Another guest blog from you-know-who..... Sunday morning Tara and I headed off to Urban Bites: a place recommended to us in Newtown. Sydney is a bit different this way - everywhere has it's own name for the neighbourhood. In Toronto, when asked, you lived in Toronto, and you talked about the intersection - Yonge and Eg, Queen and Dundas, Jane and Finch (hopefully not), etc. In Sydney, everything is a neighbourhood and has it's own name - The Rocks, Pyrmont, Glebe, Newtown, Darlington, Darlinghurst, Darling Harbout..... all within 5-10 minutes of each other! It creates a sense of community for sure, but makes travelling around difficult. Anyways, early morning, brunch, yummy. Here's a picture of the entire trip we made, for reference.
Next up, Cronulla. Remembering that it's winter, it was a beautiful visit to the beach - unlike Bondi, this wasn't crowded, but had lots of locals taking their dogs for a walk, going for swimming lessons, or just hanging out with a morning coffee. Sorry, no pictures for this one, but we're already planning a trip back. Best part? Dedicated motorcycle parking right beside the beach!!
Let me take a minute and talk about Sheila..... she's brilliant! I spent a few hours last week installing hand guards, or knuckle guards, or whatever they're called. Basically, something to deflect the wind so my hands don't freeze. I don't know what it is, but this bike just sings for me - sure it has an aftermarket exhaust, which probably explains the downshift exhaust gasses igniting and making a fantastic noise, but this bike is just great. Yes, she runs out of 'go' juice , but that's right about the point where I shouldn't go any faster.... And the brakes aren't that great when you're in the super twistys. But otherwise, the v-strom is for me. I already want to buy the new 1000 v-strom when I'm back in Canada.
Back to it - we travelled south to the Royal National Park. It's like Gatineau, but for Sydney. And it's INCREDIBLE! Gorgeous roads, elevation changes, some great views of the ocean, and great signage letting you know when the corners are coming up. Apparently this is a spot for local kids to try and kill themselves on their crotch rockets, but for me, it was just a brilliant ride. We stopped for a quick photo - you're supposed to pay an $11 entrance fee, but if you don't stop or park, you don't actually need to pay (weird rule....)
Anyways, then rode back into Sydney. It started raining on the way back, which wasn't fun, but hey, c'est la via. Stopped at a place called Dan Murphy's, which has the best beer selection in Sydney, to get some La Chouffe - it's one of my top three beers of all time (another being ham beer..... ask about that some time). It's $15 a bottle, so you don't drink a lot at all, but it's incredibly delicious. Finished off the day watching some V8 supercars and F1 from Belgium. Hopefully I'll get to go to the Bathurst 1000 race while I'm here, since it's on my racing track bucket list (already did the Nurburgring, Le Mans, Spa, and Goodwood are the others on the list, thanks for asking!)
Right in the middle of the winter (August 1-3), we decided it would be a fantastic idea to take ourselves up north for a little motorcycle tour. We booked two nights in two different places, took a Friday off of work, and headed out on the open road for a few days! It's definitely a blessing to be able to ride in Australia all year round (at least in New South Wales), and Friday was gloriously warm! We started out by leaving Sydney around 8:00am with plans to take the Pacific Highway up to Port Macquarie, stay there the night, take the long way round to Hunter Valley, and then head back to Sydney Sunday morning.
The first leg of the journey was fantastic. We took periodic stops along the way, including breakfast at a dive trucker stop (and the best coffee I've had since we got to Australia!) and a stop at the National Motorcycle Museum. We wanted to get to this place called the Koala and Kangaroo Park, a small-ish zoo that, I think, is pretty popular because it's one of the few parks you can actually touch (but not hold) a koala, and feed wallabies and kangaroos. Might I mention that, up till this point (and despite having visited a place called 'Kangaroo Valley') we had not seen any kangaroos at all in Australia yet! We were under the impression that we'd be spotting them all the time, but alas, the marsupial population has proven to be ever-elusive. Until now! I'm proud to say that we have finally seen, touched and fed Kangaroos in Australia. I'm sad to say, however, that the first number of kangaroos we saw in Australia came in the less-than-living form of roadkill. But let's not dwell on mortality -- on to the pictures!
Rob checking our route on Google Maps at breakfast at around 9:00am Friday. I'm about to drink my fantasy coffee
Rob stopping for a photo op before we head back on the open road
We saw signs for this place on the highway, and obviously we had to stop
It's a lot more inspirational when you know what you're looking at, I guess...
...but I was just blown away by the shear number of bikes and accessories that were crammed in here
This was insanely cool, though.
A kind of blurry photo of me scratching a koala's back at the Koala and Kangaroo Park.
The only koala we saw that was actually moving around. (I want one!)
These wallabies were so cute... (I want one of these, too!)
Rob attracted some kangaroos who actually managed to share.
Usually, the kangargoos were the bullies and pushed the other animals away while you tried to feed them
This little girl had all kinds of extra baggage in her pouch. I was cool to see them hop around even with a joey in their pouch
The park had other animals, too, like this pair of female Red Pandas that we saw at feeding time (I also want one!)
