Geoff Phillips It was a 3 day haul from Maitland to Charters Towers, longer if I stayed on the coast. But there is such a thing as “too much of a good thing”. Even the bike was cracking the sads. After 10,000 km the rear tyre had reprofiled to a shape akin to a truck tyre. Even … Read more
With a classic ride on the famous and infamous (3 fatalities in the last fortnight) Putty Road planned for the day, I was keen to get moving early. The pea soup fog of the previous morning was a watery dew compared to the milky mire that hung over the car park at 8:30am. I decided … Read more
I peeked out at the car park to make sure the bike was happy. And could barely see it as a black blob in a sea of fog. It was a white out! The temperature and time seemed to move in lock step. Once again at 9am it was cracking 9 degrees C…..standing next to … Read more
It was time to “haul arse” as the Americans say. leaving Broken Hill at 8:30 the temperature was touching 10 degrees with forecast showers and 50 km wind gusts. The weather man got it right and the 2 hour run to Wilcannia was a buffeting ride. I had my first “roo” scare, a big woolly buck … Read more
the first day of spring started at minus 1 degree and I decided that it was time to point north. From Horsham I headed through the expansive broad acre cropping of the Mallee. Small towns with unusual names like “Speed” flashed by on a whoopy road base that wavered between the paddocks. lunch was at … Read more
The day dawned fine but Mr Google told me it was breaking through an overnight frost and it was zero degrees outside. I deliberately dawdled over breakfast, sent emails , lubed the chain , did a pre start on the bike and even tried to post pre start it…..but by 10 am the temp had … Read more
i was lucky enough to have a base in Adelaide and in between some amazing meals, incredible red wines and great company there was a chance to loop around “gorge road” on to Gawler and back to Adelaide the next day I loaded the bike with panniers loaded with clean clothes and enough supples to … Read more
I was checking out of the motel trying to ignore a shiver down my spine. the forecast was fine but at 9:00am in Mt Gambier the thermometer echoed 9 degrees C. I reached in the pannier for the 12 volt jacket and rolled out of town toasty warm. The road led me to the coast … Read more
No, not the sermon on the mount……this means Mount Gambier where the locals call it “The Mount” I had two days out of the saddle here. The first was a sleep in followed by the obligatory laundromat visit for washing and drying. During the afternoon the cloudy skies let the temperature get to 18 degrees … Read more
The morning heralded the first strategic decision in a fortnight. Do I turn west and head to the Eyre Peninsula (the original plan) or veer south towards Adelaide?The rain fronts were awesome and I knew for sure I was going to get wet either way. In the end I decided that I wanted to get … Read more
Sleeping underground was only slightly novel. In cool weather the temperature underground was similar to surface and the few blustery clouds did not deliver any rain overnight. I had rolled the sleeping mat out on the tent (unassembled) and slept well. An eerie dawn broke on surface about 6:30 AM and the sun came up … Read more
An easy 328 km in 3 hrs 15 mins. The first 2 and a half hours had me backtracking to the Stuart Highway then turning South. I have left the French tourists behind in their twin land cruiser Prado rentals, de rigeur for their outback adventure. Now the road landscape features triple trailer cattle road trains … Read more
Days four and five were pretty much more of the same. Great roads, clear skies and lots of people. The camp grounds are a joy for social interaction and two couples took me under their wing one night. We sat back under a starry sky enjoying a BBQ and red wine swapping stories, some of … Read more
Day three opened up the Barkly Tableland and after crossing the border into the Northern Territory the speed limit lifted to 130 km per hour. It was interesting most people sat on 120 km per hour. Like me they were trying to conserve fuel and the 20 litre tank which normally delivered 400km was now … Read more
Day two got a little more serious, 6 hours 19 minutes in the saddle for 606.1 km exposed a stretch of roadside carnage that beggared belief. The road through Julia Creek and Cloncurry had a roo carcass every 100 metres. Murders of crows draped their pall on bitumen biltong and aeries of eagles dined on … Read more
About a month ago, it was shaping up badly. The Dukes looked forlorn in a dusty shed that got dustier with each passing day. The looming threat needed me to pack a suitcase and catch two flights to Uluru. Visions of the transit lounge haunted me after 6 years FIFO and I mused over the … Read more
Day one was just the warmup and the 1200 settled into “touring mode” selected from the many electronic options on the big screen. I had avoided cruise control and found that I could rest the heel of of my palm on the throttle while we purred along at 110 km per hour. This left me … Read more