Remember that my Forum Name is "Diesel" (due to an unfortunate incident at the filling station - more about that later!)
Anyways... it all started with fitting these spotties...
and fitting this brand new 5W handheld for vital comms
Then, after all the servicing, safety checks, list planning, packing and very, VERY careful route planning, it was off into the wild blue yonder on the wild Candy Honda....
Only glitch was that it was to be a 'wet' start - meaning all the over jackets and covers were employed. Went for my good old start docket at 11.34am (Qld time) only to find the docket read 11.27am - DOH! So I went and checked the air pressure, and my new start docket of 11.38am was for a party pack of lollies! (Shaddup! - you've ALL had this happen!)
I must say the plan was PERFECT! I checked all the roads on google (even street view), read all the gov website road condition reports (after the devastating affect of the QLD floods), and meticulously pieced together my TAKING OWNERSHIP of this ride!
All went perfectly.... for 32 minutes and 11 seconds. Then this!...
This was a result of landslips from the recent floods near Blackbutt/Nanango in the Blackall Ranges.
Sign said that they are letting traffic through on the hour, and every 15mins thereafter. Of course I arrived with 14 mins to go!
Got off the bike, took helmet off, sucked in fluid as it was only 31 deg and I had prepared for full wet riding. Also ditched wets and tank bag cover etc. while waiting.
I knew Graham and his family history 'intimately' by the time I helmeted up again and left.....
Then doubt set in.... I looked skyward and thought "this FarRide must have been called off... there's blue up there"
But I pressed on, against the odds...after all - it's just a road...
After Blackbutt, Kingaroy, took this shot of the STeed catching her breath at Dalby. Okay okay, so I needed a fluid
Then on to Oakey, and after Toowoomba, it was time to stop for a bite to eat at Warwick (standing up all the time of course). Saw this iconic church down the road...
Also needed motion lotion as this was 450kms from the start.
Upon leaving Warwick - spied this sign....
..and I knew that "bikini watch" was over....
... Then I did the Border Run - but there was no puddin in sight...
Then on to the night section of the ride.
I chose what I thought would be a fun and interesting ride down to my stop for the night at Tabulam NSW, but it turned out to be technically difficult and very demanding. I had over 3.5 hours of 25, 35 and 55km/h twisties in the dark, and on extremely average road surfaces, full of patches and nasty potholes.
I missed 20 guzillion of these and only hit a handful that were unavoidable. One patch was so bad, it literally shook the mirror covers, (and therefore the spotlights) off my poor bike. I had to stop and do roadside repairs for 15mins..
Luckily - Ma Honda thought this might happen, and they are tethered to the bike, so you don't wave bye bye to them.
I was soon on my way again on this treacherous road. Quite taxing on the ol mellon. Anyways, I rode to the conditions and learnt another motherload of info about ride planning, and arrived safe n sound at my 'stealth camp' location for the night. Whilst I cannot divulge its EXACT location, I found the footy oval at Tabulam NSW to be almost an excellent choice.
Tabulam is a town that goes to bed at 9.00pm - barring the stragglers from the 'local', oh, and the tenants of the house that I happened to be 25m from. I dunno how, but the the lady in the house seemed to stand over the kitchen sink (of which window overlooked my campsite) for over 2 HOURS!
Therefore - EVERY SINGLE movement I made in putting up the tent and campsite had to be done in absolute silence, otherwise she would have called Mr Plod to 'move me on'. I couldn't even shine the torch without shielding its beam with my hand so the 'dishwasher from hell' wouldn't see me.....
My campsite. Into a 31 degree tent at 10.00pm, up at 3.10am for a 4.15am departure....
Next morning woke on time - but ginned around so much that I was 30mins late leaving. It was pea soup outside when I finally got going....
Weather was crappy....
No, wait... Person I met at Tenterfield servo was Crappy...
This is for that bloke who collects sunrises (Toura)... Tenterfield...
Then it was though more pea soup to Glen Innes, across the Gwyder (yummy) Hwy to Grafton, down through Nymboida, Dorrigo, Urunga, and on to Bucca.
This last hour involved the emotional roller coaster thoughts of "I'm screwed! I'm good! I'm screwed again!" and so on with road works and slooooow traffic right through until the south end of Urunga.
Finally I made it with 11 minutes to spare.
Here I am with my mate (growlypops) the guy who FarRode a 250cc scooter from Canberra - but registered accidentally for the SS1600 - he is obviously ordering 1 FarRider cap...
Had a great time there and met a lot of fantastic humans.
Here, a couple of "nevilles" hang around to get some FarRider tips off me... I moved them on pretty quickly...
And this noob was trying to get on the "A" list... wished they'd get a life!...
Anyways - had a great time and a trouble free run home - except for that handheld jumping off the bike at
Had a great brekky on the water at Urunga, went through for a beer at Murwillimbah, and a few more twisties through Natural Bridge (near Beechmont) before returning home safely with a new world of experience packed safely in my saddlebags.
Thanks everyone, as I can tick off an achievement I promised myself would happen when I first read about and heard of FarRider #1. His legacy is alive and well, and his brand name will sit proudly on my motorcycle as a quiet, acknowledging nod between us.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for a ripper time.
Diesel - FarRider #416
