Motorcycle Adventures

Hi Again,

Here are a few photos from the trip.  The weather really wasn’t ideal for photos and it was difficult to stop to take them when the weather was favorable.  Here are a few photos:

Long ride to NSW day 4

Back home I must go. It has been a short but rich visit. I’m really glad I came. I have finally seen so much more of the Aussie countryside and finally caught up with friends.

I have felt so incredibly welcome ay Mel and Marks and am really grateful for such generosity and hospitality. I had only given one day notice of my potential trip and felt so very welcomed. It was a great visit. I hope to make it up this way again soon but fear it may be some time before I have the time to come and where the weather is favourable for such a long motorcycle trip.

The trip back today was uneventful but equally as beautiful. Another great warm day but with been more sun than before. The Princess Highway is really a great road for motorcycle riding. A quicker rout exists via the Hume highway and promises to save a couple hours between Melbourne and Sydney, but it lacks the variety and undulations of the older and more interesting Princess Hwy.

I made today the longer travel day. I left and 9am and finally arrived at Lakes Entrance just before 6pm. Another lovely town, Lakes Entrance seems to have a heritage of fishing. Indeed outside my window are more than 50 fishing boats of various sizes.

I went for a long barefoot walk, did some shopping for dinner supplies, spoke to Nicole whim I kiss very much, and am about to go to bed.

Tomorrow I head back early and should arrive early enough for Nicole and I to enjoy an afternoon together to celebrate Australia day, which is of course a paid day off for us.

We live in a great part of the word.

I will post photos and video in the next couple days.

Day Three

Today has been a lot of fun!

I sleep well in my comfy bed. I was very pleased to stay in the brand new guest room that Melissa and Mark have just finished building. The bed was very comfortable, and the adjoining private bathroom was really nice. The shower, with all its space and water pressure was an invigorating way to get clean.

After breakfast and a very pleasant visit with family friends who came over for a quick visit, we climbed into the car and went for a drive that took us into the tree-tops!

This was very cool. In a rain forrest about 30 minutes from where Mel and Mark live is a tourist attraction that takes you up into the tree tops using a collection of elevated walkways. It’s a great experience as you walk along above the trees, enjoying the views all around you and learning about the Australian flora.

After our tree top adventure we had a lovely lunch in a restaurant specialising in fine cheese. Then it was off to the local sea-fed lake where we went for a long walk only to get caught in a rain storm! It was great fun. The air was so warm that the rain was a great way to cool off and we felt like kids as we walked amongst the sand dunes and watched the surf. We were completely wet by the time we got back to the car so it was back home to dry off.

Then it was off to dinner on the deck of a pub overlooking the water in. Nearby village, and then back home to enjoy some more conversation and ice wine. It was really lovely!

Then off to bed for another early day of riding.

Long ride to New South Wales Day 2

After going to bed early I was up early on Sunday. I cleaned my Windscreen, dried off the water from the overnight sprinkle of rain, and got ready to go.

The countryside only got better. The weather, while not fantastic for photography was actually really nice for riding. Temps of 24 – 29 under cloudy skies is really quite perfect. Nice and warm even at higher speeds and not too hot from the sun.

The trip was around 350km and I arrived at 2pm. It’s hard to judge driving time on a motorcycle I’ve discovered.

The ride was even more beautiful than the day before. Wonderful winding roads, little towns that all looked inviting, and great weather.

It was great to see my friends and it was great to finally see their place and the surroundings I’ve heard so much about over the years. They live in a gorgeous place overlooking beautiful rolling hill of green grass, hay bails, and palm trees. I never expected Australia to look the way it does. It is not just a big desert. It is an extraordinary collection of plants and animals and a unique world. It all seems prehistoric, and in many ways it is. It isn’t until I’ve had the chance to see more of Australia that it’s really become obvious.

It is very dry in places, but it also has it’s own unique rain forests and areas of rich soil and abundant green plant life.

We had a very pleasant evening catching up, going grocery shopping, and making dinner before settling down for some more good conversation and dessert wine. All very nice indeed.

Long ride to New South Wales Day 1

It was only yesterday when I decided what I would do with my 5 day long weekend. While at work I sent a message to my friend Melissa who lives a little south of Sydney. I asked if she would be open to a rather unexpected visitor from a certain motorcycle rider and she very kindly welcomed me to come visit.

This had been a visit that is long overdue. I had hoped there would be opportunity many months ago but time or money always prevented a visit until now.

So it was with some quick planning that I decided to ride up this weekend. I have from Saturday to Wednesday off, and so it’s really a great opportunity to visit.

I’m Breaking up the ride I to two days. Today was day one. The ride today covered about 650km.

