10/03/2013

I got a name of a bike rider/mechanic from Brett last night and went up to the Shell servo to find him. Yep, they knew him. He left Friday to Adelaide for the long weekend. $#@%!! Everything remotely to do with repair work was closed.. I went back to the servo and had a look around and came across some stuff called 'PermaWeld'. A high temp repair 'two part mix' for cracked blocks, cylinder heads and radiators amongst other uses. That will do I thought. It's worth a try.. I also picked up a small bottle of Stop Leak Concentrate that claims to work with any antifreeze. Nothing like using two bullets on the same target I thought :-)

Thoroughly cleaned the outside of the radiator then mixed the PermaWeld and used a pointed matchstick as an applicator. Filled every nick, holed or not and then put it outside to set.( 4+ hours to dry then abt 10+ hours before use). I reassembled it after 4 hours in 38+ degrees outside then installed it back onto the bike

Had to play around a bit to ensure the fan sat square to the radiator with a 6mm clearance all round. Getting in the coolant was a slow and labourious job as I had to keep squeezing the radiator hose to get the air bubbles out. (A bit like milking a cow :-)). Finally all the fairings are back on and the fuel tank reinstalled. ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO !! I'm hoping nothing will go wrong and will have an early start to beat some of the heat tomorrow.

11/03/2013

Up at 0600, packed up then headed to the Shell servo where I removed the fuel tank and rechecked the radiator. Only needed about 150ml !! Back on with the tank and on the road. I took the first 50k slowly and then stopped and checked for leaks. NON !! Then travelled the next 100k at about 100km/h then stopped and rechecked for leaks. NON !! After that it was 110km/h and the only stops were for fuel. Starting to warm up and the neck cooler that Rebecca and Brett bought me went on.  I had kept it moistened and in a ziplock bag in the cooler overnight and it was 'cool as'

Refuelled at Elrunda (Name translation -:> HOT AS HELL!!) 

Finally reached Alice Springs at about 1530 hrs and decided to take up Nicole's offer and stay the night at their place. A good home cooked meal, good conversation and a comfortable bed in an air-conditioned room, what more could a bloke on the road want ?? (and a couple of icy cold beers. Thanks Mark :-)).

12/03/2013 (Dad's Birthday)

Up at 0630 and reloaded the trailer and removed the fuel tank to check the radiator. It needed less than 100ml of coolant though the overflow tank needed about 250ml. All good!! I left Mark & Nicole's place at 0730 and was able to sit at a comfortable 120km/h and only stopped to refuel the bike (and myself as required). Tennant creek came and went. Then Elliot went by. 

Mataranka saw me looking down the barrel to Katherine and after 1180+ km I pulled up at the United servo to refuel. Whew!!! 1180+ km and it was 1930 hrs. I will have to get an 'ironbutt' badge this time!! This is the 6th time I have done a run of over 1100km but the only time I have had someone register the time I left and the time I arrived. (Alas, I was told, “unless it’s a sanctioned ride, it’s not counted as most motorcyclists do 1000km+ on a regular basis”) Do they now ??

Becks was waiting for me in Katherine and I stayed the night with her. She had it all organized :-) A glass of wine (or two), a BIG bowl of delicious pasta, a bloody hot plentiful shower and a large comfortable bed to crash on.

13/03/12

A VERY lazy day in Katherine starting with a coffee at the 'Coffee Club'. Becks joined me for that. Then up to the room to try to get some of this blog up to date. It was a stinker of a day and as this was the home run, so to speak, Becks suggested I hang around until she finished work at three. Some of the heat would have gone from the day. Checked the radiator, all OK. :-) Caught up with a couple of mates and next thing it was 1545.

1545 and off we headed with Becks up ahead in her car. Storms were building up and I kept an eye on a large one to my right but the road eventually veered away from it. The closer we got to Adelaide River the more storms were appearing, on both sides of the road. It looked as if I was destined to get wet before I got home. But.... the way cleared as we got closer to them.

