2017. Not a lot of activity on the scooter for a couple of years now - September 2015 I had an operation for bowel cancer, and that was followed by several more bits of running maintenance - ileostomy removal, hemorrhoid repair, waterworks re-bore, 2 separate hernia repair ops - in and out of hospital for 18 months of so, and each time a more prolonged recovery.

But in early 2016 I was (temporarily) well enough and fit enough to attempt a big mountain ride. But at the time I did not add it to this blog, so below is a reconstructed version, and with no photos unfortunately.

Departure: Saturday 5th March, 2016. Carried only a basic kit of wet weather gear (not needed thank goodness) along with basic food-on-the-go. The weather was perfect, warm but not too hot; calm, with clear skies.

The first day was the toughest. Omeo, just under 200km, took 31/2 hours, including a brief stop where I dropped the bike while parking, in front of a large audience. Humiliating but no harm done. Refuel at Omeo then on to Orbost - 165km and about 2 hours riding. Stopped along the way at Swifts Creek, where I had a bloody good pub lunch. All pubs at Orbost were full - some other charity motorbike ride was stopping there for the night! The motel, though, had room, and after checking in at 3:30 I lay down for a sleep, for an hour and a half! What a day! The Omeo highway is brutal really. It is all sealed now (quite an improvement from my last trip along it) but it was a very challenging ride. Wall to wall twisties, some beautifully cambered and some not; quite a bit of traffic, some on the right side of the road and some not; mostly good bitument surface but some not; and many of the bends covered in a thin layer of loose stones/gravel.

The next day - Sunday 6th March - brought an early start (7am) for Cann River. A nice 75km, slightly inland from the coast and with quite a heavy fog - not so easy in the early dim light of dawn. Turned north at Cann River and stopped half way to Bombala for a roadside brekky - cereal, milk, and fruit, plus tea and pills. Good riding, much easier than yesterday. Reached Cooma at 10:40 - 250km from Orbost - and refuelled and had a hour's break. Went on then to Adaminaby (short break and refreshments, when leaving a very awkward parking spot (steep, spoon drain to cross while walking the bike backwards downhill) I dropped it - again, no damage but an audience, this time of fellow bike riders, and fortunately two of them helped me to stand it up again, which would have been very difficult on my own because of the terrain where it fell.  Then on to Kiandra and then Cabramurra where I had a short rest and a cuppa, together with a group of half a dozen Ducati riders from Canberra, out for the day. They had come up to Cabramurra from Corryong, and had good advice about a fallen tree along the road where I was headed.

After Cabramurra, a long twisty descent to Corryong - a great part of the ride, challenging but not treacherous like the Omeo Highway! Arrived in Corryong about 3:30pm, tired but not as tired as yesterday. NO FUEL available! So I had to check in to the motel and wait until tomorrow before continuing! Covered a further 200 km from Cooma, so today's total was 450km.

Monday 7th March was again fine and clear, perfect bike riding conditions. Early refuel, then took the river road back to Albury, with a breakfast stop on the roadside next to the upper reaches of Lake Hume. A beautiful ride but it is definitely the slow way to travel! Barely one kilometre of straight road.

So after 2 full days plus a morning, have covered about 900 km of mostly twisty mountain roads. Exhausting but fun. Will probably not do the Omeo section ever again but at least I can tick it off now as completed!

And on to Alice.

Tuesday: Rolling by 8.00am for the 740 k leg to Uluru. Refuelled at Marla just south of the border, petrol price climbing. Still not many stock or animals near the road although another rider saw 2 dingos. The rain has kept them away with plenty of feed everywhere. Crossed the border into NT and refuelled at Erldunda.  I left to go straight to Alice while the other 2 headed west to see the rock. I had been to Uluru and the Olgas several times previously, so was not keen to ride another 600km to see those. More bikes wherever we go and most of them are the more expensive ones.

The next section is lifted from David's own diary -

Made the rock before sunset chalking up more than 2000ks in 4 days from home. Harley has been magnificent. Did lap of Uluru just before dark.