It had been really great to get out of the city properly and see some of the Australian countryside. All of the riding I have been able to do so far has been very similar. I’ve been amazed by the consistency of the scenery around Melbourne. Not only does one town look very much like another, but the streets, vegetation and general atmosphere are shockingly similar. Of course the destinations each have their own uniqueness, the varied scenery so close to the doorstep of Vancouver living can not be easily found in Melbourne.

I chose to ride the entire route up to Sydney along the Princess Highway. The Princess Highway is part of a network of highways collectively called highway number 1 (sound familiar?) Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi) it is the longest national highway in the world, longer than the Trans-Siberian Highway (over 11,000 km [6,800 mi]) and the Trans-Canada Highway (8,030 km [4,990 mi]).

Last night I installed a USB power socket in order to be able to charge my iPhone on the road, as well as LED lighting in the glove boxes. The bike is now officially finished – just in time for the first long trip!

I got up at 6.30am this morning, quickly packed, and then went to the grocery store to buy some snacks for the road. I set off at exactly 9:15 with a planned arrival for a rest stop around 5pm.

The first hour and a half were spent making my way out of the suburbs of Melbourne. I then promptly hit colder and wetter weather for the next couple of hours. The scenery doesn’t change much as one winds ones way east. Once I headed north, however, things started to get more interesting. Finally I hit the scenery I was hoping for. The sun came out for a while and the boring sameness of the morning opened up to beautiful winding roads sandwiched in between beautiful rolling hills of sheep, goats, and cows. This gave way to hours of delicious riding through Australian rain forrest. Beautiful scenery to say the least, and really satisfying riding. Despite a very long ride, I arrived at 5:13 not feeling nearly as spent as I thought I would be. It’s so great to be back on my bike and riding again. It feels so great to be able to explore a new country. It feels so great t be on a little adventure.

I had planned to tent for the night but after not having any luck with making a booking and increasing cloud, I decided that I would try and find a motel. I found a good deal on a nice room. It’s right in the middle of the side side town of Merimbula. Merimbula sits right in the corner of two lakes and right on the edge of the Tasman Sea. The motel is unusual in terms of the Canadian standard but very nice. There is a little mini kitchen area including a fridge and microwave. Strangely no air conditioning but the night is not too warm for that to be a problem.

Merimbula is a coastal town on the Far South Coast or Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is called the Sappire Coast due to the amazingly deep blue of the ocean. Merimbula has a population of about 4000 people. It serves predominantly as a tourist town. Merimbula is Aboriginal for ‘two lakes’

Tomorrow morning I’ll be off for the reminder of the ride. I have done the majority today with only about 350km left tomorrow. Not sure if I’ll have a chance to make it j to Sydney itself on this trip, but it has already been worth it and there is so much more to enjoy!

Off for an early night of sleep.

It has been a wonderful week and weekend of riding.

The wet weather finally abated late last week allowing for some great riding over the last couple of days.  As part of the break-in process I had to be careful not to ride too long on the freeway, but I managed to get some great riding in over my long weekend despite the restrictions.  It feels so great to be back on the bike again!

On Saturday I took off to visit the famous Phillip Island.  This is an attraction that all tourists visiting Melbourne seem to visit.  Mainly this is for a local Penguin colony that resides on the island.  At dusk they come out of the water to sit on the rocks during the night.  I meanwhile came for the ride and not the penguins.  It was a lovely ride, though it was a relatively short distance that ended up taking almost all day.

Sunday took me to the Mornington Peninsula for a shorter morning ride.  The road winds it way along the coast, though I can’t say this was my favorite ride.  It’s clearly a nice place to live, but as the road doesn’t actually follow the water and spends most it’s time in reasonably thick traffic it’s a bit like riding through the CBD.  The rest of the day was spent with Nicole.  We had a wonderful time together.

On Monday I enjoyed a full day of riding.  The route took me from Melboune to a town called Shepperton, then through to Bendigo and home again.  It was a wonderful ride through beautiful countryside and great little towns.  I didn’t stop much to explore but look forward to doing so in the future.  It will be nice to take some more time in these little towns.  Bendigo in particular is a place we would love to spend more time in – it was the place we found the Bats on our last trip, but didn’t have more time to explore.  The route below is roughly where I went however I took a number of smaller roads to keep the freeway driving to a minimum.  It was a long day, but a great day!

Again, I didn’t do much stopping – it was really all about the riding this day, but I did take a couple snapshots.  Nothing of incredible beauty, but I did come across a grocery store that has shaded parking for all the cars – I thought this was such a great idea…  Keep the cars cool while you shop.. How great is that.

I thought I would take a moment, for anyone who might be interested (warning this is geeky) to talk about the new installations for my Burgman.

