Daniel Kalal
Cruisin' Guzzisti
Back in 2007, I borrowed Pete Roper's yellow Moto Guzzi Griso, and rode south from Bungendore, across to Tasmania and then through Victoria, and back. That was a very good trip, and I really enjoyed riding through Australia. Earlier this year, I rode a Guzzi Stelvio from Italy to Norway. Generally, I just do one decent sized trip each year, filling out the year with dozens of two and three-day trips. But, this year, I had more available time than usual. Would it be too much to borrow Pete's bike, again?
Sydney. I had a few hours. I was impressed by the rail system. Easy to use, and frequent enough to make it convenient.
A naked man avoiding a bull with a rather sharp horn and a turtle spitting water with great force. I'm sure there's an interesting story.
Pete picked me up at the Canberra airport (which is vastly smaller and easier to get through than Sydney).
Bungendore.
Pete installed the muffler that I had brought with me (luckily the damage caused by TSA could be corrected or was hidden from view). The exhaust sounded terrific. Not loud by any standard, but very nice sounding.
Parliament Building in Canberra
Time to ride.
Abercrombie River.
As towns were not frequent, I generally filled up whenever I had the chance. I'd go as far as 190 kilometers, and sometimes get fuel after as little as 80 kilometers if I wasn't sure about what was available further down the road. Whenever it was available, I'd use the highest octane fuel. At the smaller petrol station, you had no choice, but the Griso is happier with the higher number.
That yellow duffle bag is all I used. I packed virtually the same as I did for my earlier European ride, including the jacket and a Polartech pull-over sweater for use as a liner for my riding suit. I didn't use either of those. In addition, I carried a pair of walking shoes, a single change of clothes and a small toiletries bag. Pete gave me a tire-repair kit as well (never used). I would be washing clothes every evening. In later photographs, you'll see a red onion bag tied to the top of the duffle bag. I used that to carry a couple of water bottles.
Sofala is a preserved old mining town that is just a bit off the highway.
The temperature is well over 100 degrees, so sitting in the shade seemed a good idea.
I'm sure many people would consider this to be just desolate land to get though, but I really like it. There are similar areas in the U.S., but there is nothing to compare with the huge expanse of such open land as I rode through. I was not riding well-traveled roads. A break-down would be annoying.The Griso ran perfectly the whole trip.
I would snug down the bag in the morning, and at the next fuel stop, I'd re-snug them. Nothing moved after that.
A person could ride very fast on these roads if they had a mind to. I generally cruised at 120 kph in 4th gear. The Griso has a six-speed transmission, but I don't think I ever had it in 5th, and certainly I never used 6th. At steady speeds, it was happy at something over 5,000 rpm, so that's where I kept it. Of course, you could run slower rpms, but everything was so very smooth up there, and Guzzis are generally happiest at higher rpms. If you need to pass, just twist the throttle and hold on. This was the hardest pulling Guzzi I have every ridden.
Mullaley.
I expected to be staying in pubs during the trip, but didn't think I would be doing so that first night out. The price is low and the room is perfectly clean and comfortable. The showers are down the hall. It's a bit of a nuisance not to have any electrical outlets in the room, but that's hardly anything to be bothered with. There's no air conditioning, but that's why the windows are open.
I always prefer to get down the road for an hour before stopping for breakfast. At this point, I'm looking to see what roads I might want to take.
Gunnedah.
Generally, the water windmills I saw were larger diameter than the typical wind turbine you might see in Kansas or Texas. I suspect that that peak wind speed is much lower here.
Nice. Nice. Nice. This wouldn't be the last time this trip, nor even this day that I would use a community pool. I didn't have a towel to dry with, but that's not important. Starting out wet on the motorcycle is not a bad thing.
Such flood-plain crossings were common. None of them was ever covered with water.
Texas. Why is this town called Texas? I do not know.
Another pool! This day was particularly hot, and I was trying to avoid the afternoon peak heat. We were joined in the pool by a dog, who was quickly carried out.
Tilling and cutting looks pretty much like what you'll see in the central states.
I'm well off any sort of primary highway. Notice the paving--it's only wide enough for a single car. If two cars approach, they'll both move over to drag their outside tires in the dirt. I don't think I ever came across a car on this stretch, but if I had, I would have stayed on the pavement.
Middlemount is a company town for a nearby coal mine. There were very few people, and hardly any men when I was walking around. But, it did have the highest quality swimming pool of the trip. The green Griso had been painted in Holden green. Here's an example.
Sugarcane fields. At Nebo, I was heading towards the coast. I could have continued north, but the roads were hot obliging me, and fuel might have been a problem if I stayed inland. So, I decided to turn east, and then run down the coast.
The evening routine. Check in to the hotel, toss yesterday's clothes in the sink, add hot water, put on walking shoes and go out for the evening. On returning, squish the clothes a bit, and hang to dry. They will be dry the next morning for wearing, and the clothes a wore this day are put in a bag (happens to be my helmet bag) for the next evening washing.
Seventeen-Seventy is the name of the small town that Captain Cook and Joseph Banks landed (the second landing on the continent after Botany Bay). You can probably guess the year this happened.
Noosa Head. A lovely place, but a bit of a disappointment. The traffic was horrendous getting here (tourists of all stripes), and I never had a comfortable feeling about leaving the bike (and my bag) in the parking lot. So I didn't stay. This was the only time during the trip that I had any concern for the security of the motorcycle and my things.
Kondalilla National Park. I didn't know what to expect. I saw the sign, and decided to go.
Glass House Mountains. These are the remnants of old volcanic plugs.
Rod was following my trip (using the Spot tracking) and rode to Woodford early in the morning to catch me before I set out. We had a cup of coffee, and Rod was able to fill me in on several of the good roads in the direction I was heading. In particular, the "Lions Road" isn't one that I would have found on my own. Thanks, Rod!
Beaudesert. Another meat pie...
...and, another swim!
Lions Road.
What a wonderful road this is! I cannot imagine pushing the limits of a motorcycle through this as the road was generally only a single lane wide.
You're not really there unless you get your feet wet.
Another glorious motorcycle road. Except that I didn't see any motorcycles.
Dorrigo National Park. The park is just south of the town of Dorrigo.
Kiama. This would be my last night, and it turned out to be quite a nice little town.
This dog had a duty to keep all birds off the cricket pitch. He was doing a fine job.
Berry.
You know? This might have been the best breakfast of the trip. By the way, that tall frothy drink is what you'll get if you order orange juice.
Bendalong. I took the road that wound down to the ocean beach. you have to love these long, empty stretches of the most gorgeous sandy beaches you'd ever want to see.
The road back to Bungendore is a very good one.
Sydney Airport. It's almost funny. Sydney, like lots of airports, forces you to find your way through and endless duty free store when you're trying to find your gate.
What a great trip. I do like riding in Australia. The people were in every case terrific, the roads are all you could want, and the scenery is like nothing else. All this on one of the best Moto Guzzis ever made. Thanks especially to Jude, Pete and Connor. Guzzi people are the best.
:lol: