Long Ride - Thank You

Day 1.  Off we go.

Little over three weeks ago the Long Ride 2013 started with the intention of not only raising funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia but also to raise awareness of men's health and in particular prostate cancer.

 

This meant that motorcycle riders from all over Australia headed towards Cairns in north Queensland with the intention of speaking to as many people in regional Australia as possible.

 

What this meant for me was a ride starting in Melbourne on May 4 and finishing over 3 weeks later back in Melbourne, a round trip of almost 8,000 kilometres and taking in almost 250 cities, towns and regional centres.  While my intention was to raise $15,000 for the PCFA, I also had a strong desire to speak to as many people as possible about men's health issues, and not in a way that seemed to come from a press statement, but rather try to get to know the person I was conversing with and speak openly about the issues of prostate cancer.

The open road was just sensational even when there
was nothing at all.

 

For the most part I think this was a huge success as many people spoke openly and also admired what the ride as a whole was doing.  In fact we had some great successes, Charters Towers in Queensland was a great example of this with not only the mayor, Frank Beveridge, showing us great support but also the town itself taking a great interest in what we were doing.

 

This was how we approached all of our stops however, it was the one on one conversations that seemed to work best.  A prime example being in Cairns on the day we were leaving.  I was riding alone and a tourist bus pulled up beside me.  A young voice yelled "hey, where are you headed?".  I turned and was face to face with a young aboriginal boy, smiling broadly as he was keen to get an answer.

 

Charters Towers Mayor, Frank Beveridge
was someone who gave the ride huge support,
I can't thank him enough.

I replied that I was on my way back home to Melbourne.  "Wow, that's a long way," his expression changing from a smile to a look of amazement.  "What are you doing it for?"

 

I told him it was to raise awareness of men's health, and in particular prostate cancer.  He must've only been about 12 years old, yet he seemed genuinely interested.  That is the attraction of the bikes, they seem to bring people out to have a look and then ask questions. 

 

"That's amazing, well done,"  he beamed.  As we parted ways he turned to the driver of the bus and I heard him say, "Dad, when are you going to get checked up by the doctor."

 

I smiled to myself as I rode away from them, the whole point of the Long Ride has succeeded.

 

Whether it was this young boy and his father or the farming family, who were struggling with a dry season and cattle dying, in Winton who were happy to discuss their issues.  The Long Ride was making it's mark.

 

Another great story was an old bloke who saw a heap of bikes in a service station.  He spotted the PCFA logo on one of the bikes and immediately found the owner so he could hand over the last $5 in his pocket.  Apparently he had only just survived a fight with prostate cancer and with a tear in his eye, he said "thank you".

 

I'd set a goal of raising $15,000 for the PCFA through the Long Ride unfortunately, I didn't meet that target.  I apologise for getting so close in raising $13,023.04 yet not reaching the overall target however, the great news is that this total goes a hell of a long way towards the overall ride total of $230,000 at the last count.  I guess the disappointing thing is that if every rider could raise just $1000 then we would've had a total of $450,000.

 

While I am disappointed in not reaching the total set as the goal, I am extremely proud of everyone of you who has helped me to raise these funds.  I won't mention all of the individuals who made a donation however, I would like to say a massive thank you to all of my friends and family who donated either financially or through other means that helped raise funds.  Many of these very generous people are colleagues at Computershare, and everyone of you should be extremely proud of what you have achieved.  Thank you.

 

I would also like to greatly thank the following businesses who helped make this ride a huge success by contributing to the fundraising either financially or through goods and services donated.  A massive thank you to -

 

• GBC Neopost Australia
• Johnson Matthey
• TMC - The Macintosh Corporation
• Kodak / ACA Pacific
• Saferay Pty Ltd
• Compu-stor
• Wide Bay Australia
• The Sands Torquay
• Melbourne Victory FC
• Frontier Touring - A Part of the Mushroom Group
• Flemings Nurseries
• Barwon Heads Resort
• Ugly Fish Eyewear
• Mercure Geelong
• Portarlington Golf Club
• Searoad Ferries
• The House of Golf - Geelong
• Crown Casino
• Sign Perfection

a special mention must go to the council and people of Charters Towers who went well and truly out of their way to make all riders feel welcome and embrace the Long Ride.  I'd also like to thank the efforts the Robert 'Tav' Swinton but in and continued to do so during the ride.  Every few days I would get an email from him saying he had organised a donation from someone else.  Thanks mate.

 

It's this sort of support from everyone that makes the effort of the Long Ride well worth it and a huge success.

 

A massive thank you to everyone who helped with the fundraising.  You all came with me
for the ride.

 

What of the effort?

 

For me the Long Ride started way back in July of last year, as I started raising donations for the PCFA and planning for the ride.  This meant purchasing a new bike, well that was always going to happen.  Planning the route home, contacting as many councils and business chamber of commerce along the way.  And trying to generate as much media coverage as possible. 

 

As the start date got closer the work became a little more intense.  Making sure that the bike was ready to go, ensuring that all accommodation was covered, as well as insurance and ambulance coverage was taken care of ... just in case.

 

As day one got underway, the adrenalin was really kicking in and a ride to Hay in New South Wales seemed like nothing at all.  The second day gave a little more of what we would encounter as it meant extremely long straight roads often littered with wildlife, both live and dead, in many cases it became quite dangerous.

