the quest for Doug's chair

[Rick F.]

Paul & Victoria,

Okay, travel by car does seem suspicious, but it's probably just temporary?

As for the rest, what can we say but...

...Woot!

Have a great adventure and hurry up and find the @#$%&*! chair! In the meantime, keep those pictures and Questionable Clues coming.

Rick F.

[griffin738]

Having given “a try for the chair” by plane and by taxi, it was time to head to the bike depot and pick up our rides.


To guarantee sure footing, Victoria opted for a low-to-the-ground cruiser type bike, a Honda Shadow 750. Like her bikes at home, this one is red - - and that color seems to imply a certain amount of mechanical uncertainty for her – perhaps a foreshadowing of future craziness down under. Here is a shot of the chair on the Shadow:


I opted for a bike similar to mine at home, a BMW GS. At home I ride an 1150 but alas that was not available, so I settled for a 1200 - -times are tough. Here is a shot of its chair. . .


Our first day of riding was brief - - familiarizing ourselves with the bikes and more significantly, riding on the left.

We made our way out to the Blue Mountains and stopped at “echo point” to view a valley featuring the “three sisters” rock formation.


Needing to take a closer look yet pressed for the time required to hike in, Victoria donned her Copernicus suit and took a fly-in. She reported, “no chairs here – they seem to be one step ahead of us.”

[Blaster229]

Y'all can have the SI swimsuit models and "stolen" celebrity pRon vid stars.............. I would take this dreamy gal anyday!

[Rick F.]

Paul & Victoria,

Far out--you took your Cabana Boy hat with you all the way to Oz??! I'm impressed.



BTW, after you've ridden the R1200GS for a while, I bet you'll be itching to buy one upon your return to the U.S.!

Rick F.

[JimVonBaden]

Paul & Victoria,

Far out--you took your Cabana Boy hat with you all the way to Oz??! I'm impressed.



BTW, after you've ridden the R1200GS for a while, I bet you'll be itching to buy one upon your return to the U.S.!

Rick F.

You beat me to it Rick!

Must be all that free time you suddenly have!

Jim

PS Hope you are feeling better!

[griffin738]

After the first Captain Copernicus fly-about, we headed back east along the Bells of Line road – this was the first of many rides recommended by our tour organizer, by the Australia Motorcycle Atlas and given the true stamp of approval by the crazies on ADVrider.

With a bit of elevation gain v. Sydney, we felt a temperature difference and recalculated: if it’s August and therefore hot with Washington DC’s summer, then – yep, sure enough – it ought to be winter in Australia. As a point of reference, Sydney is about as far south of the equator as Raleigh NC is north of the equator. From Sydney, our plan is to ride north the Cairns. Cairns is in the topics, about 1,200 kilometers north of the tropic of Capricorn. Relative places in the Americas include Jamaica and Honduras.

We ended our first day of riding only an hour or two northwest of Sydney, fairly close to where we began. Although we did not find Doug’s chair, we found something nearly equally important: we found Doug’s plotter-printer. No, actually I’m just kidding – so far as I know, Doug’s printer is well accounted for. What we DID find was a bit of confidence in our rented bikes and some first-blush familiarity with our new environment, and a great place to stop for the night. . .





Day two put us on the Putty Road, one that was among the most recommended of the entire trip. Here are a few shots. . .





And while this might look all well, good and safe to you, I should make note that warning signs of our chief suspect, “the marsupial” were everywhere.







Lastly – for this post – I’ll note that I did bring my Cabana Boy hat. In my (un)official capacity as BMWBMW’s Cabana Boy, I can imagine no honor greater than to offer the symbol of my office to all people in all places. (But I will note that more than one person has asked if I claimed the hat at customs – it is after all a plant - - who’d have guessed?)

[griffin738]

Paul & Victoria,

Far out--you took your Cabana Boy hat with you all the way to Oz??! I'm impressed.



BTW, after you've ridden the R1200GS for a while, I bet you'll be itching to buy one upon your return to the U.S.!

Rick F.

You beat me to it Rick!

Must be all that free time you suddenly have!

Jim

PS Hope you are feeling better!

Hey! Well, yes I did bring the hat - of course!

And I will post something about the 1150 v the 1200. I've come to no solid conclusion yet, but I'll bet I have an opinion or two before all is said and done!

And more importantly than all of that (and even doug's stupid chair) is that Rick is up and about after the get-off. I too hope you're feeling better man!

[Chiba]

I thought about you this afternoon when I read in my Lonely Planet guide to Australia that "Customs will examine all vegetation including ... straw hats".

I wondered, "Did Paul get held up by Customs and cavity searched because he brought his Official Cabana Boy Hat(tm) into the country? Oh my!!"

--chiba

[griffin738]

I thought about you this afternoon when I read in my Lonely Planet guide to Australia that "Customs will examine all vegetation including ... straw hats".

I wondered, "Did Paul get held up by Customs and cavity searched because he brought his Official Cabana Boy Hat(tm) into the country? Oh my!!"

--chiba

nope, no cavity search. i think that's good.

but(t), this shot just for you man!!

