Ducati Desert X Test Ride

Not that I am in the market for a new bike.....but lets call it research....and through a bit of boredom, I have watched a couple of ride reviews of the new Ducati Desert X. When I first saw pictures of this thing I thought it had a face only a mother could love. However, after watching these reviews and in fact, after re-watching the MAD TV Aussie review a couple of times as it is sooo in depth, I have come to some sort of "appreciation" for it's look. Some may suggest it is a form of Stockholm Syndrome which may be true but hey, here we are - it isn't that ugly.

In contrast to it's potentially polarising looks, it is getting nothing but praise from ADV test riders world wide. (for an in depth review in Aussie conditions see the YouTube video at the bottom of this post)

So as not to be counted amongst the keyboard warriors assuming it is this or that, I thought it best to judge for myself. I sought out a test ride at Brisbane Motorcycles in Windsor (no affiliation) to see if they had the big white rhino on the floor. Upon arrival I was pleased to see four examples of the Desert X on their showroom floor and on closer inspection I could see tyre wear and dust on one of them. 

A demo! Awesome!

First thing I noted was that the bike is in no way as big as it looks in photos. All of that white acreage makes it look like a big behemoth but in fact it is quite a compact bike. Not as compact as the Aprilia Tuareg mind but nowhere near an Africa Twin or GS1250. The extremely bland styling gave me the willies initially when I first saw pictures of this bike but now I see it as a great opportunity to peel that stupid red stripe off and customise the hell out of the graphics. Ducati left us a clean canvas if you will.

Anyway, I didn't beat around the bush and asked straight up if I could test ride it. Being an "older gent" these days has it's advantages as there was no stuffing around, it was just a case of "where's you licence?" and "sign here" then I was off on a solo test ride!

While I waited at the first set of lights I messed around with the ride mode and changed it from Enduro to Rally, Very easy considering I had 30 seconds experience with the bike!

The immediate thing I noticed with the Desert X was how low it carried it's weight. Just like the Tuareg last week, the Desert X felt light and nimble (it did only have about 4 litres of fuel in the tank so that may help). Well, maybe not as nimble but better than my AT. Standing up I had a slight hunch to the bars but I noted that they were rolled back. If I rolled them forward 20 degrees there would be no need for bar risers.

The dash is quite easy to read, even in the bright, summery morning sunshine today. Maybe not quite as easy as the new Africa Twin though but close enough for my old eyes. The dash was pleasingly uncluttered too.

I flicked around some of inner north Brisbane's hilly residential streets and found the bike very easy to ride with planty of power on tap, though a smidge doughy off the bottom of the rev range. Nothing I have ridden yet in the ADV segment seems to pull from low down like the Africa Twin does (mind you, there are plenty of bikes I haven't ridden yet). The exhaust note is very much a strangled XR200-Honda-with-a-standard-pipe-fart-in-a-jar type noise, not any kind of a roar you might expect from a Ducati L twin. It does concern me as to what it might cost to extract some decent exhaust notes from the bike with Ducati being so proprietary with it's electronics. I hear the Termignoni and it's supporting ECU flash is about $2k US!

But, and this is a big but, the price of the bike here in Australia is $24 700 ride away. That compares to about the $20K that they are selling for in the US. So, with the exchange rate where it is, it would seem that we are getting a very sharply priced ADV bike here. 

Perhaps it is because Ducati are trying to lure a new cohort of owners who have never been Ducatisti before? That price range is right in Africa Twin grounds and an AT will be around 4-6 months away from placing your deposit where as the Desert X is here, in stock now. By all accounts the Desert X is a better bike both on and off road. 

The fly in the custard though is the lack of perceived owner serviceability with the Desert X. The owners manual tells you to take it to your dealer for everything from an air filter change to a drive chain adjustment to a rear wheel removal. Now that is just not cricket for most ADV riders and simply will not fly here in Australia!

