We're back, after 19 days in the saddle in 5500kms of adventure between here and Tassie. Like most adventures, its not all good, but the good stuff first. We spent 4 days making our way down to Melbourne. Took a range of good roads to get down there, but none better than the GOR, which was a bit of a pilgrimage for me and the little Fizzer. Mt White and the Macquarie Pass were good but heavily policed. You can argue all you like about good bike roads on the mainland, but in my view Tassie's roads are just in a completely higher class. We were in Tassie itself for 9 days, and were lucky to only cop 2 days of wet weather. Anyone who's been there will know that 9 days is nowhere near enough time to see everything in Tassie, but we did the touristy stuff with Port Arthur, quad bikes at Strahan and various cruises. There wasn't any black ice or moss that we were warned about, probably due to the time of year. There were plenty of corners with loose gravel and the odd logging truck to watch out for. Overall though the roads in Tassie were great for bikes. Even the highways had no shortage of twisties. My favourites were the road from Waratah to Savage River, and first few kms of the Lyell Highway east out of Queenstown. Compared to the mainland the police presence was bugger all too. We were able to catch up with Conehead briefly which was good, but would have rathered had more time to meet some more ausmotians. Next time. So with gearsacks full of stuffed Tassie devils and a flash card full of pics, the VFR and the Fizzer headed back to the mainland. First thing we noticed was the heat, even in Melbourne. Brissie had 40+ heat while we were away, and we were glad to miss it. Took the Maroondah up through Victoria to Cooryong and over the snowys. Was travelling up the Putty when the adventure went sour. As I pulled up at the Halfway Roadhouse, I was hit from behind by a 2003 BMW R1150. A couple of bruises but no major injuries to either rider, which was good. Relatively minor damage to both bikes, but in the BMWs case thats still in the thousands, and with the low agreed value of the Fizzer Swan tells me they will probably write it off. Its a pretty shitty outcome but it could easily have been a lot worse, so I'll have to chalk that up to experience. We couriered some of the gearsacks home and pillioned on the VFR from Singleton home. It pissed down rain from Newcastle all the way to Brissy, but we made it home. The VFR of course had no problems and was the ideal bike for this trip. Jen had toured before, and knew what to expect. It was all new for me. You stop at a cafe and people see your helmets and just come up and chat to you, even if they're not on bikes. No shortage of genuinely helpful people, more than happy to pass on some good local knowledge. It was a very positive experience. A lot of people said I was crazy taking the Fizzer on this kind of trip. A lot of riders on the way down had the same disbelieving look when I said I was riding it to Tassie. Sure there are more comfortable bikes, but the Fizzer never skipped a beat the whole trip, and in the tight stuff gave the VFR a run for its money. It will be a bitch to replace.