Sunset at Uluru, 4days and 2000kms from home

 Interestingly although more than twice the engine capacity of Ian’s older model  750 BMW am using less fuel than him. (Premium at Yulara 2.25/ltre!). I think this demonstrates the effectiveness of a full cruise control. Staying at Desert Springs which is rather more upmarket.

Wednesday: Decent Continental breakfast to start day, packed up and rode back to Rock- $25 ticket to enter is for 3 days. Visited Cultural Centre which has very interesting range of Aboriginal art and artefacts.

Did another lap of Rock and colours and contrast quite different from evening.  Rode 44ks trip to Kata Tjuta (Olgas) which is well worth the visit, but the flies!  Then headed for Erldunda again for lunch and fuel. Wonderful colours in flowers along the way, purple, red, yellow and deep pink. Interesting trees along the way called desert oak which look a bit like a buloke but with a long trunk and then branches out at the top. Starting to wind bikes up a bit- on Highway set cruise at 3000rpm (130k/hr, legal) and needle didn’t deviate up or down hills. Covered the 200ks in 1hr 40 min.

Now back to Malcolm’s story -

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, I had arrived in Alice Springs after a long day – about 660km from Coober Pedy – to find our hostess Linx MacPherson expecting my arrival. She lives in an old part of Alice, with a beautiful garden – informal but relaxing. Good to do some washing here; Linx a most interesting host. She has a business involving Aboriginal Art, and also works as a mediator with the Community Justice Centre. Much of her work is in the aboriginal communities which are based both in Alice Springs (in the “town camps”) and in the surrounding desert country. The birds below are in LInx’s garden.

Woomera, Coober Pedy ...

Sunday: On the road early and rode through Burra and then to Port Augusta. Again, I have never seen this part of South Aus looking so beautiful. The ride, on this perfect autumn morning through a glorious rural landscape, was nothing short of spectacular. Eventually rolled into Port Augusta and refuelled ready for the desert north of Port Aug.

But the desert turned out to be green this time.

Road very straight, weather perfect and traffic light but saw first B-doubles and then B-triples. Country interesting as went from open plains of salt bush to low scrub, to spindly low trees with flat top hills on the horizon. I could see the Flinders Ranges clearly to the East, and to the west the outcrops northwest of Whyalla. Again the rain had transformed a normally dry dusty plain to one with green undergrowth. Occasionally saw small mobs of sheep, some merino some crossbred. Every 10km or so went over a stock grid from which a flimsy fence went out each side perpendicularly and disappeared into the bush. Then there would be a big sign, “Warning Unfenced Road -Watch for Wandering Stock” – some signs were in German as well as English.

Arrived at Woomera in good time to discover it has reverted again to part ghost town following the decision not to expand Roxby Downs mine. Ian had booked accommodation for us at the ELDO Hotel (European Launch Development Organisation). The Eldo hotel is a converted single men’s’ quarters and fairly tired at that. The windows couldn’t open and the vent in the door was boarded up! However, it is the only hotel for 200kms either way. Ian and David arrived late in the afternoon, but before they arrived I took a walk around the town of Woomera. Not a lot going on, but quite a number of tourists around, including a number if other bikes on their way to Alice Springs. There was an open air museum displaying relics of the great days of rocket research – Australia had been the fourth country in the world to launch a satellite, after the US, France, and USSR, back in 1964. In an enclosure was the wreckage of a launch rocket first stage, which had been used for one early launch. The pieces of it had been found in the desert nearby, about 20 years after the launch!

The hotel, like all other services in Woomera is run by Transfield Services for the Department of Defence. We three had a good meal there and enjoyed a pretty good bar session as well.

Monday: Started by refuelling the bikes with petrol and us with bacon and eggs at Spud’s road house at Pimba, before we headed for Coober Pedy. The country was now just salt bush and soon it was clear we were travelling along the flat top of a ridge. As we descended into the “valley” a large lake appeared on the left followed by another, Lake Hart on the right. In the mirror like surface the reflection of the foreshore was something for a photography award. Travelling on saw first cattle, shorthorns and for most of the way the railway line was our constant companion just 200 meters to the side. Road kill included the odd beast and kangaroo. Saw magnificent Wedge tail feeding on a carcase while 2 crows had to watch from the branches of a tree.