I would imagine a whole aftermarket segment will spring up around this bike because when a manufacturer tries to lock people out of the chain, well...people find a way around that lockout. Especially once the 24 month warranty period is over and you are on your own as an owner.

So, what do I think? Who cares I hear you ask!

 

This bike has a LOT of potential as for the money you get the best electronic package on an ADV bike as of 2022. You get great suspension straight up. You get a strong, proven engine (Multistrada V2 heritage). You get Brembo brakes. You get a steering damper as standard. You get usable foot pegs that don't need changing out. You get a height adjustable rear brake lever. You get 21 litres of fuel with a slick 8 litre auxiliary tank (yes, at a price). You get cruise control.

These are all things (well, apart from the engine) that you need to ADD to most other ADV bikes to make them work properly in the dirt.

The bike really only needs crash bars, a bash plate and perhaps heated grips before you leave the showroom and these will set you back $1700ish AU. Yes, I have checked.....

On my way home I also stopped in at Motorcycles R Us (again, no affiliation) in Springwood as they are my "local"  Ducati dealer. They would be happy to take my Tuono back as a trade on a Desert X....as would Brisbane Motorcycles.

Hmmmm. There are some pretty saucy decal kits out there.

What to do......

Cheers. 

 

Aprillia Tuareg 660 Test Ride

 

I recently had an advert pop up on the Facebook feed for an 'event" that was happening near me. Normally I just ignore these annoying ads but this one caught my eye. It was for the new Aprillia Tuareg AND it was for the opportunity to test ride in in my own backyard, namely the Mt Glorious area.

There was a small fee of $39AU attached for the privilege but to sweeten the deal one would recieve an official Aprilia hat and t-shirt. 

Free merch!! Or free test ride with cheap mech!!

Either way, it looked like a great opportunity to do more than the "lap around the block from the dealer's yard" that normally constitutes a test ride so I was IN.

The down side was that the test ride day was on a Saturday. The problem with that I hear you ask? Well, the Mt Glorious road is THE road that riders use that is oh so close to Brisbane and I avoid it like the plague on weekends as it is populated with too may dangerous wanna-bees and plenty of down right incompetent newbies plying the multitude of tight corners on this narrow strip of bitumen. Yep, dumb shit like this happens every day and quite often into the oncoming lane.....

Anyway, back to the test ride..... I left home at 9am on a soon-to-be-quite-hot Saturday morning and got across town to the start of the Mt Nebo/Glorious climb without issue. I had a good ride up the hill without anyone really getting in the way. (hey, I'm not fast on a knobbie shod Africa Twin but it is surprising how many bikes get rounded up on a ride) 

Arriving at the Mt Glorious cafe' I wheeled around to park up and it was busy! Aprillia had a big section of parking roped off for their demo bikes so I guess that compressed everyone into a smaller space making it look even busier. That is my Twin down the far left end.

I wandered down to the organisers and filled in the usual paperwork, collected my hat and shirt then grabbing a coffee sat down to enjoy the morning. I was there early so we had to wait a bit until everyone arrived and the 11am timeslot kicked in. 

Lots of nice backsides to look at.....

This was to be my steed for the morning. Number 2 out of 12. The yellow actually looked pretty good in the flesh and surprisingly my normal "go to" of red, white and blue looked a bit plain and ordinary in the flesh. Black and red was..well...black and dusty and red.

One of the ride leaders looked familiar but I couldn't place him. That was until the introductions started and it turned out to be none other than I.O.M. TT winner Cam Donald! Steve and I had met Cam waaaaay back in 2003 during a tyre buying stop in Melbourne during our Tassie trip that year and as a young up and coming Aussie racer he had impressed us with his down to earth, genuine manner. Fast forward 19 years and it was the same easy going, genuine bloke who gave us a run down on what the ride would involve and how to set up the rider modes on our bikes. 

