Day Five 28th Aug 2007:
Yesterday was the 4th day at this pace, I have only ever done four one thousand mile or 1600 km days in a row, and that was three weeks ago. I am ride fit. This full ride is 6 x 1700 km day averages. I am about to see how good I really am.
I have to know how I will cope with six in a row if I am to have any chance in the Iron Butt Rally in the US, which is my goal for 2009 if I can get selected. Thousands apply, 2007 had less than 100 riders invited to take part.
Tuesday 28th August - into the beyond! The schedule said leave at 5 am but I am up early and after fuelling up at the Norseman BP I am on the road heading east at 4:50 am. It's dark and I am heading across the bottom of Australia yet again.
On the way over I pulled in for fuel at Balladonia but I see they are not open yet. I call in and get a picture anyway at 6:41 am and continue east. Missed a large roo, must have been about 7 am. I ride about a foot inside the centre line, he was just sitting a foot the other side. We exchanged looks at 110 km/h and I could have reached over and touched him or her as the case may be. Notes say ‘missed a roo, not really scary, quite sublime really, almost graceful’.
At 7:50 it's starting to get light so I pull over for some nice pictures, still not light and I like being on the road alone with the bitumen stretching on forever.
8:10 am I talk to my wife on the mobile. ‘The sun is up and it’s been cold this morning, very cold in fact.’ There had been lots of roos sitting along the road verges, more than I had seen in a while and I have done quite a bit of travelling the past couple of years.
Got very good fuel consumption into Caiguna at 8:30 am (pronounced Ky-Goona), the wind has been light and I had been careful with so much wildlife about. After all, they have families too.
10 am and I get some more pictures through Madura Pass. Very scenic here and with rains its greenish, not at all desert-like. Madura Pass is where the road drops to run along the desert floor until it heads back up at Eucla. Mundrabilla, road trains and more straight roads lead me to the border.
Notes say ‘bunnies, lots of bunnies and some just sat on the road while I went around them’. I don't always swerve to miss them but they have families .... oh I said that before, big softy, I guess. Wind along here is affecting fuel consumption. The road across the bottom is quite often affected by very strong winds, not too strong this trip but I have ridden many hours at other times with a constant lean on the bike into the wind. Can be tiresome.
12 noon and I am at Border Village. I get a drink and visit the loo. Guy tries to tell me about this fast car he owns, but I say ‘you told me about that a few weeks ago’. Bet no one has said that to him before. Feeling fine and head off. GPS says I have done 7334 km, doesn't seem that far.
4pm and at Nundroo a guy asks me if I was the bike that went past him fast the evening before while he was pulled over by the police. Apparently they had exchanged the opinion that they would be scarping the rider off the road with the number of roos about. No, I told him, I was in bed at Norseman at the time.
Funny how many people make similar comments. I overhear truckers on the UHF saying things like that quite often. I am sure they don't know I can hear them, but often wonder why they feel the need to say something like that. It’s a calculated risk, just like life. I have no intention of becoming the bum at the local pub every day sitting in the same bar stool. I manage the risk, I lessen it by studying the area I am riding into and experience gained from other rides. I keep very good records and spreadsheets of all long rides.
5:50 pm Poochera and I tell my wife ‘I am so used to the sound of the higher revving GTR1000 that I just rode a 30 km section in 5th gear, not 6th.’ The high overdrive is near to perfect for the type of bike. It’s tall, low revving and this lowers the fatigue of the rider. Many things add up to making a bike a good long distance machine, and this one has the main attributes.
I have a difficult section from about 7 pm onwards where I just want to get to Port Augusta and have today over. I am not tired or sore I have just had enough right now. But I get over it just as fast.
I met some riders at Ceduna while I was getting fuel. I asked one guy where they were heading and he mentioned maybe Penong just down the road 70 km. He asked where I was headed tonight, I said ‘Port Augusta’ and after his jaw got back to its rightful place, he grinned and said ‘best of luck, I don't think you’ll make it.’
I had ridden over 1200 km this day, and doubted that another 470 km were going to bother me, so I just said ‘it’s fine, I have done it a number of times before.’
Not being cocky but why do people try and tell someone they can't do things? But I suppose he was only trying to be helpful.
When the signs say ‘100 km to wherever’ it's like I am almost there. When they say ’30 km’ I feel I can almost walk it.
It’s 50 km to Port Augusta and I am counting down the day, it's about half that when I make the left turn south of Port Augusta where you can head south to Port Lincoln. So almost there, I can almost taste dinner.
Part of me wanted to head straight to bed here. For about an hour or so I had been planning to just get to the cabin, kick my boots off and go to sleep as I only had 3 hours of sleep this night. But as I got closer my better reasoning told me I had to go get food first, even though it ended up being a cheeseburger and muffin from Maccas at 9 pm, taken back to the cabin. Went through my routine and into bed by 10 pm for a relaxing 3 hours sleep.
Day Six 29th Aug 2007:
Wednesday 29th August, and the end is near.
After 3 hours sleep I am up early and get away from Port Augusta at 1:35 am which is 35 minutes later than my schedule, but I needed the sleep. I tend to let my body decide when it’s ready. Although it’s a big day I know I have enough time.
Between about 2:30 and 3:30 am I had the closest encounters with roos I have ever had. I missed two across the front and one narrowly missed the rear. Only a quick throttle twist made me jump ahead of him or it would have been a solid side hit. The front ones came from nowhere and leaped across the road missing me by 2-m and they were all four to four and a half footers.
I pulled over to get a picture of the NSW sign and had great difficulty getting the bike back upright as it was on the dirt and leaning quite a lot sideways. Thought I would have to wait for help for a while because I couldn't get a solid footing, but it all worked out. The weight is nice and low on the bike.
6 am and I get into Broken Hill after an astounding 414 km on the main tank, and put 22.44 litres in. I knew there was no fuel available at this time through this section, so once again a steady throttle and here I am. With the kangaroos it really wasn't an option to go much faster anyway, I have no desire to perish out here on my own.
6:35 am and I talk to my wife. ‘It's been bitterly cold this morning but the sun is coming up soon.’ I also told her of my encounters with the inhabitants of the countryside.
8:12 am and I refuel at Wilcannia again, pleasant people and I have a Mars bar and Coke to brighten myself up. I almost never drink Coke or other fizzy drinks when I ride, but I do love Coke so splurged a bit. These drinks dehydrate the body, water or Gatorade-type drinks are best.
I recalled something I thought of earlier and told my wife ‘how many people get to sweep through Horrocks Pass at 2 in the morning!’ I enjoy my time alone on the road, especially when I think of all the riders that do the same old ride each weekend without ever venturing beyond their limits.
9:25am I call my wife, I had pulled into a parking bay because I had become sleepy all of a sudden. ‘Call me back in 20 minutes if I don't call you first.’ She said ‘I will call you in 30 minutes, be careful.’
I put my head down on the tankbag for 10 minutes and neither got to sleep nor felt any worse. I called her back. ‘I am good to go, its gone as fast as it came but I will keep an eye on it.’
She mentioned that she was concerned it might come back later tonight. It didn't and I was back to normal. I’ve not had that happen for 2 years, and that time I got 40 minutes sleep and was ok. But I have learnt a lot since then.
10:40am and back at Cobar, they said it didn't seem that long since I had been through but it was Friday and its now Wednesday and almost 8000 km later.
I feel good and have no pain or soreness. It’s good to be on the home stretch.
12:25 pm; I take the turn at Nevertire and it’s 809 km to go, so says my GPS. I am very familiar with this road.
1:20 pm I am leaving Gilgandra. No comments here, it’s just routine stop and go.
4:10 pm I leave Tamworth after refuelling. I am not keen on this area; someone is always out to kill me here. Earlier this month a roo-bar-and-aerial clad ute tried to race me to a roundabout. Fortunately I assume everyone is going to do the dumbest thing possible and this was one of them. I tapped the brakes and the bike pulled up on the spot. He skidded to a stop. Bet he wished he had the ABS I do. I pick my way carefully out of town and continue to Tenterfield my next fuel stop.
7:40 pm and the last fuel of the trip at Tenterfield. Now the dreaded 40-50 km down the mountain towards Casino. I had been working myself up over this I think and even snapped at my wife on the phone over it. Silly really, as it’s not that bad if you are careful. Even the single lane timber bridge is fine, well, if it’s not wet that is. Hey it’s like riding a dirt bike, just let it go where it wants.
I just want to be finished now.
At 10:17 pm on Wednesday the 29th August 2007 I end my transcontinental ride at Byron Bay NSW. I don't see the dancing girls and marching band, there should be dancing girls.
I get my end docket and call my wife, she is happy that I am back. I talk to the Bear and I say I am disappointed that I am 17mins late, he laughs. I have ridden a stock 1400GTR Kawasaki 10,367 km in 5 days 21hrs 17mins and I am 17mins off schedule. Well, I was half joking.
It’s been a great ride, if someone asked me I would do it again...
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