A decade of bliss...Yarns From Australia

[glitch_oz]

2005 Fire'n Ice....New Zealand cont.

...or the longest place-name in NZ, a tiny place in the backblocks of Hastings...(shoulda seen the postcode !!!!!!)

....and unreal roads and landscapes around the Eastern Cape.

Some Blackwater Rafting in the caves of Waitmono was yet another kick in a loooong line of highlights...

Across the Lewis Pass, chasing down a local cop for some fun!!! (unknowingly)

Finishing it all on the Banks Peninsula.

For all the yarns and pics of a truly stunning 5 weeks...start here!
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=802

It's a 6-part story, links to the next/ previous chapters are in the posts.



Oh....and Jimbo??
He finished up extending his time twice, re-booking and re-scheduling return flights and bike-hire etc....until the Bike-Hire absolutely NEEDED that V-Strom back and said : "NO" to yet another extension.

 

[glitch_oz]

2005...TassieGems #1, Tasmania

2005 Tassie Gems....a week on the Apple Isle (Tasmania)

Still riding the incredible buzz of the NZ-trip, it just HAD to be another 'southern island" and when the call went out, they came 'in droves".

A fairly big group this time around....and the infamous "bowling-shirts" put the Tassie-Gems into the history books for good.


The group split on some days....the "Muddies" did the Western Explorer and Jacobs Ladder/ Ben Lomond and a few other gravel roads.
Guenther's Strom blew the intake-boot off the throttle body in the bush above Upper Blessington.

Loz on the Strathgordon Rd.

The repair-patch coming loose on Nev's ZX12 after a stone had punctured it. Got him into Hobart, though.

Under the belly of the Hornet

Guenther and Deano on the Mt. Wellington Rd. above Hobart.

Freycinet National Park, Wineglass Bay Lookout

"No more crotchless, yer bastards!!"

Chairlift ATGATT

WOT?? Another beer?

Dinner in ...??? Where the hell was it? (Last night somewhere up the North Coast)

What he's best known for....anytime, anywhere!!

Man, it was stupid fun!!

Leaving Devonport

The RR is a bit of a disjointed effort now, with Marty's pics missing in the first part as his site is offline or the folders deleted.... Loz never added pics in the first place, some overlapping bits and days....I'll post the links to both parts here.

Part 1 (no pics, great yarn!!)
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=795

Part 2 (with all the fruitsalad
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=796

 

[glitch_oz]

2006...Bonang ,Victoria, Australia

Late January....and STINKING hot.
Into the 40sC (100F+) and things weren't too much fun to kick off a planned 2200km/1500mi Long Weekend.

John on the FJR had left the day before and had a rear tyre blow-out at some sub-sonic cruising speed near Heyfield but kept it upright.

Took the backroads to Stratford for the first night.

East Gippland getting hotter and hotter, the hot wind searing the throat under the helmet.

Tried to get into the cooler climes of the High Country after a stop in Orbost, then Guenther ploughed the Strom into a clay-embankmant ~60k's up the Bonang Hwy.

In hindsight, that turned into the sad end of Guenther's riding...

....and the bike was written off the second time around in it's short life.


Only one way to cool down, John's got the right idea.

The Daytona boot that saved Guenther's right foot...

Cracked plastic wedge, but the typical Daytona construction (extended steel shank etc) held the pieces in place.

A little bruising was all....and the boot mailed to the factory in Germany for repairs. They kept this one as a show-piece and sent out a new boot for the price of their standard repair. Yo, stuff like that still exists!!


Aborted the trip , went home and watched the cricket (or crickets...or whatever)

 

[glitch_oz]

2006....Goin’ Troppo, Brisbane to Melbourne

Late April/ early May...the sequel of the BananaRama rolled along with another 2 weeks of corner-carving bliss.
All the usual suspects were there, Bikes Only trucked the bikes up to Brisbane again.

Loz and Matt 232 missed out, but stayed in Brissie for the weekend anyway (since they'd bought the flights initially).

The blues....

First night in Esk and the bullshit's flying thick'n fast...as usual.

You'll never see another one like it....Moira's custom-DR, complete with a leather Harley-seat and lots of home-made bracketry and bits by Double-Esky Nigel.

Did she ride the wheels off that thing or what?

We got drenched...

...tried to find Dope-Central/ Nimbin...