I was impressed on two fronts here. First up was that we were going to get a taste of dirt by climbing The Goat Track (not as rough as it sounds but gravel none the less) from the Samford Valley. Second was how easy the rider aids were to set on the Tuareg. I had to read my Africa Twin manual a couple of times then fiddle with the switches to get the Honda sorted. Score for the Aprillia!

Saddling up I instantly noted how soft the suspension was and how low the seat height was. I could easily hold the bike up, almost flat footed, unlike my Twin. The clutch and brake levers were a bit goofy for my hands (rolled up too high) and would be the first thing I moved, rolling them forward for comfort.

Rolling off it was quickly apparent how low the centre of gravity was on this bike. Having just ridden the Twin up here I had a direct comparison of how nimble and light the Tuareg felt. It was very confidence inspiring.  All the bikes were shod with Continental TKC80 tyres. I have never used these before but from all of the good things I have read about them I was confident to throw the bike into corners on them (plus, hey, it wasn't my bike, right?!). They didn't disappoint but what did was being stuck behind some really slow riders. I couldn't get too sporty as I kept running up the back of the guy in front every corner we rolled into.

Stopping at the beginning of The Goat Track, Cam gave us a demo of the Tuareg's ABS and traction control systems by blasting from the sealed surface to the loose gravel while braking hard or accelerating hard. The bike remained very composed under the very skilful control of Cam but it was obvious that the latest generation ABS is excellent on the dirt and doesn't need disabling like older generation systems (my 2018 AT).

We saddled up again to try the bikes on the 3.1km gravel climb and this time I made sure I was the first bike behind Cameron. Partly to avoid the dust (I have choked on plenty of dust on this climb on my mountainbike) and partly so I wouldn't be stuck behind some super slow rider as many on this test ride were not dirt riders. 

Right away I switched the traction control down to Level 1, stood on the pegs and roosted around each corner, trusting the TKC 80s to do their thing. The Tuareg was instantly comfortable in the standing position as standard. I didn't feel the need for bar risers at all (2" risers on my Twin to feel comfortable).

The power output is far less than the Twin at low revs but once I got the engine spinning up around 4-5000rpm the bike took off, sounding great through the standard pipe. I think I would miss that low down torque of the bigger AT, especially loaded up on a long trip but then again, I guess one could get used to it. Like riding a Supersport 600 after a Litre sportsbike.

Where the Tuareg would really shine is in the snottier, tighter tracks that I will simply NOT take my Africa Twin. The Twin is fine for fast dirt road cruising or carefully picking your way along rougher dirt roads but I feel the Tuareg would be awesome in the snotty stuff with the way it carries itself. Having the fuel tank down low in the frame gets that C of G low. It would make the bike much easier to pick up after a spill and combined with the low seat height would inspire more adventurous exploration (IMHO-YMMV).

Thanks to Aprilia Australia for this opportunity to test ride the Tuareg in the real world. This just doesn't normally happen for us mere mortals, it usually being the realm of journos only. As an aside, these bikes were the same bikes the journos rode during the Australian launch of the Tuareg. Cam was along on that launch and said the bikes copped an absolute thrashing through the sand of Hattah National Park (where the Hattah desert race is held here in Oz) and stood up to the test with flying colours. He said he wouldn't have wanted to take any ADV bike other that the Tuareg or the T700 through there to give you some context of the difficulty of the riding and the capability of the bikes.

I have attached the MAD YouTube video review of that launch for your viewing pleasure.

So, is there a Tuareg in my future? 

Like any of the ADV bikes, there is compromise to be made between how much on road versus off road ability you want. A Tuareg would lure me into tougher off road riding for sure as I would be more confident of being able to handle it (and pick it up!) BUT I do ride solo quite a bit and being solo in riskier riding situations may not be the smartest option. I like the Africa Twin's mile munching and gear carrying ability a bit too much at the moment, plus I want to see how the Tuareg's reliability and dealer support network interact here in Australia. Aprilia dealers sure aren't on every corner....🤔

Cheers and thanks for indulging me.

