West Darling Athletics Carnival

We are off!

Left Coomie High at about 0735 with about 45 students.

znark - From on the road.

New Photos

I've been uploading some new photos to Flickr and and have created a Smugmug account where I will be posting higher resolution images.

I am in the process of touching-up my Jan 2008 trip photos now that I know how to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom a bit better. (Brilliant program by the way!)

Hope you enjoy.

Drool!

I want one!!



The New Telsa Roadster - All electric sports car!

Ewan & Charlie are wimps!

This puts my wimpy trip into perspective.

Ewan & Charlie did a shorter trip in Long Way Round and Long Way Down fully supported. Robbo is doing it unsupported!

He's survived the Sahara, being held a gunpoint by a drunken cop, land mines, parasitic infections and now some total tosser has flogged his bike and his way of completing his tip and getting back home. He is stranded in Dubai. Help him complete his trip and get home.

9 Days Later

Well I've been back a work for just over a week now, and I've been enjoying it quite a bit. But I still need to get to bed earlier. That's where I should be now.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how to train yourself to get to bed at a reasonable hour?

I took my Nikon D80 in to get the sensor cleaned today. The guy at the camera shop said he couldn't find any crap on the sensor so he didn't even try to clean it. However I tested it and I found there was heaps, didn't matter what lens, f-stop or focus. So I'll have to take it back in and make sure he cleans it this time.

Back To Work Tomorrow

And I'm not really looking forward to going back. But it is time. Been a long break and I reckon I've gotten into the habit of holidays.

I guess I'd better go to bed considering I need to get up a bit earlier than I have been. (Try 3hrs earlier :-0 )

Road Trip Jan 2008 Photos - Finally!

I just posted 83 photos of my trip around the coast on Flickr.

On most photos I did some minor adjustment in Abobe Photoshop Lightroom, like levelling and cropping for recomposing, exposure and vibrance adjustments.

There are 3 panoramas that I posted as well. The smallest is of Blue Lake in Mt Gambier composed of 2 photos taken in landscape format. The panorama at Coorong is composed of 6 photos taken in landscape orientation. The biggest, at "Mt" Wycheproof (a whole 43 m) is composed of 17 photographs taken in portrait orientation.

There are some obvious artefacts from the joining process. So don't look too close. I used Abobe Photoshop CS2 using the automated Photomerge. To the Coorong panorama I did a bit of manual dodge & burn in Photoshop and increased vibrance a bit in Lightroom.

Enjoy!

Riding Bikes - A Documentary

Came across this on Biker Swag

Distance, Cost & Economy

Town                                   Cost   Economy
               Dist     Sum       l     /l    l/100km
Merbein
Yamba          117.7    117.7   13.21   $1.539  11.22
Karoonda (U)   152.9    270.6   11.36   $1.456   7.43

Adelaide       207.8    478.4   14.96   $1.409   7.20
Meningie       153.1    631.5   10.74   $1.519   7.02
Kingston SE    151.8    783.3   12.67   $1.499   8.35

Millicent      205.5    988.8   15.37   $1.509   7.48
Nelson         146.8   1135.6   10.72   $1.539   7.30

Warrnambool    194.8   1330.4   13.94   $1.549   7.16
Apollo Bay     205.7   1536.1   13.59   $1.599   6.61

Melbourne      219.9   1756.0   12.58   $1.449   5.72

Bendigo        179.2   1935.3   11.89   $1.509   6.63
Sea Lake (U)   214.2   2149.5   12.62   $1.459   5.89
Merbein        202.1   2351.6   12.80   $1.509   6.33

Totals                 2351.6 km      $250.17
                               166.45 l          7.08

Home Again

Made it home safe and sound. Left Bendigo at about 10am after getting fuel. I stopped at Wycheproof and bought some apples and Almonds to eat. Stopped at Sea Lake for fuel and at Oyuen for a rest. It started getting warm arounf Wycheproof but not to bad.

I couldn't resist. I had to run the spiders web when I hit Red Cliffs.

Fueled up in Merbein at about 1540. I'll calculate the distance, fuel, fuel prices and accommodation costs soon and post them.

I'll post some of the better photos from mt DSLR up on Flickr when I've had a chance to shrink and upload them.

Where to next? :-)

Last Night On The Road

I decided not to stay in Melboune. Mainly to reduce the travel time. But also because I'd had enough of the city. So I continued on to Bendigo and am spending the night here.

I stopped at Peter Stevens in Elizabeth St for some thing they didn't have but it was an experience seeing a motorcycle dealer that size. I also found a good shop for digital camera accessories.

So to bed for the last leg. 405 km till home.
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Brad (From on the road)

Melbourne

Before I left Torquay this morning I stopped off at Bell's Beach. Looks like a very nice surfing beach.

Coming into Melbourne on the freeway I saw the sign for the RAAF museum at Point Cook, so on a whim I decided to check it out. Glad I did! Got to see a aerobatic display of a restored P51 Mustang. I took some pictures of the static displays.

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Brad (From on the road)

Last of the GOR

Riding again was fantastic, though not of the caliber of the Otways. Speed limit for the whole distance has been dropped to 80 km/h even for the well maintained long straight sections. But it didn't really matter most of it was corners.

Some corners need to be posted at lower speeds because of the nature of the corner. They should put up a sign like ''45 km/h, surface'' or ''radius'' or "camber'' or ''decreasing radius''. You get the idea I hope.

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Brad (From on the road)

Torquay

I arrived here about 20:00. Kitchen closes at 20:30 so I'd better hurry.
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Brad (From on the road)

Apollo Bay

Just a quick stop here and then on to Torquay. What more can I say that I haven't already said (or not said) about riding in Otways. More of the same pure riding bliss. Again no photos.

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Brad (From on the road)

Trees and Silurians

Took a 2 hour detour to see the tree top walk 19 km out of Laver's Hill. I'll let the pictures speak.

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Brad (From on the road)

Words fail me

And I took no pictures. The ride from Port Campbell to Lavers Hill ... Riding paradise!

Sweeping bends, well made roads bathed in dappled sunlight, the aroma of ecalyptas and damp undergrowth filtering through my helmet as line up the next series of seemingly endless perfection of bends. My bike is made for places like this. I barely have to change gears.

But this realy doesn't convey the moment, the feeling ...

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Brad (From on the road)

Loch Ard Gorge

The site where the Loch Ard was ship wrecked at 4 am on the 1st June 1878.

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Brad (From on the road)

The 12(11) Apostles

Words are not enough and pictures do not suffice. They are all I have ...

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Brad (From on the road)

The Grotto

A few kilometres up the coast ....

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Brad (From on the road)

The London Bridge has fallen down

But I guess u all knew that

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Brad (From on the road)

Bay of Islands

First stop after Warrnambool is here at Bay of Islands. Pictures, by no means do this place justice. But I had a go anyway. Weather is perfect. Sun shining, light costa sea breeze. This is what I come for.

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Brad (From on the road)

Warrnambool

It was a much better day today. I think the modifications on my helmet worked. The wind wasn't as strong today but it still made it tiring.

Getting here took about 4 hours longer than the distance would indicate because I was stopping so many times for photos. I feel like a bloody tourist! Oh wait! I am.

I took the wrong turn off coming out of Mt Gambier and so added about 50 km to the journey but the connecting road from the Princess Highway to the Portland Nelson Road through the Lower Glenelg National Park was worth it. Excellent road, beautiful scenery. The coastal road was much more interesting than the highway too.

As I was getting ready to go get some tea I checked the tyre pressure because the bike had been handling poorly I thought it might be down a bit. The rear tyre wasn't, it was down a lot. Almost flat! Judging by the state of the tyre I'd say it had been like that all day. I think the life of the tyre had been shortened to one half or a third of it's expected life. One of the angled valve stems I had put on before I left had vibrated loose and let the air out. Brand new tyre too. ''All's well that end's well', my old gaffer used to say' (pick that reference)

Time for bed I think.
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Brad (From on the road)

The Crags

I stopped at the Craggs just out of Port Fairy, but again I forgot to take photos with my phone. Have a look at my Flickr in a week.
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Brad (From on the road)

More windfarms

This windfarm was not far from portland. It's a very special one because it was opened by the honourable Steve Bracks. (That was scarsam for those that couldn't tell)

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Brad (From on the road)

Portland

I stopped at Portland for a while. They had one big ship in dock and an oil drilling platform. The size of the platform has to be seen to be believed!

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Brad (From on the road)

Mt Gambier

Well I arrived in Mt Gambier around 1300 had some lunch and went to see the lakes. I forgot to take some photos with my phone so I cant post any. I'll put up the ones I did take on Flickr when I get home.

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Brad (From on the road)

Windfarm!

I took a detour just after I passed through Milicent. Took me a bit more than an hour with stopping for photos. These things are huge!

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Brad (From on the road)

Sore Neck

Woke up with a sore neck this morning. And no wonder. I looked at the weather observations for Robe and I had a steady 50 km/h head wind with gusts up to 70 km/h. It was like riding at 160 - 180 km/h.

I removed some of the padding around the ears in my new helmet to hopefuly stop the pain.

I'm going to have a quick browse around Robe and then head off to Mt Gambier.

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Brad (From on the road)

Robe

Well I made it to Robe. I am stuffed!! What an ugly day to ride. The wind was disgusting. And my new helmet is giving my ears hell! I think it might be a combination of a new helmet and my custom fit ear plugs.

To top the day off I dropped the bike. I was in the tourist information car park and I was leaning down to pick up something I dropped on the ground and a gust of that disgusting wind caught the top heavy bike and it overbalanced. I tried to hold it but she fell. My new helmet fell on the ground, and the tankbag with my camera in it rolled off the tank onto the ground

The camera and helmet are ok, no damage. Thank God! The right hand blinker snapped off and the right hand Staintune now has a dent in it. Sometimes biking really sucks. After I rode to the Inn and unloaded the bike I fixed the blinker with some gaffer that I had taped under the seat. It should hold up alright at legal speeds.

So after such a crappy day I decided to go to a restaurant. I jumped back on the bike and went for a cruise to look for one. Then I found the coast. I had to go back and get my camera before the light disappeared.

Now I am sitting in a quiet little restaurant, called the Cottage Restaurant at the Guichen Bay Motel ,just having finished a very nice fisherman's basket and a piece of passion fruit cheesecake (compliments to the chef), stuff the diet after a day like today.
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Brad (From on the road)

Leaving Adelaide, Finally!

It's 1335 and I'm about to leave my mate's place. It's taken so long to move off because I've been in at Peter Stevens Motorcycles buying a new helmet and boots. I got a KBC VR-2 Gunslinger and a pair of Alpinestars touring boots.

The service I received from a female shop assistant there was exempelary! (give her a pay rise boss) Thanks you very much.

I'm going to Robe via the magic roads I traveledbon yesterday. It will be fun!
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Brad (From on the road)

Adelaide

I spent, it seems, an hour in Karoonda. I don't know where the time went.

As time was starting to get away from me I decided to go straight to Troy's place via Strathalbyn. So I took the ferry at Tailem Bend. What a great decision that turned out to be!

The road between Strath and Happy Valley Reservoir was magic! (apart from the traffic I encountered) I needed someone on the back to take photos as I road. Some of the sceens were breathtaking but there was nowhere to stop and take a photo.
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Brad (From on the road)

Karoonda

Got to Karoonda about 1335. Been a bit of a long haul because of a ~20 km/h head wind. Stopped here for a faux lunch break and to give my back and ears a rest

I need a new helmet! This one is so noisy since I lost all that weight. And it is getting old.

It's been overcast most of the but it is beginning to break up now and a bit of sun coming through. Warming up to a comfortable temperature as a consequence.

