It was such a rich and diverse trip that my memory has overloaded and I’m having trouble organising my thoughts. As I sit down to pen these words, a thousand different images, phrases and moments bombard my brain – Doing a 2 wheel slide on the Bonang, Res narrating a Russel Peters joke, iMick wobbling his head (incorrectly of course), Stoner racing past Siberia, Boris hugging me goodbye at Rhyll. It’s all in there, jumbled up and in no particular order. Here’s a few things that really stood out for me.
The Riding
It’s been the best riding trip I have ever done in Australia. On Day1 the standout was riding the Snowy Mountains Hwy from Cooma to Tumut with Ben and Steve. We rode like maniacs to a setting sun and the run through the national park was just magic. The scenery was spectacular, the surface was smooth, traffic was non-existent and the Dorso was on fire. Me? I was just hanging on. I kept Ben and Steve at bay through the tight stuff but they blasted past on the open sweepers after Kiandra. I stopped and took some photos on the banks of the Talbingo Lake
The Riding
It’s been the best riding trip I have ever done in Australia. On Day1 the standout was riding the Snowy Mountains Hwy from Cooma to Tumut with Ben and Steve. We rode like maniacs to a setting sun and the run through the national park was just magic. The scenery was spectacular, the surface was smooth, traffic was non-existent and the Dorso was on fire. Me? I was just hanging on. I kept Ben and Steve at bay through the tight stuff but they blasted past on the open sweepers after Kiandra. I stopped and took some photos on the banks of the Talbingo Lake
Some pics from Gundagai
We did the Snowy Mtns Hwy in reverse on Day2 and the big boys were out to play today. It was amazing watching Boris, Daz, Bly and Res open up their machines and pummel the road into submission. The road gods would’ve been proud. The memory that really sticks out is Daz trying to go past Boris on an open section at 2+ and mocking Boris to follow him. Boris, not to be outdone, with a simple twist of his wrist, unleashed the incredible power of the ZX-14, pulled level with Daz and simply held it there, not allowing Daz to merge back into the lane. It was pretty funny to watch.
The Whitfield to Mansfield run was a cracker. Luke, Ben, Daz and I were absolutely railing it. Ben was leading when we hit “the corner”. We’re cracking along uphill at about 150 and suddenly all we can see upfront is a guardrail blocking our way with sky and mountains in the distance. As a suck in a gasp of air to help my brain pull itself out of my puckering arsehole I see the road turning sharply right and the bright red brake lights of the 3 bikes in front of me come on. I reckon Ben shat his pants a bit there as he backed off a bit and Luke took advantage to gain pole position again.
Soon after, Daz and I dropped out of the race and were banging along merrily when Res entered the scene. The road opened up somewhat and he went past us like 22 bastards only to back right off after the first tight corner. Apparently he had his front wash out a bit and we could smell the effects of it behind him. He motioned us to go past and to add insult to injury, Daz went round him on the outside of the corner, reached over and shook his handlebars while leaned over. I think Res was close to tears at this point.
Day 3 was the best riding of the trip. The Jameison-Eildon road was my favourite of the whole trip. Luke and I were on each other’s back wheel the whole bloody way and we also entertained Ben and Adam for a while. The other highlights of this run were watching Daz use every inch of the road (on both sides) in his pursuit of cornering excellence. On being accosted later about breaking road rules, he explained that the center line is more like a guideline than a rule. Much knowledge is to be had from chatting with that man. And of course, I was privileged enough to watch Canning in action on this road too……for about 20 seconds. The man literally disappeared after the 2nd corner, I mean pissed right off. That guy is a sight to behold and he made us all feel pretty second rate.
The Reefton Spur is another incredible piece of road. It goes through some amazing rainforest, is tight, twisty, a bit treacherous and goes on for ever. It is magic. I’d lost the lead pack somewhere and eventually caught up with Canning’s girl, Mal. She was banging along all right and I was happy to just sit behind her for most of it.
This is at Warburton, beautiful spot next to the Yarra river, at the base of the Reefton Spur
Soon after, Daz and I dropped out of the race and were banging along merrily when Res entered the scene. The road opened up somewhat and he went past us like 22 bastards only to back right off after the first tight corner. Apparently he had his front wash out a bit and we could smell the effects of it behind him. He motioned us to go past and to add insult to injury, Daz went round him on the outside of the corner, reached over and shook his handlebars while leaned over. I think Res was close to tears at this point.
Day 3 was the best riding of the trip. The Jameison-Eildon road was my favourite of the whole trip. Luke and I were on each other’s back wheel the whole bloody way and we also entertained Ben and Adam for a while. The other highlights of this run were watching Daz use every inch of the road (on both sides) in his pursuit of cornering excellence. On being accosted later about breaking road rules, he explained that the center line is more like a guideline than a rule. Much knowledge is to be had from chatting with that man. And of course, I was privileged enough to watch Canning in action on this road too……for about 20 seconds. The man literally disappeared after the 2nd corner, I mean pissed right off. That guy is a sight to behold and he made us all feel pretty second rate.
The Reefton Spur is another incredible piece of road. It goes through some amazing rainforest, is tight, twisty, a bit treacherous and goes on for ever. It is magic. I’d lost the lead pack somewhere and eventually caught up with Canning’s girl, Mal. She was banging along all right and I was happy to just sit behind her for most of it.
This is at Warburton, beautiful spot next to the Yarra river, at the base of the Reefton Spur
The Holy Island, as the Philip Island circuit is known lovingly by Australian motorcycle racing fans, is a magical place. Finally being here for the MotoGP was a long-cherished dream come true for me.
The 3 days were spent in a haze of noise, smoke, music and partying watching the very best motorcycle riders riding the fastest motorcycles on earth in a setting unrivalled in the world for its atmosphere and sense of the dramatic. Watching Stoner drift that bike through Turn 3 (now Stoner corner!) at over 250KMPH was just unbelievable and certainly one of the highlights of the whole trip.
The 3 days were spent in a haze of noise, smoke, music and partying watching the very best motorcycle riders riding the fastest motorcycles on earth in a setting unrivalled in the world for its atmosphere and sense of the dramatic. Watching Stoner drift that bike through Turn 3 (now Stoner corner!) at over 250KMPH was just unbelievable and certainly one of the highlights of the whole trip.
Not my pic. I stole it off the internets!
And some hilarious fun went down on the Saturday night at my mate iMick's shrine to motorcycles, aptly named "Turn 13".
I don't know what the fuck this is but was hilarious at the time for some reason!
Day 1 on the return was dominated by the Bonang Hwy, a road which is at once glorious and nasty, kinda like an asphaltic manifestation of iMick. Maybe that’s why he decided to become one with it, it just felt so right eh Mick? Having done the Bonang once before, I was wary of the evil that lurks just below (and sometimes above) the surface on some of its corners. I treated it with the respect it was due but it still gave me a scare when I hit a particularly nasty undulation while fully leaned over in the middle of a corner, both wheels lost traction, gripped again and the bike wobbled a bit. I had just about enough time to remember to keep the hands loose and the anus tight. Had I done the opposite, it could’ve gotten a bit messy.
Day 2 was pretty relaxed with Lee and I doing the bulk of the run down from Cooma via Nerriga and Kangaroo Valley at a rather sedate pace. It was hot and we were cranky about the end of a glorious trip so we took it all out on hapless Harley riders by harassing them in corners, overtaking in the most inappropriate places and generally making a nuisance of ourselves. It livened our mood, for a bit.
The People
On motorcycle trips I have done till date, the riding has always been the most enjoyable and cherished part of the experience. This is the first time that as phenomenal as the riding was, the people were more phenomenalER. Ever since I joined BikeMe, I’ve been amazed at the quality and diversity of the people that inhabit that place in the web and one of the reasons I signed up for this trip was to see for myself if the personalities really lived up to the online personas. And as I related my observations to Boris during a particularly heartfelt drunken conversation, it’s all for real, these guys really exist and the vibe in real life is exactly the same as the online version. It’s pretty special,this BikeMe thing.
On motorcycle trips I have done till date, the riding has always been the most enjoyable and cherished part of the experience. This is the first time that as phenomenal as the riding was, the people were more phenomenalER. Ever since I joined BikeMe, I’ve been amazed at the quality and diversity of the people that inhabit that place in the web and one of the reasons I signed up for this trip was to see for myself if the personalities really lived up to the online personas. And as I related my observations to Boris during a particularly heartfelt drunken conversation, it’s all for real, these guys really exist and the vibe in real life is exactly the same as the online version. It’s pretty special,this BikeMe thing.
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