Edit: this just came out -

https://www.bikesales.com.au/editorial/details/aprilia-tuareg-660-2022-bikesales-bike-of-the-year-winner-138518/?fbclid=IwAR3a-rV8frRpsPfv7JKMkmcSJlioBf8JYXPDv8q9DHwfOCiZYQAb8gt03qs

Post Script  - To highlight my concerns about riders on this road I followed a couple of riders down the hill. It took me several kilometres to get past the first bloke as I didn't want to be silly but he wouldn't make any room to let me past.

The second rider (on a SV650) was the same but much slower and again, I was stuck for several kilometres until we came to this flick left, then hard right, divided corner. Old mate was slow to flick left, then obviously got target fixation and very slowly rode onto the incorrect side of the road and was trapped on the oncoming traffic side of the barrier, all on a tight 30km/h posted corner! 🫣

VERY LUCKILY for him, there was nothing coming and all I could do was shake my head as I slowly rolled up the left side of him (I was on the correct side of the road).

He was going soooo slowly when he went onto the wrong side of the road that any amount of left steering input/left lean would have seen him back on the correct side of the road.

This was a massive reminder for me to STAY OFF MT GLORIOUS on weekends.

New Gear !

 

Looking at my tired old riding gear I decided it was time err...stuff falling apart made it clear that it was time for some replacements. 

Starting with my Sidi Vertigo II boots which were only about 11 years young and hadn't had much use. Strangely the left heel protector was perished and disintegrating. Of course I discovered this the afternoon before a ride so it was a mad rush to find some replacements.

I had also noticed in the last year or two that the boots were pressing down uncomfortably on my toes. I am not sure if this is because of my expanding girth spreading my feet more or if there was a change in the shape of the boot over time. Either way, I decided to go up a size to alleviate the problem as it was excruciatingly painful hobbling around with crushed toes. 

Luckily the local AMX Superstore has new Sidi vertigo IIs in stock AND in the larger size. of course they were much more expensive than 11 years ago. If I get another 11 years out of these, well then that will be fine. They are a good boot that incorporate air ducts on the side of the boot and calf adjustment for the perfect fit around any person's calf.

Calf adjuster.

Next item on the agenda was my helmet. The Bell Carbon Star I have been using is actually in decent condition however commuting to work as I have been doing this year means I am very often riding in during the day and coming home in the dark. Clearly, one visor will not work for both situations and having a clear visor during the day is blindingly dazzling on the way in to work and the tinted visor is no good for the trip home at night! I had tried on a Shoei Neotec II last November when Lucy was sizing helmets and balked at the price at the time. Fast forward eight months or so and I was kicking myself that I hadn't got one in the colourway that I liked as now I couldn't find that colour anywhere in my size!

On another visit to a local bike shop I decided to ask if they had one in stock and to my surprise (and slight shock as they called my bluff) they had one in one of their Sydney stores. I decided "screw it" and got them to have it sent up to Brisbane. It only took almost 3 weeks to come the 1000km from Sydney. (this is relevant further down in my spending spree).

The build quality is fantastic as you would expect on a helmet in this price range. I have never found Shoei helmets to be the right shape for me (well in the '90s and early 2000s) and my melon head but these new Shoei seem to fit perfectly and it is comfortable still, now that I have done a few thousand kilometres with it on. It is brilliant to be able to pull up at lights/intersections and flip the front up as it gets very hot, very quickly here in Queensland. Having that fresh air on one's face makes a huge difference. The helmet is P/J certified in other countries to ride with the face open but I am not sure about Australia. Either way, I bought a full face helmet to ride with it covering my full face....

The last bit of kit I bought was the last bit of kit I thought I would ever need or want on my motorcycle - a comms system. 

Some background on what brought me around - not having a car for two and a half years now means I have to ride to anywhere I need to be. Being on call with work some days creates a problem as if work needs me and hence, calls me, they expect me to answer immediately. That is not going to happen if I am on the bike!

