One Last Ride for 22

On Tuesday Deb said why don’t you go for a ride for a couple of days as I won’t be able to get away. With the statement still hanging in the air I was already planning where to go and like a cartoon all that remained of me was a dust outline, and I was outta here.

The plan was simple – drop in on a mate in Wagga who has recently just got out of hospital and then head west to check out a few more painted grain silos in west Victoria, find somewhere to camp overnight, and head home the next day.

Honda ST1300 LED Lighting Upgrade

After purchasing the ST1300 I upgraded the halogen H4 and some cheap LED driving lights mounted under the mirrors. This was better … but not a dramatic improvement. With a couple of big rides coming up with a lot of night riding and road conditions deteriorating after all the rain better lights would be a great investment.

One of my aims is to improve the low beam, as it’s unsettling not having good coverage of light on country road when there is a lot of traffic around at night.

Camping Power Station Upgrade – All Powers S300

In April 2021 I did a write up on a little Powertech Power Station I bought for motorcycle camping and my impressions. At the time my two main criticisms were that the battery was too small and that the charge rate was too low. I am now upgrading to a 300 wat All Powers Power Stations which I am hoping has the right balance between, power, size, and charge rate.

The Gathering

It’s been awhile since I’ve got together with my people, my long distance riding community. And Nambucca Heads was where it all started for me,  it was the destination of my first 1,000km day. Here I found a community of like-minded people who enjoy the open road and doing big miles. Where a couple of days can see you anywhere in the country.

Lunch at the Centre of NSW

Over the last 5+ years my calendar has not lined up with the FarRider’s calendar, so it was good to add the Tottenham ride to my calendar.  From Canberra, Tottenham is about 430km so it won’t take much of a detour to make up the full 1,000km for the day. And compared to the longer IBA rides I can leave and get home at a very reasonable hour.

The Flying Boats of Lake Boga

Back in the 40s during World War II a secret base was built at Lake Boga in heart of Victoria to service and repair Catalina flying boats. When Ed suggested a ride to Lake Boga to check out the Catalina Museum I had to look up what a Catalina was, and where Lake Boga was as I really hadn’t heard of either. And although I’m not a plane buff I am always interested in checking out interesting history.

Easter Camping by the Murray

With the disappointment of not getting away on the bike in March we were able to get away over Easter for some time under canvas (well nylon). A recommendation from a riding friend suggested a small village on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Tintaldra. That was enough of a recommendation for me and they had space. Done.

ACT Insanity ride

When I first heard about this ride I really couldn’t see how I could ride around my city 20 times without it doing my head in. When I do a big ride I don’t like droning up the highway just to do the miles, I like a destination, I like new roads, I like getting out of town. So the thought of going in circles for no other reason than just to clock up miles just isn’t me. However this is a challenge and I’m up for a challenge.

The Silo Run

This morning I was going for a ride with Ed who is heading to Western Australia to visit his folks as he hasn’t seen them since before Covid. I had set my alarm for 3:45am and was planning to meet Ed on the highway at 4:45am and tag along with him for 500km to Hay where I would peel off and drop down into Victoria and check out some more silo and water tower art to add to my collection before heading home. I packed an overnight bag in case I needed to stop.

Memory Lane

In school I had my future mapped out – I was always going to follow my father’s footsteps and go onto the orchard. Greenhill Orchards has been in our family’s name since 1865, and with such a long history there is also a strong connection and many memories.