Day 27 Ride ReportLike all good things this adventure came to an end today. But I nearly didn't get on that boat. Yesterday morning after doing a bit of a ride went back to Devonport to check out the two places Gra Har had mentioned the day before. Traversing up the hill at Ashburner Street a ute and trailer came flying out of Wenvoe street ignoring the give way sign. It probably should be a stop sign given the visibilty of the intersection. I didn't even know there was street there pretty much until he popped out of nowhere. Here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MenZsZmDROMI wonder if it was wootten or byrne?
I probably didn't mention it in my ride report yesterday because I was already drowsy from taking sea sickness tablets and didn't have photos to jog my memory. He didn't look, didn't give way, didn't stop or anything.
There were more bikes on the ferry last night than there were on my ferry over, which consisted of just four bikes (and a fifth that went in as freight as the rider had an off and wasn't on the boat).
I'd sent an email to Spirit Of Tasmania requesting the same cabin I had on the way over as it was in the middle of the ship. I got a response saying they put a note in my reservation but couldn't guarantee anything. As it turned out I got it.
I woke once just before midnight to use the bathroom and then again at about 5:00am so had a shower and then went for a walk arount the boat.
I had the mobius camera running for the whole trip. It was held up by a magnetic clamp. I can tell you the window frame is very magnetic.
I think I was the last one off the boat. On the way over the bikes were parked sideways but on the way back we were parking parallel to all the cars.
I stumbled across the big miner at Warrenheip so I bagged that.
The big ned kelly was only metres away.
To be honest I didn't plan on bagging those but happened to see them. I did however know I was going through Ballarat so wanted to find this one that was posted in the big things thread.
The Big Hens at Ballarat.
Well guess what, once in Ballarat I googled where exactly they were and I can tell you one place they are not at - Ballarat. They're actually in Meredith miles from my course so I didn't deviate for them. Another day perhaps. I did get the giant koala for a second time.
I'd seen this camp on Dobie after the Smythesdale RTE but not bothered to stop it. Today I took some photos but still have no idea what it's all about.
I stopped there, not in the car park.
I told you Kev I have a funny story about Kaniva. I refuelled there and grabbed an ice coffee (I couldn't find any lime milk) and took it to a park bench and had a breather. Then I heard an almighty metallic klang as this steel contraption fell off the back of a ute as it rounded the corner. It could have been nasty if he hastly taken the corner to not give way to an oncoming vehicle because they wouldn't have seen it until the last minute.
I don't know what it is but the driver attempted to drag it off the road.
Others came to help. There were four or five of them but even together they couldn't make it budge.
I stopped at the Bordertown Motel to put an overnight marker on my spot as I forgot to do it on the way in. I did that with a meal marker at Queestown.
I almost always stop here. Kev mentioed it in the spotwalla thread and I have on previous ride reports but maily because it's between two point to point cameras and adding some minutes in between can't hurt.
I was curious as to whether my trip metre would go to five digits but I took a photo of 9999·9 just in case.
I now know that it goes back to zero. I don't know why. There's space for an extra digit as the odometre has gone to six digits without a decimal point.
Back home it just read 4·6km which means for the whole trip I did 10004·6 km.
Overall I had a great time. There were highlights, lowlights, disappointments, rain, sleet, wind, more wind, even more wind. Carving it up in the mud from Cockle Creek was fun. The Tarkine road was awesome, meeting lots of Ozstocers for the first time and attending a national rally was a good memory too. Sudden sharp curves with no signs to warn you, gravel in the bends was not fun. I think my brake pads will be grateful to be back on the mainland. I hardly touched them today. The bike not starting in Corinne was probably the worst moment of the trip. All sorts of thoughts went through my head at the time.
I was a tad nervous about being on the boat for so long but it turned out to be okay. I slept on both but the tablets I took for it made me very thirsty the following day. Also that night after coming off the boat I felt my motel room rocking as it was on the seas and I am feeling it in my house right now. I'm thirsty too.
I had hoped to talk to Big Gaz at the rally but despite being registered he didn't make an appearance.
Bring on Mudgee.