So, despite saying NO to helmet comms as recently as my Flinders Trip with Andy, I decided to bite the bullet and grab one. Doing some research pretty quickly discounted the Sena SRL unit that neatly fits into all the pre moulded cut outs in my new $1200 helmet  - seriously, why the fcuk would Shoei mould proprietary comms recesses into their helmets for a very second rate comms system?! I couldn't find one decent review of the Sena SRL unit online or in the local motorcycle forums. The Cardo Paktalk Slim gets rave reviews though and checking the excellent Cardo website I could see that the Slim would fit my helmet. Albeit not as neatly as the rubbish SRL though.

To say I scoured the globe to find a reasonably priced Paktalk Slim is no understatement! They are $580 everywhere here in Australia and I finally found a unit for sale from Chromeburner for just $270AU or $300AU delivered. Done! The icing on the cake was that it only took 7 days to come all the way from The Netherlands to Brisbane. Contrast that to the 3 weeks my "in stock" helmet took to come from Sydney to Brisbane! We get rubbish service here in Australia and people put up with it because most don't know any better.

Anyway, I procrastinated on fitting the Paktalk to my helmet as I didn't want to rip my new helmet apart. I finally got around to installing it last night - about 2 weeks later - and after a quick Google to see how others had done it, I had it fitted in no time. There was no need to remove any lining, so I didn't, I just worked the wires to where they needed to be.

Not as neat as it could be but not as bad when viewed in real life.

Charged up, I took it for a ride today. I set up voice control on my phone via "Hey Google" (something I said I would never do but was very easy and necessary to make full use of the comms). I made several phone calls to Rebecca, Will, Steve (Chiller), some random workmate (whoops, sorry Al!😂) and Dad to see if they would complain about the audio.

 None of them suspected I was on the bike as they said it was as clear as if I was sitting in a room at home. The music was easy to play and I could hear it very plainly at 110km/h on the highway whilst wearing ear plugs. 

I even chatted to Steve for half an hour as I carved up a set of twisty bends, took some roadside photos then rode various roads all the way home! 

And when I hung up from him the music picked up from where it left off. I even paired it simply and seamlessly to the Zumo 595 once I arrived back home. A quick check route and I could hear the turn by turn directions perfectly. This would have been bloody handy in Adelaide a few months back.

I never thought I would say this but the Paktalk Slim is awesome and I wish I had it for the trip I did earlier this year. 🙄 If I only had some mates to try the mesh intercom system with....

Cheers.

Mapping Software Compatible For GPS Transfers

 

I found this great post on how to create routes and transfer them to your GPS unit on an Africa Twin forum. Having recently signed up for Gaia GPS online maps I was at a bit of a loss as to how to best use them. The subscription isn't cheap and I don't generally pay for any apps on my phone so I was very glad to find the following post from Matt On A Moto. Yes, it is a motorcycle blog but these mapping tips are just as applicable for mountain biking or bikepacking route planning.

I have copied and pasted it in here so that I have a permanent record of the detail. I am in no way claiming ownership of the material.

I would like to reiterate this is all the property of MATT ON A MOTO and you can find his original post by clicking on his blog name some 14 words back in this sentence.

I hope you find this of some help as I have.

Edit: I have deleted Matt's text as it simply would not format into the page on my blog. Please click on the link above to his blog for the full information. 

Cheers.

MOTORCYCLE ROUTE PLANNING AND MAKING YOUR GPS AGREE

Not A Mid Life Crisis, Just An Extended Tour (Part XXXII) - Homeward Bound- Part Two

 DAY 45 

After a short stay in Forbes it was time to hit the road again. Heading off at midday I was certain of rain but needed to get going. I decided to stay off the Newell highway so once through Parkes headed out the Renshaw McGirr Way to Yeovil and Wellington. This road proved to be a good ride and the road surface was in relatively great condition considering all of the wet weather NSW has suffered this year.

