Mid-Life Blues; Lets Go Riding, first up Australia.

Welcome to our 4 month (plus ?) Tour around Australia, starting with Perth (Mandurah) to Melbourne then turn left. We are taking our everyday motorbikes my Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere & Jenny's Honda CB500X. Not sure how suitable they are but hey at least they start...

Hi you lot, I'm one of the numerous long term like minded lurkers around the globe who don't contribute much to this site (sorry about that). I guess it's now time to pay my dues & reciprocate by allowing you all to follow our own RR as we travel through the Great Southern Land of Australia.

To be fair I'm pretty new to this motorcycle adventure touring stuff. A few memorable RR's I've followed in recent times are JDowns, South America & Beyond, Another Minimalist Adventure, RTW Paul, 5 Billion Inches (still current), Elisa, TravelBugBlues & many others....thank you too all the RR contributors, great effort ! If my writing & pics are even half as good as some of these people I've followed in the past, I'll be wrapped.

So who is "Happyidiot" (not sure about my pick of Advrider name, of course there is a bit of a story behind it & I choose it when I couldn't come up with anything else several years ago, when I first started following & joined Advrider). I'm actually known as Will to my friends, a few people call me other names, some of which I choose to ignore !


2 weeks ago, just a quick 3 days away. We rode to Yallingup for the weekend. An easy 500kms.

I'm the "wil" half of "team wiljen" which is the name most people out there in "Blog Land" know Jenny & I by. I'm not going to do the long winded intro here about how both of us came to this present point of time in our lives. If you feel the burning need too know more about us check out our BLOG. Preferably just follow us here on our Australian Ride & I'll fill in most of the gaps as we bumble along.

Ok, let's get this show on the road. Here is a brief insight into team wiljen (aka Happyidiot's). We are both in our mid to late 40's, married, have children who are now adults, don't currently do regularly paid work, we base ourselves in Western Australia, near Mandurah about 70kms south of Perth. We both enjoy many different forms of travel & yes we regularly ride our motorbikes.


Last year we rode 5000kms through India over 8 weeks, for the first 10 days we were on an organised tour then after that we continued on by ourselves, unassisted from Jaipur, Rajasthan to Palolem Beach Goa. It was fantastic ! My Royal Enfield 410cc Himalayan was ok. Jenny's RE Bullet hurt my right leg....lots of kick starting due to a busted auto start.

Now the "Nitty Gritty" stuff...
Our motorbike skill level is average, as a child my parents forbid me from ever going near a bike with a motor, they're dangerous apparently ! Only idiots ride motorbikes.That didn't stop me, during my teenage years I did some dirt bike riding on friends 150-250cc trail bikes & in my early 20's I occasionally rode bikes without a licence on the road (yes I was bad boy, fortunately I'm smarter & wiser now).

I've now had my bike licence for about 11 years. Currently I'm riding a 2013, 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere, it has a meager 15000kms on it. I like it, yeah it's a bit heavy but extremely comfortable. I'd rate myself about 5 out of 10 as a rider, so I guess that makes me a novice.

Mechanically I'm also a novice, I can change oil, replace/repair a tyre & rectify other auxiliary things that hang off the bike or vehicle. I don't delve into the engine internals much, apart from adjusting clearances for the valves on our VW Kombi.

Jenny has only been riding since early 2014, her current ride is a Honda CB500X, 2014 model, it's only done 12000kms over the past 3 years. For full disclosure there is a Harley Davidson Sportster 883 Iron sitting in the shed that Jenny is also licensed to ride, it's currently up for sale. It's an ok ride for very short trips, it has sort of become the temporary spare bike.

We are in the early stages of looking for a larger capacity Adventure Touring style bike for Jen. It needs to have a low seat height. On the short list is the new (improved?) Suzuki 2017, V Strom 650 or Triumph Tiger 800XRx. Time now is against us so for this adventure the little Honda will have to suffice. It's a terrific bike, possibly a little under powered, but hey it's only a 471cc parallel twin motor suited for LAMS (Australian restricted bike license, less then 650cc) riders after all.


