Who, Why and When

Hello and welcome to our mid life crisis. We are two thirty something blokes with a love of motorcycles and wide open spaces. This blog not only follows our four week trip into the unknown but also contains information and links on how we set up our bikes for the trip. Hopefully our story not only inspires you to get out of your comfort zone and do something mad and liberating but also gives you a bit of a laugh.


Cheers Mike and Rod

Friday, July 18, 2014

Sydney to Jamberoo

So I'm almost two weeks into my second mid life crisis on a budget and I've only been on the KLR for twos days. Time for some riding! I got back into Sydney around 10am and headed straight back to Pott's Point to pick up the bike. She'd survived a week parked on the means streets of Sydney but it's no place for an adventure tourer.

Victoria's parents Maria and Peter live a couple of hours drive south of Sydney in Jamberoo and they insisted I stroll down with the Victoria and Wazza and spend the night down there before heading south. It actually worked out well considering how tired I was and the ride tuned out to be epic. After following Wazza and Victoria's swanky Volvo SUV through the city I peeled off to explore the Royal National Park. Perfect day for a ride and because it was mid week pretty quiet. Great road for a ride to, twisty, turny and great views between the bush and the beaches.
The KLR in the Park
Where is my surfboard!

And then over the last hill there was the elevated highway!
I'm headed there!
A really great ride even though it only lasted a couple of hours. Really laid back riding even with a fully loaded bike. I turned inland just north of Wollongong and headed for Jamberoo swapping the bush and beaches for rolling hills and farmland. I managed to pull into the Rose's homestead just in time for afternoon drinks.

The rolling hills of Jamberoo
Pete's rather amazing garden


Canberra to Sydney to Wellington to Sydney

I love the ride from Canberra to Sydney. Either way it's a great road with some nice scenery. I left Canberra mid morning on New Years eve after being spoilt rotten for a couple days (thanks Hackney's!). I was off to spend new years with the Clent's in Pott's Point. I was told (under pain of death) to be at their apartment with a enough time to scrub up before dinner.

Still I had plenty of time an cruised through Sydney (a lot easier than I thought!) and tried to drop in at Dues Ex Machina in Camperdown but just missed out by five minutes :( I then managed to navigate through the CBD over to Pott's. You gotta love modern smart phones. Just plug in some headphones, chose your destination and then let some cool chick with a strange and sometimes disturbing accent direct you. The only worry about staying in Pott's is I had to leave the KLR parked on the street for about a week. I brought an alarmed disk lock for the occasion but was still very nervous!

I arrived bang on time, giving Wazza a manly handshake, Victoria a big hug and baby Charlotte a big cuddle and copious gifts from the wife and kids before jumping in shower. We then headed down for dinner at a local Indian restaurant with familly and friends before retiring here for the fireworks.

What a view!

I must say pretty dam spectacular!

The next couple of days were spent chilling out getting overfed by Victoria (but who could resist her cooking) and checking out the Sydney sights.

Victoria's three course breakfast, yum!

Time for a pie though
A mushy pea pie!

I then had to make a mad three day dash across the Tasman to my hometown of Wellington. About two months earlier I had received a call from my good mate Cliffy telling me that he and his wonderfully partner Ailsa were getting married on short notice and I had to be there because I was the best man. They had on been together seven or eight years! The tricky thing was I'd already booked everything for the bike trip, however Cliff has always been a commitment phobe and Ailsa is quite frankly the best thing ever to happen to him so there was no way I was missing it.

So I arrive in Wellington on the Friday flying, typically, into a 140km Wellington wind. Landing at Wellington is always an experience and I have all the respect in the world for the pilots who manage to land a 737 on a strip not much bigger than an aircraft carrier in the middle of a cyclone. If your into thrills give it go!

So I'm pick up at the airport by Cliffy, quickly feed a coffee before getting fitted for a suit, then a quick kiss from the blushing bride to be (and then a stern chat about no visible tattoos shaving/haircuts) before we're off to the bucks night. The next day is just as mad with the wedding rehearsal (with hangover!)  before I finally get a chance to nick Cliffy's black KLR and tear off for the night to see my mum. Believe me riding a KLR over the Wainuiomamta hill at full tilt, magic!

The next morning and the weather is biblical. Wall to wall rain and the wind is back with a vengeance. It's the wedding day and I still have to ride back over the hill, get in a suit and then drive the back roads out to the remote Wellington West Coast. I shattered for the Cliff and Ailsa, the weathers shit but then right in cue the sun comes out!

Well done bloke

Great wedding, great after party but most of all great to see two people I really love so happy.

The grooms party selfie
So after far to much alcohol and merriment and only three hours sleep the next morning I'm back on plane to Sydney

The DishMLCOAB 2 - Maroochydore to Canberra

Well I finally got around to the second MLCOAB. Unfortunately I didn't update the blog on the way around but I did get manage to take a few photos.

So after fitting the new front mudguard, buying a tankbag and most importantly buying a three leg camping stool (the one thing I really missed in the outback!) I shipped the bike from Perth to the Sunshine Coast.

There are quite a few companies who specialise in door to door delivery. Great service but it cost me just over a $1000 which I thought was a bit steep but seemed to be the going rate. I flew over just in time for Christmas with the in laws and spent a week chilling out by the beach. The wife and I even took the KLR for a spin up to Noosa for a coffee. Parked her right in between two Harleys (a Road King and a Softtail) but forgot to take a photo!

I took off south on the day after Boxing Day. Very hot and humid until I got South of the boarder into NSW. And the roadworks, bah continuous roadworks! I was pretty buggered by the time I got to Coffs Harbour that night. A log ride and very start stop!

I got an early start and had a marathon day riding all the way from Coff's to Canberra. I was in a hurry so I could spend a few days in Canberra with my good friends Ron and Ali before hoofing it back to Sydney in time for New Years. I learnt an important lesson on the way...... 7 Eleven coffee and Krispy Creme donuts are a great cure for monkey butt! Great ride, especially through the Blue Mountains north of Sydney. However it was still pretty hot and the KLR was burning a bit of oil, the first time she's ever done that!

Had a great couple of days in Canberra, checking out the money pit, sorry parliament and geeking out at the Tidbinbilla radio telescope.

The dish, well a dish, sort of not to scale

If only it could be like this all of the time!
I wasn't allowed to ride the KLR up on the roof! Isn't this what I pay my taxes for.