Tasmania/March 2010

[TheShredder]

Loaded & ready to go T minus 40 mins
See you guy in a few days
Great looking morning here in brissy, have 6 of us doing 1st leg of trip to Drillers in Port today

[simmo]

Arr Shane you packed with a bit more clothes this time

[Heidi1]

I'M SO EXCITED!!! If I had a voice I'd be yelling! I'm thinking about opening the bar now and getting in training. See you all at the boat.

[TheShredder]

1st day down
Lake Cathie pub last night

[Missy_Moo]

Oh I wish I was going.

Can't this time.

But I am planning a trip down east coast (home run) I think I'll do a slight inland journey down.

[TheShredder]

Lithgow to Orbost 800Ks on friday
Awesome conditions & the last 100K of the bonang hwy was rated by the 10 that run it to be the best road they have been on.

[Maj]

Gunna be wet this arvo for ya
ride safe

[Heidi1]

Packed and ready to go. LET'S RIDE!!!!

   

P.S. Go out and pack your bloody bike Bruce!

[BLACKZOOK]

Packed and ready to go. LET'S RIDE!!!!



P.S. Go out and pack your bloody bike Bruce!

Nah I'll pack in the morning wont take a minute

[Heidi1]

Awww crap. See you in Yass. Go past the exit to Yass, take the exit to Melbourne, stay on the highway until you see the big service station with the maccas. I'll be there with coffee, you'll need it after all that packing.

[Heidi1]

Bruce and I are tucked up safely in the Melbourne equivelent of Kings Cross. I didn't think to ask about the area when I booked, I just saw that it was nice and close to where the ferry takes off. When Bruce saw the place he asked if we were paying by the hour, I'm now sorry I said no to the $89 per night one!!

I'm writing tonight's post, I'll make other people write other nights.

Bruce left Sydney at 7am and ran the gamut of weather. Early fog, blinding rain just out of Goulbourne, hot in the middle of the day, cold 100kms out of Melbourne and then rain just as we got to the hotel. I had the right idea, it was torrential rain in Canberra until the moment I rode out of the garage, then a bit wet, but nothing to really comment on. A bloke at Yass is going to be on the same boat as us and he has the right idea. His plan is to get on the boat and drink heavily until lunch time, then spend the afternoon sobering up before he rides his BMW off the boat. He has a personal breathalyser with him just to make sure the cops he has been told are waiting at the bottom of the ramp, can't grab him.

Highlights of today were Bruce's VERY impressive power wheelie coming out of the service station near Seymour. That there was a car full of young women and a service station full of people watching didn't cross his mind I'm sure. I rode along for a while standing up to stretch my legs and was overtaken by an emergency services vehicle and I forgot to bring the address of where we are staying.

Oh and there was ROD. Rod came down and had a couple of drinks with us. I now know far more than I need to, but ignore anything he says online, he might have a few things on me too.

Tomorrow is the boat. 10hrs... on a boat.... I don't have a book. Rod has told us all about the high quality entertainment, there is a lounge singer on the top deck, movies and at 2pm, you get to see the other boat going THE OTHER WAY!! I can't WAIT for that bit, I'm terrified I might be on the wrong side. Rod says there is an announcement. God I hope so, if I miss it it might ruin my trip. I'll take photos for those of you not with us.

[Heidi1]

Tonight we are in Davenport, which is shut. We've found Simmo's brothers and are ready for the next shift to roll off the boat tomorrow morning.

The trip across was fantastic. you'd think you'd get bored, ut for most of the day Bruce ran around from deck to deck with his arms waving above his head yelling 'abandon ship, abandon shop!' Kept me amused.

We hopped in the queue a little after 8am, to find a line that snaked back for miles. We sat there for a second, and then started barging through. In the ensuing melee, we picked up Phil on the BMW and Russel on the TLR. When we got to the front of the queue, a very nice but chronically bored young man turned to all four of us and rattled off, 'got any explosives, fruit, ammunition, alcohol...' Phil cut in with, 'yes, I have some ammunition'. The young man smiled in a way that didn't quite reach his eyes, and kept talking so Phil cut in again, and said, 'I have ammo in my bag'. The little blokes eyes went out on STALKS! The annoying thing was, he got moved to the front of the queue and got in FIRST! I thought I might take a shotgun for the return trip.

WE WENT UP A RAMP, which I thought was pretty cool. Once I manage to download photos, we'll show you how cool. The bikes were tied down with high efficiency and probably 60 bikes made the trip.

There were many highlights of the trip. Lots of people on bikes, so you'd just start up conversations with anyone either wearing a bike jacket, or in bike boots. Or little old ladies, they were sweet while the boat was bouncing around, they were lurching about like they'd cracked open the sherry a little early. It was a bit rough coming out of the heads of Port Phillip Bay, so I started a new game, if you walked really fast along the coridoors, as the boat climbed a wave, you'd be pushed into the ground and as it crested the wave your feet would nearly lift off the ground. It is a simple game, but TOPS!

An old lady threw up, as did Simmo's brother, we saw the Spirit boat passing us the other way, the people were great, everyone was in holiday mode and was happy for a chat.

Because the boat took and hour and a half to get us off, we'd lost any opportunity for dinner or a beer, so we walked down to Maccas and then along the river to watch the Spirit pull out for the return journey. While we were down there, a bunch of locals had painted a sign and were holding it up for their friends on the boat. Two of the locals got married and were off on the honeymoon. Bruce held one end of the sign and I jumped up and down with the others as the boat went past. The captain saw us first and gave a toot of the airhorn, the two people up on one of the decks started jumping around and yelling. Guess we found them.

Tomorrow we meet up with the others and hit the road. Can't wait.

[ROD]

we saw the Spirit boat passing us the other way

So was that port or starboard Heidi

[keno77]

i just want to know how all the sick infants with undeveloped brains are going

[TheShredder]

tour going great guns keno