India November 2016, stopped for a quick drink break in a village somewhere in Maharashtra. Jenny preferred the Royal Enfield 500cc Bullet (that was until the push button auto start failed)

Since obtaining her bike license Jenny has developed into a very competent rider, nearly as skilled as me. I'd rate her a novice as well, 4.7 out of 10. She is the Navigator & Chief Cook while on our tours so I'm left with the fun bike mechanical stuff.

I bet about now you are asking yourself, how experienced is "team wiljen" at this Adventure Bike Touring gig ? What do they actually know about rugged overland motorcycle touring? Can these guys even camp out in the bush ?

To be fair I think we are in the "Amateur Class", about 7 out of 10. We regularly ride our Motorbikes & Bicycles. We have done some extensive touring using both forms of 2 wheeled locomotion (plus heaps of previous 4WD Off-roading/camping experience). Both styles of 2 wheeled adventure touring require you to travel in a similar version of embracing the minimalistic way. That equals a nice cross over with travel equipment & technique. I think our past experiences redeem some of our current motorcycle, novice riding skills. 2016 was our last real bike tour, 8 weeks, 5000kms, riding through India. On Royal Enfields, of course. Now that was an eye opener ! A year earlier in 2015 we spent 8 months, 8000kms on the expedition bicycles (riding 4 months Europe, 4 months Australia).


Oh yeah those other bikes !!! September 2015, was the last occasion we crossed the Nullarbor. Should be a bit easier this time, with a motor between the wheels, I'm sure we won't stress to much about the headwinds this time... (On that ride we ended up riding from Mandurah to Kangaroo Island & covered 3600kms).

Our next multi-month tour is due to begins on April Fools Day, 2017. Seems like the right time for a couple of "Happy Idiots" to take on the wide open road. I doubt we have the right combination of bikes or proper set up for this trip. We will just have to make adjustments as we go along.
As the famous motorcycle adventure quote says: "The best bike to take is the one you have".
So very true....

Jenny & I, no longer overly plan our extended travel excursions that much, we learnt a long time ago it's a waste of time and actually not much fun. Scheduling & planning is for unfortunate wage slaves, credit addicted workers & people trapped 8 hours a day in their office cubicles, who can only afford to have pricey planned & structured 2 to 4 week vacation once per year ! The rest of us can have some flexibility during our extended travels. There is some freedom to the, how, where & when. The trick is to be debt free & not want to much stuff, this is a philosophy we are still trying hard to perfect ourselves, I think we are over halfway there. At least we are now debt free !

For our own journeys we generally start off with a rough plan, on this occasion it is to be at my brothers 40th birthday in Melbourne, Victoria by the 20th of April, that's about 4000kms away. We have traveled this route numerous times during our past travels, so we aren't to concerned about traveling a little quicker then we prefer & missing the odd sight along the way.

Once there we'll look around the local area. Next up, we make our way north along the "East Coast" of Australia, heading for "Far North Queensland". For many reasons that I'll reveal as our tour progresses we need to be home in Western Australia by mid August. It's quite possible that we'll temporarily fly home to take care of business if required. Possibly store the bikes somewhere then fly back and continue, or just ride for home. Who knows ?

So there you go, I'll do my best to keep this RR regularly updated & answer any questions that come along. In the mean time, Gotta Ride On. There will be one more short "getting ready post" then we are on our bikes !

Remember as a Wise Old Man once said.
"Only Idiots Ride Motor Bikes !?!?"

https://wiljenblog.wordpress.com/

Hi everyone,

Sorry about the delay, getting to this point has been tough while Jenny & I sort out our house issues. We also regularly update a blog & do the occasional vlog on YouTube. So the old advrider RR has been the poor cousin. I'll lift my game now as Jenny is going to take care of the wiljenblog.wordpress.com & I'll focus on this RR during our 4 month Aus Tour.

We are currently sitting with our friends Barry & Nicole in Norseman, Western Australia, just got back to their home after dinner at the Norseman Hotel. Today we chilled out, cleaned the dust off our gear & bikes, charged up the electronic gadget, uploaded the latest blog addition & made a couple of business related calls.

Tomorrow we ride off along the Nullarbor & head for Melbourne initially. We now have 2 weeks to reach Geelong (plan on getting 50/50 tread tyres fitted there). Then after catching up with family & friends we continue on.

