I got a day off work out of the blue. So as you do, I went for a wobble, working out ways to link up the old highway south of Coffs to Kempsey in preparation for a ride Tom and I are planning. It was a tough job wobbling about in the sunshine on back roads and lanes, but l managed to link up some nice stuff all the way to Kempsey without backtracking too…
I’ve been at my desk trying to catch up all week, but this morning I dragged the Yamaha out of the shed and headed in to Coffs City Moto, just off Englands Road, for a road ride. I’m keen to support dealerships who run rides. It’s a big service to riders, plenty of whom probably aren’t even customers. I especially applaud Coffs City Moto for there being no charge or marketing spiel. It was just…
It’s still Monday morning so I’m not late. I’ve been riding the 2018 Triumphs – the XRT800 and XRT1200, and the XCA1200 and XCA800 – and spent a couple of days on a Suzuki adventure ride in Lithgow and Bathurst. The Tigers are even better this year. They’re slimmer, lighter, loaded with electronics and completely awesome. The media release was a blast with a great batch of riders and Triumph staff. Suzuki booked an AirB&B…
This week I dashed up to Inverell to meet the boss and ride for a day. I had to put some new tyres on the KLR for work, so I set to it. I was relieved when the Continental TKC70 came off without too much drama. I had to use the Tyre Pliers bead breaker, but that’s what it’s there for. And it wasn’t too tough. If I’d been out on a ride somewhere I…
I’ve been battling a little with tyres lately. The dilemma for me is the choice between a durable tyre that will truly cope with 50/50 on-road/off-road use, but won’t be impossible to change when I get a flat. A knobby is unpleasant on the road and tends wear fast. A road tyre is near-useless off-road. These days the dualsport tyres all seem to be impossible to get off the rim. A lot of them are…
It’s been another week with no riding. No riding for me, that it. I see the Ramsays and Meg Lees are still gallivanting around Nepal – although I think they must be very close to homeward bound. After my own week of gallivanting in Victoria two weeks ago, I spent this past week frantically trying to catch up. I had to spend three days in Sydney finishing things off, so here I am at last,…
I don’t like riding in the dark, but most of the epic adventure rides start that way. There’s something satisfying about not wasting any of the precious daylight and the gentle burble of the DR with only the lights from surrounding dairies for company as I headed through the cool crisp air for Bellingen. Cain was a bit surprised at my early arrival, but 15 minutes later Candy, his beloved 990, was outside barking an…
Hi everyone. I’ve had a bikeless week, except for Dan Vaughan doing some work on the KLR, and now it’s better than ever. He sure has an incredible touch with a bike. I thought it needed new clutch springs. Dan reckoned I should try a new cable first. Sure enough, that clutch is as smooth as butter now, and more progressive than a Steiner school. I’ve had some new lights turn up for it as…
It’s Saturday morning early, and I won’t be able to get to a computer for the next few days, so rather than leave you all guessing I’ll just say, “Hi!” and catch up next week. Karen and Dave Ramsay, along with Meg Lees, look to be having a ball in Nepal. Despite the difficulty of internet access in the Himalayas, and the hopeless unreliability of that internet when they found it, Karen still managed to…
It’s been a great week. I’ve been down to Kosciusko and had a great time with a few great blokes. But first, news from around the place, and first up is Secret Squirrel reducing his bike stable. Here’s the e-mail with the news… “Squirrel is sad, there wasn’t enough room in the toy shed and one of the fleet had to go. “Unfortunately the DR drew the shortest straw, so there is now a happy…
Volume 1 has over 2,000km of scenic backroads between Woodenbong and Moonan Flat including fuel distances, road conditions, accommodation . . .
Volume 2 Central NSW has over 2500km of GPS/Route-sheeted backroads, broken up into four regional loops. Combined there is . . .
Volume 3 joins Vol 2 Central NSW at Barraba, and then heading north through Inverell and Stanthorpe to . . .