 

When we reached 3,000 kilometres it seemed like it was all down hill from here, not true, it was only just beginning.  The challenge now was could we reach as many people with just a few of us, personally I think we reached more.

 

In total 7,651 kilometres were ridden in reaching Cairns and coming back home through as many towns as possible.  Yes at times it was a little painful, especially when the weather turned against us or the roads were so great.  We had to put up with temperatures in the 30's and humidity in the 90% range, then a few days later we faced with temperatures below 10 and wind chill taking it well below zero.

 

The Long Ride (in blue) compared to the size of Britain and Ireland.

The distance covered was the equivelant of circumnavigating the British mainland, or almost twice around Italy.  It's also similar to travelling from Alaska to New York.  We averaged 364 kilometres per day over 21 days of riding, with the longest day being almost 600 kilometres, and every one of the kilometres was enjoyable, even the torrential downpour near Rockhampton or the sub zero conditions near Cooma.

 

There were quite a few near misses, a few even concerning myself.  A road train almost collected me in central NSW whilst trying to avoid a cow; I almost hit an emu near Bourke when the stupid bird decided that the thing coming at it at 100kph looked tasty.  Or the lose on a corner in northern Queensland when I think I hit a patch of diesel.  Never mind it was all for a good cause, and a hell of a lot of fun.

 

Not only were our bodies punished but also that of our bikes.  In some cases they will need complete rebuilds, or at the very least new tyres and a service.  Some riders were hospitalised after meeting the local wildlife, all are OK thankfully.  I think all I'll need is a good massage.

 

All of this doesn't compare with what happens when a late diagnoses of prostate cancer occurs.  I know, it happened to my family.  That's why the Long Ride is so important in educating Australia's men about their health and what that means for their families.

 

Prostate cancer is recognised as the most common form of cancer in Australia and the second greatest cancer killer of men in our country.  It's estimated that almost 19,000 new cases are diagnosed each year and what's tragic almost 3,000 men die from the disease each year.  The irony is that it is regarded as the most treatable form cancer if detected early enough.  Every man above the age of 40 should be getting regular checks for prostate cancer ... and these days that doesn't mean a finger in the bum.

 

Mug shot.  Definitely need a shave, and have
a look at the lack of tan around the eyes, those
Ugly Fish are brilliant at protecting the eyes.

The PCFA plays a vital role in the fight against prostate cancer and devotes all of it resources towards reducing the impact of prostate cancer on the community.  The goal of the PCFA is to reduce the impact of prostate cancer on Australian men, their partners, their families and the community; to represent the interests of all Australian men diagnosed with prostate cancer.  

 

The PCFA works to raise awareness and attract widespread financial support for the work of the Foundation to: fund research into the causes, detection, diagnosis and improved treatment of prostate cancer; to provide information, support and counselling to those affected by prostate cancer; and to raise community awareness of the incidence of prostate cancer, thereby encouraging earlier detection and more effective treatment of the disease.

 

While the Long Ride was a rare chance to experience this great country of ours in a way that very few people would, meeting the locals and experiencing their communities it was also the opportunity to do some good that was the main inspiration.

 

While I'm glad to be home, I truly wish I was still on the road.  Bring on the next Long Ride.  Now back to the daily grind ... firstly I'd better have a shave.

 

Thank you everyone for your very generous and inspirational support.

 

Cheers

Long Ride - Day 21 - Sale to Home

The last day of the Long Ride was met with some trepidation.  Finally we would be getting home, but a for one didn't want it to end, I could've kept on riding for ages.  Just pack up and explore our nation.

 

Unlike the last long ride I hadn't felt much pain at all, maybe my butt had taken on more padding in the last 18 months, or more likely the bigger bike was actually a bit more comfortable.  Thank God for Yamaha's big cruiser.

 

Are we ready to go?

With only 200 kilometres or so to complete we took it fairly easy, besides it looked like it would rain so we didn't care much for getting too wet.  Trying to find somewhere decent for breakfast in Sale wasn't too easy, so again we settled for a McDonald's breakfast.  In fact their ham and cheese toasties aren't too bad, the coffee was also pretty good.  So at least the last breakfast was going to be OK.

 

We fuelled up and set off.  The weather was actually pretty warm so it looked like it would be a nice easy ride home down the Princes Highway.  That's certainly the way it started however, on the horizon dark heavy clouds were forming and rolling down over the hills.  It wasn't long before the horizon started to disappear in a hazy grey mist.



The ride up the highway was a bit boring, but I wouldn't
give it up for anything.

We got as far as Rosedale, only 30 kilometres down the road before we decided to stop and put our wet weather gear on, it wasn't really raining yet, but it was far off.  We continued on all agreeing that we didn't want to be soaking wet on the last day, I just hate the wet weather but also hate wearing dorky wet weather gear.

 

We continued on down the Princes Highway towards Traralgon, the Morwell and Moe, these bastions of civilisation.  We only got another 60 kilometres or so down the road but at least it was somewhere to stop and have a hot drink and get warm, by now the temperature had dropped significantly and was starting to become a little unbearable.

 

We rode around the back of a shopping centre in Trafalgar to get out of the way of traffic and started to enjoy the hot soup.  I marvelled at how many hotted up Ford's and Holden's were down here, this 'suburb' of Moe.  I couldn't help but wonder if it was the same in Yarram, from memory I think it was, except for one Saab 95.