...rode the Lions Rd. and more of the Border Ranges....
had a near mass-exodus at 100kmh+ in a lefthander just above Tabulam...
...froze our butts off in Tenterfield and saw the morning-fairy (some are still seeing their shrink about it now :doh

Got an impromptu guided, private tour from Keith at the Dorrigo Railway Museum

This time, there was enough fuel on the Oxley :chug:

Nigel pulled yet another one out of his double-Icebox of tricks...

...rode the whoopsies of the Taralga road

Elliott Way and Cabramurra...WITH snow!...

Latte-Dave joined up for a few days....

Frosty mornings in Khancoban

Another morning-fairy in Whitfield...

...and with another ~5000k's/ 3500mi under the belt, it all ends in Yea.
The full, 2-part yarn and 250+ pics are here :chug:


http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=971

 

[glitch_oz]

2006...Mt. Baw Baw, Victoria, Australia

Late September.

Man, 2006 was starting to look like a race.
Remember Guenther's Strom, bent on the Bonang Hwy? (just flip back a page)

Yo, it was written off after I'd repaired it the first time around with 2 boxes of parts I'd bought in Canada...
Bought it again after Guenther's little prang and turned it into the first of the WTF's.

Goodie took it for its maiden ride on a sunny Sunday after stripping over 40lbs out of it and custom-fabbing most of the body-parts.

Tanjil Bren

Mt. Baw Baw (Melbourne's closest ski-mountain)

More pics here:


http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1122

 

[glitch_oz]

2006....Marysville Postie Run

Late October

Postie= a Honda CT110 used by Australia Post as a mail-delivery vehicle in all Australian cities and suburbs., there are 1000's of the things. They're a local legend and anyone who's ever ridden only one bike in their lives in OZ, would've ridden a Postie.
Can't kill 'em with an axe...cheap as chips and tough as nails.


The Postie-bashers from Ballarat (aka Balla-Rats) were back for more!!
This one was for real and it was on for young and old.

Tim was there...and Young Will from the CBD on his L-plates and hell, was he up for some educational paint-swapping!


Busted chains, bits falling off, some towing....and laughs 'til the tears came.

Go for a giggle and some more pics:

http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1166

 

[glitch_oz]

2006....AusTouring Rally, Khancoban, New South Wales

November 2006

The first AusTouring Forum-Rally

Great weather, plenty of warm sunshine, plenty of good miles and best of all....FANTASTIC company and loads of laughs.

The burn up the Alpine Way was a cracker....like the day before when a Strom and a DR went mental across the top from Kiandra in an effort to "shake the old fart" ....it nearly made the Postie-ride a few weeks ago pale in comparison

Couldn't say it much better.

Goodie

Graham (whitey) on the budgie

Jo on the Scarver (red helmet) and Moira on the DR650

Tim on the DR

Tim squirting it up Tallangatta Lookout

Nev on the Budgie

Yours truly

Big Thanks to Marty for some of the pics.


More here:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1193

 

[glitch_oz]

2007...We Deliver!! Australian Alps

2007....was the start of an UNBELIEVABLE string of rides which are still roaring along at full tilt right now.
Beyond rides.... a tour-de-force that's turned into a lifestyle-choice.



January brought along the "We Deliver" postie ride....2 weeks of backroads, and sometimes footpaths/ tracks, of the High Country and Snowies (Snowy Mtns)

Been there often enough, heh??....but this was different!!


Copped thunderstorms and hail in Tumut on New Years Eve (this is the MIDDLE of summer!!)

Saw some superb countryside

Roamed the backtracks of Cabramurra (and there's quite a few of them).

The old Cabramurra Airfield that was used in the '50s through the construction period of the Hydro-Electric Scheme, since abandoned.

Tawonga Gap after the fires

Hotham, the Blue Duck twisties and the Bogong High Plains Rd. before is was rooted by getting sealed.

Found some alternative ways along the Trappers Track

Had a pearler of a time jumping cattle gids near Lake Eucumbene

...then sweating blood and water when crossing the ridge between Eskdale and Dederang.
And all on 110cc Dinky-Toys...

Man, it was grouse!!!

:lao



More here:

http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1271

 

[glitch_oz]

2007...CheapAss Weekend, Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria

Only a few weeks later...Australia Day Long Weekend, late January.