Rolling into Yeovil I stopped for a quick photo and wished I could have spent longer there. It was a pretty little town.

Following the GPS out of town I feel like I didn’t take the “optimal” route to Wellington but whatever the road was (turns out it was Bournewood and Curra Creek roads) it was fun and interesting. Probably better than the route I had intended actually!

 Rolling into Wellington I made a quick stop outside the Cow and Calf hotel. Shame I couldn’t stay….

Taking the Saxa road out of town as a cut through to the Dunedoo road it began to rain finally. Then I happened across some of the WORST 50 kilometres of road I have ever encountered in NSW. The sealed surface was completely smashed for many kilometres and where it wasn’t smashed there were long sections of clay repairs which were quite slippery in the wet conditions. All in all, this was a bloody horrible bit of road when combined with the rain and I stopped in at Dunedoo, as much for the break as for the fuel.

I was going to grab a coffee milk to help with the revival but when I spied the $6 price tag on a 300ml bottle I almost had a stroke! That gave me enough of a wake up!

Dunedoo boasts some silo art so I needed to check that out before I rolled out of town.

As a bonus it is on both sides of the silo.

I then put my head down and powered through Coolah, Tambar Springs, Mullaley and Gunnedah. I though briefly about finding a room in Gunnedah but was keen to make some more miles even though I was getting over riding in the rain. As much as I could hide behind my big screen, the concentration in the  cold and wet was starting to get to me.

I decided to press on, up another “new to me road” past Lake Keepit to Manilla. Once off the main highway at the Keepit turn-off my will to live improved as it does most times I get off a main highway.  I enjoyed this back road as it wound it’s way through rolling farmland.

I made it to Manilla at about 5pm and decided this would be far enough. Cruising the main street there were 3 pubs to choose from. 

I decided on the Royal Hotel in the middle of the Main Street as it looked OK. Pretty much as soon as I walked in I regretted my decision. The place was extremely run down…..but the owners were so nice I couldn’t extricate myself from the place without feeling bad for them. 😕

This carbuncle decorated the wall in my room…. and lets not even mention the showers/bathrooms.....nearly needed gumboots to negotiate them!

This place was an absolute knock down. 

Fcuk! 

What happened to the awesome, well maintained  pubs of Tassie?! 

The bar was pretty busy on this Saturday night so I put in an order for dinner and settled back editing photos on my phone. After what was quite a while I looked up and the pub was pretty much empty and I still hadn’t eaten. 

I grabbed another drink and politely enquired as to the food. I was ushered to the dining room and some apologies were given for the delay. It turned out it had been two hours since I ordered and they had fcuked up the order. I had nowhere to be and hadn’t starved to death so suggested they chill, I was fine. The food was actually good and when I went to pay the owner, he apologised again and said “that’ll be $100 for everything “. Room, drinks and dinner for $100? As shit as the room was, that was still a bargain as the steak was $40 on it’s own, plus a few drinks…..so the room was basically free. Maybe this is why the place is verging on a knock down?

470 very wet kilometres to this hovel of a hotel but at least the bed was comfortable (or I was buggered) so I slept soundly. Tomorrow would be the last day of a trip that started in early February but there wasn't any sadness. I just wanted to get home now.

DAY 46

I was up early to get home at a decent hour, plus I didn’t want to be in this pub a moment longer than necessary. Loaded up I took a minute to get a photo of the pub and along the Main Street.

It is a pleasant road north out of here toward Barraba and Bingara. The silo art on the road into Barraba is another cracking example.

Rolling into Bingara I grabbed some fuel at the little Shell servo. Asking the old bloke behind the counter if there was a cafe open in town for a bite to eat he said “no, nothing is open but we have pies here”. Taking him at his word I thought it was better a bird in the hand and so grabbed a pie and iced coffee. 