Topped up the fuel tank at Glendambo for the 250k stretch to Coober Pedy. By this time quite a strong wind had come up making the ride a little interesting, with all eyes on the fuel gauge – my Burgman has a range of a little under 300km normally, but this time it was heavily loaded and the headwind was a bit of a factor.

Stopped halfway for a tea break from our own thermoses and by this stage the bush flies were in full flight. Added a couple of litres of spare fuel to my bike; the others had slightly bigger tanks and were not short of fuel.

Arrived in Coober Pedy and dropped off our clothes at the Underground B&B run by Ana and Ken- recommend.  Still very green and learned Coober Pedy has had its entire annual rainfall in one day about 2 weeks ago (175mm).  Many mines were badly flooded and about half of them will not reopen for an indefinite period. Visited Umoona Opal mine museum, met fellow guests at B&B Chris and Cheryl  Liddell from Pt Macquarie. Two thirds of the 3000 people living at Coober Pedy have underground homes so the town looks quite small. The temperature in these stays around 21° year . round. Ana and Ken were wonderful hosts, and they not only lent us their car to go out for dinner (at the Greek Restaurant, an excellent little watering hole), but also shared a bottle of wine or two with us and the other guests (Chris and Cheryl).

   One

Off we go.

                            Alice Springs, Uluru, Mt Isa Trip 2014- 3 Men on their Motorbikes

Following an invitation from Ian Hope before Christmas I signed up for an incredible journey through the centre of Australia which highlighted how travelling on a motorbike offers a marvellous way to see so much in a short time.

The following is based largely on a brief diary of the trip, kept by one of my fellow riders (David Hawker.   In 16 days I covered 6,400 kms travelling through 4 States and the NT -  through NSW, Victoria (briefly) then South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, and back through western NSW. The other two travelled different distances - we each started and finished at our separate homes, and the other two also included in their ride a diversion to Uluru and back again to Alice Springs.

Friday 9th^th May: Collected bike from local Suzuki dealer, where it had been undergoing a transmission repair which had been a major worry – would the bike be ready in time? Would it be reliable for the trip? Eventually had bike packed and ready to go but not until late afternoon – finally set off at about 5:30pm, already dark and rain threatening, but I was keen to make a start. Ian (our leader) had begun earlier from Wagga, but I figured I would catch the other 2 riders at Woomera on Sunday. Had an uneventful (dry) ride in the dark to Deniliquin (200km) and checked in to a motel there for the night. Discovered a peeled-off sole on one boot – found some superglue at a service station and repaired the boot OK. Before the repair it looked like one of those jokey shoes worn by a clown!

Saturday 10^th: Awoke to the sound  of gentle rain. How nice. Set off early and refuelled on the outskirts of Deni before heading west. This was to be a long day – Moulamein, Balranald, Mildura, Renmark, finally in Morgan on the Murray River for the night. Refuelled about every hour and a half, and by the time I reached Mildura the rain had stopped. The Riverland is so beautiful, together with long spells of Mallee country, and I have never seen it looking better.

Ian would have been a bit ahead of me today, and he met David (who came from his home, Apsley, in Western Victoria) at Clare in South Australia, where they spent the night with friends.

Alice Springs and Back Again.

It's been quite a while since I updated the blog! Several years of riding and just generally living. The back surgery was successful and so my motorcycling days are continuing - a few  rides in the mountains - Snowy Mountains Highway is my favourite, it is definitely one of Australia's best rides. But recently (only weeks ago) the final gravel section of the Mitta highway has finally been sealed, so that great ride awaits me.

A few months ago an old acquaintance of mine, Ian H, contacted me to say he and another friend of his (David H) were riding to Alice Springs for the Ulysses Club AGM, in May this year. Would I like to join them on the ride? Would I! So we planned our trip and after a couple of weeks on the road, here I am back again. What a trip it was.

Shorter than my Darwin excursion on the T-Max; more intense, though, because we covered over 6,000 km in two weeks. I made no record of the trip at the time, but David spent most of his spare time putting an excellent diary together. I have altered some of it, added a few of my own photos, and here it is as part of the blog.

