Jump to content

Frogfoot

Member Contributer
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    335

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Frogfoot

  1. Frogfoot
    So if you're going to break down somewhere, where could be better than at the mechanics....
    My VFR is due for rego this coming week which in NSW requires an inspection. These are done at basically almost any car related place. Most mechanics (car, bike, truck) and tyre shops are accredited inspectors. They plug some details into a website and the 1 of three parts of your renewal is complete.
    Been raining almost non stop since tuesday with much the same last week and more of the same expected next week (Hows that summer eh!) so it was a rainy lunchtime that I rocked up a the nearest bike shop (these guys have serviced the VFR often, so they are a known factor) to get checked. It takes about 15mins and is pretty painless. For any regularly maintained and serviced vehicle you'd be pretty unlucky to fail. Passed no worries.
    Stood in the garage doorway gearing back up to head out again in the rain. Pushed it out, turned the key hit the starter... it tried and nothing, and a couple more times.... nothing.
    Pushed it back in. They checked the voltages and under load and it was quite clear that the battery had given up. Thinking back I have had a couple of failed starts in the past week so it shouldn't have been a surprise.
    Now the dilemma - I can't leave the bike as I won't be back for several days. I can't wait long as I have to get home to mind the kids as Mrs has to work. A brief discussion ensues and the plan is to swap the battery and I go for a ride for an hour to get some charge into it. Then I go again tomorrow (that's today) to top it up.
    I look out at the rain coming down, shrug my shoulders and decide that there really isn't any choice as I don't have a charger at home.
    That battery has lasted 3 to 4 years so I'm not unhappy. I think the new one in the bike now is maybe the third one (in 8 years).
    So I spent an hour in the rain cruising up and down the freeway charging the bike. 24 hours later and its a beautiful 26C and I'm doing the same thing. Fingers crossed it will start and be ok on Wednesday.
    But I guess I broke down in the most fortunate place. I think the last breakdown I made to a bike shop eventually before it all went quiet as well. The VFR is always looking after me even when it's not feeling too good.
    So if you're going to breakdown, do it at the bike shop :)
    Random pic of bike not related to story.
  2. Frogfoot
    Well January is almost finished and since the work ride I haven't had a chance to go for a ride. Sure I've done my normal commutes, but no recreational rides.
    Christmas Holidays wasn't really a good time, my Mrs worked most of it, so I was looking after the kids... they are several years from being old enough to be left on their own. Secondly, the police runs a double demerit point system in most holiday periods so whilst the chance of a ticket is small the way I ride the repercussions are severe in the holidays.
    So I stayed home.
    Now well into January we've been having a most peculiar summer. It's been wet and not just the odd rainy day, we've had weeks of rain, showers, drizzle, overcast, high twenty temps. Normally we're having sun, bush fires and mid thirties and forties. The long range outlook is the same.
    So no rides. So no posts for you all.
    On then to a goal I have set myself. I'm considering getting a second bike. Mrs says it will replace the VFR, but I'd like to keep it. And in reality selling the bike would get me very very little money and trading it in would get me even less. With 120,000kms, two crashes (albeit minor ones) a heavily scratched top box, ridden and left out in all weathers (though normally garaged at home, at work or away it misses out) it doesn't sound like a great buy for anyone shopping.
    So my second bike - I have a very short list (currently a leading contender with a couple of reserve choices). It won't be a VFR12 - bigger than I want, way too expensive here, and really much the same style of bike as my VFR8. No I want something different. And about the same size (capacity) as my VFR. There aren't a lot in the 750-850 range to choose from.
    Hopefully by about late in this year I'll be able to purchase it. Just in time for next summer which I hope, is a lot nicer than this one.
    .... which probably means we'll have no end of bush fires next summer :(
    Oh, here's a little tease of the leading contender....

