Australia Bike Trip

[Capnrip]

OK, so as some of you may know I took the plunge and flew to Australia for their rally. Worked everything out with Mat, who you may remember as Kiwi Mat. Left on a Sunday to get there on a Tuesday, as Martin will tell you that flight is no joke. For me leaving Richmond, VA; an hour plus to Charlotte, 5 hours to LA, then 15 to Sydney not counting the layovers. So get to Sydney at 0815 and Mat meets me at the airport. He has a standard thing he does with us foreigner types and since Sydney has so many ferries and I run a ferry we added a ferry ride to the list. Turned out that was a good add.
Here's a picture of me and Mat under the Sydney Harbor bridge.




So next we went to catch a ferry. The ferry offers you a great view of Sydney Harbor. We took the Taronga Zoo ferry. You'll recognize the Opera House.





A lighthouse



Sydney skyline



Harbor Bridge. Was built in 1929 I believe and really is a massive structure.



They do tours where you can walk up to the top of the span, here are some doing it.



Got quick beer at a pub down there and they kept moving us around as they were filming a TV show there.

Left there and went to Featherdale Wildlife Park.

That kangaroo had kind of a wild look in his eye so I didn't get too close. Got to feed a couple of smaller ones. These are dingos, didn't know they'd be that pretty.



Went back to Mat's for the night. That was the end of day 1.

[Susan]

And then what happened?!?

[Capnrip]

$20 is hard to come by in hillbilly country.

[Captain Howdy]

[802Mike]

Susan, I guessing that happens at Mat's, stays at Mat's.

[Capnrip]

So on day 2 I went to pick up my rental bike. In spite of me letting the credit union know by two different methods where I was going when I went to charge the rental both credit cards I took were denied. After my wife getting up with card services I was able to pick up my rental. Here it is:



So a couple of blokes who were going on the rally were kind enough to take me on a left hand orientation ride in hopes that I wouldn't kill myself on the rally by hitting another vehicle face first. Grahame (Heapy) and Chris (Fisso) showed up at the rental place and off we went. Heapy uses the Relive app so here's the ride of the day.

https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10004331892

On the Relive app if you see a long straight line it means you were in territory where the GPS signal was lost so it draws a straight line from where you lost it to where you regained it.

A picture from Kangaroo Point



We stopped for lunch at Jerry's which is a biker hangout on one of the better roads in the area. Here are Fisso and Heapy.



My digestive system hadn't fully recovered from the trip over so didn't eat much. It did recover in time for the beer stop at Wiseman's ferry. Wiseman's Ferry beer picture is in the Relive app link. Went back to Mat's without me killing myself. End of day two and by supper I felt like eating again which is great because Mat is a great cook.

[cabnfvr]

Cool trip!! Thanks for taking us along.

[Capnrip]

OK, so day 3 for me in OZ, technically day zero of the rally. Got along really well with Heapy and Fisso, they made me feel really comfortable and since I hadn't ridden much it was good to get a day under my belt, especially with a new bike. I rode like shit and I'm sure Fisso, who was behind me, was hoping to be added to my life insurance policy after seeing me ride.

Also got to meet John Broz and his wife Tanya the day before at Mat's place. I'm not sure but I think John has the record for the most pseudonyms being banned on other websites.

Heapy and Fisso came by Mat's the next morning to pick me up to ride out.

Felt a lot better on day 3 though and we were to meet up with some other folks and ride to Kandos, our first overnight stop. Mat had some family obligations so he was going to meet us in Gloucester on Friday night. This was Thursday.

Here we are staging for the ride to Kandos. That's Heapy, Rob (Astro), Fisso, and John (Doctor 350).



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Next stop was for breakfast in Mount Victoria. Neat little place. That's Rob, who at first glance is a respectable man, but beneath the surface lies pure hooligan. More about that later. Rob had just finished a trip to Vietnam and had his bike shipped over from Western Australia. He rode the shit out of a GS.