Please forgive me on this occasion for just posting my travel notes, right now time is against me & I want to get this RR rolling so you can enjoy following our ride. I'll make improvements as our ride progresses.


Nearly ready to leave the "Travel Home Base" looking forward to the next 4 months on the road.

Day 1, 2nd of April 2017
Mandurah to Pumphrey's Bridge. Depart 12noon, arrive 3pm.
Distance: 156kms
Weather: max temp 31C, sunny, clear skies, no noticeable wind.

Details: After a hectic morning, cleaning the house & car, packing the car into the shed, leaving instructions for Bill and making final preparation to the gear for our 4 month motorbike trip, Jenny & I left the Mandurah THB at 11.55am.

First stop was Woolworths Shopping Centre a mere 2 kms away, to pick up some food for our dinner tonight. Then the Caltex Petrol Station for fuel & top up Jenny's bike tyres with air. After that it was onto the Premier Hotel in Pinjarra, 20 kms away obtain get some "Camp Fire Port".
We decided to take a well known (to us) route east via Boddington and after some nice quiet leisurely riding along the back roads we arrived at Pumphrey's Bridge, out in the Wheat Belt.


3pm & 156kms was a little early to stop but the next good alternative we know of is Gorge Rock near Corrigin a further 2 hours of riding east.
I guess tomorrow we'll regret stopping early as it means a long days ride to Norseman (about 7 hours). We are considering taking the shortcut along the Hyden/Norseman Road, it saves about 180kms but includes about 220kms of gravel road riding on 60% worn street tyres ?


Camped up in the Cricket Pavilion at Pumphrey's Bridge, day 1 late start only got 156kms out of town.

Dinners being cooked on the campfire tonight, tent is pitched in the old Pumphrey's Bridge, Cricket Ground Pavillon, bikes are parked undercover as well. We are both relaxing a little, listening to kookaburras & watching the sunset over what remains of the Malley Scrub.
After nearly 4 months getting houses sorted out team wiljen are back on the road....top stuff ! Tired but excited.

Day 2, 3rd of April 2017.
From/Too Pumphrey's Bridge to Norseman, via Kondinin & Hyden
Distance: 530kms (220kms on gravel road Hyden Norseman Rd) 7hrs
Depart 9am, Arrive 6pm
Weather: max temp 30C, sunny, clear skies, no noticeable wind.
Details: Last night Jenny & I were a little irresponsible & instead of practicing moderation we had a blow out with the Port & drank the whole 2L cask while sitting at our small camp fire. We were just happy I guess, there's the blowout done ! Best to get it out of the way early.

This plus some mechanical & luggage adjustments meant for a slow start. Just before 9am we were on the road. We made a Bee Line for Hyden, stopping in Wickepin for a late breakfast. While there we got talking to a local farmer (name?) who was originally from Pinjarra & knew a lot of the farmers who came into the Roadhouse when we had it.
The next stop was Hyden, where we stocked up on additional food, water & fuelled the bikes up (both tanks only had 3.5 Litres remaining after 400kms) . Once you leave Hyden there are no services for 295kms so you need to be prepared. Jenny had also SMS'ed Nicole (in Norseman) of our approximate arrival time, between 5 - 6pm.


Resupply in Hyden, no fuel, food or water until Norseman 295kms east.

The ride along the 220km section of dirt (our longest ever on motorbikes) was relatively uneventful, cruising along at 60 to 70km/h during the first corrugated section, then after about 100kms we stopped for a late lunch at the Kondinin/Dundas Shire border. While there I deflated out OEM tyres all down by 10psi (should have done it an hour earlier). Once back on the track the road improved & we were averaging 80km/h. It was getting late in the day so we kept up the momentum. Jenny & I were now in the zone !


Deflating the tyres to get a better ride.

Riding at night out here is a very bad idea, though there was no road kill along the verges & mine site Road Trains regularly drive along this road. Also all the water holes are full from the unseasonal rain back in January. This meant the risk of seeing/ hitting a kangaroo or emu was a bit less then usual. The sunset at 5.40pm as we completed the last 15kms into Norseman, we took the shortcut across the causeway to town over Lake Cowan, a vast salt lake that surrounds Norseman.

Barry & Nicole had heard our Bikes belting across the Lake so they were out the front waiting for us upon our arrival. It was great to see them, we were all tired so it was an early night after a fantastic day !

A few more photos from yesterday's ride along the Hyden/Norseman Road.


Jenny & I take it in turns to eat the dust, not usual to follow this close. Jenny leads the way for awhile.


Hey Jen how are you going... "my butt is hurting & I'm tired, but can do this"!


Only another 50kms (or 45 minutes) until Norseman.


Finally after huge day for us we arrive at Norseman about 20 minutes after sun has set.

We went to the Norseman Hotel for Dinner with Baz & Nicole.

Jenny & I got out of Norseman just before 10am this morning, before heading off we had to inflate our tyres & top up our fuel.
The riding today was great, sunny 28C & no wind ! We ended up riding 405kms & found a bush camp site just before 4pm. Right now we are about 20kms east of Caiguna Roadhouse. Just starting to cool off a bit, I think tonight will be pretty cold. Not sure where we'll end up tomorrow....Eucla maybe? Love traveling through this area the Nullabor is an amazing place.


Time to light the fire

Just a tiny bit of phone reception out here so not to many pics...

Our Route so far, 1418kms over 5 days (1 rest day) still in Western Australia !

327kms today into a headwind...

Everything was wet with dew in the morning, we took it easy, stoked up the camp fire, boiled a pot of water for coffee & had some cereal for breakfast.
Just before 9am we had the bikes loaded with our now dry stuff & then a reasonable ride with some headwind buffeting to Mundrabilla (about 220kms away).


Fuelled up & fed at Mundrabilla Roadhouse.

Stopped there for fuel & bought lunch from the Roadhouse. There was only 91RON Petrol available which isn't really suitable for the Tenere, but there was still half a tank of 98RON so it will be fine all blended up.


Headed for Eucla.

Then an hour later we had quick 89km ride to Eucla near the WA Border arriving at 1.30pm . Jenny & I headed straight to the Caravan Park, sussed out a good location, Jen started setting up camp while I headed over to the Eucla Roadhouse to pay our $25 fee. One of the ladies in a nearby Caravan even gave us a freshly cooked muffin each. We both felt pretty tired once we arrived at Eucla so think it was a good call to stop early. Tomorrow we continue eastward, unsure where we'll stop ?


View of the Southern Ocean from the Eucla Caravan Park, planning on riding that track tomorrow out to the Old Telegraph Station.

Camp all set up at the Eucla Caravan Park. Meeting some interesting travelers.

Day 6, 7th of April, Eucla WA to Nullarbor Roadhouse SA, 214kms.

Really slow start this morning, still trying to find our ride/travel rhythm, we emerged from our old 3 person North Face tent at 7.30am. During breakfast at the Camp Kitchen we got talking to Mick & Lynda from Adelaide, they had also stayed in a tent are retired & were making their way home. It was an enjoyable conversation.

The bikes were finally packed and ready at 9.45am, first up we rode 5kms towards the coast to see the old Eucla Telegraph Station which is in ruins & slowly being swallowed up by sand dunes.


Eucla Telegraph Station, not much left.

Then back to Eucla for a quick ride around the small township that I guess is primarily home to Government Workers like Police, Nurse, Border Quarantine staff & Hotel/Resort Workers. Then it was back on the Eyre Highway heading into the sun...east !

Very soon we crossed the West Australian/South Australian Border on the SA side the highway is noticeably narrower, the verges consist of deep slippery looking crushed rock which any accidental riding on would lead to a high chance of disaster !


We cross the WA/SA Border.


Some of the places we will ride through.

Jenny & I made a couple of stops to check out the tall cliffs (Bunda Cliffs) that run along the Great Australian Bight. At the second stop we must have looked hungry as one of the Caravaners there gave us a bag of carrots & onions. They are not allowed to take them into WA as a measure to control insect & bacteria agriculture pests.


I'm a bit of a sucker for a trophy shot Selfie ✌️

During our final hour on the bikes the wind had changed to a Southerly direction & was blowing really hard, I'd guess over 30km/h so when we reached the Nullarbor Roadhouse at 2.45pm we decided too call it a day.
How come we only rode 214kms over 5 hours ??? Well once you cross into SA you have entered a new time zone which is 1.5 hours ahead of WA. Spooky hey

We are allowing ourselves the odd Motel room (suppose to be during rain only) tonight we have gone for a room. There is no reason why we can't be on the road nice and early tomorrow.

