Author Topic: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....  (Read 14308 times)

Offline tj189

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OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« on: October 19, 2014, 02:06:04 PM »
If we could put post reports, comments and photos in here it would be appreciated  :thumb
If the mods could move any posts in the ......so it begins ..... thread that would be appreciated too please  :thumb
« Last Edit: October 19, 2014, 06:35:59 PM by tj189 »
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Offline Wombattle

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2014, 03:42:31 PM »
Home safe after a fantastic weekend and a great ride.  Thanks TJ, Chris, Jean and everyone else who made this work so well. The best thing about a group IBA ride is the debrief and sharing the experience with others in a sport that's often quite solitary. TJ and Gadget it was great riding with you both, very laid back and cruisy, the way it should be (oh, "hello"). To all the brand new IBA members a huge congratulations.  I really enjoyed listening to your thoughts on the ride and the quite different comments about whether there was another one on the way for you.  I was very impressed with the way you all approached it, thoughtful, prepared and most of all with safety first!  I learned a lot on this one about MYST and about riding longer stints, never having tested the limits of the tank feet up before. Some hydration system adjustments required for the ST but perhaps not the ones I used this time :-). And a first for me... sausage sangas after an Iron Butt ride instead of a Cherry Ripe twin pack... awesome.  And the ride home today, nice and easy and thanfully not a sign of rain so I didn't have to put my wet weather gear on.  Here's some pics.

Half way pics. Me first



TJ, after making friends with a couple of Gladiators


And Gary (do you reckon he's dome a modelling course?)


TJ in Cruise mode


Gadget giving the thumbs up!


On the road


There's a couple of more here http://s1263.photobucket.com/user/wombattle1/library/Ozstoc%201600K?sort=3&page=1 if you want to look guys and gals.
Craig
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Offline Biggles

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2014, 05:49:03 PM »
Here's a start for my report.  More to come soon.


For the modern man who lives in the city, riding a bike might be one of the only ways to escape the humdrum monotony. To take off and ride. To be both at one with nature and one with the bike. To feel masculine. Adam Piggott

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Offline Marcus

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2014, 05:55:25 PM »
:popcorn:
 

Offline Gadget

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2014, 06:32:40 PM »
Part 1:  The outward journey

Firstly
My certificate!

Firstly I had considered this, but put in the "too hard" basket.  After talking to TJ at an RTE, I considered it feasible, and then the idea a group ride came about and I thought this is the time to have a crack.

Now that I've done it, I don't know that I'll do another any time soon (Ms Gadget says never) however, it has given me the confidence to tackle a long trip safely on the bike.  I think it will be a great hobby in retirement.  ;-* 

Thanks again to all involved in the idea through to implementation and fruition.

I'm glad to see that all were supportive of each other, no-one was pushing anyone to go beyond their limit and safety was paramount.

Now for the ride report.

Shiney and I met up near home and headed down to Boonah on the Thursday morning prior to the event to meet up with Streak for Breakfast at Cafe 17. Streak has a photo of us at Breakfast and here is mine of what was such a filling breakfast I didn't need lunch and the bikes lined up across the road

From there we rode down the Mt Lindsay Highway to Kyogle and Casino stopping for Fuel and a drink and a little break.  then we continued on through to Coffs Harbour.

When we were almost there we spotted a red ST1300 heading North, gave a wave and got a very enthusiastic wave back which put a  :grin on my face and later I discovered it was StinkyPete out doing a bit of sightseeing.  ++  So we kept on trundling into Coffs and made our way to the Motel.

There we discovered Saaz was there, Lionel was expected and StinkyPete would be back soon.  After we had checked in and had a good chin wag, and had waited for the others to arrive, we did the tourist bit and walked across the road and looked at the beach.  What a view at Park Beach Coffs Harbour.


Over dinner at the Bowls Club that night, I hatched a plan with Shiney and StinkyPete to go down to South West Rocks (SWR) , to check it out for a possible overnighter to replace Inverell.  We left Streak in the comfort of the motel room to slave away on work via remote.  :eek  Lionel and Saaz chose to have a well deserved rest day.

We took off for SWR with Google telling us that 106 km was going to take 1:29 hours,  I looked at it being mostly highway and thought Google must have got it wrong for once.  Well after what seemed like a million road works and umpteen dozen speed zone changes and an hour and a half later, we arrived in SWR and went straight to the beach.  And this is what we saw.

Yes in the distance is a Caravan Park by the beach, where this photo was taken was next to a Cafe/Takeaway/Ice cream shop and 100 m behind was a Surf Lifesaving Club with really good menu prices.  Here is the view from the veranda of the SLC.

We went and talked to the Caravan Park and they gave us a brochure which should they have 12 cabins and a variety of camp sites and across teh raod behind them was a couple of apartments for those that want some hard accommodation.  On the way in I noticed a Lions Club sign, and StinkyPete had the sense to ask if the Caravan Park would mind if one of teh service clubs came in to do breakfast.  Well as it happens, every 2nd sunday the local Rotary Club does a Breakfast (Bacon and Egg Buns) for a few dollars and free tea and coffee. 

While we were getting ready to leave the car park, StinkyPete mentioned he had bought an AirHawk and after trying it he decided it wasn't for him.  Out of curiosity, I asked if he had it with him.  to my surprise he did, and he offered for me to try it.  Well on the ride back to Coffs my one pressure point had disappeared and I could feel my ample weight was more evenly distributed.  I decided that if Pete didn't want it, I would find out what he wanted for it.  In under a minute we had a deal we could both live with and my derričre is most grateful.

When we got eventually got back to Coffs, Abe had arrived, so we handed  handed the info over and eagerly await the announcement  :popcorn  No pressure Abe.  :grin

By the time we got back it was time to meet the new arrivals for the day and think about food and getting a snooze in before the off.  Someone recommended the Takeaway at the Servo right next door to the Bosun's Inn Motel http://www.motelcoffsharbour.com/  well the $10.50 Beef Works Burger, (soory no photo) took half an hour to eat and was very filling.  After a bit more of a catch up with more OzSTOCers it was time for bed.  I managed to get my customary 6:30 hours of solid kip and woke at 10:30 pm rearing to get going. 