  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Frogfoot
    I needed to complete some photo work for my course, and the final round of the Australian Superbikes was about 10 mins from my house, so bright and early on Sunday I headed for the track.
    I was about halfway there when I realised exactly how bright and how early it was.... about 0630. I started to wonder if the track would even be unlocked when I got there. As it was I did get in, about the same time that the first mechanics arrived to start work.




    As you can see it was a bit of a ghost town.
    Even though it's Australia's premier category they have open pits, so included in the entry is the ability to hang about in the pits all day. And as I was about the only spectator and the only photographer about at the time, most of the garages were really friendly and let me get up close and personal with the bikes. A fascinating range of machines and budgets were on display.





















    I hung around until the start of the final practice, but then had to leave to get home before the Mrs left for work. I sure hope the crowds picked up a little!
  6. Frogfoot

    Report Card Time

    By Frogfoot,

    This week I took my VFR in for a major service. I've been after a "second opinion" for a while. It's not that I'm not happy with the place I normally take it, but I've never heard anything good about the place, though no one can give me specifics.

    A mate offered to pick me up and drop me off so I booked her into a smaller workshop that has a very high reputation. The bike has 116,000km on it and it has been a fair while (time wise) since it's last major service.

    Late afternoon the shop called. I don't know about others, but I always get a little nervous when the shop calls in, you never know what they will say. Though normally if its late afternoon, its all done with nothing to report.

    So it was with a little concern that I answered. The shop guy asked what I've been doing to maintain it. I was honest and told him that I do little more than lube the chain and check the tyre pressures. I am totally lost mechanically so I just make sure that it's clean and serviced regularly. He replied, well keep doing what your doing as your bike is fantastic shape considering its age. I was very happy with that comment.

    He said it had been in need of a tune (as expected), the pads will be due about the next service or a little before but otherwise all good.

    I got to the shop and was taken aback at how the guys couldn't stop raving about its condition. They said there is often a little trepidation when test riding a bike with this amount of kms on it as you never really know what shape its really in. Apparently the main mechanic got back from the test ride and told the boss he should have a ride.

    If that's not an endorsement of my bike I don't know what is. I have to say I am still chuffed at such glowing praise of my bike and even the way I've been looking after it.

    Now hopefully after a long period of ride absence (apart from the commute) I'll be able to report again in a fortnight or so following a ride. My wife's been filling in for some broken staff at work the past weekends, so it's been a month or more of chasing the kids about instead of riding. I'm in two minds whether to join a short city fund raising ride or to go for a solo proper one. I'm starting to think the second.


  7. Frogfoot

    Riding Solo

    By Frogfoot,

    The weather has been a bit wet over the past week so the group decided that a run down Kangaroo Valley and Macquarie Pass was probably not a great idea unless it had had a couple of days to dry out. Both of those have a lot of overhanging bush keeping the raods slippery and wet long after any rain. They also mean there is a lot of fallen leaves, again making the road treacherous.
    I still had Saturday off though and decided to head in that general direction. I left earlier than I would have with the group, and was well on my way by 0800. I've included the route, which was initially going to be a run to Picton and back. But getting there at about 0830 I decided to keep heading along the old Hume. This was the main road between Sydney and Melbourne until the dual carriageway interstate was built. Would have been a terrible road with the amount of traffic that must have used it.
    Google Route
    So the roads are quiet and a lot of the towns along the way have shrunk. Some haven't though and there are plenty of bakeries to stop at!
    I made Mittagong about 0930 and stopped for breakfast. Seeing how far I had come I decided to head towards Kanagroo Valley and just check it out. I hadn't ever seen it and it is a popular run from Sydney. Decided to stick my nose in there and check out the road.
    Cruising along I realised I was covering a lot of the roads I covered many years ago when I rode my little ZZR250 to Canberra. The odd railway bridge or street intersection was remembered.
    Eventually I found my way to Fitroy Falls, just at the start of the Valley. The road was starting to show some really damp patches which had me cautious. I then passed another rider coming the other way who gave a series of very odd hand signals. Still no idea what he was on about, though a few corners later I took a guess. A ute parked up in the bushes near the road with very dark windows. Seen highway patrol using these to police some of the popular bike haunts.
    Well with the wet road my speed was well under what would grab his attention.
    A few corners into the valley as the road steepened and narrowed and got wetter I decided discretion had its place and turned around (have you ever tried that on a mountain pass!) and headed home.

