The return of the itch!

Hi everyone and happy New Year.

It's been a while since I've done anything with the blog and I thought it was high time I added a few more pictures of the trip. I've added a page with quite a few more photo's (see the page link) and I might even get around to adding captions so they make some sense. I've also been meaning to update Tony's Harley page with an accurate photo since I was told:

 "My bike dosn't look like that. That's just a stock Dyna Glide! Mine is now a Screaming Eagle Custom Dyna Glide!!!!"

Well Tony I had to sort through all of the trip photo's for just the right shot. Hope this is better!

You can now post comments on the page if you so desire. I purposely turned this off during the trip because we didn't have any time to reply to anyone. Still it would be great to hear from you, especially anyone else doing or planning a motorcycle trip.

Finally after a bit of nudging from a few people (and some serious sweet talking of the wife) planning has started on the MLCOAB version 2.0. It's still in the early stages at the moment but Me, Rod's brother Mike and my great mate Cliffy are going to tackle a number of the back country gravel roads in the South Island of New Zealand. Rod swore he'd never do more than three days in the saddle again, never, no way, forget it! But I expect he'll be on board in about two minutes once I show him the planned route, then I can spend the next year or so stressing out about Rod riding on NZ roads!

Cheers Mick.

The end of the Crisis, well sort of

Day 25 Geraldton to Perth

We got bugger all sleep that night. Backpackesr like to stomp to the toilet and do their laundry at 2am. Still all of gear (including the bikes!) were all accounted for so we packed up and headed off on the final stretch of our epic trip. The weather report said a strong front would cross the coast from that morning so we wanted to get home as quickly as we could. We were 35km south of Geraldton and I was following Rod when I saw his chain snap, I though the chain would flick off but it didn't, not good. We pulled up and Rod pulled tried to free the chain. It had jammed up around his front sprocket. After five minutes of unsuccessful tinkering Rod was about to loose it when the chain fell free. It had broken around the master link Rod had installed in Broome and he had a spare so we thought no dramas.

Bugger

We then noticed a small oil leak where the chain had knocked a small hole in the engine block. My heart sank a bit but Rod reckoned he'd still be ok. He then laid out the chain to fit it back on and oh no it was bent, Rod was stranded with 370km to go. We got on the phone and called Rod's wife to be in Perth. She took off straight away to grab a trailer and come pick Rod and bike but she would be at least four hours away and we could see the weather rolling in. Luckily there was a roadhouse 500m up the road and Rod decided to wait it out there. I was torn, I didn't want to leave Rod, I wanted to ride in to Perth with him and finish the trip on a high. We both realised though that if I hung around I'd be riding home in the rain and the dark so I had to go. My last view of Rod was him pushing the CRF down the road while I took off in the opposite direction.

The last photo, love the bum fluff aye

So I took off for the Perth in a bit of down mood. I could travel a bit faster now but after three and a bit weeks it felt strange not riding beside Rod. The weather got progressively worse, I managed to dodge most of the rain but the wind was horrible. The traffic had built up as well which was a pain after being so long out of the rat race. I made it home around 2pm, tired, smelly but happy to see the wife and kids. I rang Rod straight away but he was still holed up in the Roadhouse. Thankfully they made it home safely but not until 11pm that night after driving through horrible weather and having a few car dramas.

So we're home safe and well. I'm sorry it took me a few days to finish the blog but there's been a lot of catching up to do as well as unpacking and cleaning all the gear. The bikes a both running a little worse for wear but hey they've just completed a marathon what do you expect. I need to service the KLR but I'll let it rest in the shed for a week or to, it's earned it.

All in all this trip has been awesome. It's tested both of us in many ways but I've personally loved the highs and the lows. That's why I planned this trip, I knew it would be a challenge and I'm proud of the way we meet it. Would I do it again, hell yes but not for a few years. I hope you've enjoyed the blog and I'm hoping to get Rod to update the posts from his perspective, should be fun.