Eventually we were all up and made our way to the start point.  After fuelling and getting a start docket ST2UP and Pockey doing their official Time keepers duties the first bunch of three were dispatched at 2:00am with an ambient Temp of 14 °C. I took a photo of the with every intention of doing that at every stop. But this was the only one I got.

 Before I knew it they were asking for the next three, and Streak, Shiney and I accepted the challenge.  After a while it started to rain and the slowed the pace a little, and we caught the group in front and eventually and overtaking opportunity presented and we took it. 

Soon the more seasoned riders had caught us and for 50 odd kms there was a bunch of seven poking our way through the showers with some AWESOME illumination up front.

After a couple of hundred kms Streak and Shiney had found the wet going a little tougher and decided to take their first break.  I had planned on doing this as three stops and then home, and as I'm used to riding all weather I pressed on with the more seasoned riders for a while.  Their pace was a little quicker than I felt comfortable with on my old well worn PR3's so I let them slowly disappear up the road.  In one way that was a mistake, as I had forgot to plug my phone in to charge, (Phone = GPS voice guidance through the bluetooth only) and on GPS the battery goes flat in a couple of hours.  So as I reached Maitland I discovered the road had changed a little since I was last there and I got to the round-a-bout a the end of the Newcastle motorway and went straight ahead.  Shortly I saw a "Welcome to Cessnock" sign and that gave me an uncomfortable feeling.  I should have immediately gone with my instinct, but didn't like the idea of doubling back and being wrong, so a continued for 5 km until I came to the turn off for Blackhill Road and didn't recognise the landscape at all.  So I stopped, plugged in the phone, powered it back took a quick look at where I was and found I was 5 km off course.  :||||  A quick u-bolt and I was soon back on the motorway.

I kept an eye out to the east and I could see the glow of Newcastle lights and before long the first signs of dawn.  this pleased me as I was sick off just getting high beam on to have to lower them again.  So I adjusted low beam up a bit so I could still see well up the road. 

Before I knew it the lovely lady on the GPS was telling me to "take the exit and you will reach your destination".  I had made my first planned stop at Warnervale South (as my GPS called it) and my plan was on track.

As I pulled in the last of the lead pack (Biggles, Lionel, StinkyPete, Abe, and a couple of others whose names escape me) were pushing their bike from the pump and hydrating and munching and having a good laugh.  I noted my arrival time (4:22 am), Odo, fuelled, as I went to pay the lead pack made preparations to go.  My quick description off my detour gave them a good laugh and one kind dole offered me a GPS  :p Which I graciously refused.  Back to the bike, grabbed a museli bar, chomped it in seconds, gulped down some sports water relised I hadn't visited the toilet so I ducked in and relieved the bladder, back to the bike, stuffed a couple of Museli bars in my Jacket pocket and noted the time as 4:38 am.  Quick maths and I worked out I had only stopped for 16 minutes and thought I probably could have done better.

With the GPS now programmed for the Pup on the Lunchbox, I tool off one my own, not expecting to catch up with the others.  I continued on the beautiful Newcastle Freeway to Sydney.  As the sun was rising, I was expecting the temp to climb.  As I wend my way through the mountains it dropped to 9 °C  :eek and only came back up to 12 °C through Sydney.

I made my way down to Pennant Hills Road and was in familiar territory, and soon found the M2 and then the M7.  Before I knew it I was out the other side and heading towards Mittagong.  After an hour I called up the Truckers and asked if they had seen a pack of 5 or 6 bikes like mine, to my surprise none had seen them.  I began to wander how slow my progress was through Sydney and if I had fallen way behind Schedule.  This caused me to do some mental arithmetic and workout my OA on the fly and I came to the conclusion I was still on track to arrive at the Dog at my estimated time of 11:00 am.  About 30 km  East of Yass one of the Truckers said he had seen them and they were just the other side of Yass, so I was reassured that everyone was still going well.  the temperature had stubbornly refused to rise above 13 °C up until then and then it slowly started to ascend to the dizzy heights of 18 °C just as I pulled into the Servo at Gundagai.  A quick check of my clock and I had arrived at exactly 11:00 am. 

Continued here
http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=8053.msg92649#msg92649
« Last Edit: October 19, 2014, 10:13:08 PM by Gadget (Gary) »
Cheers,
Gary
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Offline Streak

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2014, 07:02:21 PM »
same as Gadget!

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Online Brock

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2014, 07:20:35 PM »
 :popcorn :popcorn :popcorn :popcorn :beer :popcorn :popcorn :beer :beer :popcorn :popcorn :hatwave
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Offline johnnyYTED

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2014, 07:53:49 PM »
 :dred11
here's my certificate,, RR to follow.

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maybe something with a little extra
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Offline Gadget

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2014, 10:01:23 PM »
Part 2: The inward journey


Right, refuel, pay, get docket, note Odo, write Odo on fuel docket, munch, drink, look around for other riders and see the bikes all lined up at Bullocky Bills Cafe down the road.  Being a marginally social guy I weighted up jumping back on or going down to see if I could have a quick catch up and see how everyone was going.  To my surprise, I saw Growly Pops Trike parked out front and a small gathering inside.  Well now came time to make some decisions.  Was I tired, No.  Was I comfortable to continue, Yes.  Do I extend this break seeing as I made it down in 9 hours and I knew I could afford and hours delay, Yes I decided, I'd give Streak and Shiney until 12:00 to catch up and then I'd be on my way.  By now TJ and Wonbattle had arrived and TJ checked on Streak and Shiney's progress and they were just up the road.  TJ, Wombattle waited, made sure they were OK and then went to the dog, took the obligatory photo:

At 12:17 pm we were off on the slab again with TJ leading.  We agreed to sit on CH13 UHF and a test of comms on the road soon showed I could be heard by TJ and Wombattle, but I was flat out understanding TJ.  It sounded very distorted and I could only occasionally make out a word here or there.  At least we had oneway working (better than nothing).  Anyway we sat on the speed limit and had an uneventful retuen trip spare my noting the Wind Turbines were all parked on the way back and I figured they had got past peak demand and had shut down to save on wear and tear. 

