs (fatigue pants, cammo pants) have done a pretty good job as the knee has a double layer. Wrist is sore, knee, head a little bit too.
    Bike is scrathed a lot. No pegs, no levers broken or bent, indicators etc all working order. It starts and runs ok. No leaks. Yay I can ride out of here, so no police report (and likely ticket too).
    The other bloke offered to give me a lift, but I decide to ride on to the base as there's a hospital there anyway. He does follow along behind as far as he's going, in case I change my mind. Really nice of him to do that.
    Next day I'm fairly sore, but I've really escaped again. Got a couple of grazes on my knee, that the medics cleaned out and dressed. Wrist and head ached a bit, but that's gone now. So nothing broken (I have a habit of not noticing broken limbs for few days - no idea why, but on two occasions I've had broken limbs only to think them sprained (once arm, once leg))
    The bike will be off the road for a few weeks I guess, for insurance and repair. Back to bus/train for a while.
    Gotta kill my resale - this is my advertisement if I was to sell :)
    2004 VFR, Over 100,000km. Crashed twice, dropped once more, some minor scratching. Ridden in all weathers and left out in the rain several times. Always serviced. Comes with very scratched topbox.
    But I love it (and all realtionships have ups and downs) and won't be getting rid of it. Has got the Mrs nagging a little though.
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