    Fitroy Falls rd
    Following almost the same way back, though diverting through Yerrimbool to stay off the interstate I made Picton about 1130. I stopped for lunch as the clouds darkened and the temperature dropped. Home was starting to look mighty attractive. So headed straight for the Interstate and home, getting there just before 1300.
    Overall a good ride. Nice to be out there again. I will definitely head that way again, and probably solo. Think I'll give the group rides a miss unless they're going somewhere I really want to. I enjoyed setting my own pace and picking my own route.
    Attached are a few pictures that give a good indication of what most roads in this state really look like. And remember, much of these used to be the main highway!

    Old Hume Hwy - Mittagong I'm sure the HP used to sit near this crest and fill their quota.

    Road to Bowral from Kangaroo Valley

    Road to Yerrimbol
  8. 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
  9. Frogfoot

    A Wiseman says

    By Frogfoot,

    The previous run was a washout. I didn't even bother riding to the meeting place and the others decided to quit about 5 mins after leaving and returned home.
    This weekend was warm (about 28C) and sunny. Perfect. Once again we gathered at work, a few different riders and again a different bunch of bikes. A GSX1250F (a Bandit in full clothes), a Boulevard, a Street Triple, and an F800ST were new showings.

    The VFR lines up at work
    We headed up through Windsor, turning left at McGrath's Hill towards Wiseman's Ferry. Quickly onto country roads, it's about 50km to Wisemans and is a pretty good run of sweepers as you head north towards the Nepean River. Once you're almost on top of the river there is a rapid descent down the side of the hills into Wisemans culminating in a string of 25 or 15km/h corners.
    We stopped at the Hotel. They have an annual fundraising event where you can ride your bike through the bar. Haven't been to one, but there are plenty who do. I don't think you can buy while riding through though!

    Lined up at the Wisemans Hotel
    From here the group headed to the ferry. This is a small cable ferry that runs about every twenty minutes most of the day taking you across the river. From the other side you head north and there are several options. Some I've ridden (North to Newcastle, back to Sydney via the Putty or via the Old Pacific Hwy), see my other entries.

    The ferry leaving with the others.

    View across the river. Wiseman is around the bend seen in the picture
    I had only a short time so turned for home after getting pictures as they left the carpark.

    Have a good run all :)
    I really enjoyed my solo ride home. I'm starting to think I might enjoy it more if I went and did some solo rides instead of group ones. It is a little more dangerous though. (and harder to convince the other half not to worry)

    Homeward Bound
  10. Frogfoot

    A new year

    By Frogfoot,

    I started a new position this year, at a different base. There is a large group of riders here who are keen to keep an active riding group going, and they had the first ride the other weekend. Got clearances from the other half (as the main surprise of the day!)
    A rather eclectic group met up in the morning. We had my VFR, a KLR, 2 learners on ZZR250 each, a Tiger 1050, an FJR and a ZZR600. Later a Royal Enfield (imported from India) joined us. We headed north to hit a popular route over the Blue Mountains, the Bell's Line of Road. This stretches into the hinterlands west of Sydney and is a popular ride.

    Royal Enfield (2009 model)
    An uneventful cruise up the road very soon reminded me that it had been a long time since I done other than commute (I later worked out it has been almost 3 years since my last ride) So my butt was a bit sore, and I was very out of practice. If it had been a busy or nearly clogged multilane I probably would have shone, as that's the only riding I've been doing.