Some more photos from our Eucla to Nullarbor Roadhouse Ride today, Friday 7/04/17...DAY 6


Bunda Cliffs.


Quick stop to check out the Cliffs that run along the Great Australian Bight.


Just one of the many large trucks that roll across the Nullarbor.


Home for the night, Motel room at Nullarbor Roadhouse.

.

I'm enjoying looking at that landscape. Hope you have a safe trip, thanks for posting the pictures

Thanks for the support mate !
We are still feeling our way with the bikes, gear & our own capabilities. I'm sure our Ride & RR will improve, especially once we get into new territory.
Will

If you pass through Alice Springs let me know, we could catch up for coffee, beer, BBQ, whatever. Always like catching up with fellow Adv riders.

Cheers

Geoff

Saturday 8/04/17 , 372kms.


Yesterday, the day has come to an end at the Nullarbor Roadhouse.

Early start for us, 8.30am we departed Nullarbor Roadhouse (which would have been 7am by our WA body clocks). Not much of a day overcast, cool & very windy. We stopped at the Head of the Bight, where we were offered a job (not ready to go back to work yet). It was actually ok, no whales to see as they don't start migrating until mid May.


Head of the Bight, SA. Looking East.


Head of the Bight SA, looking West.

Our next stop was Nundroo Roadhouse where we bought possibly the worlds worst Bacon & Egg Toastie, it wasn't even toasted, like sort of white crispy bread, there was a cold lump of tomato in it, egg was like road rubber & just essence of bacon. Yes I did complain to the Greenskin Hindi Indian "Cook" he just smiled. We should have asked for our $15 back but we were starving, at least it didn't make us crook !
I tried to give him the heads up on how to cook a ripper B&E Toastie but he didn't seem to understand. (Luckily for him we have only recently returned from India and I was in a kind hearted mood).


Bikes at Fowlers Bay SA, all the South Australian coastal towns love their Jetties !

Jenny & I also took the dirt road out to Fowlers Bay, it's a fishing village and looked pretty good, we need to go back there one day & really enjoy it. Once back on the Eyre Highway the Southerly crosswind was at full blast & we were both riding on an angle.

Quick fuel stop at Penong, (we don't want our fuel tanks to get under 30%) as far as we are concerned after riding 300kms we are on "empty" , we met one biker today riding a Suzuki Boulevard Cruiser who had run out of fuel 10kms from Nundroo because the Nullarbor Roadhouse, Point of Sale (POS) system had crashed & they couldn't sell him Petrol. They had similar issues the day before when we arrived there !

Once we left Penong Jenny & I battled the Crosswind for nearly 80kms to Ceduna whiched we reached just after 3pm. Tenting it tonight at the Foreshore Caravan Park.

Saturday 8/04/17 , 372kms....cont...some more pics.


Home for tonight at the Ceduna Foreshore Caravan Park, the owners Marty & Jodi (?) have done a fantastic job of revitalising it over the past 6 years. Well worth the stop, close to the shops & Pub.



Phil & Robyn from Melbourne shout us dinner, lamb stew, great company. Phil wanted to feed me beer as well but best to supply my own bad habit. Great company, thanks guys.

Thanks Geoff for the offer, there is an off chance we'll pass through "The Alice" on our return home, would love to catch up if the opportunity presents itself

great RR make's me want to add Aus. to my growing list of places to ride when I retire in 3 years

Travel notes from today fellow advriders, it's now time for bed on a small patch of grass on our thermarest mats in our small yellow 3 person tent...see you tomorrow. I'll keep it quick.


A couple of hours ago, setting up camp in the Lions Park in the middle of Kimba, full on hobo style here. Possibly not suppose to be in this section ?

