“Humble Pie Luncheon”, the story of our numerous “reconnoitre” rides through D’Aguilar National Park and the ill-fated thrust into the dark forests of Conondale National Park, is a lesson in the mismatch that can slowly develop between perceived riding adequacy and harsh skill reality over time. So, the only way forward was to expunge any … More Sunday Muddy Sunday
The 2018 Compass Expeditions reunion had been in our “must do” list since mid-2017, even though this time Compass decided to host the annual event at a location absolutely nowhere near anything – Merimbula in southern NSW. Key features of Merimbula are; cheap oysters, oysters that don’t cost very much, and intertidal salt water bivalve … More South of the Border, Down Merimbula Way
Cindy and I had always enjoyed the BMWMCQ monthly lunch rides. Note the past perfect tense “had” replacing the present perfect tense “have”, at least until the next lunch ride where the tense may change again depending on the rate of emotional and physical recovery. We had been planning an adventure in one of the … More Humble Pie Luncheon
They say a change is as good as a holiday. So if a holiday is combined with a job change, then one week of riding around in NSW before the BMWMCQ Christmas party is mathematically two weeks of holiday, but with only one week of expenses. Sweet. The schedule was brutal; last day at work … More The Pigman Cometh
Gelände Straße (Country Road) Experience; to observe and undergo, to gain practical knowledge, and to have a spiritual conversion. All of these were available options at the GS Experience hosted by BMW Motorrad at Canungra in August. For a modest fee of $49, BMW were offering a two hour opportunity to test two of the … More Country Road Experience
Article written for the BMWMCQ July 2017 journal It is day 43 of the Cairo to Cape Town expedition. The scheduled ride for the day is from Arusha to the capital city of Dodoma in Tanzania, a total of 429km. Cindy is back on Blue Betty the BMW 700GS for the first time since her … More Bespoked
Since our return from the C2C, many people considering adventure expeditions have asked us about the success of our packing and planning. Although for the purposes of this article ‘one’ fits within the definition of ‘many’ and ‘blankly staring cat’ fits within the definition of ‘people considering adventure expeditions’. Did all that thought, development of … More Africa De Brief
The return to normality can be tough. Post Tour Sorrow Disorder, more commonly known by its PTSD acronym, becomes a risk particularly when a friend’s first question is where the next big trip will be? The C2C is over, and completing the laundry has become a highlight of the week although the presence of a … More Return Of The Jetlagged
Day 77 and we are making our final African border entry of the C2C, the next one for most of us will be back into our respective country of origin. The process has become routine now, and with improving IT and rubber stamp quality the further south we go, it all happens very quickly. Which … More RSA, All The Way
It is Day 65. Heat is not moderated by high speed motorcycle movement as we pull into the Namibia immigration building, like Botswana a modern and well laid out facility, although the budget didn’t extend to the nice-to-haves like air conditioning. With a few brow drops of sweat smudging the truthiness of the written information … More Not Kiddin’ Ya. It’s Namibia
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