Days 19, 20, 21 and 22 from home.

I finally arrived home safely last night around 9pm. It was wonderful to be able to see my two kids, Brendan and Cassandra again, and give them both big hugs. These 3 weeks away have been the longest we've ever been apart and I'd been missing them since day 1.

The final few days of the trip were great! The night before we left Wodonga to ride over to Thredbo we met two fellow riders, Alan and Steve, who were from Woy Woy on the NSW central coast. As it turned out, Alan and Steve were also on the last few days of their own two week ride through Victoria, but had toured further into western Victoria following the Murray River.

We met Alan and Steve very briefly on the Tuesday night as Marissa and I were riding out to have diner. They had just checked into a cabin at the same caravan park, and were unloading their gear when we stopped to say "Hi" on the way out. The quick chat lasted all of 5 minutes but we established in that time that we were both heading for home over the next few days, and that I had planned to stay on the central coast for a night on the way back.

For those of you who haven't owned a motorcycle, its difficult to appreciate the level of camaraderie that is shared between motorcyclists. It's a sense of brotherhood (and sisterhood) that transcends age groups, financial circumstances, and even the brand of bike you ride. (though that's not necessarily the case with some Harley riders for some reason?)

Sometimes the camaraderie is just a simple nod of the head, or a wave exchanged between otherwise complete strangers, to acknowledge a fellow rider going in the opposite direction. At other times, it's a friendly enquiry to ask "is everything Ok" as one such fellow rider did for us when he saw us stopped on the side of the road just south of Canberra, when all we were doing was entering a new destination into our GPS unit to direct us to Canberra airport. It's a wonderful thing, and it's something that car drivers don't share.

Well, as if to take that up one level, the following morning Marissa was surprised when Alan came over to our cabin and handed us a small piece of paper with his name, address and contact numbers on it, and told us that if we needed somewhere to stay on the central coast, we were welcome to stay at his place. In the end we thanked him for his generosity, and explained that I had already arranged a place to stay, and gave him our contact details in Brisbane just in case we can someday return the favour.

Day 19

As it turned out Alan and Steve were going the route across to Jindabyne via Thredbo as we had planned, so we rode together for the rest of that day, getting to know a little about each other over lunch at Walwa. As it turned out, Alan and Steve were both members of the NSW Police and Blue liners, which is a motorcycle club for members of Police forces and others who ride.

When we reached Jindabyne we stopped to refuel the bike and Alan and Steve didn't notice that we had pulled into the servo, so they continued on and are probably still wondering where the hell we went. ... lol

We checked into our cabin in Jindabyne for the night then dropped the trailer and went for a ride up to Charlottes Pass. From here we could see whats known as the "Main range" which includes Mt Kosiousko, though it was hidden in the mist higher up the mountain.

. There was a fair amount of snow still on the mountains, and the road leading up to Charlottes Pass through Perisher was brilliant on the bike, with lots of spectacular views as we passed through the different Ski resorts on our way up the mountain.

We headed back down the range to Jindabyne as the afternoon was getting on and met up with a friend of mine John Nagle, who was sharing the cabin with us that night. We headed off to the local pub for diner before grabbing a few beers to take back to the cabin, and looked through the pics we'd taken of the trip so far. 

Day 20

Today we were meeting up with some more friends from Canberra who we were sharing a unit with in Thredbo for the next 3 days during the Snowy ride. Our friends weren't arriving until the afternoon, so Marissa and I decided to get to Thredbo early, then take the chairlift up to the top of the mountain and do the walk up to Mt Kosciusko.

   
The ride up the chairlift was great, as it began to snow halfway up and the trees were all covered by the overnight snow falls.

When we reached the top of the chairlift there was a blizzard happening and it was hard to see much at all. So began the walk along the well defined pathway that leads up the mountains, but that soon reached a point where the path was covered by snow. We continued on as were were well prepared for the cold conditions wearing all our wet weather bike gear, and eventually made it to a lookout that was 2kilometres up the pathway from the chairlift.

From the lookout your supposed to be able to see Mt Kosciusko but we were well and truly fogged in on this day so there was no point to going further, as we wouldn't be able to see anything anyway.

It was originally my intention to propose to Marissa at the top of Mt Kosciusko on this trip. So, since we were pretty close to the summit at the look out, I asked her for her engagement ring back, then got down on one knee and popped the question again. (Got it on video this time too!)

Marissa looking cool!

Beginning of the walk

Us after I popped the question a second time

Lovely stream in the hills

Marissa

The pathway gets covered in snow

Snowball fight anyone?

No we didn't make this snowman! It was already there

Marissa chilly on the chairlift going up

Frozen hair

We headed down the mountain to the Eagles Nest Cafe but found it was closed. So we hoped on the chairlift and headed back down to thredbo and met up with our other friends, then upacked the bike and settled into our unit before heading off to get some supplies (ie: booze)! Later that afternoon we were invited up to the unit of some other friends of one of the guys (Colin) that was staying with us, and enjoyed a great afternoon chatting away and eventually we stayed on and watched a movie that evening before walking back to our unit in the cold foggy Thredbo night air.

Day 21

Today we decided that we would all meet up around 10 am and ride up to Charlottes Pass again. Our new friends from Last night Terri and Yvonne met up with our group and we headed off to Jindabyne, then up the road to Charlottes Pass.

