The last two days on the bike

The last two days on the bike

The last few days have been difficult. My body needed a break, and a dead day wasn’t in my schedule. I have to get back to the states, for a little while anyway.

Woke up in Windsor to a sore back and bum but I had two days to go to get the bike to her resting place. Trust me, she needs a break, a good cleaning, and a good service. When I come back, I am going to beef up the suspension a bit.

Anywho, off from Windsor I sprint. I was heading to Canberra to meet up with Terry and Janelle again for a nights rest then down to Merimbula the following day to park the bike for a bit. I had been in contact with Terry and told him my intended route around the Blue Mountains. Now, the Blue Mountains were on my route before I left the states. I wanted to take a few days to explore them and see the beauty in the hills, trees, and rivers. Unfortunately, time got away from me when I was leaving Sydney four weeks ago and didn’t get the chance. Fortunately, I at least got to ride the twisties around the rim followed by and up an over Abercrombie Ridge. I can’t stress enough how pretty the scenery is. I am looking at it for the first time and it takes my breath away. I do need to mention that the temperatures have once again required me to turn the heated grips back on and pull the raincoat from my saddlebags to act as a wind blocker. Here are a few photos of the Blue Mountains.

I get to Camberra early after stopping at a winery as a gift to share with my hosts and I am whooped. The wind, the distances, and my bum have drained all the energy from me! Terry heard me pull up and was excited for me to meet Janelle and hear stories from the road. I shared as much as I could until I called timeout for a shower and get out of my riding clothes. Once I was showered, I stretched out on the bed to stretch my back out a bit and promptly dozed off. It was a light sleep but it reenergized me so I wouldn’t feel like a slug around my hosts.

Janelle made a delicious dinner and we shared wine and stories till the wee hours of the morning. It seemed that way to me even though it was probably 10pm. Layla the cat was indifferent to my presence now that her mom was home!

The following morning after pancakes, I was escorted out of town by both Terry and Janelle. I didn’t get our final wave and horn beeping sound off but I got some of us riding together. At least this time, I didn’t run a car off the road after we parted ways.

I continued on to Cooma where I met up with Graeme who was going to take me a different way back to his and Katrina’s house to park the bike. You guessed it, I’m not selling it yet. There is so much more I had to edit out from this trip that I feel a bit cheated! I wish I was retired already!

I met with Graeme and he showed me a statue in Cooma in dedication to Banjo Paterson, The writer of “The Man From Snowy River” poem. Needless to say, my childhood memories of riding the mountains in the search for brumbies came flooding back. The music in the movie started playing in my head and the sound of a whip cracking flooded my mind!

We hit the road in the “fresh” temperatures and high winds. Graeme was taking me to Jindabyne where a hydroelectric dam had been placed to harness the power of the Snowy River to create power for homes. We stopped for a lunch that overlooked the river. Even in the cold temperatures, we sat outside to enjoy the sunshine and the sites of the river.

After the meal it was off to Dalgety to see more of the river and possibly spot the elusive duck billed platypus in the wild. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of day, and I was now deeply chilled. An artic front had blown in and was lingering around like a hangover! After a chat that with another bloke who had the exact same bike that Graeme was riding, we hit the road again heading to his home.

Now, I’m sorry, but I am posting the last ride of this trip to Australia mostly unedited. I backed it down but it is seven minutes of twists and turns. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WATCH THIS. I think it is more for me to remember than anything else.

It was sad to leave the bike behind but I know I will be back very soon!