3 days and nearly a 1000k's/650mi on the little CT's, fully packed with camping gear and pots/ pans.

Tim was along for that one :chug:


Mt. Donna Buang... Toolangi State Forest...the roundabout way into the Strathbogie Ranges about 120mi north of Melbourne.

...flats...some paddock-bashing when the tracks peetered out...

Mt. Wombat

Found some obstructions....

...found some memorials in the bush

Some playing around

The whole box'n dice:

http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1293

 

[glitch_oz]

2007...Postie Day Ride

February

Just a little tootle around the Acheron Way, Murrundindi Stat Park, Donnellys Weir and a few waterfalls in between.

\

 

[glitch_oz]

2007...Tassie Gems #2 , Tasmania

Damn those itchy feet!!
A glorious Indian Summer in Australia's South stoked the fires for another 9 days of Tasmania....as always, it was easy enough to find a bunch of mates to come along.

With the Tornanti-Ride (Euro-Alps) only a few months down the track, this also got the crew together for a chance to bed-in and get used to eachother's little quirks and general flow.

The smallish troupe of 7 (or rather 8 with TimTim the only local) turned out to be the best and smoothest bunch I've ever ridden with!!





Started off with the youngest AT-member having a dribble...

Smoking up the A5 to the Great Lakes

Checking out the Ida Bay Railway

Seeing the rest of the world in Adventure Bay, South Bruny Island

Spending a night at Joe's Garage and having a chat, a beer and a laugh with Matt (RIP, mate!!)

The Western Explorer, Cradle Mtn and the backroads of the North Coast...what a humdinger of a trip!! :glu:glu

More here:

http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1390

 

[glitch_oz]

2007...Tornanti 1, European Alps, 6 weeks !!

September/ October 2007

Nearly 3 years of planning, scheming, dreaming, yearning and saving were coming to a close as early September rolled along.

We'd had our own saving scheme for over 2 years... we'd planned, checked, double-checked and written a million emails.
There was a 67 page itinerary... accom-list.. contact addresses and phone numbers...and a 1000 other details and bits.

This was it!!
THE BIIIG MOMMA!!
6 (SIX!!) weeks of carving the European Alps

Anything and everything from the gorges in the south of France, the Mediterranean Coast, Route Napoleon through the French Alps, Switzerland inside-out and upside-down, Southern Austria, the Dolomites, the Alto Adige and the little-known Friuli in Italy... Northern Slovenia, Liechtenstein and various little tax-havens...100s of passes, 9000km/ 6000mi of twisties without end....and literally, carve-'til-ya-barf.

Until you just can't take it anymore, can't get to sleep because the head is spinning, the callousses on the right hand are hurting from working twister and brake til they melt...and you start to howl and squeeze your eyes shut at the sight of more and more white-capped mountains just up the valley, or yet another 15meter breakfast-buffet.

Starting with the bikes we DIDN'T book and pay for....to finishing up in a brothel in Milano/ Italy.

From 2ft. of overnight snow on the Stelvio to sharing the "Roof of Europe" with a fashion model on the glaciers above Grindelwald, Switzerland. From a meet with the Alpenbikers near Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany and Hitlers Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden/ Germany to the tiniest single-laner dirt roads above Martigny in the Rhone Valley (Switzerland/ French border), the list is endless.

The ride-report has turned into a reference-works even for the locals (it was also translated)...and has had over 200.000 hits through the various forums around the globe.
The pics are also scattered around the globe, from Brasil to South Africa, Sweden to Canada. It's certainly one of the biggest (at least in volume) ride-reports ever published on the WWW .




2500 eye-popping pics!!!

Where you shouldn't go, definitely not on a hire-tourer Col de Tende/ Italian/French border

 

[glitch_oz]

Col d'Izoard, France OMG!!! :glu:glu:glu

On the Stelvio

The tiny Mortirolo Pass/ Italy...with all the Giro d'Italia Bike Race markings

Dolomites

Check the road through the trees...Mangart/ Slovenia

Segantini Hut, St. Moritz and lake at our feet

Riding Skilifts...bloody dangerous, I tells ya!!

And here's the full yarn with over TWO-THOUSAND-FIVE-HUNDRED gobsmacking pics.:
Lock the door to your office, arrange hourly coffee-infusions, and....
have a nice fortnight :thumbs:

Don't mind the shakes and that terrible yearning in yer belly at the other end....it's just part of that sort of thing :so
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1506

 

[budman]

So very cool.

 

[glitch_oz]

2007...Flower Power, Victoria

December

Still chewing on that incredible HIGH of the Tornanti ride, nothing local would really cut it.
No offence, but after those 6 weeks, our perceptions had somewhat shifted.

So we took the cage for a few days, threw a tent in the back and went for the nearby hills/ High Country.


The stunning eucalypts of the Acheron Way

Mt. Buffalo from Powers Lookout

Mt. Buffalo

Mt. Hotham

More pics etc here:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1582

 

[glitch_oz]

2008...Charge of the Midgets _ The Run North

Early May 2008

2 weeks, ~2000miles, Brisbane to Cairns, Australia's tropical North.

After plenty of talk, it was time to either shit or get off the pot.
Which left Goodie and Yours Truly.

Freighted the 2 little CT's to Brisbane, then rode them up the coast to Cains....via Cooloola....and Fraser Island...and...and...

A quick quote from the ride report says it best:

It’s a tale of deep joy, of desperate situations, of lots of warmth and the best of human interactions.
A tale of making mistakes (and learning from them)…of “impossible” routes and nearly getting beaten by the circumstances.

Of busted engines, T-shirt-riding along 90km beaches and cruising the twisties through the sugar-cane fields and banana-plantations of Northern Queensland.

Of getting bogged… running against incoming tides and ferry-departure-times….of saving the precious camera while sinking rapidly into sandy creeks, ass first.
Of shivering into the sinking sun on the washed-over decks of the barge to Hervey Bay in a half-meter swell…and of meeting lots and lots of wonderful people along the way.

Best-Of-All??
Doing all this as an early celebration of our 30th anniversary with my best mate in life

Bowen, Yacht Harbour

Dunk Island from Mission Beach

Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tablelands

Stored the bikes with Heath from Gilders Transport in Cairns...ready for part 2 of the tale.
If you thought this was crazy...just wait for the sequel!!


For all of the yarns and pics:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1734

 

[glitch_oz]

2008...Charge of the Midgets _ Cape Run

Australia's most northern tip, Cape York.
The place is a bucketload of legends, full of rough terrain and about 600mi north of the last bigger town...things can get pretty darn lonely up there.
Lots of tropical wildlife, 4WD tracks, river-crossings, sand, rocks mud and bulldust-holes.


August/ September saw the 2. part of this stoopid caper :doh:

The Run To The Cape:

Glen from Brissie and Rowan from Hobart had come good pretty much at the last minute...no time for details, just get the bikes ready as best you can, get a seat on a winger to Cairns and ....let it rip.
No backup, no 4WD coming along for spares or supplies, no sat-phone... just carry everything you need, live and ride by your wits...and hope for the best.

Cape York and ~3000km/ 2000mi of dirt, dust and 4WD tracks in 3 weeks....


...yet again, on the dinkytoy-Honda.

Oops....

The day after it was out turn...

Another local

A "shower+laundry" on the Cape

The mighty "recovery-CT"...just helping out :

Punsand Bay, The Cape

Whaddaya mean, Bulldust??

7.5hp and a 4-speed auto-box....Postie-POWER!! :guff

It's still a bloody long way home...

This...THIS....was one trip, I'll never forget!!


For all the pics, the yarns and little chinks:

http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1925

 

[glitch_oz]

So very cool.

Hope, all those pics aren't getting too much :|

 

[Star Man]

Hope, all those pics aren't getting too much :|

As if the pix you posted here weren't enough, I went to your link with the 2500 photos of your Tornanti 1 trip. I made it to page 8 before I went blind in one eye! It may take me as long to sift thru all those photos as the trip took you to complete.

Really good stuff though, and worth the temporary blindness.....

 

[glitch_oz]

As if the pix you posted here weren't enough, I went to your link with the 2500 photos of your Tornanti 1 trip. I made it to page 8 before I went blind in one eye! It may take me as long to sift thru all those photos as the trip took you to complete.

Really good stuff though, and worth the temporary blindness.....

Just watch that other eye.
That Tornanti 1 story sure is a Ben Hur-sized picture book.
And to many, it finishes up not just involving getting blind but also getting the shakes, nightmares, sudden sweats and all the other symptoms of Big Ride Fever

Can only be treated by regular visits to the area in question