When I rolled 200m down the road I passed a cafe advertising coffee and breakfast…..fcuking prick! In a small town like this he WOULD have known it was open….so, I suggest anyone coming through Bingara avoid buying fuel at the Shell petrol station on the southern edge of town. He is a lying bastard. 😡

From Bingara I cut across some dirt back roads through Myall Creek, Delungra, Graman and Ashford to the Bruner Highway. This was very pleasant dirt road riding through country I had never seen before. I only overcooked one tight right and puckered a bit as I tried to brake hard and turn on the crushed granite surface......slow down tiger!😅 

I turned right on the Bruner to follow the border eastward. This also proved to be a lovely ride and I will be back here again to explore more in the future. There was evidence of the flooding earlier in the year and a bridge that was out illustrated how much water must have run out of the hills along here. It also highlighted why it isn't a good idea to ride through flood waters, even if they don't look too deep!

Rolling into Tenterfield I fuelled up and decided to take my favourite road north, Mt Lindsay road. This is a great little piece of back highway that discourages over use by method of a couple of small sections of (good) dirt.

At Legume I turned east for Woodenbong. There has been much roadwork done on this section. Mostly it is for the better but some of the new stuff is already falling apart with all of the wet weather and the rest is patiently waiting it’s turn for improvement works. But when on an Africa Twin this isn’t a problem at all. It is just made for these shitty Aussie roads!

Koreelah bridge.

The rest of the way home is pretty stock standard, so not much to say there. It felt a bit funny to finally be riding up my street after so many months, but here I was, home after 20 000 kilometres and 8 months of part time travelling. 

I had been very lucky to do this ride and especially loved the time I had in Tassie. I would go back there tomorrow if I had the chance. South Australia and the Flinders in particular, was a nice surprise but not on the same level as Tassie

Thanks for following along through all of these posts. It has been a looong, drawn out ride but very much a fun one. I have discovered many places and interesting things I wasn’t aware of and I hope this may help others in planing rides through some of the regions I have travelled.

Here is my Spot tracker bread crumb trail of where I rode. Hmmm. Tassie might need a closer inspection..... 🤔 😆

Looking forward to the next trip….. 😉

Not A Mid Life Crisis, Just An Extended Tour (Part XXXI) - Homeward Bound- Part One

DAY 43

I had another run of four days off, so again, jumped on a jet and made my way down to Adelaide. This would be the last time though as I had decided it was time to bring the Twin home. I had a plan to drop in and visit my Dad for a day in there so it would be roughly a 2500 kilometre trip in three days. This was a bit tight as I also wanted to ride some roads that are much less travelled but I would see how it went.

The Adelaide weather had been quite wet and cold all winter. I had somehow managed to jag mostly good weather with each trip down here (let’s face it, if the forecast looked certain of rain, I didn’t come down!) and today turned out to be probably the best day of the lot! Clear and cold after the previous day’s downpour, I rode up into the hills heading for Cuddlee Creek and it’s cafe’ where I was to meet an old work mate and his wife for breakfast. But first I needed to stop for some photos of this crisp morning.

Not A Mid Life Crisis, Just An Extended Tour (Part XXX) - The West Coast Exploration

 DAY 42

I didn't have to be up early but I was..blast it! I had slept well with the heating off but it was bloody cold outside this morning! I put on every layer I had and wheeled the Twin out of it's little holiday hut where it had sheltered for the night, backing it up to my door so I could load her up.

Not A Mid Life Crisis, Just An Extended Tour (Part XXVIX) - The West Coast Exploration

 DAY 41

It had rained pretty heavily at times overnight. I was hoping to incorporate some dirt roads today after advice from the ranger at the Head of The Bight visitors centre and the gent I chatted to last night. But what would the roads be like? 

Well, there was only one way to find out!

Not A Mid Life Crisis, Just An Extended Tour (Part XXVIII) - The West Coast Exploration

 DAY 40

40 days on the road! 40 amazing days of riding since I first left home, heading southbound waaaay back in early February! N.S.W., Victoria, Tasmania and now South Australia, here I was on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain!