11 July - Gippsland Lakes

Looked out the window this morning and the lawn was covered in frost. The sky was blue however and the forecast was for a fine day. I'd been looking forward to a ride to the Gippsland Lakes for a while, and as soon as the temperature warmed a little (7.5ºC) I set off towards Heyfield and Maffra. By the time I reached Maffra the temperature had increased by one whole degree and so I called into the Maffra bakery to warm up with a coffee and some hot food. By the time I finished this early lunch the feeling had returned to my toes and the outside temperature had increased to 11ºC - much better. From Maffra it was a pleasant ride through Meerlieu and Bengworden and eventually to Paynesville where I called in for a coffee at our friends John and Sandra's place. This latter part of the ride was very pleasant - no wind whatsoever - and a bright sunny day, so I was glad I resisted an earlier impulse to leave the bike in the garage. After a pleasant chat and coffee it was time to point the Beemer towards home again. As is usual at this time of the year the temperature dropped quickly through the afternoon and I got home around at 4:30.

Total Distance 305 km.

8 July - Foster, Sth Gippsland

Really hanging out for a ride on the Honda so I was very happy when skies were clear this morning. Expected cold weather but thermal underwear takes care of that. Rode through Churchill, refuelled in Mirboo North and then continued to Foster via  Meeiyan, and had lunch at Bromley's Cafe on Main. This was a great find - Peri Peri Chicken wrap (fantastic) and great coffee. Will definitely return here on future rides. After lunch the ride continued along the Sth Gippsland Highway to Yarram where I stopped to stock up on goodies from Yarram Bakery. The ladies at the bakery were happy to see me and were worried I hadn't been for a while. Reassured them all was OK and continued along the Hyland Highway to home. Today was one of the best rides I've ever had - a clear, crisp day, the Honda just purred along all day which all added up to the perfect day on the bike.

Total Distance 233 km.

4 July - Warburton

Returned from the Hawaii cruise on Tuesday morning at 2:30 am.




We had a fabulous time. It's amazing what constant sunshine and a steady temperature of 28 degC does for you. I did miss the bike though and was filled with envy as I watched lots of guys cruising around Waikiki on Harley's. Not sure I could get used to the shorts, tee shirt and bare head style of riding. Made one important purchase, a Kamaka, tenor ukulele. These 'Stradivarius' of ukes have been made locally by a family for the past 70 years, and now the third generation of Kamakas are running the business.




Today started off fine, if somewhat windy so I took the BMW out for a lunch run to Warburton. It felt great to be out on a bike again, and lunch was great too.
Total Distance 320 km

14 June - Holidays

No motorbike trips for a while. We're off on a brief holiday to Hawaii. Swapping motorcycle gear for shorts and Hawaiian shirts, and cold and wet weather for perpetual sunshine and warm balmy weather. If you'd like to keep in touch with our activities there you can do so

by clicking here...

9 June - Dargo with Marcus

We're well into winter and this weekend is a long weekend with a forecast for fine weather. Our friend Marcus arrived yesterday afternoon to stay for a couple of nights so today the plan was to ride the two BMW's to Dargo. Marcus has a fine looking R1200GS which he rode around Australia in 2012/13. We were on the road around 10:30 and stopped only briefly for fuel in Heyfield before pushing on to Dargo.

This picture (not mine) shows the famous Dargo pub which, because of the long weekend was pretty full. Four wheel drive vehicles and a few motorbikes everywhere. We contented ourselves with coffees in the general store across the road.  Despite the elevation it was very pleasant  and we sat out in the sun for a while before starting the return journey. After a very pleasant ride we arrived home just after 4pm. Altogether a brilliant day.

Total Distance 332 km

Mirboo North and a sad farewell...

In my part of Australia, during the winter, there are plenty of riding opportunities but only if you ignore the weather forecast and look out the window instead. Take today for example. The forecast was for showers and a top temperature of around 14ºC. You wouldn't think twice about heading out into the hills on a bike. By about noon however there was more blue sky than clouds, hardly any wind and the temperature felt quite mild. So it was worth risking one of my favourite short rides - over the Stzreleckis and on to Mirboo Nth. A very pleasant ride it was with only one or two rain drops on the visor. The objective at this stage was to have a light lunch, a coffee and a chat at the very pleasant Bullock Dray Cafe. I've had plenty a pleasant interlude here on my bike trips both solo and with friends. The proprietor always makes a fuss and if he's not too busy is always good for a chat, to say nothing of the odd complementary little something to go with the coffee. The cafe forecourt features a piece of astounding art which shows a bush scene featuring a bullock dray heading into the hilly distance. Most of this is a painted mural, but the foreground of the scene, including about half of the actual bullock dray, consists of real shrubs and a real dray. If you look closely at the wheel in the picture you'll that part of it is painted (lighter part) and the rest is a real wheel. When I got there today I was in for a disappointment though! The cafe was empty and the front door had a For Lease sign on it. I was speechless. How could this be? It shouldn't be allowed. One can only assume that despite my regular patronage the business wasn't doing well enough to remain open. It will be interesting to see if anyone else is game enough to open another cafe here.  Anyway, it finally dawned on me that I would have to find another place to have lunch. There is a bakery and another cafe or two but I really wanted to find somewhere a bit special and further down the street I came across Nanna's Kitchen. Pressed my nose to the window and sure enough the place was full with only one table spare. It seemed to beckon to me to come in.

Well folks, if you're ever riding through Mirboo Nth, I can recommend this place. The coffee was great and the menu had plenty of items to choose from with a great specials board. After a very nice plate of homemade hash browns and bacon and a bit of a chat with Nanna herself I rode off towards home, certain I will come back again soon.

Total Distance 115km

1 June - First day of winter

No, I haven't suddenly taken off for a motorbike ride in Holland - not a bad idea though.

Some of the visitors to this site know that I was born in The Netherlands but have spent most of my life in Australia. I have been back to Holland a few times and am planning to return to Europe and the home country sometime in the next couple of years. Occasionally as I surf the www, I come across something interesting from my birthplace and today I spotted this short and humorous video which I thought I would share.