? .

The next stop was Mount Panorama, which I think was about the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's a racetrack, but when they're not racing, it's a public road with two way traffic. And MattB, yes, it's patrolled. Also on the back side the runoff area is about a ten foot high concrete wall. In New South Wales they take speeding very seriously although no one got a ticket during the rally although everyone deserved one before it was over.

You are looking at a two lane public highway. No shit! That's John, Christian and John's wife Tanya. John and Tanya were excellent two up riders, as were Mark (SpikesGrey) and his wife Deb.


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The track goes up a big hill up to where you see the Mount Panorama sign then comes down a straight that you're looking at, then connects to there the first picture is taken.

Track Map:

From there it was on to Kandos to meet up with the rest of the riders. Kandos Motel was party central and you could tell that everyone was glad to be reunited after last year. I got to put faces with names I'd heard, Paul Mogs, Craig Ward, Randall and Jenny; all of who turned out to be good people and good riders and made me feel very welcome. Why after a wise ass remark I got called a c**t on night zero. Which showed the Aussies to be excellent judges of character. They use the term a little differently than we do, not always offensive like it would be here. At least that's what I keep telling myself.



So the rest of the night was party central, except for one incident for me. Some of the hotels in Australia use a system where you have to put your key in a slot by the door in order for any of the lights to work. I was unaware of this system and really had to take a crap, one of those no time to wait moments. It was pitch dark and there wasn't even any outside lighting for me to find the flashlight in my topbox. With no time to spare I had to feel my way around and find the toilet in the dark. Not going to tell you how that worked out. Was a great night getting to know everyone and seeing the genuine affection they had for each other. Here's Heapy's relive for the day:

https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10004346855

[Doctor350]

So day zero, we meet up with Jenny and Randall in Oberon and Heapy leads us to Bathurst. But on the way he overshot a turn by 50m so everyone does a U-turn and they turn left where we were supposed to. Except Wes who kept going straight. So I chased him and caught up at a T intersection where he was proudly sitting on the right hand side of the road waiting for a truck to turn left straight into him.
He said later that he realized what he'd done wrong, and then looked back and I was there....BUSTED

[Capnrip]

Guilty your honor!

[McFly]

Nice start to what should be a great ride report Wes. Can't imagine being on a plane for 15 hours though, I'm sure that takes a lot out of you making for a difficult first day or two getting acclimated.

Keep it comni' Wes my boy!

[spikesgrey]

Good start, Wes. I know there's plenty more to tell. Looking forward to it! To add to JB's 'busted' comment above, I've got video footage of you riding on the wrong (right) side of the road, but it's only for 1.387 seconds as you did the (quickly learnt and mastered by you) Aussie fly-by overtake... Onya, mate!

[Capnrip]

Kon'nichiwa Mark! Do you mind if I post that video?

[spikesgrey]

No probs, Wes. Saves me doing it! ?

[Martin_D]

I'm not sure but I think John has the record for the most pseudonyms being banned on other websites.

]

[Martin_D]

Great report so far Wes , brings back great memories !
This bunch of Khaarnts are the best !

And yes that journey to Australia is no joke , getting there especially , as you do your 14h flight across the Pacific after you've done the 6h flight to LA , plus the layovers and the time you need to be at the airport before your first flight ...

Bring on the rest , I'm ready ...

[aviator]

Wow. Nice trip Wes, enjoying the pics. Yes, jet lag is no fun.

[astro]

hi wes
looking forward to the rest of your ride report / all the best mate & it was an absolute pleasure to meet you

[justjoe]

Great write up so far! Keep it coming!

[justjoe]

[astro]

thought i would ad a few photos of bathurst / mount panorama. this is my 1st time of attaching photos "so fingers crossed" everything works out

[justjoe]

thought i would ad a few photos of bathurst / mount panorama. this is my 1st time of attaching photos "so fingers crossed" everything works out

Awesome! I want to do this!