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Brad (From on the road)

Yamba

The countryside between here and home, whilst still showing the effects of a long drought looks like it on the way to recovery. There are patches of green appearing and may paddocks either layinf fallow or seeded for the next crop.
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Brad (From on the road)

Cullulleraine

I left Merbein at about 1040 got here at about 1115. Just stopped to check the load and make a few adjustments.

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Brad (From on the road)

Ready to go!

Bike is packed, as you can see, and I'm off to Merbein to get some fuel. From there it is on to Adelaide.

I've decided to leave my tent and matress home as I have been able to book accomadation for every night but the last.

So that's it I'm off! w00t!

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Brad (From on the road - at last!)

Proposed Route

This is the way I will probably go once I leave Adelaide.


View Larger Map

I intend to leave Adelaide around Lunch time on Monday.

I have also added a bit more content:
Random YouTube Videos
A section where I can post links of interest
A Flickr bar which links to my Flickr photos

Arrrrgh!

This is rooly annoying!!

Why wont Google maps work at home!? Works fine at work and at church and at a mates place, without changing any settings. I reckon it is probably my new Belkin ADSL wireless router, because it worked fine on my Linksys untill that one died. Another option is my ISP is screwing things up.

The Google Maps Help Group whilst very informative was no help. /cry

If anyone knows how to fix plz help me!

Toys! Many Toys!

Well over the past few weeks I have had a spending spree on new toys getting ready for this trip.

(I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, I am just a very satisfied customer)

I got a heap of stuff from Andy Strapz, including a Boot Bag some Loopz, a Suff Sakz and some Double D Ring Strapz. I already have some Flatstrapz.

I also recieved a Medium Cruiser Airhawk from, "The Airhawk Guy". I loved his service! Free postage in Australia, express too.

From Aussie Disposals I have bought a neck cooler, (soak in water for 15 minutes max and then knot it around your neck to keep you cool) waterproof bags for packing my electronics (Nikon D80, iPod Nano, Palm Treo 750) and clothes in ( a smaller version of the Suff Sakz without the double ended opening) and some tie down straps.

Ray's Outdoors has been invaluable with sleeping bag and mat, more tie-down straps (can never have too many of these), a new bag for my old dome tent. (the other one died a long time ago), and a Pacsafe 140 for security to cover my luggage when strapped to the bike.

I received in the mail today my Powerlet stuff from Bluerim the Australian distributors. I just finished installing it.

A few weeks ago (before Christmas) in anticipation of a trip some time I installed a Scott Oiler with a Dual Injector from, The Chain gang.

The following couple of entries will have details of how I put together the Powerlet Kit, Scott Oiler and Speedo Healer. Did I mention the Speedo Healer? No probably not, because that was a while ago that I installed it. Anyway, I got that From Australian Motorcycle Components (Look under Instrumentation).

Have I even mention what motorcycle I have? No!? Really!? How remiss of me. I have a beautiful 2005 Honda Firestorm VTR1000F5. She is matte black with after-market Stainetune pipes.

That will probably do for now. I'm sure there is more I've forgotten. If I have, I will post details of them later.

Test Post

(tap tap) Check 1 2 check 1 2
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Brad (on the road - well not quite)

Getting Ready

I've been wanting to do this for a long time. However I just haven't had the resources to do it.

Do what? Oh! Sorry, I forgot to tell you in the excitement.

I'm going on a motorbike tour! (w00t!)It has been a long time. Last time was on my Suzuki GSX11000EZ, when I rode down to Phillip Island for the 1998 MotoGP. Has it been almost 10 years already? That was the year the mighty Mick Doohan won at the Island. An historic moment!

Where was I? The trip. I'm going to ride to Adelaide on Sunday, depending on the weather. It has been very hot recently and I'm not to keen to be riding any sort of distance in high temperatures (+38ºC / +100ºF). Hopefully going to stay with a few mates along the way. I'll keep you informed as to how I'm going.

I have just attempted to set up mobile access to this blog so I will probably be able to post whilst on the road. Actually, I'll try a test now to see if it is set up properly.