 

I chuckled to myself and remounted the bike.  This last section would be all the way home despite the rain, and all of it on multi-lane highway and freeway.  It would be a cold and boring ride, all 125 kilometres of it.

 

Knackered ... but ready to go again!

 
We continued on down the road and although the rain wasn't too heavy the mist did hide the city skyline making it seem like we were continually chasing the city.  It sunk in that we were finished when we started on the Monash Freeway, I think all of us started to feel a little regret that we weren't continuing on.  In fact I was starting to feel a little sad maybe even depressed, so to pick things up a little we started mucking around.  I went into the 'chipmunk' position, something we had dubbed for people on cruisers who put their feet on the pillion pegs, it makes you ride more upright and look like a chipmunk or meerkat.  We all had a good laugh as we got closer to the city knowing that the Long Ride 2013 was now over ... it had been a huge success.

 

 

Today we had completed 233 kilometres taking the total ridden to 7,651 ... everyone of them was

enjoyable.



Long Ride - Day 20 - Cann River to Sale

To say we were glad to be away from Cooma would be an understatement.  Not that the town is one that you wouldn't want to stay in, it's just that since we left the temperature has continually been below zero at night (-8 last night) and not much higher during the day.  It would've been a nightmare to have ridden in, and anyone who says it's not that bad is a liar.

Cann River hotel, a beautiful old building.

 

We left Cann River after the temperature had risen a little, while waiting for it to do so, I went and got a coffee and fruit salad from the café across the road from the motel.  While ordering it the owner of the café asked me if I would sell my jacket, I was wearing the one I had won at the auction at Atherton, the Ace Café - London one that had cost me $210.  As much as I would've said yes for the right price the guy understood when I told him how I had obtained it.  Obviously he also understood the significance of the Ace Café.

 

While talking to him about the Long Ride he showed me his BSA that sat right in the middle of his café.  He uses this old bike to deliver the lunch to the local school each day.  He was extremely interested in what we told him about the Long Ride, where we had been and where we were going.  He was keen to point out that this area was a big bike area, we'd sort of gathered that.

 

We took off towards Orbost in warm sunshine, although in the shade it was still quite cold.  The ride of about 78 kilometres was through thick bushland and featured some great corners. With it still being a little cold in places we stopped and enjoyed a hot soup, then set of again. 

Just having a bit of fun.

  

I couldn't resist and had to have a bit of a squirt.  Despite the weight of the XV1600 (350kg, plus around 150kg or rider and gear) it handles really well and was actually quite a bit of fun.  Certainly not a rocket ship through the twisties but still fun.

Once reaching Orbost I waited for the others and then we headed through the town, I'd never been here before so wanted to have a look.  It was anything special so we took off for Lakes Entrance.

 

About 60 kilometres further down the road Lakes Entrance is essentially a tourist town with a background in fishing.  With a safe harbour from Bass Strait it's a great place to see commercial fishing vessels as well as privately owned cruisers however, it is becoming quite commercial and it is started to show.

 

We stopped here for a bite top eat at a place that was essentially an antique shop that had a café.  The potato and leak soup was sensational and really hit the spot.  We also visited the pub to place a bet on a 'sure thing', it ran fourth and probably wasn't the smartest run by the jockey.  Oh well.

 

There's some beautiful old buildings is Sale.  Worth a look.

We'd spent the best part of a few hours at Lakes Entrance and by now it was starting to get a little late in the day.  The sun was coming down and now shining straight into our faces as we headed for Bairnsdale, the last of any interesting roads.  We essentially passed through and headed for Sale, the last stop of the Long Ride.  It certainly felt like it was coming to an end.

 

Once in Sale we settled on the Hacienda Motel, the same place some of us stayed during the last Long Ride.  It's a strange place and looks a lot like a cheap version of the place in Melrose Place, with a pool in the middle and the rooms around the outside.  The rooms themselves are very reminiscent of something from the 1970's.  At least it was a comfortable bed.

 

A final rest!

Once unpacked we headed for The Star Hotel for dinner.  The place looks fancy, and was certainly packed, but it you are after a decent feed, forget it.  I had penne carbonara and while it tasted pretty good, the sauce was so runny that it had drained completely to the bottom, even some packaged pastas were better than this.  Other meals looked good but again weren't.  It seemed the place wasn't so good at cooking chicken as all versions of it were overcooked.  It was a pity because the place really did look the goods.

 

Sale is a funny place, as it doesn't really seem like the place that you would stay for a night or longer however, it has some amazing looking pubs and bars.  The town has tried to retain its original charm with modern style bars and restaurants.  It really does work.

 

After a night of celebrating the ride we headed back to the hotel and prepared for the last day of the Long Ride.

 

In all we had travelled around 250 kilometres, only a short day but it had taken the total completed up to 7, 418 kilometres.

Long Ride - Day 19 - Cooma to Cann River

With the Long Ride fast coming to an end we were expecting the last few days to take in some of the best roads.  Last night we had been given a warning that the roads had been experiencing some pretty bad black ice recently and while the morning dawned bright and sunny we decided not to risk the danger and take a more cautious route although, it could add an extra day to the ride.

 

We found a great little Vietnamese bakery in Cooma and ordered a hot coffee and breakfast before taking on one of the highest roads in Australia, the Monaro Highway.