    Stopped on Bells Line
    We headed up Bell's Line towards Katomba, which takes up over the Blue Mountains and down the other side. After Katomba we headed for a small town called Tanara for lunch. This stretch of road was great. With the terrain just as rolling as before, but being farms instead of bush, we could actually see several corners ahead. So confidence and smiles increased. A few potholes didn't dampen our spirits. I had started to get back into the groove for riding so loosened up a lot as well.
    We stopped at the Tanara pub for lunch, and we weren't disappointed. A great feed at a reasonable price. We were on a Saturday. On Sunday's you need to be there by 11 to get a seat!
    Outside of Tanara Hotel

    The back deck at Tanara
    After lunch we headed for Oberon and eventually the Great Western Highway headed home. The leg from Tanara to Oberon was equally enjoyable.
    We turned onto the Highway and headed home. The Great Western Highway used to be a reasonable road, however it's currently undergoing a lengthy program to add extra lanes and the like, so is about 2 hours of roadworks.
    With a deadline approaching for hometime (Mrs was headed out this evening) I waved goodbye to my coworkers and headed straight home, only stopping for fuel.
    Overall, about 5 hours of riding, nice weather (not the 40C that plagued us for the next week or more), nice lunch and good company. It was a really nice day.
    Now two weeks later, we're all eyeing the weather report for tomorrow's ride, headed slightly up Bells line and then north (instead of south)
    Sounds like a challenge to me .....
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. Frogfoot
    Ok, I'm not going to as why you say Arkansaw and not Arkansas and I was going to open with something along the lines of ... After flying XX,xxx kms to get to Arkansas only to find I would miss a ride, due to work commitments so I plugged the two locations into Google maps for a laugh - turns out it's a 25,000km trip and I need to drive all the way to Darwin, kayak to Japan, Hawaii and Washington, before driving across America. Sounds like a great trip, ask me sometime about the adventure it was!! Actually work flew me non stop to LA, missed my connection to Dallas, get rebooked, made it to Dallas and eventually Little Rock. Where I was to spend the next three weeks working completely messed up days of naps and work for about 18-20 hours every day, for the whole time.
    I was actually going to try to drop in one of the nights of the ride, I even had a car available to me. But it turned out that even though it was towards the end of my trip it was about the busiest part as we prepared to come home again. So it would have been nice, but I'll have to wait until you all come down here! -- and then I'll miss it due to having to look after the kids or something :)
    So while you lot were out enjoying a very nice part of Arkansas in the sun and the rain, I was not that far away, stuffing about with work (outside in that sun and rain). I didn't see many bikes about (didn't seem to be a lot of commuters on bikes in LR, though my hours were a bit unusual). I did happen across Thursday night, Bike night at Hooters, totally by accident. Organised by the A-State Boys (whom I know nothing about) it seemed a fairly friendly gathering of all kinds of riders on all kinds of machines from across the city. A lot more custom paint jobs and more lengthened swing arms than I've ever seen in one place before. Some nice jobs and some that didn't appeal personally. Chatted to a couple of guys and hung about, but without a bike and not even having my Casey Stoner cap with me (in possibly the only place I went all trip where wearing a hat with "Stoner" emblazoned across might actually have been understood, and not had any association with the non medicinal use of plants) I probably looked a fair bit out of place. And I'm sure the Camry I was driving helped the image :)

    Bit of everything at the gathering

    This kinda thing I don't see too often

    Some of our hosts

    Along without requiring a helmet, there seems to be pretty open regulations on noise in the state as well (I know other states are different)
  14. Frogfoot