Long road, wildflowers, crazy drivers and the BACKPAKERS

Day 24 Carnarvon to Geraldton

We took our time packing up and having breakfast. We had a 400km+ day but we knew we had plenty of time. Rod complained he had finally got used to sleeping on his mat on the last night, typical. We had a good ride south but the CRF was starting to have problems. Rod had noticed that his back sprocket had five worn teeth and he still couldn't keep tension on the chain. To compensate we had to travel at 90-95km/hr but that was cool, lots of time to check out the scenery. Rod found a great lookout about an hour out of Carnarvon where we meet a bloke travelling around Oz in an old bus. He also had two beaut motorcycles in a trailer on the back, nice big yamaha cruisers. He liked our bikes and we offered to swap ha ha.

Rods lookout

As we were going south we were noticing more and more wildflowers. The recent rains had done the region good as all of the fields were green as. Rod called a stop and we had to have a photo shoot with the bikes amongst the flowers. We also found an old Yama that's been there for years as part of a road safety campaign. The sign is gone but luckily the Yama is still there. Lots of fun.

"Bikes in Urban Wasteland"

Rod's Masterpiece

Ahhhhhhh

Ahhhhh

After a quick coffee and dodge the law stop in Northampton we rode into Geraldton. Rod had insisted we stay in a backpackers on our last night so we could sleep in a real bed. We pulled up and it was a typical modern day backpackers; dingy and dodgy. Rod was a bit taken aback, I think he had expected a beer garden and spa pool all full of nubile blonde 20 year olds partying all night. Reality was a let down! Rod was also stressed about his bike. The back sprocket was almost worn out. I asked him if he could make it to Perth and he was still positive so...after securing all of gear the best we could we headed into town for dinner. We were going to go the local pub in town but after having a quick beer there it looked a little dingy. We moved on and found a delightful little Italian Cafe with Bee Knees on tap and a wonderful chef in the kitchen. Great meal! We made it back to the backpackers early and watched a little TV. We meet a few young (18 year olds) German backpackers who had been the country 14 days and looked like roos in the headlights. Oz wasn't quite what they had expected. We gave them a few tips on where to stay along the coast and that seemed to set them right but we were blown away at how young and niave these kids were. Where they get money to travel like that I'll never know, they were straight out of high school.

Through the Inversion

Day 23 Robe River to Carnarvon

While Robe River is a beautiful place to camp it can be a bit noisy because you're only 20 metres from the road. A big thanks to the dickhead road train driver who insisted on letting off his air horn at 3am over the bridge! Still, after a quick breakfast, well not so quick, I broke our stove but luckily our new mate Ross lent us his so I could cook up the quick oats. Anyway with handshakes all around and a few good lucks (you mad bugger) to Ross we were off. The wind was still blowing but not as intense as yesterday thankfully, so we made good time to Nanutarra Roadhouse. Somewhere along the way Rod finally lost half his number plate which had been threatening to self destruct since the Gunbarrel. We pulled in for fuel and a coffee milk and yes Nanutarra is still run by a Pirate. Expensive fuel and $5.25 for a coffee milk! We pushed on down the road and Rod found a cave, he was a happy boy.

Just south of Nanutarra Roadhouse

Rod in his cave

  As we were cruising down the road we were suddenly overtaken by a Queensland couple we had met on the Gibb. These two were a screech, they both hated camping and 4WD'ing but were on this across Aussie epic just so they could say they've done it. They got in front of us and pointed to a rest stop and caught up over a cup of tea and biscuits. Rod then tried fixing their camper trailer which had thrown a leaf spring by taking apart the rest stop's dunny door and park bench. I think I'll stop letting him near the KLR!

We had lunch at the Minilya roadhouse, much better value than the Pirate up the road and meet a (German) NZ couple who were roaring around Oz for 3-6 months on motorcycles. Great couple with just as many funny stories as we had. Rod also found a steam engine to ride on.

