On the Road Again

On the road again – Just can’t wait to get on the road again. Willie Nelson knew exactly how I felt after not riding for almost 1 year. That’s right, an entire year.   I put the bike away in October 2016 for the winter. In May and June of this year we were busy organizing ourselves for the big move and didn’t have time to ride. The bike was crated up in July and arrived in Australia mid-October.   So, here we are in November and I finally got out on the maiden voyage. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe.

The process of getting the bike on the road was rather straight forward. First is having an independent engineer look at the bike to ensure it meets all the Australian regulations. Derek was his name, but looked like and laughed like a guy named Wilbur that I rode with back home. We got along like old friends on the first meeting. The only thing needed was to put the original Suzuki mirrors back on to pass the certification. The next step was to have an engraved Queensland plate issued and affixed to the bike frame. Derek had this made in a week’s time and it was now ready for the safety.

There’s a business here that does mobile safeties. They call the process a road worthy certification. I set an appointment and a guy came to the house to have a look at the bike. Inspection of tires, brakes, oil leaks, etc.. The only thing I needed to pass the test was to put the front fork reflectors back on that I had removed for aesthetic reasons. This was done and the paperwork was authorized.

Here’s where it gets interesting… After having 2 people look at the bike, I now have to ride the bike to the court house in Yeppoon with Ontario license plates and no insurance for a 3^rd person to look at it. Literally… A lady came out of the court house and just looked at it. It’s at this point I’m issued a plate and the bike is now registered with the Queensland government!   That was easy.

Let’s go. My first trip was to place called Byfield about 50Km away. It’s a ride through the Australian bush land up to a national park. Even though the scenery was all new to me, it had a real familiar feeling about it.   This was just like riding through the hills in South Dakota and Wyoming. It was the pine trees that lined the road with an odd palm tree peeking through the top, the rivers that followed along the roadway, the red dirt roads and that heat that you can’t drive fast enough to get cooler.   Although the speed limit was posted at 100, I found myself doing a little over 80 so that I could take it all in.

Once in the big town of Byfield, I found there’s only a school and the Byfield General Store here. It’s a neat little place with a gas pump, small store and a café grill. I filled up my tank, ordered some calamari & chips and rested on the outdoor patio. The size and flavour of the calamari in Australia is incredible. These bad boys looked like big onion rings. It made for a great lunch.

Once back on the road, I travelled up to the coast and rode back towards Yeppoon. Another scenic journey trying to keep an eye on the road. Just like in Niagara, there are road hazards to be aware of like deer, racoons or Canadian geese.   The hazards are just a little different here.   I need to be on the lookout for kangaroos and snakes. I did come across a poor fella that didn’t quite slither fast enough.

It was so nice to get out on the bike again and the fact that I get to do this all year long is a dream.