At the start of teh M5/M7 TJ in the lead, nearly changed lines at exactly the wrong time and was about to get stuck on the M5.  I remembered Saaz's warning about that the night before and gave TJ a quick Toot of the horn and pointed to the overhead sign which was enough to prevent the extended detour through Sydney.

Along we trundled and soon we were back on Pennant hills road and seemed to catch every red light.  At one of them a couple in a convertible took a real interest in TJ's rig.  At several sets of lights they made  point of pulling up beside him for another look. 

Soon we were back on the Newcastle Freeway and I was looking forward to the next stop.  Out west with the cold dry air I had been experiencing dry eyes and was too stuffy in the helmet not to let fresh air in, but usually a few minutes of closing all the hatches and I was all good again.  Well as we approached the 3ed stop My left eye started to sting and then it REALLY STUNG, my eye teared up so badly and that they were pouring down my cheek.  I got some relief if I kept my left eye closed, but in Saturday afternoon traffic up the Freeway and merges I didn't think riding one-eyed was safe, so I opened my eye and though I might just make it to the stop.  then all hell broke loose in my eye and my right eye started to go out in sympathy, well I just had to find a stopping point and fortunately I was already in the left lane.  Into the safety lane, I flipped open the helmet, ripped off my gloves, grabbed my handerchief from my pocket and wiped my eye and then the corner of my eye.  I could see nothing on the handerchief but I was feeling a lot better.  I noticed TJ had stopped just up the road to make sure I was OK and gave me a quick call to see what was wrong.  I now had I told him relief and I was right to press on the the next stop.  Just as I pulled into the lane my the lovely lady of the GPS informed my "In 2 km, take the exit"  So close, so far.

Anyway, into the servo, Note the time (4:32 pm), refuelling, chomping and Wombattle kindly offered me a couple of drops of Visine, which rally did the trick and he also gave me sage advice to always carry eye drops for long rides.  We decided to take an extended break because we were still making good time and I assessed I was still good to go.  This gave Wombattle time to have a Coffee, me a chance to clean the bugs of the visor and Windscreen and finally clean the mirrors after the rain earlier that day.  Clean my gleasses and discover a spray of something I presume to be bug guts on the bottom of my lens and I think I have found the source off my left eye from hell a very short time earlier.  We discussed if wet weather gear was necessary and thought trousers might prove a handy foil for the impending cooling of the day.   At 5:02 pm we were on the bikes and rolling out the drive for the last stint with Wombattle taking point.

As night approached another transmission from TJ and still distorted, I realised my radio was probably transmitting on 25W so I turned it down to 1 W and gave another call and still got a distorted reply, I commented I'd possibly have to re programme my radio to Wideband because it sounded over modulated.  The next thing I know is I receive an absolutely crystal clear call from TJ.  "What did you do?" I queried, "I turned the volume down" came the reply. I didn't quite understand what exactly he had done, but was so happy to hear him again.  Now, I had an opportunity to find out what he was asking and he was after my opinion of how effective his three LED indicators at the back were in the dark.  This gave me an opportunity to find what someone else thought of all my reflectors on the rear.

As darkness engulfed I pulled up to the right and slightly to the rear of TJ to take a look at his Infra-red camera screen.   I was impressed with the level of detail including being able to see the road and the trees.  WOW:  The three of us then played a little nut and shell game with 3 bikes on the freeway and talked about what we saw and compared notes and feedback. With Wombattle valiantly illuminating the road ahead on a section of divided road I thought I'd jump up beside him and give him a hand and see how the Narva 90+ compared to the Honda Lights in a Side by Side comparison.  Low beam to me didn't seem to be much better, but my High beam seemed to be a brighter white.  After about 5 minutes of us dipping our lights for oncoming traffic and and back to high beam, we saw a blinding flash from behind and then a brief moment later heard a little voice say "Have you finished playing with your lights?" with a tone of  :p and  :grin .  We conceded and made room for TJ to come through.  Arm the "Photon torpedos Scotty".  Even on low beam TJ has a really wide spread or evenly distributed light with an amazing wide angle.  I now have a serious case of photon envy.  :grin

TJ's set up. The big box front and centre is a video screen for the Infra-red camera.

Before we knew it the temp had dropped to 16 °C again and this time I was toasty warm.  Next thing we are at the Kempsey Bypass and a car coming the other way on the divided road which is half a car height lower than the north band section flshed his headlights, TJ and I thought cops ahead, not to worry we are at or below the limit, but eh, just disengage cruise and be prepared to brake if necessary,  a few seconds later he flashed his lights again, and three more seconds he did it again.  Well TJ, I and Wonbattle all must have thought teh same thing at the same time, as all three of us in unison flashed our headlights back.  Needless to say with TJ illuminating about 1.5 km of road up ahead, he didn't bother doing it again.  It gave me a good laugh and probably more than it should have.

Before we know it we are off the motorway and onto winding sections of forested single lane dual direction highway and the associated myriad of speed zones and high beam switching.  Soon we were at Macksville with less than 100 km to go and I was still feeling alert, just the last 50 km had really started to bother the backside.  I was looking forward to stopping.

More road works and more slow sections made it excruciating pain wise and I was able to remain calm entusiasm wise figuring it was much better to plod along than ruin the day with a off or some unwanted  :law attention.  Before too long, we hit what I knew to be the last 110 km section and we were again able to relax and engage cruise mode.  As we entered the last round-about before the finishing point, I asked "Are we there yet?"  Ecstatic to have made it this far and grateful for the opportunity.