On ya Rod

Packing always packing

Ride that perfectly normal beast Gingerbeer

We then pushed for Carnarvon and half way along we hit an inversion layer in the weather. On moment we were riding along with a gentle hot easterly blowing then boom it felt like we hit a brick wall and we were riding in a strong cool westerly. We then set up camp for the last time (backpackers tomorrow) and stuffed ourselves on microwave meals, garlic bread and oranges. A strange combination it's true but at least it wasn't a pie or chicko roll. We then went for a walk and found and crashed a small bistro so we could have a beer on Fathe'rs day.

Sick of FIFO in the Pilbara

Day 22 Pardoo to Robe River

The next morning we were fighting the cross wind again but at least we had made it into the Pilbara where the scenery had kicked in again. I hadn't driven this stretch in a while and instantly noticed the new mine sites and gas plants springing up everywhere. We came across the dressed up termite mounds pretty early and they seem to be breeding!

Ha ha

We only stopped in Port Headland to fuel and grab a coffee milk but while I was there I rang my wife and found out about the Christchurch earthquake. While I have no family there I do have a few friends so I was bit worried. We cruised onto the Whim Creek pub which has now been fully rebuilt after being flattened during a cyclone in 2000. Unfortunately it now also doubles up as a fly in/fly out mining camp so a lot of the soul has gone out of the place.

Cheers Rod

We made it to Karratha for lunch and I demanded Macca's. I managed to ring my Mum for her 65th birthday which was cool as I thought I'd be out of phone range that day. Unfortunately for Rod his rear wheel kept moving in on it's mount causing the chain to go slack. He tried buying an adjustable spanner to tighten the wheel up but to no avail. We then continued south hoping to make the Fortescue River roadhouse. We made it ok but the caravan park had been converted to, you guessed it, a FIFO camp, so there was no place to stay. Instead we rode another 40km south to a free campsite we knew of beside the Robe River. We just found a space for the tents in amongst all the caravans and settled down for the night. We meet a mad bugger Ross (in his late 60's/early 70's) riding a push bike from Darwin to Perth. He had some mad stories to tell us around the camp fire that night. Hats off to him though, we couldn't do it!

Camping at Robe River

Cross winds and footy

Day 21 Broome to Pardoo

We took off from Broome quite early the next morning. Unfortunately there was a nasty SE cross wind blowing. We would be fighting this wind for the next couple of days. Unfortunately this stretch is pretty boring and just what Rod had been dreading on the CRF. Still we made good time and pulled into Pardoo roadhouse around 2pm. We then ummed and ah'ed about whether to stay or push on to Port Headland. In the end we stayed which was a good decision of Rod's because we had a nice relaxing setup, and hour or two reading in the sun and then a nice night in the bar watching the footy.

Pardoo Roadhouse Camp

Twos days off apparently

Days 19 and 20 Broome

Our first day off in Broome started off a bit misty. Rod had a sleep in but I was awake so I got up and started checking over the bike. We were going to do a quick service on each bike and then head into town. I was taking off all my fairing to check for loose bolts, etc when I saw the that self locking nut on the end of the main sub-frame bolt was missing and the bolt itself was half out of the frame. I had to take half the bike apart to get to it and then find a nut to fit it. By this time I had Rod and his brother Michael helping me and we managed to sort it out. Rod then got stuck into the CRF. The chain was very stretched and the rear sprocket very worn. Michael and his mate Mark then took us downtown to get some parts. Unfortunately Rod couldn't get a new sprocket and chain so in the end he had to break his chain, remove two links and insert a master link. We were hoping this would last to Perth! We then had to clean out the air filters before putting the bikes back together.

Through all of this the day swept past us. Every few hours we would think about eating. Breakfast, nah we'll have brunch. Oops lunchtime, missed that and still no food. In the end we didn't eat until 5pm that night when I just had to have subway! Rod held out for an awesome BBQ at Michael's, I should have!

The next day we got up to go for a swim on Cable Beach only to find the beach was closed due to a big croc being sited. Bugger! We had to settle for a walk down the beach followed by a swim in the pool. We then had breakfast and went into town. We ended up at the Matso brewery for an ale or two and some snacks.

Beer at Moonlight Bay

A good year

Mmmmmmm

The bikes were thirsty!

The rest of the day was spent by the pool reading the paper, phew!