 

While this road gets to altitudes of 1300 metres it traverses mostly open plain so is generally free of ice after the sun has been up for a while, most of the time is it pretty safe, if not cold.  We left Cooma with the temperature at around 6 degrees and by the time we were on the open plain and with a bike speed, and therefore wind speed, of around 100 kilometres per hour I reckon the wind chill was down below zero.  It was actually becoming painful.

 

We continued on until we reached Nimmitabel where we had to stop to get warm and get some blood flowing again.  My hands had cramped pretty badly, my nose wouldn't stop running and my eyes were watering severely, which in turn was causing my lashes to rub the tears on my goggles and make vision pretty bad.  Oh no, my beloved Ugly Fish were letting me down again.

For Sale.  One pub, needs coat of paint.


As we prepared to get on the road again I noticed a garishly painted building across the road and realised it was the pub and it was for sale.  I'm not 100% sure but I think the same building was for sale last time I passed through here, and that was on the Long Ride of 2011.  It seems no one wants a pub at the top of Australia, who blames them, it's too bloody cold to enjoy a beer.

 

We pushed on down the Monaro until it turns into the Snowy Mountain Highway, here we turned left and continued on the Monaro, the next destination would be Bombala, the last town before we hit Victoria.

 

Bombala, bike friendly.

The roads around here are famous with bike riders and the town of Bombala makes a point of letting everyone know that bikers are welcome, in fact the remote town has a bike show every year in November.  Here we stopped and had a rest from the cold.  Despite the warm sun the air was still icy cold so a hot chocolate and a piece of jelly slice was just what the doctor order.

 

Bombala is a pretty unique place, it seems to be well and truly set in the early 1900's.  If it were for the current cars you would swear you were back a hundred years ago.

 

We set off again and followed the Monaro Highway which was now starting to meander its way through thick bushland as it headed towards the border with Victoria.  The road was still very damp in places but was dry enough for a decent squirt.  It was great to be back on roads with a bit of personality, and I for one was going to take advantage of it.

On the home stretch now.

Not long after the road started to get twisty we were upon the border.  It was here that I discovered that this road hadn't been sealed on the Victorian side of the border until 1985.  I made me think how bloody backwards we were in Victoria at times.  Especially when considering some of the roads we had seen in northern New South Wales and Queensland.  It's like the road authorities acknowledge there could be dangers like animals and make the roads wide enough to allow the driver or rider enough space to manoeuvre.  They also clear the edges of the road so that you can see the animals.

 

I think this could be employed here in Victoria instead of always just blaming the motorists for driving poorly. 

You can't be serious.  This road was only paved about 30
years ago.

 

We rode on before stopping just outside of Cann River.  The warm sunshine on the green fields was an idyllic scene.  It almost seemed ironic that we had ridden over 7,000 kilometres and the most beautiful landscape was right here on our doorstep.  We enjoyed the view and the friendly nature of the local cows before riding into Cann River.

 

We checked into the Cann River Motel before heading to the Cann River Hotel for something to eat.  It's a simple pub with simple meals, but that was just fine, and rally hit the spot.  The many locals were keen to hear about what we had been doing, so again we were able to raise some awareness of prostate cancer. 

 

Ah, at last some twisties.

While having dinner we were asked to buy a few tickets in the regular Friday night draw.  With the top prize being $200 we couldn't resist as we would donate this to the cause should we win.  Unfortunately we didn't take the first prize but we did win a bottle of Stone's Green Ginger Wine; a four pack of Vodka Cruisers; and a glue gun.  We are certainly on a winning streak.

 

The temperature is already starting to drop very close to zero so it will probably be an early night, although if the roads are icy there'll be no point leaving early tomorrow.

 

We rode almost 250 kilometres today taking the total ridden to 7,165.  The great news is that with another significant donation we have been able to crack the $13k mark.  With only a few days to go I am still hopeful we will get this even closer to the target of $15,000.

Long Ride - Day 18 - Cowra to Cooma

Long Ride day 18 - Cowra to Cooma

After a short day of rain it was great to get a day of dry weather, albeit windy and cold.  The plan was to get to Cooma as soon as possible.  Cooma is in the Snowy Mountains so it can turn really cold very quickly at this time of the year.  We donned our wet weather gear as a safe guard but also as a protection from the cold.  My boots were still wet, so my feet had to go into a couple of shopping bags to keep them dry.

 

We left Cowra at around 10am allowing for some warmth to have developed across the land, at the time we left it was around 11 degrees and got colder as the day went on.

 

We headed down the Lachlan Valley Way through Boorowa and onto Yass to get fuel and something warm to drink.  This whole way we had had to fight through a strong head wind blowing from the south.  It wasn't only biting cold but also took a toll of the fuel consumption with all of us coming close to running out of fuel.

Feet.  $7 a pair at Coles.  Down, down, prices
are down!

Yass actually looked like quite a nice place but there wasn't a lot of time to look around after we had refuelled as we were keen to push on and at least get to Canberra.

 

On the Barton Highway we crossed over into the Australian Capital Territory and headed for Canberra.  We passed the Australian National Dinosaur Museum, I desperately wanted to stop but knew the others were laughing at me. 

 

We got into Canberra and I had to find a Bendigo bank to see what other donations had come through.  Finding the bank was easy enough, finding our way out of Canberra was a pain in the arse.  There's too many circles and ways in our nations capital.  I'm sure Canberra was designed by one of those rats they put in a maze and hope it will find the cheese.