    Seventh Gen

    By Frogfoot,

    I was in a local dealer a couple of weeks back and they mentioned they would have a couple about now, so with an early release from work (due to Easter coming up) I accidently found myself riding past the dealers, not really sure how that happened. Parked there, got off the bike. Left my helmet on promising that it wasn't there I wouldn't stop.
    It was parked in the doorway.
    It looks a lot nicer in the flesh. That pipe doesn't seem to stand out as much, and it is a lot smaller than I thought. Asked if I could ride it... sure... if I was seriously looking at buying it.... I asked the price. Close to AU$26,000 on road (includes govt charges etc) I told him I wasn't that interested anymore.
    They did let me sit on it and I found it very comfortable and it didn't seem heavy. The position seemed a lot like my sixth gen. They have a gray/silver one and a red one, so I presume that's our choices here. Like the gray one actually a lot more than I normally like gray bikes.
    So overall I am more interested than I thought I would be, but at that price I can't.
    Then after I get home, the Mrs says she'll buy me one...... what's the catch!
  15. Frogfoot

    Six Figures

    By Frogfoot,

    Well a small event in the bikes history took place as I rode to work last week. As you can see from the picture I've hit the 6 figure mark. 100,000km. I can't say they've been trouble free, but its been pretty close to that. So here's some pictures of the event from my phone.
    one km to go

    There it is 100000km

    The location!

    Will it be around for another 100000, who knows.
  16. Frogfoot

    A Costly Haircut

    By Frogfoot,

    Well a first for me - a parking ticket on the bike. I've parked in parts all over this city, including right in the city centre. Bikes will park in no-stopping, on footpaths all kinds of places. This time I parked inside a painted triangle (the spare bit at the end of a row of angle parking). I've parked in places like that all over and never had any trouble. Riders get into strife if they block driveways or other problems, but the dead space that cars can't use, no worries.
    The council in this part of town obviously has other ideas. Will be calling them up Monday, see if I can sweet talk them a little.
    The haircut only cost $6, the total for the day $203!!
  17. Frogfoot

    Burning Up

    By Frogfoot,

    No luck on the parking ticket. It gets whisked straight off to State Debt Recovery... ah well. I was in the wrong, so not really a lot to argue over. Just have to remember that for this area, bikes don't get any lenancy.
    Summer has struck, 40C the last two days with 42C today. Warmish on the way home. Already had two bush fires in the local area. Luckily not a lot of damage (unlike Victoria last summer) but its only December and there's at least 2 months of the fire season to come.
    Here's a picture I took on the way home today. I'm actually about 20km from the fire by this time but the sun was in the right spot. Yesterday there were diversions in place and some of my staff watched the bush burn, across the street from their homes.

    Bike wise - so far no repeats of my strange cut outs. That's good. Perhaps it was the idle and the battery.
  18. Frogfoot

    Starting out....

