The Aussie stage starts tomorrow morning.
10/10/14
Well, I'm off again.
A few of my mates had planned a trip to the Moto GP at Phillip Island next weekend. They've been pestering me to go along for the ride for weeks now, and I was really envious, but it just wasn't possible.
Or so I thought.
Late Wednesday we got some good news, and as a result I'm now able to roll my wheels 4,000 kilometres across this wide, brown land we call home. Phillip Island, here I come.
As you can imagine I had a lot to organise in two very short days. It's been pretty hectic around the Mykolajenko Hilton with just a few things to do like...
Find all my stuff I need to take with me.
Updating my Spot Tracker so Suzanne can keep tabs on me.
Updating the Sat Nav, so we can find our way around.
Get the bike serviced.
Get a new set of tyres fitted to the bike.
All the other stuff I haven't thought of yet...
Yesterday was spent on the phone and computer frantically trying to organise everything.
The number one priority was to get the bike serviced. Usually you need to book about two weeks in advance to get this done, so I was having a bit of trouble finding someone to do it. That was until I called Gavin Carlini at Mobile Motorcycle Medic. I've know Gav for nearly forty years (where did that time go Gav?) and his answer was "Sure Simon. I'll squeeze it in tomorrow afternoon for you". Awesome. I owe you Gav.
True to his word, Gave rolled up this afternoon. He's just left and my big Guzzi is purring like a kitten. If you live in Perth and need a bike serviced, you could do far worse than giving Gav a call on 0417 945 557. He has a very good rep in Perth.
Number two necessity was some new shoes for the bike. I recently had a set of Pirellis fitted to my Triumph Speed Triple, and loved them, so I thought I'd give them a go on the Guzzi. Pirelli came to the party with a set of Pirelli Scorpion Trail tyres to suit the Guzzi and Pete at Tyres for bikes slipped them on for me. The boys at Tyres For Bikes are awesome. No sooner had I rolled the bike into the shop, they rolled it back out with two shiny new tyres. They were really quick, and at the moment time is running out fast. You can check out Tyres For Bikes at: www.tyresforbikes.com.au
The last thing to do is to pack all the necessities for the trip on the bike. Right now the lounge room floor is covered with everything from socks and jocks to a tent and sleeping gear. It's actually not looking to bad and should all fit on the bike fairly easily, so I'm not stressing...yet.
(Update: OK, it's 8:30 pm and I haven't put a single solitary thing on the bike yet, and I can't find my sleeping bag. Now I'm starting to stress.)
10/10/14
Well, I'm off again.
A few of my mates had planned a trip to the Moto GP at Phillip Island next weekend. They've been pestering me to go along for the ride for weeks now, and I was really envious, but it just wasn't possible.
Or so I thought.
Late Wednesday we got some good news, and as a result I'm now able to roll my wheels 4,000 kilometres across this wide, brown land we call home. Phillip Island, here I come.
As you can imagine I had a lot to organise in two very short days. It's been pretty hectic around the Mykolajenko Hilton with just a few things to do like...
Find all my stuff I need to take with me.
Updating my Spot Tracker so Suzanne can keep tabs on me.
Updating the Sat Nav, so we can find our way around.
Get the bike serviced.
Get a new set of tyres fitted to the bike.
All the other stuff I haven't thought of yet...
Yesterday was spent on the phone and computer frantically trying to organise everything.
The number one priority was to get the bike serviced. Usually you need to book about two weeks in advance to get this done, so I was having a bit of trouble finding someone to do it. That was until I called Gavin Carlini at Mobile Motorcycle Medic. I've know Gav for nearly forty years (where did that time go Gav?) and his answer was "Sure Simon. I'll squeeze it in tomorrow afternoon for you". Awesome. I owe you Gav.
True to his word, Gave rolled up this afternoon. He's just left and my big Guzzi is purring like a kitten. If you live in Perth and need a bike serviced, you could do far worse than giving Gav a call on 0417 945 557. He has a very good rep in Perth.
Number two necessity was some new shoes for the bike. I recently had a set of Pirellis fitted to my Triumph Speed Triple, and loved them, so I thought I'd give them a go on the Guzzi. Pirelli came to the party with a set of Pirelli Scorpion Trail tyres to suit the Guzzi and Pete at Tyres for bikes slipped them on for me. The boys at Tyres For Bikes are awesome. No sooner had I rolled the bike into the shop, they rolled it back out with two shiny new tyres. They were really quick, and at the moment time is running out fast. You can check out Tyres For Bikes at: www.tyresforbikes.com.au
The last thing to do is to pack all the necessities for the trip on the bike. Right now the lounge room floor is covered with everything from socks and jocks to a tent and sleeping gear. It's actually not looking to bad and should all fit on the bike fairly easily, so I'm not stressing...yet.
(Update: OK, it's 8:30 pm and I haven't put a single solitary thing on the bike yet, and I can't find my sleeping bag. Now I'm starting to stress.)
Tomorrow morning we head of towards our first overnight stop in Kalgoorlie. The next day we'll make our way to Border Village on the Western Australian, South Australian border. Yes my European friends that's two days riding and nearly 1,500 kilometres (pretty much in a straight line), and we're still in Western Australia! Another three days will see us roll over the San Remo bridge and onto Phillip Island for the GP.
Even better news is that on Monday after the GP we'll jump on a ferry down to Tasmania for seven days of heavenly, winding road riding in one of the most beautiful places I've been. I've driven around Tassie, but I've never ridden there.
Even better news is that on Monday after the GP we'll jump on a ferry down to Tasmania for seven days of heavenly, winding road riding in one of the most beautiful places I've been. I've driven around Tassie, but I've never ridden there.
I'm really looking forward to it.
My first photo of the Guzzi when I got it.
There will be plenty more to follow over the next few weeks.
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