Refueled at Adelaide River and on the road again. Only 100km before home, AND suddenly it was almost cold!! I could see where it had rained and moved on leaving puddles and ....... a coolness I had not felt since leaving Tasmania. Beauty!! An so it was until I was at the gate of home. Nearly 13,000km and I could have turned around and done it again !!

I put out a challange at the end of my last trip and there were no takers. Pity!! 

I’ve had a ball. Been freezing cold at Taraleah and damn hot at Elrunda. Pigged out on fresh fruit throughout Tasmania but in particular at Kate & Adam’s place. The prunes, ahhhhh the prunes... Oh yes, not to forget the blackberries and the plums and....... bugger !! it was all good and I STILL didn’t get to see or go everywhere !!

Maybe Next Time !! Coming ??

04/03/2013
Had a great day today. Went to the kids school and spent some time with them in their classes. In Liviul's class I helped a few kids with their maths. Liviul was going great guns with her maths. Then sat down with Niamh at lunchtime as she had her lunch. After lunch I spent time in Niam's class as she did a 'show and tell' in front of the class. I was the 'show and tell' I think it was the only time I have seen her lost for words :-) She did a great though in telling her class where I had been and where I was going :-) By then most of the school day had finished and I headed back to their place to grease the trailer bearings and tow hitch.

05/03/2013
Today was a wag day for the kids and we headed to the Canberra Botanical Gardens for the day. The kids had a ball with Niamh wanting to climb over or under everything. Why use the pathway?? After a bite to eat we headed to the Telstra tower where, again, Niamh had to run instead of walk :-) Going to be a hand full as she gets older !! :-)

Off to Costco (damn its BIG) then back to Yass.

Canberra from the Telstra Tower

06/03/2013

After seeing Livual and Niamh off to school I headed off to Port Agusta via Wagga Wagga, Mildura, Renmark etc. Just out of town I spied an old Merc and a jag on trailers. Beautiful cars. The owners were on their way to Canberra for a motor show.


 I stopped at Gundagai for a quick look. The old road bridge crossing the Murumbidgee river was 850m long. It was built where the original township stood. After a major flood which killed over 65 people they relocated the town onto higher ground. After a look around I then headed off.

The Hay Plains. Supposed to be the flattest in the world. My photo is a bit wonky :-)

The roads were pretty good and I made good time and ended up in a little place called Hay. The Hay plains claim to be the flattest place on earth and for over 80km all I saw was heavy use of flood irrigation. Mostly maize, sunflowers, lettuce and rice!! The paddocks that had no crops ran sheep. I stayed the night in Hay at another Big4 van park. This was the first night I didn't use a sleeping bag. It was warm all night.

07/03/2013
A slow start today as I thought I would have a quick look at the township. What I found was very interesting. The area had been selected as a major prison camp during WWII because it was (1) flat (2) away from major towns (3) away from the coast. Initially only a prison camp for European and Australian residents who were of Italian, German or Japanese decent. Most of those who were shipped from England were highly educated and people but because of their ethnic background were considered a risk to the country(?). Their story is fascinating and were, in fact encouraged, to set up market gardens to become self sufficient. They produced so much produce that the excess was shipped to Sydney and Melbourne to provide food to the major centres.

The cells, Now a museum

Was a prison, a Hospital, an Asylum and a girls home

It was not until later that
 real POW's were interred there. Mostly the Japanese. There were more securely guarded were eventually sent to other POW camps.

Leaving Hay I travelled another 80+ km before I saw my first hillock. Boy the countryside was flat !! I ended up in Renmark for the night at another Big4 park with a lawned area with power to set up my tent. Again, no sleeping bag required :-) The park was right on the banks of the Murrary river with house boats dotted everywhere. A beautiful spot!!

A flash looking houseboat

View 30m from my tent site

What a beauty!!

I parked at the bank I noticed a paddle steamer berthed near the visitors centre. Worth a look I thought. It was!!