It began to get seriously cold as we headed up the range, and eventually the temperature readout on my bike dropped to zero. The girls had had enough and decided they were going to turn back, but John, Terry and ourselves pressed on steadily to reach the top of the range. It was amazing for me watching the snow build up on the front of the bikes screen as we rode through the falling snow. The chill factor from the bike moving through the cold air kept it there, and I wanted to take a pic as soon as we reached the top. Sadly, we hit a small pot hole as we got there, and that was enough to shake all the snow off the bike.

It was worth it in the end because the sun came out briefly as we approached the top of the road, so we were able to capture some great photos of the falling snow and the snow covered trees.

Lovely scene of Marissa and the bike with the snow on the trees

Leaves heavy with snow and blue sky

Terry and John join us at the top.

Marissa watching the snow falling on her hands

Trees heavy with snow 

 After taking lots of photo's we headed back into Jindabyne and were amazed at how toasty warm  the 6 degree temperature felt after riding in zero degrees. It was funny because you could actually feel each 1 degree rise in temperature as we made our way further down the mountains.

We met up with the rest of the group that turned around and had lunch at the local bakery before buying more supplies (some food this time, but more booze as well), then rode back up to Thredbo and enjoyed another afternoon in the unit. 

Earlier in the morning we had booked a test ride on the new Honda Goldwing. So we went down at the arranged time and took the bike for a ride along the mountain roads. It was a lovely smooth bike, but even if I was able to afford one, I wasn't impressed enough to get my cheque book out. So it remains just a dream for now.

We'll stick with our trusty ST1300 for now.

Day 22. The Snowy Ride

Today was the day of the Snowy Ride. This is a charity event to raise money for The childrens Cancer research institute, and Honda Australia do a fantastic job of sponsoring the event. We had to do a ride along a route of our choosing, but we had pass through at least 3 check points and get our cards stamped at each check point, to be eligible to enter the draw to win a new Honda motorbike at the presentation at the end of the day. 

Some of the bikes at Berridale check point.

Our group at Dalgety

Lionel, Jill, Terry, John, Marissa and Barry

We made it to checkpoints at Berridale and Dalgety before riding back up to Thredbo, which was our last checkpoint. It was a lot shorter ride than we usually did in past years, but still enjoyable, and we made it back in time to take part in the mass ride into Thredbo for the presentation at the end of the day.

Mass ride arriving in Thredbo

Part of the mass ride

The Brewster Brothers (Original members of The Angels) played Saturday night in the village square and put on a great show.

 
Day 22

Finally it was time to head for home after a great 3 weeks away. We packed up early Sunday morning and said our goodbyes, before heading one more time down the mountain into Jindabyne. We stopped to take a few more photos over looking Jindabyne with the snow capped mountains in the background, before heading to Canberra where Marissa was catching a midday flight back to Brisbane, and I would continue the ride north to the central coast for the night to catch up with friends.

Looking over Jindabyne with snow capped mountains in the back ground.

 Marissa had a good flight back, and I had a fairly good run back on Monday morning completing the last 900 k of the trip in just over 12 hours. 

Overall the trip was a  great success and it was a delight for me to be able to share with Marissa some great places along the way. We were blessed with the weather, only having 4 wet days, and they weren't that bad. We didn't camp as much as we originally planned, and that blew our budget. But it was worth it to pay the extra for a cabin or room at a pub, to not have to deal with a wet tent each morning due to the overnight condensation.

The ST1300 performed faultlessly throughout the 8,000 plus kilometres we covered. The new rear tyre we fitted before we left is now 80% worn, probably due to being two up and towing a trailer. The front tyre is still in great condition. Towing the trailer was a bit of a hassle at times, and I'm not sure yet if I'd do it again? Perhaps towing a trailer to camp over a long weekend would be Ok, but when doing a longer ride, I'm now convinced your better to book hard bed accommodation rather than camping.

Many thanks to those people we managed to catch up with, and who offerred accommodation along the way. To Leanne and John B, thank you so much for putting us up for the night when we were in Narooma. It was lovely to see you again after all those years.

To Steve and Jade in Dubbo. great to see you and the kids again guys, and thanks for your hospitality. Hope to see you again soon. 

To Dick and Ella, a special thankyou to you guys for making us so welcome in your home, and for arranging the dentist appointment for Marissa on such short notice. Special thanks to you Dick for showing Marissa and I around the beautiful areas you took us to that are right in your back yard, in that part of Victoria.

Oh, by the way Dick. Now that I'm not in a position to be drinking any more of your beer, I hereby revoke all privileges I bestowed on you to hang shit on my bike while I drank your beer. The St1300 is indeed prettier than the early model. You can't ignore public opinion, that guy at the pie shop was adament that my bike was the nicer looking one.... lol!

Thanks Charlie for letting me stay at your place at Gorokan on the way home. It was nice catching up again.

A great big thank you has to go to my wonderful Mum and Dad, for taking great care of my kids for us while we were away. It goes without saying that without your support the trip simply could not have happened, and I doubt I'd have got that much for the kids on eBay anyway. So thankyou guys, we appreciate all that you have done for us, including mowing my lawns while we were away.

To my darling Marissa, what can I say. It was wonderful to have you all to myself for the 3 weeks of this trip, and to take you to, and share with you, places that were special to my heart. I look forward to sharing many more of these experiences with you in the future. Love you babe xo

Thanks to everyone who followed our journey and sent emails saying how much they were enjoying the ride with us following the blog. I hope you enjoyed some of the photo's we've been able to share.

Till the next adventure starts .....

Regards

Barry and Marissa xo