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!!