We pulled in the The servo at 9:28 pm and as I stiffly got off the bike, Wombattle came straight over and shook my hand and congratulated me soon to be followed by TJ and then ST2UP and Pockey to grab Odo reading and the signature to finish.  I refuelled had a another big drink of water and then went to pay for the fuel.  Inside the attendant was telling a customer who had asked what was happening with all the bikes, so I chipped in and told him what we'd doe and that is was a SS1600k IBA ride.  he knew what is was and said "I hope you had an Airhawk!"  :grin

Now it was time to go and have a Sausage sizzle prepared by ST2UP and Pockey and a couple of light beers.  Then after comparing tales of teh journey, sharing jokes and being inundated with more good advice from the seasoned riders we waited for Streak, Shiney and johnnyYTED to make it.  With the really good news that all the little ducks had made it home to roost we had an informal thanking everyone including the participants, and a little award ceremony to get our certificates.   It was off to bed for a solid nights sleep. 

6:30 hours later I was awake and ready for breakfast.  Off we walked to the Surf life Saving Club and had a fanastic breakfast, more good laughs and yarns.

We said our farewells, thanked the motel staff, TJ Shiney and I headed for home.  Apart from a stop at Grafton for Shiney and TJ to refuel, it was non-stop to home for me.  Near Yatala, Shiney waved goodbye, and I figured he had a hankering for a Yatala Pie.  TJ took his exit to the Logan motorway and I continued on to home.  I pulled into the garage with my B trip meter sitting on 996 km, having run over to the 2000 mark somewhere south of Coffs.  So I am happy to say, a grand total of 2996 km from door to door and a new set of tyres is now well and truly due.  :grin

Thanks again everyone who made this possible.  I enjoyed it a lot!  :thumbsup

Statistics here
http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=8053.msg92664#msg92664
« Last Edit: October 20, 2014, 07:03:08 AM by Gadget (Gary) »
Cheers,
Gary
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Then  :blu13 Now :Spyder
Life's too short to be miserable, so enjoy it! :)
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Offline Biggles

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2014, 11:11:25 PM »
Gary has done an excellent job telling the details.  My story is similar, without the bug in the eye or the radios.  I rolled out in the third group and we found ourselves eventually out in front by sheer dint of saaz' laser lights.  And so we cut a swathe through the light rain which fortunately didn't last too long.  I wasn't dressed for the cold and figured I would endure until the sun started its job thawing me.  It wasn't to be, as the NSW temperatures stayed doggedly in the low teens.  I was at the stage of being thankful to ride at 80 rather than 110, which isn't my usual mind-set.

I'm a bit like Gary in the social stakes.  And I don't eat much when I'm on a mission, but decided to have a toasted sanger since everyone seemed to be taking the Half-Way turn-around pretty casually.
Called Mrs Biggles to report in and she said- "Oh, I guess you are near Sydney by now."  She'd obviously slept through most of the outbound leg and was surprised we were in Gundagai.  "So you'll go and visit our daughter in Tumut since you're almost there?"  "No dear, this is a pointless ride for the sake of the ride" (as Sargent was later to say).     :grin

Anyhoo- a shot of the Dog and off north with saaz and Lionel.  At Jilliby we three refuelled and I announced I was going to try this strange business of stopping for coffee.    :eek

Lionel couldn't wrap his head around that concept and headed for the finish.  Saaz graciously and patiently waited- quite shocked that I'd actually ordered a "drink-in" coffee and not a take-away to drink on the road, as one does on an IBA ride.    :-(((

We two managed to get separated near Karuah when he stopped and waved me on, and I stopped soon after in a Rest Area to remove the sunnies and grab a lolly out of the tank bag.  It turned out he'd scooted past while I was there, so he arrived at Coffs 5 minutes ahead to register 2nd in the non-race.

For the record, here's the dockets the IBA needs as primary evidence.



While we burned dwindling petrol supplies, ST2UP and Pockey went shopping and back at the Motel around 10:00 pm there was a very welcome BBQ with nibbles and beers thrown in.  Many thanks, guys for your thoughtfulness.
Soon after that we were ushered into The Saloon where TJ and Chris had assembled a marvellous array of IBA and OzSTOC gear.  More evidence of the thought and effort that went into this whole exercise.  TJ presented the certificates to the grateful participants.
The morning brekky on the deck at the Surf Club put the finishing touch to an excellent venture.  During the analysis we reached agreement that OzSTOC is something special.  Yes, we have the best touring motorcycle in common, but that machine seems to attract the best kind of people and our Club has developed a character all of its own of which we are all delighted to be part.
For the modern man who lives in the city, riding a bike might be one of the only ways to escape the humdrum monotony. To take off and ride. To be both at one with nature and one with the bike. To feel masculine. Adam Piggott

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Online Wild Rose

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2014, 01:12:41 AM »
Great write up Gary  :like A WoW of a trip  :clap :clap :clap
Thanks for sharing

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Offline Gadget

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2014, 07:01:57 AM »
Part 3: Statistics

LocationArrival timeDepartureTimeTravelling TimeStopped TimeDistanceFuelConsumptionMoving AverageOverall Average
BP
380 Pacific Hwy
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
- - - - - - - - - - - - -2:00 AM AEST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Caltex Starmart F3
North Wyong
41 St Johns Rd
Jilliby NSW 2259
6:22 am AEST6:38 AM AEST4:220:16452 km24.70 litres5.46 l/100 km103.51 km/hr97.55 km/hr
Coles Tuckerbox Express
LOT 7 Hume Hwy.
Gundagai NSW 2722
11:00 am AEST12:17 PM AEST4:221:17461 km23.45 litres5.09 l/100 km105.57 km/hr81.59 km/hr
Caltex StarMart
F3 South Wyong
LOT 32 St Johns Rd
Warnervale NSW 2259
5:02 pm AEST5:32 PM AEST4:150:30461 km22.60 litres4.90 l/100 km108.47 km/hr97.05 km/hr
BP
380 Pacific Hwy
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
9:22 pm AEST- - -4:26- - -441 km22.28 litres5.05 l/100 km99.47 km/hr99.47 km/hr
Cheers,
Gary
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Offline alans1100

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2014, 09:14:12 AM »
From what I've read so far: it's all good.