Day 8, 9th April 2017...Sunday
From/Too: Ceduna to Kimba, with 30km side trip to Pildappa Rock.
Distance: 359kms
Depart: 1015 Arrive 1600hrs 4.5 riding, stopped 1hr at Pildappa Rock & numerous small SA wheat belt towns.
Weather: max temp 20C, very cloudy skies, 35-45km/h SS/E wind crosswind/headwind. Seriously hard going for us...
Details:
Rained for at least 2 hours during the night in Ceduna, heavy at times. The wind was blowing at about 40km/h, Jenny & I thought we may have to spend an extra day in Ceduna. We didn't even get out of our tent until 7.30am !!! Very average night.

During the morning we got speaking to Peter & Sandra a young Euro Expat 30yo+ couple who have been traveling Oz for the past year in their Tojo Troopy. Amazingly I've actually stumbled on their Blog/Vlog checking out various adventure travel options on the NET. They are great their site is http://everywheretogether.com/

Finally "The Happyidiots" got their shit together & high tailed it out of the modern version of a South Australian 21st century frontier town called Ceduna.....dam it's going to be a long hard day !!!

Experienced our first real major equipment breakdown today, after over 7 years of faithful service our Garmin Nuvi GPS (that we call Destiny) carked it, firstly multiple shutdowns then caput. Maybe fixable but "she" is old so what is the point. We don't carry hard copy maps these days so now have to rely on our Smart Phones, Google Maps & memory until we can purchase a replacement. Adelaide (pop1.75m) doesn't worry us too much we know it reasonably well but the metropolis of Melbourne (pop 4m) causes us great trepidation so we need a solution, ie new GPS before we get there.


Nearly a 15km ride on dirt roads to get to Pildappa Rock from Minnipa, same track back....good practice.



Jenny is still a little nervous off the black top. Pildappa Rock.

We both had a closer then usual look at the SA towns that hug Australia's Highway 1 , coffee at Wirrulla with the only inland jetty to nowhere or water. We headed out on a rough dirt track to SA's idea of the Wave Rock. During the whole day it was a continual battle & beat up by the savage 35km/h+ South Easterly wind. Thank God we were propelled by the infernal combustion engine instead of leg power !


I dump my crap & take the Tenere into town (of Kimba ) to grab a 6 pack. Not much action on a Sunday arvo.

After a quick fuel stop at Wudinna we pushed on for the last 100kms to Kimba, now there's a town full of surprises, during our traveling past over 30 years we have just past through the outskirts ( about 9 times) I thought it was a nothing town ! One of the "Locals" back in Ceduna gave us the heads up & told us there are numerous great free camping options. We have now found ourselves nestled up in the Lions Park . The joy of two wheels & tents is you can park where the Cars, 4WD's & Caravans can't ..

Beers & Port with fellow travelers. Scotch Fillet Steak & Stir Fried Vege for dinner on a free electric BBQ. we are doing it tougher then usual. Get out there friends ! You will not regret it !

Thanks for the comment "jerritt" really happy to read your response. Just keep focused on the objective. It is worth it.

Monday 10th of April, Kimba to Burra, South Australia, 402kms.


Eucla WA to Burra SA, 1423kms over 4 days.

I'll keep this short, Jenny & I chatted to fellow travelers all morning. Many people are curious about the middle age couple traveling on bikes, living in a tent.
On our way out of Kimba (the halfway point between Perth & Sydney) we stopped at a Cafe for a B&E Toastie, it was excellent.


White Knob at Kimba, a statue representation of Edward J Eyre & Willie (?) the tracker, first to cross Aus. East to West back in the early 1800's.


We rode through Port Augusta & took lots of GoPro video but for some reason the Sena Audio pack & Gopro 4 didn't want to communicate with each other and froze up. Unfortunately I didn't realise....


About to cross Horrocks Pass.



Great Fun Winding through the Pass. Hi Mate.

Still here are a few pics from the Gopro that we did capture. After Port Augusta we rode through Horrocks Pass which was nice & windy. Overall it was a cold 18C day and we were considering pulling up stumps early. Jen & I arrived at Peterborough at 3pm, even though we had both had enough had enough riding that day we agreed to push on a further 100kms to Burra, an old Copper Mining town with heaps of history.

One of two possibilities tomorrow, we'll either stay in Burra for a second night or Jen & I will ride for Goolwa.

In!

Great stuff so far Jen n Will!



Cheers Shane

Thanks Shane,

Looking forward to heading your way very soon (sshhh it's a secret) we will only be seeing the North Island on this occasion.