 

We eventually got our way out of this bastion of boredom and headed south following the border until we again crossed over into New South Wales.  This is the start of the Monaro Highway, one of the best roads in this country for bike riding although, this part of it is pretty boring as it starts to head into the high country, the Snowy Mountains.

The Long Riders.  The new 1 percenters in town.

The funny thing in Canberra was when we parked we had done so right across the way from a Chubb

payroll van.  The guards looked like they were shittng themselves as a group of 'bikies' with balaclava's, leather's, etc were pulling up and watching them.  I wondered if they had ever had to use their guns and would they.  It was probably a bit stupid but it was funny.

 

After an hour or so we eventually got to Cooma, it was bitterly cold, around 8 degrees when we pulled in.  The great thing about Cooma is that it is extremely bike friendly due to the amount of riders who come up here for the great roads when the weather is better, at the moment they are about to go into the snow skiing season.

Canberra! Around and around in
circles ...

... and still looking for a way out.

We checked into the Greenleigh Cooma Motel, and got a pretty good price.  The place is being renovated so is in a bit of a dishevel at the moment, but still tidy and more importantly warm.  The only issue is that there seems to be sewerage issue and the bathroom smells like bumhole on a warm day.  Not nice.

 

Once defrosted we headed down the road to the Alpine Hotel for a feed.  The chicken parma was pretty good but what was even better was when we were asked to play Pub Trivia. 

 

The guy running the even noticed the shirts we were wearing and asked what we were doing.  It was explained we were on the home run from a charity ride to Cairns to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer research.  The guy then went on to announce this to the whole pub giving us some great coverage, we decided if we won we would donate this to the overall funds raised.

 

Before the trivia started the guy told us about the rides that take place in the area.  He asked which way we were planning on going, so we suggested that perhaps we would take on the alps.  He suggested we shouldn't as there has been some pretty severe black ice of late and it would be quite dangerous.  This was a massive left down as we really wanted to tackle the Great Alpine Road and Mount Hotham.

Ah, the spoils of victory.

No decision was made, we'd decide which way to progress tomorrow morning but it did seem that the alps were out.



Then the trivia started, we were in fine form and by the halfway point we were in second place and had already won four free drinks.  This was looking good, we looked like having a pretty decent shot at getting some further funds for the PCFA.

Although we had a great second round we were just beaten and had to settle for second place, a bottle of red wine.  We had also won two packets of chips.  So overall it had been a pretty productive night, especially considering we had managed to get some great coverage of the Long Ride and the PCFA.

 

We'd managed to clock up around 450 kilometres today, taking the total ridden to 6,912 kilometres.  A few donations have also come through in recent days taking the total raised to $12,923, just shy of the magical $13k figure.  Hopefully that can be achieved in the next day or two.  If you have pledged a donation and are yet to make it, I hope you can so.  Then we can make sure we get as close as possible to the target of $15,000.

Long Ride - Day 17 - Bathurst to Cowra

Long Ride day 17 - Bathurst to Cowra

The plan for today was to always just get as far as Cowra.  I've always wanted to visit the area where the "Cowra Breakout" occurred, it's a part of our history that most people know very little about.

 

Staying in the luxurious Ridges at Bathurst meant there had to be a sleep in.   We left at around 10am and headed down the road to the National Motorsport Museum.  This was another place I have always wanted to see and to be honest, while it was extremely interesting in some aspects, I thought it would have more.

 

There were certainly some interesting displays, the midget speedcar that Jack Brabham raced was a standout, as was a collection of bikes ridden by Gregg Hansford, and a great collection of old bikes including a Honda NSR500 as raced by Wayne Gardner, but I thought there'd be more displaying the history of Bathurst.  It needed a few more cars from the different eras.

Ultimate View!  You can have this during race weekend for
$1000 per night with a minimum of 5 nights.  There's also a
five year waiting list.

Don't get me wrong it is a great collection and well worth visiting, it just needs more focus to it, I think.  And thankfully the Peter Brock collection wasn't too large, I personally don't subscribe to the theory that he was Australia's greatest racing driver, despite nine Bathurst victories he never really achieved anything else.  Of Aussie drivers I wouldn't even put Brock in my top ten.

 

By the time we left the museum it looked like it was about to start raining, we headed into town to get breakfast and after a few laps of the town centre we found a bakery.  A toasted ham, cheese and tomato, a coffee and juice and, a chat to a couple of ladies who thought we were either heroes or crazy for what we were doing.  They were genuinely interested in the whole ride and how we were pushing on despite the weather conditions.  We were then on our way.  Sort of.

Jack Btabham's speedcar was a highlight ...

We all donned our wet weather gear and headed off towards Cowra.  The original plan had been to go to Cowra via Parkes and Forbes so that we could see "The Dish", the radio telescope that had been used during the Apollo space program.  NASA had employed the help of Australia to track the missions to the moon.  While our part was only small compared to the overall program it was an important part and since the movie "The Dish", it has now become an important tourist attraction.

 

With the weather well and truly closing in, and me already feeling the affects of a bad cold, we decided that we would head straight to Cowra and see what would happen.  It was a smart move, the weather was starting to get pretty bad.

 

... as were Mike Hailwood's leathers.