This is just a personal thing and it's each to their own sort of thing but seeing greasy type food on the screen first thing this morning did not go down well for me.

It was surprising to see the build up around the "dog on the box". I was only about 20 (1975) and it wasn't the easiest thing to see by the side of the road when we travelled that way heading back to Adelaide from Sydney.
1999 :bl11  2004 :13Candy

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Offline Diesel

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #13 on: October 20, 2014, 09:38:33 AM »
Great reads you three.     :clap
Awesome effort by everyone concerned to ensure the best possible time was had by all.    :-++
Gadget knows why they call it an "Iron Butt".      :butt         :crackup


Well done - well earned.     :EatCake

Cheers, Diesel
« Last Edit: October 20, 2014, 09:47:14 AM by Diesel »
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Offline sargent

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2014, 03:57:29 PM »
Firstly thank you to all involved, I can't say this enough as the efforts put in by all made this not only a success for myself but for the other IBA virgins that participated in this ride and future rides.   ;-*

Set off from home on Thursday morning at 11:00 headed for Taree. Easy day arrived at 6:15pm and asleep by 9:30.

Up early after a great sleep re-pack the bike and a cuppa and ponder the morning ahead. 8:30 on the road and heading for dorrigo for some memory re visits and a Bakery fix, Further up the road and relentless traffic, roadworks and my feeling of going to dorrigo has left me so straight to Coffs and catch up with some old friends from when I lived here years ago.

( Commercial Plug )
There is a Cafe right next to the Bosuns Inn on 31-33 Ocean Parade, Coffs Harbour.
The Food is beyond excellent and the prices are incredible. you will be deilighted.


Check in at the Bosuns Inn after seeing friends and meet and great those involved.

I have spent a couple of weeks preparing for this ride both mentally and changing my Diet so as to increase stamina and reduce expected fatigue.

Sleeping was difficult and I certainly would have liked to have had a bit more.
( Biggles was heard to mention how soft we were for going to bed early)  :grin

11:30pm and im sitting on my bike drinking coffee in the motel carpark in Boxers and a singlet, but i managed to finally sync my Iphone with the Spotwalla app thru SWConnect, this is Brilliant I had my Darling at home with some involvment of my participation in this event.
For those interested just follow the link below - all you need is a smartphone.

https://spotwalla.com/help/devices.php#supported

So now it's 1am and Time to pack the bike and make my way to the startpoint for a Maccas burger and hot apple pie.

Sooner than later the time had arrived for us to leave on the adventure we had came for, staggered starts seen me leaving with only 2 behind me (remember this is not a race against anybody else, just a 24 hour limit)

Easy 1st leg down after coming across a few others and getting into a good rythm.
quick refuel and head off for the half way point.

A few lucky breaks on people taking rest stops and I find myself getting the line honours at the turn around, no crowds waiting or ticka tape parade so I paid for the fuel and had a good lunch break with my Parents who had come down from Young to watch the FOOLS riders pull in.

A huge thanks also to Paul aka (Growly) for also making the ride from Canberra to see us all at the half way point.

12:00pm now and time to climb back on and head for Coffs... and to be honest as I was heading back thru Sydney I had to dig deep Mentally as the Bum was feeling really intense, my shoulder was playing up and the old back was niggling away too.

Reaching the final leg of the Journey and my head is back in the game, surprisingly the pain has gone now the doubt has gone from my mind.  :rockon

Quick refuel and only 440 klms left to go, haven't seen anybody since leaving Gundagai so not sure of Unofficial standings were everyone is.

Thru the last lot of Roadwork zones and my journey is closing to an end shortly and I feel great, as i ride past the old boambee servo I know that my Journey is coming to a close in less than 5 minutes.

As i pull into the BP at Coffs i'm elated to see the smiling faces of our dutiful signatory's.

Below is my spot log.

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=b9b5544111bdd17c1

My certificate looks the same as everyone else - just has a different name on it to everyone else.
 :whistle

Stats also found below.
 


Now just to head home, rode to Sydney with Johhny were he graciously swapped seats with me as he has gone the Solo option.... Massive thanks for the seat too Johhny.

Riding home into a beautiful Sunset and the loving arms of my gorgeous wife. I will share on with you.



All up 3,502 klms..... after much deliberation I would do this again and even on concrete.  :crazy
Robert - White ST1100P (they're just better)
 

Offline Biggles

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2014, 04:06:52 PM »
Quote
after much deliberation I would do this again and even on concrete.

Well that's a change of heart- goodonya.  The last opinion I heard was you could tick that one off the Bucket List and get back to riding for fun.

But I'm not sure if "concrete" refers to the bike seat or the Hume Slab.
For the modern man who lives in the city, riding a bike might be one of the only ways to escape the humdrum monotony. To take off and ride. To be both at one with nature and one with the bike. To feel masculine. Adam Piggott

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Offline ST2UP

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2014, 06:45:31 PM »
So here are the presentation pics of the very well earned inaugural OzSTOC IBA SS1600K ride, the first of is kind undertaken in Australia by having the ride and route pre-verified by the IBA Organisation based on there rules and regulations of pre-verified group rides.

