Getting dirty

I finished work on 30 November, so I've just completed my first week as a full-time adventure motorcyclist (or 'unemployed'). It feels good, but there's a lot of stuff still to do - prepping the bike, packing the flat up, and generally sorting out my life, not to mention saying good bye to the many people that have made the last 3 years in Melbourne so memorable.


Bike progress remains slow, although I did get the toolkit out and fit a set of barkbusters the other day - hardly rocket science, although it did require me to dismantle the throttle assembly (well - possibly not, but I did it anyway). A minor landmark since I don't usually touch the bits that make the bike go (i) faster, or (ii) slower. If there are any shortcomings in my mechanical talents, I'd prefer not to discover them at 60+ mph... but I guess there will be far greater challenges (and repairs) coming up.

On Sunday I finally got the Transalp dirty in the Mystic Mountains with Jason 'Stookie' Doonan, erstwhile music producer and now off-road guru. He's promised to turn me into a dirt bike legend - and he now has 3 short weeks to do it in, but he's a great guide and coach so I have every confidence he will succeed! We spent about 4 hours tearing through the forests around Narbethong which was a lot of fun. I've not done any dirtbiking since Morocco in 2001, so it was a bit unnerving at first to feel the front wheel sliding around again. However, it all came back pretty quickly, and it was not long before my confidence was probably running slightly above my ability... thankfully no spills though, and I'm pleased to report that the Transalp is as capable on the dirt as it is on the road - at least for what I need.

I also had (another) big shopping spree at the weekend to buy thermals, a first aid kit, a dual-fuel stove and a thermarest from Paddy Pallin. It's very annoying that stuff is so expensive - the same thermarest that costs US$70 in the States costs around twice as much here. But with 3 weeks to go I don't have time to mess around with mail order for the sake of a few dollars.