Highway Biker
Another September ’02 ride.
THE infamous Strathbogie ride :lollol:
Marty punting the Across up the Merton-Euroa Rd...
...then tries to “feed” the (Memorial-) sheep in the Main Street.
Some got other urges
It all comes to a screaming crescendo!! when the wedding in the nearby chapel finishes, the music stops and a couple of flower girls appear on Main Street.
pete
Highway Biker
Time for another "Big 'Un"
A week of Vic Alps and Snowies
Once more the Melbourne Cup-Week played host, this time for the Beef ‘n Reef.
Word had REALLY started to spread and Tim from Hobart was the first ever interstater at the start, bringing his Pegaso from Hobart.
Together with Garry and I, things were pointing to a showdown of which was the hottest Peg on the block. In the tight stuff, those things ROCK!!
Mine blew the whistle on the first day at the start of the Licola Rd. with a blown head-gasket, something the Pegs were well known for.
Had to crawl home, throw the pack onto the B12 and catch up with the mob in Dargo.
The week produced anything from a bare-arsed Tassie dolphin at Cape Conran
to magic twisties of Gippsland’s backblocks...
...to wetting ourselves in Mallacoota....
...a trip on the Titanic......
....some serious honking on the backroads around Canberra, Batemans Bay, Tathra, Bega...
....enhanced by a “video-presentation” at Cotter Dam Pub (while it existed)...
...to laughs ‘til it hurt at Jindabyne CP.
Some climbed Mt. Kosciousco
....while others got the pizza...
...or tried to throw the Pegasos down the mountain side before joining a costume ball.
Some lost a little rubber
...while others just burned past Blue Duck, Hotham and Mt. Buffalo.
And some loonies did it all on screaming, howling, 12.0000rpm 250s...
12.000 rpm ...all....day....long!!! Day...after....day...after...day!
A decade on.... and they’re still legends.
The full yarn with ~ 100 pics
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=805
pete
Highway Biker
Another go at the Great Ocean Road and Grampians in December.
Can’t remember everyone who came for this one and there aren’t all that many pics.
Going by the bikes in front of the old store in Princetown....Jason’s Blue Viffer on the right.... no idea, who’s that naked Bandit (250?) is...Al’s “Amelia”, the old, red CX, and he rode that bucket like an R1...Sasha’s ZZR and MickG’s “Handbag”...Suzie’s blue ZR7 and Paul’s TL behind that...
There was Garry on the Peg, Sarah on the Zeal, Latte-Dave on the Cibber6 of course...and myself on the XT6....possibly others.
Fueling the XT after 504km just short of Dunkeld, Grampians in the background.
From memory, that’s the ride where Latte-Dave and I swapped bikes and I missed that roo by a bee’s dick with the flashy Cibber6, when gassing it out of Halls Gap.
On the bloody thing for 20 seconds and nearly writing it off before we’re in 3.gear, Jeezaz.
Sarah dropped the Zeal and busted one of those unobtainable front-masks....someone else, who’d already sold his bike before moving overseas the week after, went arse-up in a ditch near the lookout....whatever it was, it was NEVER BORING!! :lollol::lollol:
pete
Highway Biker
2 weeks, ~3200k’s, and nearly half of it on dirt.
Ingo, the old school mate from Germany was back, he’d absolutely loved Tassie the year before and we were up for another one.
This time “Da Boyz” only ....and on dirt.
By now the Bandit12 had given way to my first repaired write-off, a 2002 XT 600with a laughable 650km on the clock.
Gary had added a 12.000km fresh Domi to his garage....in hindsight, I should've bought that bike when he sold it 2 years later.
Thinking back, this could’ve well been the first trip where we sought out the dirt routes and it all started with some road called “The Western Explorer” I'd read about on the net.
Fixing a flat at a farmhouse near Tomahawk, North Tassie Coast
Mt. William National Park was on the cards...
....as was the Eddystone Lighthouse, the coastal track to The Gardens, Jacobs Ladder, Devils Gullet and endless other dirt roads.
Cooked our own gourmet dinner at the Captain’s Cottage in Stanley... and yes, it was exceptional.
Slobbered all over the Western Explorer
Up Shit-Creek without a paddle on the coastal Granville Harbour- Trail Harbour track, busting bikes and limbs.
At least the wretched shoulder guaranteed me the double bed for a night
Discovered the backcountry of Queenstown, some breathtaking places, lookouts and walking tracks.... and the former town of Pillinger.
A whole different Tassie had opened up to me....I’d “tasted blood”...in a few ways.
:bs
For the whole yarn (2 parts, linked) and ~115 pics
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=807
pete
Highway Biker
April 2003 Long Weekend
Freshly back from Tassie, the twisties were calling again.
Goodie had dropped off the Peg and wrenched her thumb, couldn’t hold onto the grips or even the steering wheel of the cage, so Michelle, the 16y/o daughter on L’s drove the Whitfield Road and Rose River dirt to Harrietville in the family cage.
Can’t remember all who came along for that one....there was Moike on the 100RS, Marty still wringing the neck of that poor Across....there was Jason...and Stef had come from his new home in Adelaide after I promised him the share of the XT6 and Pegaso between the 2 of us.
I’m sure there were others, though...
Check that box of Coopers...the pub had robbed us blind the night before.
Marty on the Dargo High Plains Rd.
pete
Highway Biker
Late in the year, late November...
5000k's of one-way cruising Brisbane to Melbourne and the first time ever we'd shipped bikes somewhere.
9 for the core-group, plus "temps" along the way...Latte-Dave and Nev joined up later, the Brisbane AusMoto contingent gave us a farewell at Mt. Glorious, Lemmiwinks turned up in Walcha, Alex and Gayle in Gloucester...
Mick was on the 9er by now.... it was Sasha's last trip on the ZZR250, the bike already sold before the start of the ride....Guenther's first ever "big ride"...
John touring on an overloaded R1...Nigel and his unforgettable twin-esky Strom, carrying everything up to a 5ton hydraulic jack
Brilliant stuff in the BrisVegas Hinterland, like the steep singlelaners across the Bunya Mountains
"Happy-Cruising" in the Border Ranges
The wonders of Girraween National Park
And it certainly wasn't a sombre affair
Some rare visitors popped in, too
It just doesn't get much better than this.
Full story and more pics here:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?p=38007
pete
Highway Biker
Late March....and it was a big group of 15.
9 days
TimTim and Tassie-Dave had come up from Hobart....Tim (Gixx) brought his mate Clayton along.
"Straightline-Chris" on the ZX6 was there,
John Birrel on the R6 or 1?,
Sasha on the CBR6 at that time, dropping it in Bright at the bottleshop,
Stef, now on the Peg with my Flamethrower-pipe.
Twin-Esky Nigel from Ballarat and
Alex+Gail from Newcastle for a short stint.
After all those big rides, Suzie decked the Kwak just out of Bruthen after the first night...and never came back to bikes, AFAIK.
Nigel's Eskies now matching the cop car
Tearing the house down in Jindabyne...
For the RR and pics, check this:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=784
pete
Highway Biker
Early July...Mothers Day Weekend
A weekend ride that nobody wanted to come along for...too cold, too wet.
Bugger it, we'll go.
Aberfeldy Bridge, just north of Walhalla
Sliding down the wet and deep clay-hill into Woods Point became unforgettable...
hang on and pray stuff.
The Miner's Cottages in Jamieson proved to be freezers despite the open fires.
Somewhere on the Skyline Rd.
Lake Mountain
Bloody cracker of a weekend:chug:
pete
Highway Biker
Feb + March 2005...5 weeks!!!
Building on the previous, local rides, this one took things to a whole different level...and "went international".
A REAL BIGGIE, being away for 5 weeks with a solid 31 days on the road.
Shipped the bikes to Christchurch, looped the South Island... then another, smaller loop of the North as far up as Rotorua.
Jimbo, then still living on Hawaii, came across for that one "but I can only make it for a fortnight, definitely no longer, and that's bloody stretching it".
It all started with the most hilarious roadworthy inspection ever experienced....yes, EXPERIENCED!.... (or WoF-check, as known locally)...
Station House Cafe at Lake Brunner
L-R:
Yours truly.... Sasha (now on the red Guzzi Breva).... the empty chair was a placeholder for Moira, Nigel's Better Half and their son Billy-The-Kid, coming along for the first 2 weeks in a hire-cage....Nigel, of twin-esky V-Strom fame on the BananaRama....Jimbo (forum-nick "Dusty") on a hired Wee-Strom...Tim ("Tim") on the KiloGixx...John Birrel, the other iron-butt on a sporty and his trusty R1....and Goodie took the shot.
This trip was also the start of a more concious effort by all to get some better quality shots....and it shows.
From "shooting stars" at a pebbly beach near Greymouth...
....to the old coalmine in Denniston...
...the spectacular coast and hinterland of Karamea...
....glacier-hiking at Franz Josef's...
...which brought up serious thoughts of investing in a local piece of "winter-clothing"...
....unbelievable scenery day-in, day-out....
...an early morning run into Milford...
...the backroads of the South, the Southern Scenic Route, the Mandeville De Havilland Aircraft Works....and man, Pounawea stole EVERYONE's heart!!
:glu:glu
Nobody will ever forget the run up Lake Pukaki towards the Ice-Giants of Mt. Cook
...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 cop for some fun!!! (unknowingly)ops:
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.
BLOODY AWESOME TRIP THAT WAS!!!
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 Strom again and said : "NO" to yet another extension. :bs
pete
Highway Biker
All this "#1, #2..." it sometimes feels like all of those rides were "designed as mini-series", sequelled, pre-designed etc....they weren't!
It just happened to morph that way whenever another ride into the same general area was "hitting the boards".
2005 Tassie Gems....a week on the Apple Isle.
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".
Tassie Gems also turned into the last "NetRider" ride.
A fairly big group this time around....and the infamous "bowling-shirts" put the Tassie-Gems into the history books for good.:bs
Let's try to get them all together....there was Garry on the Peg....Loz on the Hornet9...Matt232 on the Blade (that years later turned into Tim's) after he decked it on the Whitfield Rd....Guenther (gunner) now on the only metallic-grey Vee in Oz, which later turned into the very first WTF...Nev on the Kwaka ZX12 busting the radiator on the Strathgordon Rd..... Jo on the F650GS (or was it still the Scarver?)....Goodie on the Peg...Jason still on the Viffer, I think....and Deano on the black VTRthou...Andrew?? on the yellow SV...Tim on the KiloGixx...Marty on the VEE...Karel (carver) on the VEE...myself on the VEE....Sasha on the Guzzi or the Hyundai??...Tassie-Dave on the Tiger and TimTim on the CapoNord joined in for a couple of days...man, it was quite a sight on the road.
The group split on some days....the "Pigs" 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.
For once, nobody decked it on a "NetRider-ride"oke:
Loz on the Strathgordon Rd.
The 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.
Freycinet National Park, Wineglass 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!!
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, good 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
pete
Highway Biker
Only got a few pics of this one and can't even remember it.
No idea who else was along....but here's Goodie (Eggnogg, 'cause of the yellow helmet, panniers on the bike...which looks narrow enough to be a Peg.)
That's Karel (carver)
Marty...and that looks pretty much like the Cabramurra-Khancoban Rd. near the Tooma Reservoir, one of the last bends on the eastern side of the dam wall.
And Sasha on the Guzzi?
Perhaps someone else can comment with more details...according to file dates, it would've been between X-mas and New Year.
pete
Highway Biker
Early Jan....a day-ride north of Melbourne.
Yea
Going by the bikes...L to R : Karel.... yours truly.... a mate of Karel's on Karels old 250 (forgot the name)...mmmmm, oh yeah, John's FJR which he bought after falling off the Strom because it was too high, then fell off the FJR because it was too heavy...and Goodie's Peg.
Murchison Lookout above Strath Creek
pete
Highway Biker
Late January....and STINKING hot.:kna
Into the 40s and things weren't too much fun to kick off a planned 2200km Long Weekend.
Karel (carver)...Tim on the Gixx...Guenther, Goodie and I....and 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 Gippy 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.
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)
pete
Highway Biker
March '06
Goodie's off for the first ride on a postie...
Tim's there....and so are 4 of the Balla-Rats, the suicidal CT-punters.
Make one of them Stewart Crumpler, owner and founder of Crumpler Bagz and most likely the craziest of the 4.
Give him a postie...and you'll be out of breath just staying within 10k's all day long.
More:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=821
pete
Highway Biker
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 Brissie 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 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)
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-Esky 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 under the belt, it all ends in Yea... where Nigel and Moira keep going straight towards Ballarat while the rest tacks south for the last few k's.
Tim on the Gixx...and Garry on the Peg.
Sasha with the Guzzi , Moira on the DR650....Double-Esky Nige...Marty on the Shark-VEE and Goodie on the Peg... Karel (carver, VEE) and I...and for the last few days, Latte-Dave on the FZ1 this time around.
I think, that's also the last big ride for "Goodie and the Pegs"...
The full, 2-part yarn and 250+ pics are here :chug:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=971
pete
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