I walked up to it with the view to just having a look and to take a photo but whilst I was taking a shot a bloke came up from the stern and invited on board for a closer look. I didn't need any encouragement !! :-) The 'INDUSTRY' is 102 years old and has plied the Murray river all its life. It is maintained by a group of volunteers and does a river run once a month and does charter work as required. It's current massive steam engine replaced the original back in the very early 1900's as it was too small. The engine was manufactured in Adelaide and is of rivet construction. One of the blokes I spoke to actually worked in that workshop until he retired and it was his father that participated in the construction of the present engine. It is so big that it had to be slotted in sideways then turned upright. It's a beautiful old queen of the Murray!! In this old girl's case the term B.O.A.T was well and truely justified as it was expensive to maintain. (B.O.A.T = Bring On Another Thousand)

BIG cranks

The starboard piston

Where it all happens

Just behind her was a huge barge (the ARGO, built in 1915) that was pushed and pulled along the Murray and used to dig irrigation channels and later used as a moveable pumping station. It was falling to pieces and was partially rebuilt at a cost of $52,000 and 10,000 man hours. When finished she will be turned into a floating museum. The core group of 6 workers on it are known as "Dad's Army" and their average age is 72. Just a young bunch of hoons by the sound of it :-)

Onward and ever onward they say.... I pushed on to Port Augusta, stopping briefly at the green shed, and about 30km out of Pimba the storm I had been keeping an eye on for some time started to get much closer. I stopped to put on the rain jacket just as the first drops fell. Man it was a big looking storm !!  The last 15km into Pimba the bike was heeled right over in the strong winds. About 1km out of the stop, down it came, bucketing!!! I pulled in at the servo, under cover, with rain spraying everywhere!! I decided to call it a day even though there was another 1 - 2 hours of daylight left.  A dry night in a $25 room sounded good....

09/03/2013

Sunrise at Pimba

  It rained most of the night but sometime during the night the power went out and the aircon didn't restart itself. I woke up on top of the bed sheets. Nothing to pack really so it was off to Woomera for a look-see before heading toward Coober Pedy.

Anti submarine

A jet training aircraft

A target drone

   Very interesting the amount of land that is still classified as restricted!! The static display of rockets and aircraft was interesting and worth the stop. As it was Saturday nothing opened until after 0900 and not wanting to wait that long I headed off. It started off cool enough and evidence of last nights storm was everywhere with surface water abounding. The closer I got to Coober Pedy the hotter it got. When I arrived it was 38 and I was feeling it.

I wheeled into the Shell servo and pulled up at a pump. As I hopped off the bike steam shot up between the handlebars and the instrument panel. Next thing was water running out under the bike !!!!!!! What the !!!!! There was nothing on the instrument panel to suggest overheating???

I pushed the bike around the side of the servo and after asking if it was OK to park on the concrete in the shade I pulled the fairing and the fuel tank off. The radiator looked OK, no hoses appeared blown ?? I went into the little restaurant to cool off and to allow the bike engine to cool down. When it had cooled down I used a funnel and slowly began to fill the radiator.

 Next thing water was pouring out of the middle of the radiator, bugger, bugger, bugger !! The radiator must be holed. I looked at it closely and all appeared OK so it must be on the other side. Put everything back on and gently cruised down to the van park, booked in for a couple of nights, then stripped everything off and pulled the radiator off. BLOODY HELL  !!  The fan, which I've never heard running, was sitting on a slight angle with one side touching the radiator. Enough to wear tiny holes through 11 cores. BLAST !! It's well after midday, tomorrow is Sunday and....... would you believe it!! Monday is a holiday and no motorcycle shop in town !!

A gap between fan and rad.

No gap bet fan and rad

Before repairs

After repairs

The fan system is protected by the exhaust system so it looks as if it's been like that from day one!! By now it's late and I call it a day........

Mikayla is driving :-)

26/02/2013
Adam took Kate into Hobart for her colonoscopy early this morning. Both Krystal and Rekysha went off school / Uni and left me with the three kids. Conner was easy. I walked him down the hill to the roadway and waited until the bus came. (abt 0820). The other two, Seb and Mikyla, I took to Preschool and stayed with them during their their time there. We went on a bus trip, somewhere, with Mikyla driving and Seb and myself as the passengers.

After preschool we went to Huonville for a feed of fish and chips. To their, and my dismay, the fish and chips shop was closed. Instead, I bought a loaf of sliced bread and we fed the ducks. By that time it was time to go back home and after a quick play on the swings, with both of them saying "higher opa, higher" we headed off and arrived home minutes before Adam and Kate arrived.

Kate was cactus so I knocked up a large pot of veg soup using anything I could find in the fridge for tea.

 27/02/2013
Raining today !! Decided to stay another day as the weather chart showed rain at Hobart, Launceston and Devonport.  Had a great day with Kate, Seb amd Mikayla and topped it off with a pork roast and roast veg. The apple sauce was made from freshly picked apples and was superb. What could I say after a meal like that ? Oink oink!!

28/02/2013
Said goodbye (again) to everyone and after a relaxed start headed to Launceston. As the bike was 500k overdue for a service I went to the Suzuki dealership to try to get a service today but It was too late in the day for them but they were willing to service the bike first thing tomorrow. As I was showing someone my bike I noticed a longish gouge on the back tyre and didn't feel happy travelling much further with it so went back in and booked it in for a rear tyre replacement as well. I booked into a caravan park for the night and had the roast pork meal that Kate had packed for me. Yum yum again !!

01/03/2013
Woke up to a sunny morning :-) Life must be casual in Launceston as the service side of the Suzuki dealership didn't open until 1000. Still, they started on my bike straight away. Apparently, because I had purchased a Pirelli tyre I received a pair of 90 degree valve stems ($40 a set) for free because of a Pirelli promotion. Bonus !! Now tyre checking will no longer be a pain !!.

On the way out of town I called into the Harley Cafe for a coffee and another look at the bike museum. The coffee was as good as I remembered it to be. The museum, whilst unchanged from my last visit, was still interesting. From there I picked all the back roads I could find on my way north. Sheffield was a refuel for both of us and a helmet clean at the servo's helmet cleaning station :-).

From there to Devonport through winding roads and hills. Beautiful (and sunny) to say the least. I went to the van park where I stayed last year and again was given a great spot to set up camp. A green level spot, overlooking the entrance to the city and a very short casual walk to the beach.

I think polished by glacier more than the sea

View of the Bass Strait

02/03/2013

Last day in Tasmania. I woke to a cloudless sky and not a drop of dew on the tent!! Not that it mattered today as the bloke running the place said not to worry about a 1000 departure. I could stay until 1700 if I wished!! I left the trailer behind and headed off to Burnie along all the coastal back roads I could find. Fantastic!! Unfortunately, all too soon, I had to head back and pick up the trailer and head to the ferry :-( I can't believe that 5 weeks in Tasmania went so quickly!!

I was the first bike at the gate but by the time they opened there were over 80 bikes lined up to board.  They loaded us up in one bunch and in the confines of the ferry it sounded like hundreds of unmuffled motors were ripping through the place. Talk about noisy!!

03/03/2012
We arrived early and were off the ferry before 0630. Bikes scattering in every direction. By the time I passed the Melbourne Convention Centre I was the only bike left. Did I say it was COLD!! Damn it was cold!! I pulled into the first servo I saw on my way out of Melbourne and put on my thermals and wet weather riding gear to keep warm. It was only 13 degrees but numbingly cold sitting on 100 km/h on the freeway. About 50k out of the city I pulled into a servo for a coffee and to layer on more clothes!! Inside were about 6 riders whom I recognised from the ferry. They all had their hands clasped around hot coffees and were complaining of the cold!! A couple were headed to Wodonga so we road together until then. By about 1000 I slowly started to shed the layers of clothing at every fuel stop until I was into my normal riding gear. Now it was getting hot.

