Tag: ozstoc

Not too long into our ride the guy immediately in front of me lost concentration while playing with his radio. This caused him to over-shoot a corner, run down a very steep 2m embankment, and bury his bike in the bush.

A few of us quickly parked and ran to his help. To his credit he’d managed to stay on his bike and maintain control (other than the original departure from the road that is). He only needed to be pulled out.

He certainly used up a life as I had to wait for a Landcruiser to pass before I parked the bike. 5s earlier and he may have become the Landcruiser’s hood ornament.

I’m sure the bike suffered only a few scratches, but the event did win him some “awards” in the evening.

His username on the forum was “Octane”. I think Steak had it changed to “Offroad” before we had a chance to get him back on the road.

Out on the ride… This area is being carefully managed to ensure it doesn’t permanently degrade due to drought and over-allocation of water resources.

Info here.

 

All bikes assembling for the main ride. This was going to take us through what is known as the Fleurieu Region on the south coast.

We even needed police at hand to stop traffic for us.

Today was the major rally day for the 2013 OzSToc meet.

If started with a nice fry-up breakfast put on by the local Lions Club – a great way to start the day.

 

 

Today was a quiet one. A gentle walk up the street for a nice coffee.

Then back to camp to greet the new arrivals who started streaming in. It’s nice to finally put a face to those I’ve been chatting to online.

The day was mostly spent wandering and admiring each others’ bike and the modifications they’ve done to it. There are a lot of things I’d like to do to mine but of course they all come at a price. From a new seat (my arse would really appreciate that) to new foot pegs, cruise control, & trailers.

At lunchtime I went for a short gentle ride back or to Victor Harbour with a few others for some photos and a coffee.

Then again to get one if my boots repaired as some of the stitching was unraveling.

All but 3 have turned up to the rally – the last will arrive early in the morning. We have not done a full count but it should be about 45 bikes we think.

Rather than take the more direct 77km ride from Adelaide to Middleton on boring main roads I decided to take the scenic route via the Adelaide hills.

Heading south-east on the freeway just to exit the city, then beaching off at Stirling into the back roads.

First village was Aldgate and Mylor and then Echunga. This was a really picturesque twistie drive up and down the slopes with lots of leafy green growth overhanging the road.

From there I turned south-westerly where it opened up into farmland and through Meadows, Yankalilla (where I had a lovely steak, bacon, & cheese pie and coffee)…

…& then continued around the coastline to Victor Harbour and finally Middleton at about 3pm.

4,119 KMs since my departure from Perth I’d arrived! A bit saddle-sore, but in 1 piece.

There were already a few OzSToc members already there. So, it was a first-time meet ‘n greet followed by tent, washing, beer, & chicken schnitzel at the local.

While there will be many more arriving tomorrow, it was good to finally put faces to forum members.

Derek and Julia have been long-time family friends of the Broadbents so I’ve known them since Ellie and I started seeing each other and they became Grace’s god parents when she was born.
Late last year they moved from Gooseberry Hill over to Adelaide to be closer to their own children and grand children. So I took the opportunity to stay with them for a night and see their new place in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

It’s quite an old house circa 1930. Actually it’s also a corner store. Over the years is been a general store, deli, hairdresser, and a few others. They intend to visit their local historical society to learn more.

The shop it on the other side of the large brick wall to the left…

The interior of the “shop”… look at the light!

This represents the penultimate leg of my outward journey to Middleton. The heat was gone and the wind had reduced significantly so it was going to be a good day!

I’d originally thought of stopping in Whyalla to visit their maritime museum. However, because I’d left early and from half way up the Spencer Gulf the museum wasn’t going to open for another 45 minutes so I decided to kick on through Port Augusta.

I hugged the coast as best as possible down the eastern coast passing through Port Pirie, Port Broughton, and finally Wallaroo before heading for Adelaide.

Like the western side if the gulf, this area seems to be their wheat-belt with lots of flat farm land. So the wind picked up again, but this time now manageable and nowhere near s bad as yesterday.

I spotted a group of about 20 wind turbines…

…and thought “Great! Why can’t we do that in WA”. Then I realised this was actually part of a bank of what seemed like hundreds of them. I know they’re controversial but I find them really attractive – a kind of art in their own way.

When I planned the trip I had scheduled an arrival time into Adelaide of about 4:30. What I neglected to take into account was that this would be peak-hour. Adelaide wasn’t normally that bad from my own memory, but that was a while ago and there are some serious roadworks going on at the moment.

I arrived at the Carruthers’  (Grace’s god parents) where I was greeted with a hug, a shower, a Coopers, a lovely meal and a very friendly dog called Reiver.

Derek,  Julia & I chatted for a while after dinner with more beer and wine, then off to bed for this little black duck.

Please forgive the typos in this blog. It’s all being entered through my Galaxy S3 and while I can’t spell somtimes, Google’s Android auto-erection is also causing some problems.

When I did the Hokey-Pokey, I did feel a cool sensation on the right side:

I assume those remaining stands are the Kevlar fibres woven into the denim.