A giant Gator ... look at those teeth! I think there's a relation...
Penguins
Turtles, including the really weird looking Snake Necked Turtle
And an over-sized guinea pig (wombat)
We booked one night's stay in the small town of Port Macquarie at a B&B called Anchors. This is literally the first time in my life I have stayed in a B&B, and if this place was any measure of what to expect from B&B's, I'm hooked! It was lovely with a great location about a 4 minutes walk from the beach - and not just any beach, oh no, this was probably the most beautiful beach I've ever seen... and I've been to a handful of beautiful tropical beaches! It just went on forever and the beach had such a gradual slope into the water that you could easily go for a walk in the water with no worries about it getting too deep too fast. And the sand! It was so white it squeaked! No, honestly, the sand ligitimately squeezed every time you took a step. Weird.
We bought a couple of beers from the local bottle shop and headed down to sit by the ocean and watch the world go by before heading back to our place to change for dinner. Dinner was utterly disappointing, so we won't talk about that...
A panorama of Lighthouse Beach as the sun set behind the trees. This one deserve a 'click to enlarge'
Rob enjoying some lovely local "Australian Ale"
The lighthouse for which the beach is named is just visible on the distant rock outcropping
Just chilling in the Pacific Ocean.
While the day had been a balmy 25 degress, it got to the low single digits over night and one thing you quickly realize about Australian construction is that it's meant to be drafty, so the air flows through when it's hot, and not to keep cold air out. So, when it gets cold, the house gets cold, too. We had to huddle under the blankets to stay warm, but couldn't complain about anything else. We were awoken by the unmistakeable call of Kookaburras and after a great little complimentary breakfast and conversation with our fellow B&B companions, Diane and Chris, we bundled up and headed out on the next leg of our journey.
Apparently we didn't bundle up enough, though....
The morning's ride was absolutely breath-taking and saw us through national park land, winding mountainous roads, rolling pasture, and picturesque valleys. However, the cold was the kind that seeped into our bones and by lunch time, we were huddled in a town shop in Walcha next to a wood stove amending our route to get to our destination as fast as possible. The locals were very friendly and handy with a few words of advice on routes. So, we headed south to try to get to Hunter Valley as soon as possible.
On the way, we spotted a sign reading something like "goat cheese tasting here" and thought we couldn't pass that up! I'm so glad we made the stop at the New England Cheese place. Not only was it gloriously warm inside this quaint little dairy farm perched on top of a dusty hill, but the cheese was delicious, the people were super friendly, and we had amazing, hot peppered goat pies for lunch. Also, we got to meet their cute puppy dogs and I even got to hold a little premature baby goat that was only 2 days old!
Just one example of the awesome roads and views we had the whole day. If anyone wants to donate a helmet-mounted GoPro, we could be filming all the time and you wouldn't miss anything! But as is, it's hard to photograph while on a bike.
2-day-old Kid and it's very protective mother
I got to hold the Kid while Mama was all like "hey, where'd my baby go?!"
Right before it peed on me...
The view out the door of the Cheesery
We say goodbye to John, the bloke who's been an investment banker his whole life, but making goat cheese with his wife for 20 years. What a nice guy he was! And before anyone asks, no, that's not Rila on the porch, but he definitely reminded me of her (we definitely spent some time petting the puppies)!
Before saying our goodbyes and heading out, we slapped on another layer of clothes, hoping to keep a little warmth in our bodies... but that was not to be. By the time we reached Hunter Valley and Potters Brewery and Hotel (the place we were staying), we were verging on hypothermia. I know what you're thinking: "And these people call themselves Canadian *scoff scoff*" but I don't think I've ever been that cold riding through the cold air at 125...*ehem*...100km/h for hours on end. I wish we could've taken the time to enjoy the area a bit more, since it's one of NSW's premiere wine regions, and the place we stayed at is a working brewery, but instead we spent an hour in the hot shower trying to get warm.
Once we finally braved the outside world again, we enjoyed an extremely tasty dinner and micro-brew beer at the Potters Bar, and the world was once more a happy place! I wanted to try their Ginger beer, but sadly they were all out.
Another early morning, and Rob and I had a competition to see who could put on the most layers of clothing and still be able to a) get our bike jackets on and b) actually be able to swing our legs over the motorcycle and two side cases to get on the thing.... I think I managed 2 tank tops, 2 sweaters, the armored jacket with liner, a scarf, 3 pairs of pants, leg warmers, two pairs of socks, shoes, thinsulate leather gloves and my helmet. I was not going to freeze twice! We headed back to Sydney after a quick breakfast and got home in the early afternoon.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend full of perfect winding roads and gasp-worthy scenery. Next time, though, we will make very sure we dress for the weather.