Starcom1 system – Last time around I installed the Starcom1 Advance system.  This was very good although with everything I was connecting this time I thought it would be better to get the Starcom1 Digital as the hope was that it would do a better job of dealing with all the various inputs.  I was right and it does a great job of juggling the radio, music, and GPS signals.  I can also speak on my phone through the gps, get GPS directions and sounds, and speak through the radio of course.  All this is manages well and without conflict.

I installed the Starcome1 system under the seat as before.  Indeed this is the best place as there is a spot where a little tool kit normally sits that is the perfect size for the Starcom1.

I installed a PTT button on the left handlebar – it works great and has an updated button that I like a bit better.  There isn’t as much travel and so pushing it (and holding it) isn’t as difficult. I also have a volume control in the upper left storage compartment along with the music lead for the iPhone.

The CB radio controller and display is mounted in the glove compartment with the main unit in the trunk.  The arial is mounted behind the passenger seat.

The GPS of course is mounted and centred on the handlebars.  It is also connected via an upgraded anti-theft system that makes it very difficult to remove the mount, and also difficult to remove the GPS when connected. It requires a key to take the GPS out.  This is great as when I’m on the road and want to stop for a break or for petrol I won’t need to take off the GPS.  The GPS is also waterproof, very bright, and resistant to damage caused by fuel and oil spillage.  It is wired directly into into a switched electrical circuit

The CB is connected to a fused and switched system that turns off power to the CB when the bike is not on.  Everything is wired this way so that the battery can not be accidentally drained.

There are a couple more parts to still install but they are very small.  A USB power charger will be mounted in the left – hand glove box so that the iphone can be charged while I’m under way.  I have also ordered tiny led lights that will be installed in the glove box areas and in the trunk to make seeing what’s in the glove compartments easy.

It’s been such a pleasure installing these items.  With my previous experience combined with careful planning I’ve been able to install everything exactly the way I want it, perfectly, the first time.  In this way this Burgman is better than the last.  Everything is set up perfectly.  Now, if it would only stop raining today I would go out and enjoy it a bit more

Saturday was the big day!  Off to buy my new Burgman.  I was up at 6, and out the door by 7am.  It took almost an hour and half to get to the dealership. I got there just after they opened, signed paperwork, and was off only half and hour later.  Of course there was a lot more to the transaction than that, but it had all been taken care of in the previous days.  The guys at the dealership were great – I’ll go back there for maintenance.

It was great to feel so at home on my new Burgman.  Though I have driven about 600km since I’ve been here, that driving wasn’t nearly as comfortable as riding the new Burgman.  I was instantly at home.  It was great.

Since getting home after picking up supplies, I’ve spent almost two complete days working on installing the communication system and GPS.  I had forgotten just how much work this was initially, and this time around I had a few more challenges as I was installing things a little bit differently (a little bit better) than before.  All told the installation took about 14 hours to complete the installation.

Here are a couple photos of the new Burgman, alone with one while things were being installed.

I’m so excited to have my Burgman back again.  It’s been a long time for me and this new freedom is really exciting.  I’ve already booked 6 long weekends for vacation in the next 3 months!  Not all will be for rides, but 4 of them have been set aside for motorcycle adventures!

After finishing the final install I went for a nice ride along the coast to test things out.  The communications system seems to work perfectly so far and I’m pleased to say better than it did in Vancouver!  I was able to listen to music, hear the GPS through it, and even make phone calls!  The new GPS is really fantastic.  Along with the typical GPS mapping features, it tells me what the current speed limit is, and even alerts me to traffic and speed cameras.  It’s great to know where I’m going!!

I’m totally thrilled – can’t wait to go for a long ride!!

Today has been really great!  I confuss, however, that I am a little bit too tired to say much more than that!   I will post all the details in the coming days…

But I have a new Burgman, she is great, and I’m working on adding all the great toys to her to make her even better!

More Soon!

Tomorrow is the big day – time to pick up my new Burgman…. Now the trick is going to be getting some sleep before picking her up.  Everything is confirmed ready – the dealership even installed the Givi Windscreen.  That was kind of them!  I was going to bring a screw-driver and do it myself since it really is very simple, but it’s nice not to have to worry about that!

Once I pick her up I have several errands to run.  A ride to the FexEx depot across town, and then back home to the post office.  Then to the hardware store to pick up a few last-minute supplies for the installations!  Then I’ll have to decide whether to install stuff or go for a long ride!  I’m honestly not sure what I’ll do!  The installations are key to the enjoyment of the riding, so I may just go the installations and make Sunday my big riding day…  How exciting!

Just a quick update before work…

I’ve now received confirmation from both the finance company and the dealership that everything is set up and ready to go for Saturday’s pickup.  I’m very excited.  It’s always nice to hear the official word that everything is set up despite how good things look.

