The Longest Friday

It felt awkward calling a stranger on the phone and asking him if he’d care to meet up for a coffee.  I scored Fred’s number off the pub owner in Hopetoun. While I might be a stranger to him, he’s no stranger to the Australian riding community.  In short,…that route that knocked me out in the first day,…the CSR,..well Fred and his brother pioneered this route in 1983…. as the first unsupported bikers to run its full 2,000 kms.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=547675&highlight=canning+stock+route

Since the,n Fred and his brother have taken a number of other record rides…pushing big BMWs deep into the desert where few if any bikes have gone before.  The ensuing phone chat flowed well and as my route to Perth took me directly through his town,..I ecstatic to be invited to meet Fred at his farm in Jerimungup.

I let myself in through the farm gate, then continued a few kilometers through fleeing flocks of sheep to the farm house.  Fred and one of his buddies were waiting for me, geared up and itch’n to ride.  It was hand shakes all around and I found myself among folks I’d be happy to call riding partners.  I was informed that we were going bush bashing, and a DR 650 was thrust upon me.

Here’s an embarrassing secret I’ll share.  I’ve never ridden a full on dirt bike.  I was more than a little apprehensive at first….yearning for the secure lumbering  feeling of the big GS.  It took me about 20 minutes of trail riding with Fred to gain an enourmas appreciation for proper rigged dirt bikes.  (some would argue with me on this…but compared to what I normaly ride….the DR is a proper dirt bike.)   It was forest creeks, pasture land, dunes, and fast rips along white sand beaches.

At several points, Fred let me lead so I’d get first glimpse of various wild life.

I can’t begin to explain the bizarre nature of the Emus.  You never know what direction they are going to shoot for.  At first they bolted away at an incredible pace,. then they ran back ….then they did the fence trick.  I’d heard of this,..but seeing it was really something.   When Emus are bolting in panic…and they see a 3 strand wire fence,…they lower their heads….pick up momentum…and go for it.  The little head slips effortlessly between the top and second strand…and then the enourmas emu body (think ostrich size) tries to get through the same spot the head went through.  Its not pretty, but it actually works,….there is an enormous explosion of feathers…and the ostrich lands on the other side…usually on his head or back,…then pops up with a sort of “lets see you try that” look….and bolts off again.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

Fred’s an older fellow,…but you wouldn’t know it…whether it’s on two feet or two wheels he’s hard to keep up with.

Quick to smile, shake hands, and offer a story. Fortunately he’s a patient man, because I had about a million questions concerning his extensive achievements in motor biking. It was dark by the time we’d arrived back on the farm and I ended up having dinner with Fred and his mother and then crashing out on the living room floor… as you do.

The following day I returned to Bremer bay to explore more of the area.

I was curios to feel the difference between the DR650 and my R1150 GS Adventure.  I’m always pushing my bike and myself to see what we are capable of (that’s why my bike is a cosmetic disaster).  It was as you’d expect, the DR was way more fun in the soft sand and tight spots in the woods, but I’d take the GS for almost anything else.  That  said,…I had a really really good time riding the beach and sand dunes on the DR… there is definitely going to be room in my future garage for a full on offroad machine.  I can also understand now the value of training on a smaller bike.

Finding great riding where you don’t expect it is always a pleasure.  The street ride from Walpole to Bremerton is easily my favorite street ride in Australia.  Massive trees join together overhead to form a ceiling..shading the immaculately clean and gently twisting belt of swooping tarmac.  Its an easy,..fast and incredibly beautiful ride.  Until this point I’d completely forgotten the how much fun there is to be had on the street.

That said there was fun to be had off the tarmac also,…I put about 20km on a dirt “shortcut”.

It wasn’t, a short cut, but it did put me onto a good campsite by dusk.

I picked up my speed on the way out in the morning…thinking I knew the road from the day before.  I guess I didn’t know well enough, cus I barreled around a corner and came into a deep mud patch.  I stayed off the brakes to maintain directional control(important with big tree trunks around).  A sort of mud sunami rose out of the track and devoured my bike.  I kept her upright, slopped her through, and then took a minute to admire this newly acheived level of filth(it’s a guy thing!)

600km later I had a look at the airfilter.  Wow…the KN filter paid off.

I honestly think the stock bmw dry filter would have had theTed.