After about 20 kilometres of travelling things started to get worse.  Not only was it getting colder and wetter but the rain had found a way down the back of my neck and by now my leathers were getting wet and very cold.  Add to this that my Ugly Fish goggles had again let water inside of them, so that I was either getting eyes full of cold water or they fogging so bad I could see a thing.  It was getting diabolical and bloody dangerous.  I pushed on to around 40 kilometres to go then had to stop, a few times I had miscued corners due to not being able to see.

 

I pulled off the road and by now feeling absolutely rubbish attempted to clean my goggles.  The prescription inserts weren't a problem however, the goggles themselves wouldn't clean, they seemed to be coated with a greasy film.  I had not choice but to put them back on and get on with the ride.

 

Two names you wouldn't expect to see at
Bathurst.

After a little while we got o Cowra and essentially checked into the first place we came across, a place called the Breakout Inn.  It's a newish place with massive, well appointed rooms.  The quality of the place is second to none.  I'd recommend it to anyone, and the owners were more than happy to take on a bunch of sodden bikers.  I think they felt sorry for us.

 

After a hot shower and a couple of Cold & Flu tablets I pretty much passed out, dozing in and out until dinner time.  Dinner was a pizza from Eagle Boys, something I wouldn't recommend.  They stuffed the order, and it was weirdest Aussie pizza I have ever had.

 

Anyway, off to bed now and hopefully tomorrow I'll get to see some of the history of the Cowra Breakout.

 

The breakout occurred on August 5, 1944.  The POW camp was located near Cowra and was used to detain over 4,000 Axis military prisoners.  It also included 2,000 Italians as well as a number of civilians, mostly Indonesians who were detained on behalf of the Dutch East Indies government.

 

While the POW's were treated quite well, cultural differences between the Japanese and Australians led to tensions.  A riot at a similar camp in New Zealand in 1943 forced Australia to tighten the security which the Japanese thought was unnecessary. 

 

Right, this weather is now officially giving me the shits.

In early August the Japanese got word that they were going to be moved to Hay, 400 kilometres to the west and where we stayed on our first night of the ride.  Unhappy at this they planned and executed the breakout.  With weapons more akin to the stone age they stormed the fences on three fronts.  Many were killed by the guards, others committed suicide, while around 360 actually made it out.

 

Of those that escaped many committed suicide or deliberately got themselves killed to avoid being recaptured.  All survivors were recaptured within 10 days of escaping.  The commanders of the escape order their soldiers not to attack any Australian civilians during the escape.  In fact many locals said that the Japanese acted with respect and grace.

 

The camp continued until 1947 when the last Japanese and Italians prisoners were repatriated.  Cowra now has a significant Japanese war cemetery and a Japanese garden, hopefully we will get to see both tomorrow depending on the weather.

 

With the weather being so bad today we only completed around 165 kilometres, taking the overall total to 6,455.  Tomorrow should add a fare bit more to this.

Long Ride - Day 16 - Coolah to Bathurst

Long Ride day 16 - the final push to Bathurst.

There's no doubt about it, I expected to wake this morning with a thumping headache but it didn't happen.  There was no sign of the ghoulies last night either, the Black Stump Inn is reported to have two visitors that many of the local and staff have seen.  Some have seen one or the other, some have even seen both.  The most common thing with the people who have seen the ghosts don't like talking about them.

 

I was up a couple of times during the night visiting the loo, which was at the end of a hallway and around the corner, I really expected (and wanted) to see something, but it didn't happen.

 

As promised the guy who actually owns the pub was waiting for us when we packed our bikes and took us to his house.  The lads from American Pickers would've loved it, there was crap everywhere, including what must've been a few dozen chooks.  In amongst it all was a Triumph Rocket 2300cc monster.  It was in pretty good condition and gave some indication as to what was coming.

 

We were ushered through a shed that was packed to the rafters with what to many would seem like rubbish and then there they were.  A couple of Honda fours, one was even an ex-police bike from South Australia, complete with its lights and siren.  Some were in pretty good condition and some were very rundown.

The Black Stump Inn has an affiliation with
bikes in more ways than one.

Then around a corner was a BSA Bantom, and another, and another.  There were BSA's everywhere, and thrown in were a few AJS's and Vincents.  Bloody hell, I couldn't believe it.  We were told that British bikes were the preferred but the collection included almost everything.

 

There was even an original mid-70's Honda Goldwing, very ugly, yet very collectible.  Next to it was a Yamaha 750cc V-twin, essentially the forerunner to the Virago and Star range of bikes, so something I was pretty interested in.

 

I asked if there were any trail or motocross bikes and was shown a huge pile of bikes, literally a pile of bikes.  Apparently every now and then one will get pulled out, repaired and running and then given to one of the grand kids.  It was sad to see these bikes like this, as many are significant and collectible themselves. 

 

My first ever bike was a little MX80 Yamaha.  I think it was 1981 or 82 model, and I had it in 1986 I think.  It was a great little bike and I would like to restore one of these, although they are pretty hard to find.

 

What a great place to stay.

I asked if there might be one amongst all of the bikes and was told that there was possibly one around the corner.  We fought our way through a pile of washing machines and toilets, and was shown a small frame with no engine.  It had yellow guards and tank.  The guards were plastic indicating it wasn't the same as what I had, mine was all steel.  I was disappointed it wasn't the same bike and I don't even think the same model, yet I asked how much he would sell it for.  The response was "oh well, I'm not really sure if it is for sale, I might need it one day",  I knew immediately that this guy was a hoarder, so there was no point even going on.  Yet, I was pretty appreciative that he had taken the time to show us his "collection".