Thanks again to TJ for his passion for safe LD riding and allowing his fellow club members the opportunity to achieve something truly memorable in their riding careers  :thumbsup

The support of the IBA and its leaders needs also be acknowledged for giving OzSTOC the opportunity through their group riding guidelines to undertake this project for our members  :-++




Sargent (Rob)




JohnyYTED (Johnny)




Saaz  (John)




TJ189 (Trevor)




Wombattle. (Craig)




Biggles (Bill)




Lionel



Abe (Dave)




StinkyPete (Pete)




Gadget (Gary)




Streak (Graham)





Shiney (Dave)


Congratulations to all the recipients on their accomplishment, and for the safe and professional manner they represented OzSTOC in this inaugural event.....Well done guys  :thumbsup


Cheers

The OzSTOC Team.





 
Chris    



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Offline Streak

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #17 on: October 20, 2014, 09:21:48 PM »
For anyone wanting to look at the Facebook side of things and the extra Photos on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.921674281193970.1073741867.242525062442232&type=1
Streak (Graham)
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Offline Streak

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #18 on: October 20, 2014, 09:24:10 PM »
The Master of one to many photos ride report below...yes that is me...



I was lucky enough to be one of them, and this is my story....

I had been planning a 1600 for sometime, but it seemed like there was something was in the way, so when this opportunity came up I jumped at it!

Kick off time was set for 2am NSW time from the McDonalds Service Centre in Coffs Harbour, with the route taking us down to the Dog on the Tucker Box, for the turn around to come home.



TJ was the master of proceedings, and wanted everyone there for 1.30am so we all had time to make sure our starting paperwork was in order, 2am landed and myself, Shiney and Gadget all set off together, I have to say I was pretty nervy not having done anything like this before, but Shiney and I had worked out our own plan and wanted to stick to it.

I started pretty brightly, feeling good about the new adventure, it didn't last long, to go with not used to riding in the dark (I had been practising), it got a little windy and started to rain, and I got the tired feeling very quickly, it is one of the things I like about Bluetooth, as shiney was having the same problem so we talked ourselves through to our first 200km stop, to which we did the drink and round the bike dance, and we perked up considerably!

We had considered pulling at this stop as we were just not feeling it.

our first fuel stop was at Morissett at the 420km mark, so we could scoot through Sydney easily without having to stop, and also have a light breakfast.

Bikes and riders where running well, and with the sun coming up, we got into the groove and really started to enjoy what we were were setting out to achieve.



we had our next stop at Sutton Forest as my power cable to my iPhone, which also had all my set stops planned into it decided not to work, so we wheeled in for a small coffee and cable change over and power up my phone.

Chris rang me to see how we where going as we where behind everyone else, but thaqt is pretty much how we planned it, with the more regular stops, as we wanted to step off the bikes feeling fresher than everyone else (at least that's what we told ourselves!)

as we got closer to Gundagi we started looking for ST's doing the return leg, the photos didn't work out but we got a big wave or two!

HALF WAY

so it was a quick fuel, muslie bar, seat change over (shiney had borrowed a Russell day long to use, and I had given it a crack to see what it was like, I stuck with my Gel Seat Pad as the RDL was to big for me), and a photo with the dog, Growly was even there to say hello!









We were stopping as TJ, Wombattle and Gadget where all heading off



it was then back into it, and the back end 900km and we where feeling good, and getting excited that I had this, and I was going to get my IBA number and a fantastic personal achievement!

Shiney was travelling well, and settled in, I spent the whole trip with him in my side mirror



every thing was pretty uneventful through Sydney we stopped for fuel in Berowra and asked the lady behind the counter if there was somewhere nice for a sand wich nearby, she pointed up the road to a little bakery, we pulled in and well it was a little rough shopping centre, but the pie shop had award winning written all over it, so why not, we had time..

we asked the lady for a pie and a small coffee, it was around 5pm now and she was closing, we said just pie thanks and don't worry about coffee, she actually gave us to large desserts to say thank you for her not having to make us coffee haha!



so yes we had a social moment!

as we cruised back out onto the highway we came across JohnnyTED, who had been for a sleep, so then there where 3, by the time we hit Taree, I was definatly not the fresh wallflower that had departed from Coffs, so rather and push through, I thought it best to have a short stop to freshen up from the last 200 odd km to Coffs



it was the right move, felt helps better for the stop, was not going to crack the 20 hour window, but I would rather be there safe than fast.

apart from the last 60km of road works that drove me slightly mad, I could not see the difference in the road quality from 60km to 100km myself, we landed back 10.36pm, signed off, and saw everyone else looking very satisfied and Chris and Jean with cold beer, sausage and bread waiting for us, it was a welcome sight.





Then it was presentation time!

as pre organised with Mike Kneebone and TJ, and the nature of this ride, all certs where pre done (how all this works talk to mike and TJ, they spent months sorting it out), it was really satisfying to hear my name, get up and get presented with my certificate and the goodies that come with   :grin







So all done and dusted, 1,771km done, very very satisfied!





I have to say thank you to ST2UP, Jean, & Especially TJ for putting all this together, it superb and it was amazing with all the people involved!

So now I have to think of the next one I am doing!










Streak (Graham)
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Offline johnnyYTED

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #19 on: October 20, 2014, 09:49:10 PM »
 :dred11
firST up I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who assiSTed in getting this organized, especially  TJ Chris and Pokey. :clap :clap :clap
my preparation STarted weeks before getting STranger ready, thanks Abe. and getting myself mentally and physically fit, I managed to put on 5kgs even.the anxiety built up at leaST a week before the time to leave and everyone around was over me talking about what was ahead,, 
my trip STarted Friday morning leaving home at 7.30 to meet up with Abe at the STart of the freeway at 9am. I happily followed Abe north towards Coffs Harbour. It was intereSTing seeing cars when they saw the WHITE bike then slowing down and pulling in behind.... a fuel STop at Taree, arriving at the Bosuns Inn about 3pm,meeting up with the other OzSTOCers participating in this inaugural IBA OzSTOC SS1600 ride. Early to bed but couldnt sleep so juST after 12pm was up and ready to leave and get to the BP.