    By Frogfoot,

    A big part of my life is motorbikes.
    When I first got my licence I hadn't actually planned to get a bike. I had gone for the learners test on a whim, booked only the day before. Once I had the licence I basically decided that I may as well use it. I quickly decided that I wanted a new bike with full fairings, my choices appeared limited to Kawasaki GPX250, ZZR250 and the Honda NSR150. There may have been others but a bit of research didn't really uncover any. I eliminated the NSR immediately: a 150 two stroke. That left the GPX and ZZR. The same bike in different clothes. I choose the ZZR by appearance and it has larger brakes (my sole technical consideration!)
    This was my first bike. And not a bad learners bike, since then I would probably recommend a Honda VTR250 if you have to stay on 250s. The rules in many states here have changed and there are far more options, and the ZZR isn't too bad to look at. I say that as it's one of the reasons I bought it. At the time I knew very little about bikes. I did know that I preferred new stuff and I liked the guarantee of support you get with a warranty.
    It proved a good choice. The bike hasn't changed in about 15 years by all accounts, so it's rock solid. I enjoyed riding it and quickly built up my confidence. Two years and 47,000kms later I earned my full licence and traded it in.
    A good bike, but nothing when compared to the bigger bikes.
    My second bike is my Honda VFR800. Now I put a lot more effort into this choice. I read articles on various bikes for about a year. The VFR was quickly shortlisted, along with Kawasaki ZX6R, ZX9R, Honda CBR600RR and the Suzuki GSXR750.
    So what was I looking for… firstly a commuter, that was bit more fun in the weekends but wouldn't kill me on a long trip. I simply decided that I didn't want to bust the 1L size, it was probably a lack of confidence on my first bigger bike. I preferred fuel injection and I'm a technology fan (can you see where I'm headed). I also wanted something less than $20K
    The '03 6R was uncomfortable even in the showroom. The 9R was the end of the line and had carbs. I actually went for a couple test rides to make this choice, unlike the first bike as partly I figured it'd be about the last bike I would ever buy (my wedding was imminent)! I rode the VFR800. This was my first time on anything bigger than my ZZR. I wobbled off down the street from the dealer but I settled in pretty quick. Later I rode the 600RR. This was a test case. If I had felt comfortable on the RR I would have looked more seriously at the GSXR. I rode it and the VFR back to back.
    I bought the VFR. I find a great bike. It suits my bumbling along daily rider style, allows me to keep up with the hyper sports on the day fangs through the twisty stuff. Well it would if I could ride it to it's potential! I also rode away for the weekend and found it a comfy trip. As they say it's a great all rounder. My wife has actually been on it a few times. She's enjoyed the rides but the hassle of all the gear bothers her (she's a squid at heart) and it messes her makeup/hair whatever. It's very competent when two up.But she's happy to let me disappear for a day on a ride.
    It's about 5 years old now, done almost 97,000kms and is great. I sometimes consider getting a weekend fang bike (like the GSXR) but to be honest it would be wasted on me and would be more about the image. I certainly wouldn't consider a replacement.
    Observations:
    * My riding style at mostly 80s-90s km/h has an endurance of about 320-330kms on about 17L. It's a 22L tank so that reserve must be pretty big or the display a little inaccurate. It actually increased as the bike passed 12,000km. Pretty usual for VFRs apparently.
    * Don't let sap drip on the plastic, that stuffs it right up.
    * Fitting the top box for the first time – the trick is knowing when to switch from the bracket instructions to the box instructions. The next time, it's a five minute job to swap the whole lot for the grabrails.
    * The fact that there's no sticking out indicators etc is great, I found out that when it falls over (bugger) there's very little to break off. The mirror folds up, and the bike rests on the fairing (dammit) and the center stand. Only cosmetic damage.
  19. Frogfoot

    Warm enough for ya

    By Frogfoot,

    A couple of hot ones here with more on the way, and summer is still officially two weeks away. 42C on the way home. Equal hottest I have ever ridden in. Luckily the dramas from last week seem to have gone away (see here) and made it home safe & sound.
    Been an interesting couple of days on the commute. Traffic blocked up on the way in with a truck parked at an angle across two lanes. Driver digging through his toolkit beside it. Hit the onramp to change freeways as normal, only to have to avoid someone reversing back up it (just go to the next off ramp!!). The day before I caught up to a guy towing a racecar on a trailer. Was alongside when I realised there was people riding in it!! Oh actually no, he has two manikins sitting in the seats. Bit of laugh to brighten the day!
    Even passed a fire engine. His lights and all were on but he wasn't speeding. Sat behind him for a little bit, but figured as long as I don't speed who can say I'm in the wrong. I think he was a little surprised and sped up. Then there was a red light and that was all his...
  20. 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
  21. Frogfoot

    First Post

    By Frogfoot,

    Okay, like others here I'll make this bike focused. I'm going to start with a bit of catching up, why a VFR, earlier rides etc. Then I'll add in others rides as I do them, but I'll try to put a little more than that. However don't expect much posting because these days with work and two little girls, going for "rides" doesn't get high on my list of things I have to do each weekend. It's pretty high on my want to do list, but the two lists are a lot more different from each other at the moment! In a few years things should turn around. And in a few more perhaps they will be coming too
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

  I accept