 

We went back into town to get breakfast before heading off to Bathurst.  The local bakery seemed like the perfect place and the breakfast pie was sensational.

 

While there we noticed a familiar figure walking towards us.  It was the big hairy man (I'll still keep his name to myself) from last night.  He wished us well and hoped that he would see us again one day.  Considering his past he was a genuinely nice guy and it was good to see he was getting his life sorted after so many years.  Good on him.

 

We headed off into a morning of glorious sunshine and were glad it wasn't too cold.  The idea was to ride to Mudgee, roughly the half way point, and refuel.  It was a pretty simple little ride and enjoyable in the sun.

The Mudgee Museum ... originally an Inn built in the 1820's.

Approaching Mudgee it was clear that it was a town that had done a great job to hang on to it's heritage and as soon as I saw a Heritage Museum I made the others stop.  They joked that it was the great steam engine out the front, apparently everyone knows I like a tractor, especially if they are steam.

 

We went in and a kind old lady from the Mudgee Heritage Trust gave us a brief explanation of the place.  It turns out it was actually an old Inn that had been built when Mudgee was first settled.  I was amazed to find that Mudgee was the second oldest inland town in New South Wales, possibly Australia, behind Bathurst.  In fact, settled in 1821, Mudgee was actually much older than Melbourne.

The Sunshine Harvester.

We took a look around at the collection.  There was some pretty amazing collections, but also horribly hideous ones.  I loved the collection of old machinery out in the backyard of the land, there was an old Packard Ambulance, I hope to hell they are restoring it.  There was also a beautiful little Austin A40, similar to what my old man used to own.  As well as a Sunshine Harvester, I wondered if the kids at Sunshine Primary School, who helped raised money knew that there school and suburb was named after this machine.

 

As I walked on there was an old church, I walked in expecting to see religious artifacts, and was horrified to find the entire place was filled with dolls.  I think I let out a gasp and almost soiled my undies.  The little buggers were creepy and all staring at me, for god sake, who the hell thinks that these things are cute and worth collecting.  They were bloody horrible, I know I'll have nightmares tonight.  I couldn't wait to get out of there.

OMG ... have a look at these evil little buggers.  Creepy!

We left and refuelled and then headed for Bathurst.  We took the Peel Road, which was sensational.  It took us up and over a number of mountains and deep in the valleys.  The corners were good enough to be taken at decent speeds, yet funnily enough, the whole time we were on this road, all I could think about was some of the conversations from last night, and the barmaid swearing like a trooper, telling people not "hang shit" on her or she "punched ya f'en lights out".  A couple of times I almost ran off the road I was laughing so much.

 

As we came over the last major hill we got a glimpse of Bathurst and a giant sign painted on the side of a hill, it said, Mount Panorama.  We were here.  The Mecca of Australian motorsport.

 

Obviously every room has a motorsport feel at the Ridges.

We past a number of stately homes towards the racetrack.  It's certainly not the first time I have been here but this time it felt more special and we were staying at the Ridges hotel, which is right on The Chase at the end of Conrod Straight.  That's right, on the very track.

 

We checked in and unloaded the bikes and immediately hit the race track.  Bar a few times per year these roads are actually public roads that service the numerous houses and business that skirt the track, so a 60kph speed limit had to be obeyed ... bugger.

 

After a few laps the general feeling was one of amazement at how steep the run up and down the mountain are.   It really does make it impressive to think how fast the guys who are racing drive over the top of it.

Bloody hell this thing is steep.

 

By now it was starting to get a little cold and dark and rain was threatening so we decided to call it a day, get something to eat, and then hit the hay.  Tomorrow we will check out the National Motor Racing Museum and then if the weather is OK head towards Parkes to see "The Dish", before turning south again and head for Cowra.  The weather forecast is looking terrible so who really knows what will happen?

 

Today we completed around 287 kilometres, taking the total to 6,290 kilometres.

Long Ride - Day 15 - Barraba to Coolah

Long Ride day 15 - Barraba to Coolah

Waking to a bitterly cold frost the intention today was to ride as far as Bathurst and get back on track, the intentions were good, but it was never going to happen.

 

We packed our bikes in the cold and said good bye to Richo, who wished us well and a safe ride, and said he'd like to see us back one day.  With his hospitality I'm certainly sure we would be back.  Then set off for Tamworth, 93 kilometres down the Fossickers Way. 

 

The air was bitingly cold which made the experience very unpleasant, personally I didn't give a crap about the scenery I just wanted to get to Tamworth for breakfast and to warm up.  Tamworth is supposedly the country music capital of Australia, I thought the whole town would be draped in that cheesiest of all music types, thankfully it wasn't and was actually quite a nice place.  The main street was as pretty as any others so far on this journey, although it was much busier.

Sitting with Slim in Tamworth.

We parked the bikes and found a cafe.  The breakfast and hot chocolate was much needed and certainly warmed things up.  Perfect.  We discussed the next plan of attack.  To visit the Golden Guitar museum and the head on for Bathurst, we might be able to make it before nightfall.