[griffin738]

After the Putty Road we continued “northish” through the mountains. The Oxley Highway, Thunderbolts Way. We seem to be in Australia during a cold snap - - and at elevations reaching 1,300 meters, things got a bit chilly. Temperatures were below freezing in the evening, so we got a late start in the morning, after things had warmed up a bit. The problem with that approach is that we need to ride purposefully (few stops) so that we can reach our next overnight destination before winter’s short daylight hours come to a close.

Victoria truckin’ through the hills. . .


The 1200 looking out over the hills. . .


And although we’ve not seen any yet, apparently kangaroos come out at night, primarily to feed – and secondarily to scare and/or hurt motorists. (NOTE: while I say that we haven’t seen a kangaroo yet, in truth we have. But in more truth, we haven’t seen a live one – just a bunch of gross bloody ones at the side of the road).

Signs warn of spooky chair-stealing, car-jacking, pouch-nursing critters. . .


These are not words of complaints, they are just observations. The upshot of the cold temperatures is that in order for it so be so cold, the skies are likely clear (and they are). And if the skies are clear (as they are (like I said in the last sentence (don’t make me tell you this again))), then there is no precipitation. Victoria and I agreed that a chill is better than a soaking.

Also, I’ve been making progress on settling in on the “new” GS. The GPS is coming in VERY handy (although it occasionally sends us down unpredictable “shortcuts”). The radio feeds into a helmet intercom – Victoria has the same set-up. She TOTALLY loves it when I sing to her. Oh, and the little tube up front displays the bike registration as required in these parts. . .


For now I’ll end with a nice sunset shot. Here we’re staying at a winery (good call). It all looks peaceful, but remember – there’s a roo behind every tree, just waiting to do something unspeakable. . .

[griffin738]

A couple recent chair sightings. . .

Doug, did you have a sweet Elvis chair?. . .


no paul. . .

Doug, were you up late eating burger rings?. . .


no paul. . .

[Chiba]

nope, no cavity search. i think that's good.

but(t), this shot just for you man!!

Any time you can get into or out of a country without a cavity search - THAT IS A GOOD DAY!

I'm touched... what a whimsical photo!

WHIMSY I TELL YOU!

--chiba

[Rick F.]

. . .
The 1200 looking out over the hills. . .

Paul & Victoria,

I doff my cap in honor of your taking the Official Cabana Boy Straw Hat all the way to Australia. I note, however, that it's beginning to look a bit raggety, a consequence, no doubt, of a steady flow of high-speed wind.

I'm recuperating well, by the way (and thanks for your concern). And I'm enjoying your on-the-fly ride report--it looks like you're having a great time. But definitely stick to the daylight (and fewer-roos-per-km) hours!

Rick F.

[griffin738]

The low temperatures robbed Victoria’s bike’s battery of all usefulness. . .


so with the help of our innkeeper and his son, we made a little one-way push start attempt down a gravel road – success!


We bundled up and rode east from Armidale toward the coast, taking another highly-rated road, the Waterfall Way. We stopped in Dorrigo and poked around the national park – our first rainforest visit of the trip.

Looking out from a certain vantage point, we couldn’t see the trees trough the forest.


Needing a closer view, Captain Copernicus did her thing. . .


To the east of Dorrigo the road becomes ideal for motorcycling. Tight turns, great views, well-paved roads. A shot of the bike. . .


and a shot of the view. . .


Heading north, we exited New South Whales and entered Queensland. Passing through Brisbane, we encountered quite a bit of traffic. And then it happened: the spookiest thing that’s ever happened to me on a motorcycle. We had been riding in the left (slow) lane and approached some very slow-moving traffic. Victoria moved over to the right (passing) lane but there was no time for me to move over to fall in with her. I came to a nearly complete stop while a few cars passed, then there was an opening. So I hit the throttle, turned first to the right and ten quickly to the left. I must have been too much on the throttle because the rear end started to slide out to the right - - the back tire must have spun and lost traction - - I fishtailed quite a bit it seemed. I let off the gas a bit, no clutch, no brakes - - I guess it was the right move as the rear came back to center, but then kept going. And soon I was fishtailing to the left. And then back to the right. And then to the left again. It felt like a ‘tank slapper’ except the front wheel wasn’t shifting from side to side, only the back wheel was. All I know is that I kept the front end pointed forward while the back end moved violently from side to side, and very quickly. No damage other then a bit of lost rubber and some bruising on the inside of my knees where the bike hit me, hit me a lot. I was shaken up a little but needed to concentrate on the traffic around me. I did notice that the car behind me gave me quite a bit of space after that. . .

We pulled into a gas station and I asked Victoria, “well, did you see that?” “See what?” she replied. “Oh, nothing. . .”

At the station we met two other riders. Ian told us that he was riding his R1150RT over to Hervey Bay, where the 2008 BMW Safari was to begin the next day. The “rolling rally” was to begin in that town and end up in Cairns - - a schedule very similar to ours. We’d make an effort to meet up with the crew. . .

We also met one of Queensland’s finest, a motorcycle cop. I envied his bike and thought it would make a much more credible vehicle to chase after those who may have stolen Doug’s chair. Plus, my bike could never again be trusted after trying to throw me. So I stole the police bike. Admit it, you’d have done the same thing. . .

[Chiba]

Stealing a police bike officially qualifies you as a hoon in Oz, my man. NICELY DONE!

--chiba