Last Wednesday - 3rd March - dawned a fantastic autumn day. It is the best time of year around here, and so I saddled up the Burgy for a short day's ride.

By the way, the Burgy has a name now; since new, I have been trying to get one to stick and finally, one has - he is now known as - GRAHAM.... (well it's mostly grey.)

We live close to the foothills of the Victorian Alps - lots of fabulous rides to choose from - today I decided to ride the Redbank Road, described in road guides as one of Australia's best rides. From here in Albury, via Wodonga and the road to Tallangatta, turned off to Gundowring and I was on the Redbank Rd although it is not called by that name until further on.

The road is not busy; just some local farm traffic, winding along the eastern bank of the Kiewa River (the Kiewa Valley Highway is the busy one, on the opposite side of the river). What can I say? The road was good (all bitumen surface); the air was balmy; the sky blue; the scenery a knockout, river flats leading me towards the bigger mountains in the distance.

Called in at Ceccanti Winery, close to Mount Beauty. It is a tiny family owned winery with a low-key restaurant - lovely dining area under the big shady trees - but closed on Wednesdays! Apparently it is a good idea to book, they get very busy sometimes, and I can see why. Cellar door sales of their own wine, and a Tuscan-style menu.

On to Mount Beauty, at the foot of the mountains, and I know it is all alpine riding from now on, so I turn around and head back to Tawonga, where I have lunch (a home made egg-and-bacon pie) from the very friendly Old Tawonga Store. Good spot for lunch or coffee, limited menu but good bakery-style stuff.

The road home is along the Kiewa Valley Highway, and it is similar to the Redbank Road, but a bit better road construction although much much busier. Plenty of nice bends, a mixture of straights and hills, up and sown.

Home mid afternoon - a great ride, about 240 km total distance, easy and fun. I can hardly wait for my next opportunity!

It's been quite a while! After getting home last year from the BIG scooter trip to Darwin, on the Yamaha T-Max, a couple of things have happened in the world of Crowtrapper's motorbiking career.

One, the T-Max was finally and regretfully sold - as a tradein on a NEW Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive. The Yamaha was a beautiful bike, but 8 years was enough. I only have a certain number of bikes in the rest of my life, so it was time for a change.

The Burgy is a lovely tourer. A little heavier than the T-Max, but the extra cc's make a lot of difference - it cruises more effortlessly and sits on the road a bit better where it is a rough surface. The T-Max would possibly have the edge in traffic, being slightly more nimble and smaller, but on the open road the Burgy shines.

Secondly, this summer has been so wretchedly hot, day after day of around 40 degrees, so the lovely new bike stayed in the garage most of the time. It's been mine for several months now and I have only got about 900 km on the clock - disgraceful. But just lately we have had some rain and it has cooled off now to autumn temperatures.

My thoughts turned again to motorbike touring a few days ago. And so yesterday I saddled up for a quick day trip.

A gorgeous autumn morning, turning to a warm afternoon. The first leg was straight up the freeway from home in Albury, to the little town of Holbrook where I used to live. 60 km and on the outskirts of town had a coffee break with an old friend. After a lengthy break, back on the Burgy again (its name is Graham. Because it is grey!) and Grah and I headed up into the hills to the village of Jingellic and then on along the Upper Murray River to Corryong. Forgot to look at the speedo but it is about 100 km from Holbrook to Corryong.

Had lunch in Corryong and browsed the secondhand bookshop, and although I had not seen another bike all morning, Corryong was full of them. I guess they had come across through the Snowies enroute to Phillip Island (superbike event there next weekend). Anyway, by the time I had finished lunch most of them had left, and eventually I headed back to Albury via Koetong and Tallangatta, total distance 124 km.

Except for the section from Albury to Holbrook, which was bland freeway riding, the whole trip of 280 or so kilometres was exquisite for a motorcyclist. Sweeping bends, moderate twisties, interspersed with a few short straight sections; occasionally reverse camber sharper bends just to keep you on the ball, all winding through beautiful countryside with mountains on either hand, and the weather perfect too. What a day!

Graham and I are becoming close friends. Next time we go out together, it will perhaps be to the Victorian Alps. There is plenty of good riding there...