Fueled up and a large coffee drunk, a group photo taken. At 2 am I left with Abe and STinky Pete in the firST group, the anxiety lessened, about 2 hrs later we headed into rain. Before long we were being passed by 5 others, and I decided to tag on for a little while then thought about my fuel use backed off and waited till Abe and Pete caught up and settled back into a more sensible economic trip down to Jillaby.the group who passed us earlier were about to leave,, Fueled up at Jilliby

then hit Sydney after daylight. Passing the Campbelltown exits, where normally I peel off to home,headed towards Goulburn when much to my surprise I watched as another rider approached and passed us, it was sargent, hmmm  :think1 he muST have taken a wrong turn or missed the M7, then we came across Lionel beside the road who gave us the thumbs up, it was then again I left Abe and Pete and took off in pursuit of sargent, when low and behold Biggles was just ahead, I passed him only to end up following him into the servo at Gundagai. we where met by sargents mum,taking pics of us all as we fueled up.

lunch STop then I headed off ahead of Abe and Pete and caught up to Biggles and saaz then Lionel passed us and led us north again. JuST before Narrellan Rd exit I came beside Biggles and gestured I was taking the next exit, and Biggles was thinking I was bailing out of the challenge. I took advantage of heading home and having a shower, took some fluid replacement as I had STarted to cramp up, then fell asleep. 10 mins later woke up and thought  :cuss thinking I had slept a few hrs, rushing to get my riding gear on and get back on the rd almoST left home without my wallet,, would have been a problem if I didnt  notice till I was fueling up.. I topped up at my local where the attendant queried " why are you back early".. and I replied 'a quick detour'...
back out onto the highway and M7 thinking I would be riding back to Coffs to be the laST to finish.  :fp
As I was heading down to cross the Hawksbury River on Brooklyn bridge I could see 2 bikes juST across the river, I wondered if they were ST's. I caught up to them climbing thru the 90/100 bends and saw 2 familiar ST13's, STreak and Shiney,  hehe, gave a cheeky wave as I slipped paST on the inside then they tucked in behind and I led them along the motorway and over the bridge at Hexham. Around Heatherbrea Streak said they needed a STop soon so we pulled into Taree service centre for fuel and a coffee. not far to go now, I could feel the excitement building within me, STreak waiting for a call from Chris as to whether we needed to finish at the BP or head STraight to Bosuns led the way back to Coffs, another WHITE bike that cage drivers were unsure about, and Shiney following in my tracks. We were all STanding up STreching out the pains, wriggling about, except Shiney who said he was comfy sitting on a russellday long borrowed, we arrived back to the Inn and  a welcome home from Chris,TJ Jayden and all the other finishers and congratulatuin handshakes, a sausage sizzle anda cold beer which I even drank, the firST in a long long time.
not long later we were gathered in a room to be given our IBA OzSTOC certificates and the accolades of being the firST recipients of a group IBA ride in AuSTralia. :hatwave my certificate photo appears to have been taken thru my blurry eyes,, that how everything appeared to me at the time :crackup
 After a good breakfaST and reflexions we said our good byes, thanks for the push STart sargent, it was the only time STranger needed asSTance this trip, he did me proud in finishing an epic ride. I left with sargent and headed south with a appreciation  to the Iron Butt name, my right hand numb arrived home at 4.45 pm. I swapped my twin seat with sargent, and far welled him on his way. Went to my mums to show off my reward for the weekend an IBA OzSTOC SS1600 certificate which is framed and taking pride of place on my wall for all to see, :grin
Congrats to all us IBA virgins  who did the ride safely and sensibly, and the seasoned IBA riders who gave us advise. ++  thank you.
  btw  I weighed myself and only loST 1 1/2 kgs on this trip,, I can deal with that,
3011k's total and a huge grin...

« Last Edit: October 21, 2014, 11:19:31 PM by johnnyYTED »
Picton  if it doesn’t flood higher than previous times.
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Offline Abe

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #20 on: October 21, 2014, 11:33:26 AM »
No ride report from me, because it all has been written above.

BUT, a big thanks to TJ, Chris, Jean & Jaiden and anyone else that was involved with this IBA ride.  :like

Congratulations to all the riders on your successful IBA SS1600 ride.  :beer

At my age " getting lucky" is remembering what I came in the room for ;)

:wht13      Cheers Dave
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Offline alans1100

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #21 on: October 21, 2014, 12:21:11 PM »
I posted this report and the face book link about the ride over on www.my-mc-phoenix.com

« Last Edit: October 21, 2014, 12:25:15 PM by alans1100 »
1999 :bl11  2004 :13Candy

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Offline Shiney

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #22 on: October 21, 2014, 08:12:43 PM »
THE LEAD UP

In the lead up to this challenge I did a few 300 – 1000 km rides to get back in the swing of riding a bit of distance.
Then work and life got in the way and I forgot to check the bike over until the week before leaving :fp So with the time left I ended up doing a service on the beast and having the tyres changed the day before leaving.

Thursday morning I headed off at 06:30 to met up with Gadget



After meeting up we headed down to Cafe 17 in Boonah for Breakfast with Streak.



      



After a great feed I changed into the new boots Streak had brought along for me



We rode down the Mt Lindsay Highway. The front tyre slipped on a few corners where cracks had been patched  in the road :eek so I slowed down a bit. We continued on to Kyogle and Casino stopped for Fuel and a short break then on to Coffs Harbour.



On the way Streak and I were playing our usual game of “Can we get a wave from other riders” where we wave to every bike we see then cheer if they wave back. :hatwave



Anyway I spotted a bike coming towards us and commented that the headlight looked like that of an ST. As it got closer we made it out to be a red ST1300 heading away from Coffs. The rider was given three big waves from us and gave us a big wave back. :hatwave Later we found out it was StinkyPete doing a bit of sightseeing.