Rob again here, with a second back-to-back guest post. Last weekend we decided to take Sheila out on a first test ride: a day trip westward to the Blue Mountains. We're not really sure why they are called the Blue Mountains.... something about the morning mist perhaps? They looked pretty green to us, with lots of forest area and tons of greenery. To set the stage, here's what the route looked like: lots of straight and narrow on the highway, followed by all kinds of fun windy and twisty bits (the good stuff), and then back to some highway riding to get back into town.
So, the first question people ask is "how hard is it to ride on the other side of the road?" Answer - it isn't! Actually, I find it easier on a bike, since you aren't driving in the wrong seat of the car, with the gear shift on the left side. That's weird. On a bike, the controls are exactly the same. So just once and a while, a friendly reminder from a backseat passenger that you should be in the left lane is helpful!
The weather was incredible (especially for winter), so we headed west early on the weekend morning. The first leg was boring on the M4, but by the time we hit the mountains, the elevation change made things more fun. First thing to learn about maps in Australia - they really do not capture how hilly things are. Sure, in Canada, you can get some ups and downs. But here? That middle section is some of the hilliest and most fun riding i've ever had. Sure, it's twisty, but the elevation change is pretty intense.
Anyways, we stopped in Katoomba - no particular reason, other than it was a decent sized city. We came across signs for the 'Three Sisters' which someone had suggested we stop to see. So we first visited the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, (pictured above, with beautiful blue sky) which included an Art Gallery and World Heritage Centre. The art gallery was cool, with some interesting design pieces, and local art. Tara liked this wall installation, specifically the shadows cast. I thought it would be great in a room with a lot of sunlight, so every time you looked at it the shadows would be different!
The Blue Mountains are also a World Heritage Site (UNESCO link for details) and I can see why: it's some fantastic natural geography. Included in this natural geography are some incredible plants and animals; no, we didn't see this cute creature on the left in person, but the heritage centre provided an overview of some of the inhabitants of the Mountains.
We eventually left the centre, and grabbed a quick bite to eat, walking down the main street in Katoomba. We decided to jump back on the bike, and make our way down to the viewing platform to see the famous Three Sisters. Thanks wikipedia for the details (see blogging isn't that difficult!). Sure, there's some meaning behind them, but honestly, they're three rocks out in a large valley. I found the larger vista cooler than the three rock formations on their own. What do you think? Three large rocks, or an awesome valley full of cool stuff?
Now, if we really wanted to experience the Blue Mountains, we should have done a full day walk to see the area up close, but that takes away time from riding! Next up, we rode to the Botanical Gardens. I feel like any description of the gardens will be lacking, as we basically stopped, had a coffee and scones, and then got back on the bike and kept riding (notice a theme here :-) ) The ride back from here was a ton of fun, lots of downhill bits. Had a bit of fun with a Multistrada, but he was way too fast to keep up with (I blame the small engine, not the extra passenger, or being risk averse!)
So, in general, it was a great day out on the bike. Only 250km or so, but a nice way to get used to a new ride. Building confidence is important when riding a bike, and understanding both your limits and the bikes limits (not that I was really pushing either) is important. Oh, and the Mountains - they were really, really pretty!
Final message - it's a game of Where's Waldo Tara! Find Tara in the (huge) crowd! There was a second viewing platform, and Tara said that she would run down there and that I was to get a picture.... this was the best we could come up with! Next time: the three day trip up the coast!
Hey all, it's Rob here. First off, apologies from both of us for not updating the blog as of late: we've been enjoying the beautiful Australian winter here, and that means less time blogging and more time making new friends and discovering the great city of Sydney. Second, and before we provide more of an update on what we've been up to, we want to introduce the new addition to the team: Sheila, the 2008 Suzuki V-Strom 650!
Those of you with a sharp eye may note that Sheila is the same make and model as Ginger, our 2011 V-Strom. Well yes, after searching for weeks, we came to the decision that for the money, nothing beats a V-Strom. Yes, a Ducati Multistrada is faster. Yes a BMW or KTM has actual offroad pedigree. Yes, a Triumph will break all the time (but will have 'character'). But if you want a bike that just eats up the miles, is dependable as anything, and isn't expensive at all, it's got to be the Wee-Strom (I still can't justify the larger 1000cc v-strom, it's heavier and more expensive on insurance and not really needed).
So, without further ado, here she is.
Some fun info: She has an aftermarket exhaust, which actually has a noticeably different sound. She has a large kappa top case and two side bags, which gives plenty of storage capacity for touring. What she doesn't have though, is a bit noticeable: no handguards (this will be the first purchase), no engine guards and no large adjustable windscreen (although the stock isn't that bad). The other downside of the v-strom: i've found that the seat is only good for 2 hours, before I need a break, and after then, my bottom is fairly sore. That'll be fixed with a sargent seat (see here for details http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/sargent-world-sport-performance-seat-suzuki-dl650-dl1000)
Anyways, the plan is to take Sheila on some adventures around Australia. We don't want to be the people who move here for a few years, and then never leave Sydney, or only go to the big cities. So far (and to be detailed in further updates, we promise) are trips to the Blue Mountains, and Port Macquarie (including the second coldest ride of my life!)
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