As reported previously, in October last year I completed my SS1600 on the way to Melbourne enroute a National Run in Tasmania. I won't bore you with the details- down the Newell to the Hume and "hello Fawkner Motel".
My SS2000 was achieved enroute the OzSTOC Annual Run to Middleton. The paperwork is somewhere in a pile in Naperville, Illinois. This account is of my BB2500K which was rather more convoluted. It all began last Thursday when I set the alarm for 12:45 AM Friday. I manage a residential Complex, and so have a little flexibility regarding my working hours. Off to bed at the unheard of (by this owl) 8:30 PM. At 9:30 the doorbell rang. Tenant had locked herself out, "Sorry, can you let me in?" Not a good start to this venture. Back to counting sheep and shooting kangaroos. Woke as if by some internal clock at 12:40. Still dunno how that works. Put the trip pantry in the top box and tank bag and off to visit the Tenants who are Bakers and are up at 1:00 every morning, to get my Start Witness Form signed. Then downtown for my Start Docket- planned for 1:30 and time stamped 1:20. That's more like it. Down through the tunnel to the Inner City Bypass and out onto the Cunningham Highway rolling sweetly. Approaching Flinders View I see flashing lights, including blue/red. Not good.
An accident? No, a super-wide load crawling westwards. No way to duck around here with Plod watching. Then inspiration hit- tear up the Flinders View Exit, around the round-about and down to the highway a good hundred metres ahead of the rolling road-block. How good was that for timing?
All smooth riding in ideal temperatures (around 22) until arriving exhilarated at the top of the Cunninghams Gap climb (do they ever police that 70 kay zone? I know they do the 80- I made a donation there one night). The temp dropped to 16 degrees and my thin blood felt every degree as they fell away on the readout. Approaching the 60 zone at Warwick when whadaya know? Another one of those full road-width tranporters with two very busy white vans weaving along behind it. So we crawled along, stopping occasionally to double check overhead wire and bridge clearances. When we finally go over the river, the glorious town by-pass sign appeared and me and a retinue of semi-trailers were off with the speed of a thousand gazelles (well, the in-town variety, anyway).
Then the hard slog of the Cunningham Highway out to Goondiwindi for the fuel docket/ bladder download/ snack and drink and off with a 10 minute buffer added despite the efforts of wide loads to ruin my run. One fox sighted so far. Through the Boggabilla 50 zone and into the beloved 110 stretch to Moree to meet the dawn. Not a single Skippy sighted through the night, so looks like I'm being looked after, undeserving though I be. Through town and not a soul in sight, so on to Collarenebri past untold thousands of rows of cotton ready for the harvest (see photo In Front Of the Biggest...). The usual bustle in Collie- one car at the servo. Nothing to see here- on to Walgett for my corner docket and an inspection of the 24 hour card device which looks serviceable.
A stretch of road new for me down to Gilgandra then on the familiar Newell down to Parkes for the next fuel and corner docket. This was my designated lunch stop, so after refuelling at the BP East I parked at the handy garden seat opposite to pay homage to my thawed sanger. It was then that I realised I was missing my bi-focal sunglasses. A quick search, then back over the road to the servo, and there they were on the ground where I'd refuelled, flattened by the thoughtless Parkes denizens. I bent the frames back towards usable and tolerated the crack in the right lens which was clear of my sight line.
Onwards to Bathurst for an icecream and docket, then Lithgow, Bilpin, (can't really enjoy the Bell's Line when I'm on a mission, especially since the road is wet) to Richmond. Oh damn. Richmond to the F3 at peak hour edging past the roadworks to get onto the M2. I needed a corner docket this far south, so Pennant Hills was where I was headed, provided I wasn't run over by these Sydney drivers. It's now 5:13 PM Qld time. I've been on the road 16 hours and feeling fine, especially now I'm out on the Newcastle Freeway with the traffic opened up. It's a frenzy of lane changing drivers apparently late for something north of here, but I can play that game, Dudes.
Plan A is to ride north, pick a motel and grab a few hours nap. It also included swinging back inland onto the New England Highway to secure my 2500 kays by home. Making great time up the F3, I thought about the awful Hunter Valley part of the road with roadworks, 50 kph towns every couple of miles the cold New England and decided it was all getting too hard, and I needed simple, so it was now head up the Pacific and keep rolling on those 110 posted four lanes. Started to work out what time I'd be home rather than waking some cranky motel manager. Swung into a highway McDonalds at regular dinner time. Need some structure here! Dinner is at 7:00 for this diner. There's one thing on the dinner menu that I like, the recent offering of Californian Chicken Burger with Lime Chilli. Highly recommended as far as their range goes, but comes second to my fave breakfast which is the Bacon and Egg McMuffin and a McCafe coffee. NEVER ask for the coffee at the burger counter or they try to poison you with some river mud masquerading as coffee.
Back to the plot. Called Mrs Biggles with "travelling OK, how was your day" and off again. Google maps shows the new Kempsy by-pass as broken, but it's open and great! More petrol, this time at Clybucca and 11:30 Qld time. Need to put on my jumper under the Dririder and Dayglo jacket. At least if I'm snug, I feel good. How's the head, back and butt? Hmm, one good out of three isn't great, but at least it's the one I need most. The other two will just have to tough it out.
Here's Nambucca Heads. I'm good from here- not long ago I did a half FarRide to here, so I can do that and be home. Strewth, Iron Butt Rally riders do this for 11 days straight. And some of them are older than me- stop doubting and ride- oh no... it's raining and it rains all the way to Grafton.
I thought it was getting tough before. Now I'm feeling positively persecuted. The B-doubles are relentlessly bearing down and viz ain't great. I let one pass me (that's a first) so I can follow him on low beam rather than fight the elements with my driving lights. Well that worked for five minutes, but this guy must be travelling light, because he's doing 120 and I can't do that in these conditions. So it's back to cutting my own swathe through the deluge. Coffs Harbour- another town desperately needing a by-pass. Well, something is happening, because there's roadworks at 80 kph for the 25 km to Woolgoolga. With a sign every 100 metres reminding you Speed Limits In Work Zones Are Enforced. Once north of Grafton there are only occasional bits of drizzle.
I needed to stretch the legs so pulled into a light vehicle Rest Bay. How come there are at least 10 cars in here? Are there always this many people sleeping in these places? I rolled through to the end and put the side stand down and "over she went". The stand was stopped by a little bump and so wasn't foward, so folded back. There being no way I was going to get these wobbly legs to push the 300 kgs back vertical, I went and knocked on the window of a campervan that was the only vehicle with a light on. An angel in boxer shorts helped me get the bike up and went back to his van. Wow! Now the adrenalin is in full flow I'm set for the home stretch.
Ballina By-pass- yea! One day I'll be choosing to jump off these by-passes seeking photos of Post Offices, but for this trip, they're a tonic. Not too far now and it's four lanes and 110.
Through the border tunnel and a fuel docket at Coomera. Plan B is in full swing. Geeps says it's only 65 kays to home and my bed. Into the driveway at 5:30 and into the cot at 5:40 with the alarm set for 9:30.
The body clock wakes at 8:30 so it's onto the computer to see what's 80 kays away for another corner docket. Buderim it is, so I'm off to buy milk at Woolworths and back to "my" servo for the Finish Docket. It's 11:20 when I get my Finish Witnesses' signatures. Thirty-four hours for a run around the block and it's time for lunch and a kip.