I have received most of the packages that I have ordered over the Internet.  Nicole is going to pick up one final item today that will make the installation of all the important things possible.

The remote for our complex gate has been the most difficult thing to get, but thanks to my friends and a bit of luck, I stumbled on an after-hours service that called me last night when all hope was lost, and not only has the remote I need, but is going to drop it off to me at work today!!!  How fantastic is that!

More soon!

Yesterday morning I received an email from Mom asking me to give her a call about something important.  I didn’t know what it was about. I was very curious.  I couldn’t have been more surprised and pleased.  As it turns out, Mom was reading my blog, and after some deliberation decided that she wanted to help out with the cost of accessories for the Burgman so that I could get things going more quickly!  Now, helping out is really not the term to use.  She has offered to cover the entire cost of additional accessories for the Burgman!  Everything!  I can’t believe it!

I wouldn’t have imagined it.   What would have taken months and in some cases much more to save up for, is now taken care of.  It’s an unbelievably wonderful and generous gift and I’m over the moon with excitement…

The rest of yesterday was spent planning and ordering supplies… Well you didn’t expect me to wait did you!  Some of these things will take a little while to ship, so I wanted to get orders in soon!

To go through the list of items would be very long and boring for almost anyone reading this blog so I just won’t go into the little details.  I found an exceptionally helpful company out of NSW that will be supplying the communications system components.  He has been outstanding in offering support and advice and is willing to be flexible with the total cost due to the large order.  The GPS system is coming from a local company almost walking distance away.  They had not only the best selection but also the best price.  They have also been great with answering questions and being immediately available by email.

There are a number of smaller items coming from a number of online retailers – all from the USA…  For the most part, there is nothing that competes with the USA’s selection of use-specific parts and accessories.  There is so much that is available that simply wouldn’t be viable for the average Australian (or for that matter Canadian) company to bring into the country.  Having said that I’ve sourced the important parts from Australia at reasonable costs.

Now that everything is coming together it’s been a great experience setting things up for the second time.  Being able to source everything at once is also a great plus.  Rather than incremental additions installed with compromises, I’ve been able to plan the installation of everything in context.  This will be a much different process than the previous installations.  I’ll have the experience of knowing how and where to route wires, but also everything needed to do a great job.  I’m very excited.

Now all that’s left is the Burgman itself!  I expect to have some information on specifics on Tuesday.  I could now pick up the bike at any time, so it’s a matter of setting up financing and having the time to get to the dealer while they are open and I have time off.  There is a remote possibility this could happen tomorrow (January 4th) but a lot would have to come together in order for that to be possible.  It’s more likely that we’ll move forward on Saturday.

It’s all very exciting!

I can’t tell you guys how excited I am.  I’m literally loosing sleep over the whole thing  I’ve been planning the additions to the Burgman.  It’s a frustrating thing as each addition, in particular the windscreen, communications system, and GPS are really important to the enjoyment of the riding.

Because there isn’t any extra money to purchase the additions (as they are a little pricy) I’ll have to save up for these.  It will take a little bit of time.  Most frustratingly the GPS system will be the last thing I’ll be able to afford despite it being the most important.  I’m hopeless when it comes to directions, and map reading while on two wheels is just not possible, so I’ll have to wait and see how quickly I can make it happen.  Australian prices are really quite high in comparison to US and Canadian prices.

So I’ve decided after much deliberation that I will buy things in the following order:

- Throttle Rocker – Cheap small device to make riding long distances easier $12 – On Order!
- Givi Windscreen – that makes riding on the freeway much more comfortable.  It’s so big that it blocks out almost all air turbulence.  It’s fantastic.   Cost is $255
- Starcom communications system (Main unit only).  This will allow me to listen to music while I ride – another really important thing for me – it makes it so much more enjoyable that just listening to noise.  Cost is $530 for the basic setup, plus about $40 for cables.
- iPhone Charger – This one is cheap and easy… $45
- Garmin Zumo 660 GPS – this is a big sep up from the last one I had, but it will perform a really big role in this setup.  It is waterproof so that I don’t need to pull over and hide it when it rains.  It’s also bright and easy to see during the day.  It will also be able to give directions directly though the Starcom system, as well as play music directly from my iPhone.  When needed i can also make and receive calls, all through the touch screen on the unit.  It even tells you what lane to be in when on the freeway.  It’s will bring everything together, but it’s also the most expensive.  $880 for the main unit, plus $150 for extra cables. Another $65 for the hardware to mount it properly.

That totals up to be: $1965.00

That takes care of the things that are important.  Next on the list will be some nice additions:
- A tent for camping off the motorcycle - $250
- A Radio to connect to the communications system so that Nicole and I can talk - $500

That’s another $750!