 

While looking for the giant guitar we came across the Powerhouse Motorcycle Museum, I'd forgotten that this place was around.  We took a detour and made a visit to it.  What was supposed to be a quick look around ended taking the best part of an hour and again our schedule looked like being forgotten.

 

The Powerhouse museum is one mans collection of motorcycles.  It's actually a very eclectic collection and not all bikes are significant pieces however, all have been restored lovingly and give a great insight into how bikes have changed and how different manufacturers deal with different designs.  Amongst the collection is a Honda 1000cc six cylinder and a Honda Rotary.  There's also plenty of British and European bikes.  I was a little disappointed to find there was only one Yamaha.

Plenty of Ducati's in Tamworth.

After talking about our bikes to John, the curator, we headed on towards the giant guitar.  It's a museum that has a giant golden guitar out the front of it and a was museum inside.  I was expecting something like Madam Tussuad's, what we got was a bunch of 5 foot tall statues, all based on a model of a shaved chimpanzee, and made from wax that looks like it might have come from a cheap tea light candle.  They weren't very life like.  Anyway, it did give a little of the history of country music, so I shouldn't criticise it too much.

 

We then refuelled and then headed for the direction of Bathurst.  Heading through Gunnadah and onto the Black Stump Way we took on some great roads, with plenty of sweeping corners and hilly terrain, with some magnificent views.  By now it was getting late in the day and tempers were getting a little frayed.  The thermos I had been carrying had managed to turn perfectly hot water into something resembling ice.  All I wanted was a nice warm cup of tomato soup and water I got was cold water with red powered.  Spinifex, if you happen to chance on this bloke and notice your name mentioned, your thermos' are useless.  They keep things no warmer than a plastic bottle.  The thermos was thrown in the bin, I was sick of carrying the extra wait for nothing.

 

By around 4pm we had reached and small town called Coolah.  With the temperature falling dramatically we decided to stop for the night and what better place than the pub we had pulled up out the front of.  The Black Stump Inn.

Shit!  The Thunderbirds Are Go!

We ventured in, got our room, and then were shown where we could park out bikes.  They graciously let us park them in the laundry.  We unpacked and then set about meeting the locals.  It was one of the best nights we have had on the ride so far and went on well past the time the barmaid wanted to close.

 

From this point on I won't mention names to protect the innocent but will give a count of what I can remember.

 

To start with all of the drinkers were men who had finished work for the day.  Most were shearers and roust abouts and all having a good laugh with each other, as they thinned out it was a clear than only a few would be staying on.  One bloke, short, fat and bald, approached me as he was leaving and said, "meet me here early in the morning and I'll show you a great collection of bikes."  I had no idea what he was on about but would take him up ion the offer.

As it started to get late we fell in with the locals and were made to feel very welcome.  The barmaid, as rough as guts, was F'ing this and C'ing that, but had a heart of gold.  Her pouring of drinks left a little to be desired, but I wasn't complaining, wine was filled right to the top and spirits were free poured.  This could get messy.

 

She was keen to show us her Doobie Stick.  A great metal rod used to keep the locals under control.  "Doobie Good".

 

Moving around the bar we had a bloke who was said to be the only true local.  I think he was s shearer and my god could he down a beer.  I'm sure I saw him down about 10 in the space of 30 minutes.

 

Next was the obligatory drunk.  A lady who looked like she was in her 60's but realistically I think she was probably 40.  She could barely stand, but kept on drinking and mumbling to herself.  Every now and then she would come out with an absolute pearl of wisdom.  She was harmless but ended up going home to make love with a slab of beer.

Doobie Good!

Next up was a couple.  I'm not really sure what the lady's story was, but the guy had a very interesting tale.  He was the caretaker of the pub and looked like Grizzly Adams.  He was a gentle giant of a man, who said he was originally from Melbourne and rode with a local motorcycle club.  This lead to a stint in Barwon prison (12 years) before he moved to Queensland and set about straightening out his life.  He moved to Coolah and seems to have been happy since.  He loved the fact that we were riding bikes.  The conversation with him eventually got to prostate cancer, yet he wasn't interested, he showed us a massive scar on his chest.  Having suffered 9 heart attacks, he had a different outlook on life, he has been given until September to live unless he can get a heart transplant ... he actually seemed content.

 

Next in line was a bloke who has been staying at the pub for the last two weeks.  He started off seeming alright but as the night wore on and he drank more he seemed to come down with a bad case of Turrets Syndrome.  Out of nowhere he would bang on about God and Gai Waterhouse.  It was bloody weird.

 

Then came in a guy who had lived in the area for 5 years.  He came in for some take aways and ended up staying.  His story was that he got 'glassed' by a group of aboriginals in Sydney and with his victims of crime payout he moved to the country to start a business.  He seemed like a nice guy but there was a bit more to him.

I could go on for hours about this lot.  It was one of the most interesting nights I have every had, I'm still laughing about it now.  The one thing I have to say about Coolah is that everyone is so friendly, and no one considers themselves a local, just rather a patient of a giant psych ward.  I can certainly see why.

 

We eventually headed off to bed, in a freezing cold room.  And were warned about the lady and little girl we might see during the night.  Nothing eventuated, but it seemed that this grand old hotel has a past ...

 

With all of the sightseeing done yesterday and the meeting of locals we missed out target of Bathurst and must get there today.  In total we rode 335 kilometres, which now takes us to 6,003 kilometres.