October 30, 2004
Out in Rockhampton
In Rockhampton, it's Saturday Oct. 30th, 2004. Not sure how long I've been on the road, but the next entry will be the main question I've been asked (oddly enough, not about naked girls, but how much the bike cost).
Ian and I rode to Gav's at Mt. Nebo, which is great. Just like everything I've said about Australia. Really, this whole country so far has been wonderful. There's parrots in the trees, I ride by sugar cane, banana, and cocanut fields. It's amazing.
So of course, Gav is great. He's got so many great bikes held at an off-site location, including one that's on my short list of bikes to own -- a 125cc MV Agusta single. I'll own one someday.
Gav would go with me on this trip, but he has a small kid (just 6 months old). So I ride solo some more. I think that says enough about Gav -- that he's crazy enough to ride a single old Duc round Australia -- and that I'm not as annoying as I seem on my site. I put up the funny annoying stories. Which means, it should be obvious that I'm not as annoying as I make myself seem in real life. Yeah, it cuts into my story some.
So Gav is great, we drink beers with friends that show up on bikes (Cagiva Elefant and newer BMW) and talk bikes. The newer BMW guy mostly rides Yamaha TT500s which are a single of the SR500 that I almost took on this trip. The Cagiva guy rode in the Isle of Man. I can't tell if he's BSing me or not, but still, taking credit for entering and riding the Isle of Man is amazing. That's my favorite ride in the world that I haven't ridden.
So the next day, I wake up hungover which is my first time drunk for weeks. Nice, very nice. I lay around, eat some vegemite and gear up to leave. Gav and I "fix" the fuel gasket at the gascap that leaks. It has 1 gasket, we add another and hope for the best.
I head north. Somewhere after a long mistaken dirt road, I look at my bike. The oil leak has started acting up again. I hope I'm heading north, I should say. Somewhere I think Jordan's guess at the o-ring being the oil leak is correct. Although that might be leaking too. What's that? Oh yeah, the fuel is leaking from the tank that I paid a bit of money for. I'll ride north, with a fuel leak and see how that goes. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? It's always better to read about someone bad luck in another country than to think your main problem is what to bring to lunch.
Hopefully, I'll find an internet connection tomorrow so you know how it goes. I add up the total cost of the bike on that one. It's a doozy. Kind of long because I lose my patience with the fire, the rain, the half-assed parts, and the fuel leak. I get better today and make up for it. I wrote out the next 2 days worth, but they were lost when I hit a bump and my PDA was knocked silly. Not a hard bump, just an average bump, but I think the repitition was what did the damage.
(comments have been closed for this entry)
Posted by DaveSmith at October 30, 2004 02:45 AMHey mang,
Not much going on here but a cold October. Send pictures of beer drinking. None of toes. Thank you.
Posted by: Dr. Biggles at October 30, 2004 02:48 PMDon't eat the vegemite! Save it for patching the leaks.
Posted by: deeann at October 31, 2004 03:32 PMThe drunks are betting against ya! - Yeah, I was thinking of making this a new thread, but since you're actually sending shit, I figured I'd delay starting threads on my own. Anyway, on Friday, I went to JimBoy's as I heard somewhere that they had a treat for me (and who am I to pass up that?). So I order up the stuff for DeeAnn and me and while waiting for the food, start filling up the mini methodone cups they have with their deeeelicious salsa. I hear some guy kind of slurringly rumble something and ignore it. He "repeated" this unintelligible rumbling a little more intently, and out of all of it, I hear "ride." I look over and there's this guy possibly in his 50's with pretty obviously drunk-looking eyes intently staring at me sitting in a booth by the salsa crud. I walked over and said "huh?" - and he repeated in that drunkingly calculated way "what do you ride?" and then I notice he has a heavy weird accent (South American, maybe?) beneath the thick, drunken voice. Obviously he has mistaken the black leather jacket... I tell him I don't ride anything (I resist the temptation to make some quip about farm animals) - there's a bit of back and forth about walking and driving, which seemed to confuse him a bit, then I tell him that a friend of mine is riding around the world on a Ducatti 250 (secretly hoping I actually said the correct thing - since I don't know a damn thing about cars OR bikes). He looks at me a little dumbfounded and says, "that's fahcking crazy!"
I shrug and say "yeah, we'll see how far he gets." - and he jabs back "oh, he won't get very fah."
(if you're really dense or don't read aloud to yourself "fah" = "far" and "fahcking" = "fucking" but apparently that's the way they say it in his land). So how are those leaks going? I just laughed at the guy, but maybe he was on to something.
OOhhh i cringed when i read you crashed the MHR. I might have to rethink leeting you near my scooters. Quite an adventure so far, Ill try and interest the OVM'ers into checking in, but no doubt apathy rules. More pictures please.!!! especially of bikes and weird people.
Posted by: Doug at November 1, 2004 12:17 AMAnd of the naked girls too....
Posted by: Farmdog at November 1, 2004 12:23 AMAll this talk aboot kangaroo roadkill and the different smells of death has me yearning for a glimpse of some kangaroo roadkill. If you have an opportunity to take a picture of one or even a dead frog roadkill or a kaola roadkill... I'd be indebt to you, and this would all seem worth it.
maybe it's my hangover speaking, but a roadkill Steve Irvin would be ubber exciting as well!
Keep ridin', Dave!
Pictures of some dingos would be nice, too.
It sounds like you need to stop a bit more often for beer...
Posted by: Dr Murdock at November 1, 2004 10:18 AMyummm! I love JimBoy's tacos.
Posted by: at November 1, 2004 07:49 PMThe only Australian beers I ever had a chance to sample was Fosters and KD.....happy daze. O, btw, all your Smith Uncles are enjoying your trip vicariously.....I'm going to read your postings to Pop next weekend.....have fun, take care, cul....Dad'n
Posted by: The Old Man at November 2, 2004 09:17 AMDave, make sure you take pics of these naked girls and share them with us.
Posted by: Alez at November 2, 2004 09:53 AM
Yeah, Dave---
For the love of God, please get lots of pics of nekkid ladies! EYEYEYE!
hey i sent some moo-la---time to get a compass!!!!!you should also get a shortwave radio when out in da bush.do they flea markets down under???try there both---items should be cheap and helpful.have fun in the wet and don't get eaten by a croc...
Posted by: jay at November 2, 2004 03:59 PMOkay now no posts for some time,,, where are ye??
Perhaps you are despondent over the election and went walk-a-bout in a drunken stupor...im working on it myself, no hurry returning to the US at this point. figure on 3years 6months if you can make it that long. be interesting as well to get Furr-in-ers and aliens opinions on the US embarassing standing in geopolitical discussions while chugging beer of course. Dont worry about us on the homefront,,im finding solace in large quantitys of Canadian Whiskey and Mexican Tequilla and the collected works of Hunter S. Thompson, truly, we are a generation of swine. or in your case,,,,,"when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"
Please find a little hunk of land to buy in the Outback. Another four years of Bush. . .talk about life being a real hell. The news here is Bush won because of moral issues. How moral is it to send over 9,000 moms, dads, grandpas, sons, and daughters to Iraq to get killed, and to suffer loss of limbs, etc. Gotta go. . . the black-arm band store is opening and Kellye said I have to get off the computer.
Posted by: Mom at November 4, 2004 07:52 AM