After checking in to the Bosun's Inn Motel we unpacked and took a walk out to look at the beach.











Then we wandered up to the bowls club to catch up with the guys. On the way there Streak noticed that I had worn in the new boots. (I guess I had been leaning into the corners a bit >:())

   

After a bit of a chat we had dinner and Gadget suggested we head out the next day to check out a possible overnighter location with StinkyPete. After a bit more of a chat we retired for the night.



The next day StinkyPete, Gadget and I headed out to South West Rocks and looked around the caravan park and the surf club. (It was very nice :thumbsup)







We headed back and met up with the rest of the people joining us on the adventure and after chatting for a while ST2UP gave me a surprise.





He asked that I hold out my arms and close my eyes (so I did), when I opened them I found he had placed his Russell Day Long seat in my arms. WOW: I was overjoyed (that man is a LEGEND :-++) he said Streak and I could use it on the ride but that we had to return it to him after. :'(

So after putting the seat on my ST we had a feed from the Takeaway shop in the Servo next door to the Motel then turned in for some sleep before the ride.

THE RIDE

We woke up at 01:00, got ready and headed out to the starting point. After fuelling up and getting start dockets ST2UP and Pockey noted our odometers and the first group of three were dispatched at 02:00.



Streak, Gadget and I headed off together with Streak and I planing on stops every 200km or so and Gadget planing to continue on without us when we made our first stop.

Soon the experienced IBA riders passed us and for for a while we followed them. Saaz lead us along through the dark with what appeared to be a piece of the sun attached to the front of his bike. (It was like daylight out front 8))

After a while it started to rain and it got a bit cold and Streak and I both found that it was making us tied so when we pulled up for our first break we were considering pulling out of the ride. :'( But after moving around for a bit we came good and decided to continue on. :runyay


We continued along to Morisset for fuel at 06:20 and were feeling much better so we swapped the  Russell Day Long seat from my bike to Streak's and off we went.
:blu13 :wht13

The next stop was at Sutton Forest East at 09:09 where we topped up our fuel, had a coffee and Streak got a new iPhone cable (The one he had been using was stuffed :cuss)

We continued along and spotted a bunch of Wind Turbines (I love looking at those things :grin) and even spotted some of the guys heading back towards Coffs. (Big waves were given and received :hatwave)

      
*Pics of the Wind Turbines were taken on the way back but I thought I'd place them here :grin *

We pulled into the Gundagai Servo at 11:55 and after fuelling up headed over for the Dog on the Tuckerbox photo and met up with a few of the guys (Gadget, TJ, Wombattle and even Growly who had come out to cheer us all on :thumbs)









We switched the Russell Day Long seat back to my bike and off we went. :runyay



Our next fuel stop was at 16:25 in Berowra after which we headed up the road a little to a great bakery for a bite to eat and a coffee :eat
As the business day was coming to an end the lady at the bakery had already shut the coffee machine down for the day, so we passed on the coffee and just had a cold drink. She was so happy that she wouldn’t have to restart the coffee machine that she gave us some pastries to say thanks :clap





So after we had consumed a great sausage roll, a pie and drinks we continued on and were joined by JohnnyYTED as we were cruising along the highway. :hatwave

We followed Johnny for a while then him and Streak slowed down and had a chat about the next stop. (Well it was more yelling at each other to be heard over the wind :rofl)

We pulled up at 19:25 in Taree, fuelled up and had a coffee and a stretch.
As the day was starting to cool down I put on the wet weather pants to cut out the cold wind then we continued on.



We arrived at the motel at 22:36 and were signed off. (It is an awesome feeling having completed the challenge :thumbsup :runyay :grin) Chris and Jean had put on some beers and cooked up some snags which we happily consumed (thanks guys :-++)
Then after we all congratulated each other on making the distance we had an award ceremony to get our certificates :clap :clap :clap

TJ had done an amazing job of organising for the ride to be pre-certified so that we could receive the certificates straight after completing the ride and I was very happy to receive mine.



The next morning we all had breakfast on the deck at the local Surf life Saving Club :eat :eat :eat





After that we said goodbye to everyone and headed off. :hatwave Gadget, TJ and I rode out together. 
:blu13 :blu13 :slvr13
We stopped at Grafton for fuel, the hit the slab for home. Near Yatala I waved goodbye and left the guys to continue on. :hatwave
I had a break and a bite to eat then rode the rest of the way home.

The trip was over 3000 km total for me and I really enjoyed the challenge :grin

I'd like to thank all the guys that participated and TJ, Chris, Jean and everyone else who made this ride possible. You all did an amazing job :clap :clap :clap :-++ :-++ :-++ :clap :clap :clap

And a thanks for the seat too Chris, even though it wasn't designed for me it was great, I can only imagine how good one designed for me will be :thumbsup



Cheers
Shiney (IBA # 59142  ;-*)
My Ride: 2023 ST1800   :thumb
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I like shiney things :grin
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Offline gaz

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #23 on: October 21, 2014, 08:44:48 PM »
good on youse for completing it  ++
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Offline Biggles

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Re: OzSTOC SS1600K - the wrap up.....
« Reply #24 on: October 21, 2014, 09:06:05 PM »
Quote
The front tyre slipped on a few corners where cracks had been patched  in the road :eek

Those "road snakes" are treacherous even when dry.  I encountered them northbound a couple of weeks ago when they were quite fresh and nearly put her down.  They are less hazardous as they age.

Good report with lotsa pix.  You experienced one of the FR phenomena- a time of doubt about the venture, followed by a short rest and a significant recovery.  Like Johnny's 10 minute sleep that seemed like an hour or more- any break is very beneficial.      :thumbs
For the modern man who lives in the city, riding a bike might be one of the only ways to escape the humdrum monotony. To take off and ride. To be both at one with nature and one with the bike. To feel masculine. Adam Piggott

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