I pulled into the big servo near Gundagai to refuel myself and the bike and spied a Ural complete with sidecar. I went over for a chat and she waxed lyrical on the comfort of the sidecar. They were a little older than myself and had just come down from QLD for a rally somewhere in VIC. I noticed a towbar and saw how simply it fitted between the bike and the car. There was nothing flash about the outfit. The bike was carburetted (no fuel injection here) and all four wheels (inc the spare) were identical. The seat reminded me of a tractor seat with a leather covering and springs under the seat. AND.... as he pointed out... reverse gear!! Very interesting !!

I finally arrived at Yass (780km) and as I reached Kylie's place Liviul came out and spotted me. That was it !! With her and, in particular, Niamh jumping up and down it seemed like a dozen kids :-) It was good to see them!!

23/02/13
Woke up to a sunny sky, hooray!! :-) I was packed and on my way by 0900. Had to stop at Banjos on my quick circuit  of the water front for a coffee to warm myself  up though..... (Too much coffee on this trip :-))

I headed  North, towards Cradle Mountain via Zeehan and Rosebery. About half way to Zeehan the clouds began to roll in from the coast. I stopped at Zeehan to put on the wet gear to keep me warm. By Rosebery it was raining (lightly) again! until 15km out from Cradle Mountain.

Button grass and peat

The country side between Strahan and Zeehan was mostly low grasses and peat. It was like walking on a wet mattress. The button grass has dark button like tips and is high in volatile oils. Aparently it burns quite hot!! It then gets the peat smouldering and one of the locals was saying that it may take months for it to go out!!

The blustery winds along with the rain and I was feeling the cold through my (supposedly) winter gloves. By the time I reached the visitors centre my fingers were close to being frozen! The rain had stopped and the sun was finally out, but the wind!! Damn cold ..

High in the blustry winds looking toward Cradle Mountain, The valley is button grass and peat.

The first thing I spied when I walked in was a rack of thin thermal gloves. At $15 a pair were on my hands in a flash :-) Bliss. I paid for a day pass and after a warming coffee and a beef burger with the lot I was ready to explore the park.

Just in the park, as I came over a rise, I saw the officer with his hair drier aimed at me. I was OK, I thought, as I was about 10km below the limit. He waved me down though. WHAT??? It turned out that he had seen the trailer and just wanted to have a look at it and to chat, whew!! :--) By the time I left him I had a list of good bike roads to investigate. (He owned several bikes and rode on his  days off :-))

Another 100m through the park and there was a ranger blocking half the road with his 4x4 and indicating for me to pull up. He wanted to see my day pass. By the time I got one glove off and removed my helmet he had walked to the back of the bike and had seen the NT plates. He was no longer interested in seeing the pass but wanted to talk about the warmth of the Territory. He had been a ranger at 'the rock' for 10 years and while he loved Tasmania he missed the heat of the NT. :-) Go figure !! Again, he too was a motorcyclist and talked about a few good roads to travel. ( that, apart from family, was a  drawcard for him to come here)

Cradle Mountain with Dove Lake in the foreground

The sun was in full bore now but the wind was lazy!!! The Cradle Mt area is beautiful and I went on several short (30 - 45 min) walks. In the King Billy Pine forest there was wombat crap everywhere!! This area of Tasmania is thick with them... In the shade, with the wind, it was almost shivering cold. No wind in the forest though as it was too  thickly wooded. A large bowl of wombat stew and some crusty bread would have gone down well :-)

It was getting on and I didn't fancy staying up on the mountain for the night so I headed back down and towards a small ex hydro village called Gowrie Park (just south of Sheffield) where I stayed in a cabin for $30. A HOT plentiful shower was the first thing, then a quick stir-fry of fresh  chopped veges and noodles topped off with a glass of a classic white and I was off to a dry room with double blankets for the night.

24/02/13
Up early this morning. Heavily overcast ??? The weather man had promiised a sunny day !!!. I checked it out. Sunny for the East coast.  I was on the West side of the island. Prediction; rain!!  Sure enough, by the time I had breakfast and packed the trailer it had started. Lightly at first.

I had to back-track a km to get onto the Mole Creek road. By then it was a heavier drizzlle. The road wasted no time in going up the mountain with switchback after switchback. The forest was  heavy and in numerous places covered the roadway. With 'slippery when wet' signs on every corner I was taking it VERY easy. Coupled with the rain and low (road height) cloud obscuring the road, there was a definate clenching of the cheeks on a few of the tighter corners. There would have been some glorious views without the rain and heavy cloud.

I called into the King Soloman's caves. It was closed today due to the weather!! Missed out again (last year I had lost my wallet and they would not take cash, only card)!!  On to Mole Creek, still in the rain, where the servo had closed down by the look of it. I still had enough fuel for about 100km so I was not worried as the  small towns are only 30 - 40 km apart at the worst.

Was about to ride through Chudliegh to Deloraine when I passed the honey shop / museum. Worth a stop I thought. After shedding the wet outer gear on their verandah I went into the warmth of the building. Beautiful!! So many varieties and all the natural varieties had not been heat treated as is the norm for the commercial honeys. I sampled quite a few, even the blended produce. I settled on the leatherwood as I liked the taste of that honey. They had  honeys blended with things like caramel, strawberries, chocolate, ginseng and truffles to name a few.

The museum section was very interesting and  I spent the better part  of an hour looking and reading about early honey production in Tasmaia. The early hives were made of grasses internally coated with dung to keep them waterproof. There were no racks in them as today but reeds were hung and the bees attached their combs to them.

A Dodge Fire car

Time to go and onto Deloraine where I refuelled the bike and myself. It was still raining but the road had levelled out after Mole Creek and the coners ware all above a recommended 45km/h. From there to Westbury where the steam  engine museum was housed...

One of the many German tractors

Operational Traction Engine

There were three of these operational

Still raining  when I reached the museum. Two big sheds full of steam operated tractors, some completely restored  and operational. Massive machines!! There were conventionally styled diesel and petrol farm tractors from pre WW2, most of which were of German origin..

There was even a steam powered 16ft open boat!!

There was an interesting pair of steam traction engines that were made and used as a pair. One had a huge cable drum on the left, the other on the right. One would be on one side of a field to be ploughed and one on the other. The heavy plough would be winched across the field by one then the other would pull it back, ploughing as it was skull dragged over the paddock. The engines were setup to move forward the width of the furrows and then the same would happen again. This went on until the whole field was done. Engenious!!









Time to go and I picked the back roads to head back to Franklin. I was going to be baby sitting whilst Kate was in hospital for the day.

The rain had eased to a drizzle again I headed South with a bit more speed as the roads were through farming country and were generally straight with the corners being 90 degree bends until I  started climbing up towards a small hydro village called Poatina. I pulled in for a coffee. Expresso machine was not working !!!!!! Had a cup of tea instead :-) It was STILL raining!!

Onward ever onward they say and by now I was looking for somewhere to stay the night. As I left Poatina it started to really bucket down, not only that but the roas started climbing quite quickly and that ment sharp hairpin corners, and, 'slippery when wet' signs everywhere !! I tucked behind the screen a little, clenched the butt cheeks and hit every corner with respect. Halfway up the mountain I saw a bunch of riders huddled under a small tarp, their bikes out in the heavy rain. They probably couldn't believe their eyes !!! Some clown riding up the cliff face in pouring freezing driving rain !!

They didn't know I was frozen to the seat and that my hands had death gripped the handle bars :-)

I eventually reached the top and as I crossed to the other side the rain just stopped. Must have been a master tap somewhere... Not only that, the sun was out and there was very little cloud in front of me... AND ,,, it was warmer!!! What gives ??  Ahhhh, orographic lift in action !! :-)  From there through to New Norfolk it was sunny and having made good time on the now 'Harley Road' I decided to push on to Franklin and Kate & Adam's place. I arrived at about 1830 after a wettish long day.

 That was it for me and early into the sack, having kicked Rekysha out of her bed once more.