5 April - Work, Korrumburra, Leongatha, Mirboo Nth

Woke up to another great morning and decided to ride the bike to work. Only had a couple of jobs to do there before I could head off around lunch time. Rode to Warragul before turning into the hills for Korrumburra. I always love this windy and hilly road. It is never busy and always interesting. Bought a coffee and ate my sandwiches sitting in the sun in a nice park and watched the world go by for a while. The return trip was via Leongatha and Mirboo Nth. This will be the last bike ride for a while before we go on holidays.

Total Distance: 208 km

1 April - Work, Trafalgar, Mirboo Nth

Beautiful clear morning when I woke up and decided to ride the bike to work. The good weather held out and after work there was time left for a short ride. Filled the tank at Gunn's Gully BP and then rode to Trafalgar. From there turned towards the Strzelecki's and rode to Mirboo Nth via Thorpdale. Due to the unusually wet summer, the countryside looks magnificent with bright greens replacing the usual brown that prevail at the end of summer. A nice coffee in the garden at Dalliance and then a leisurely ride home through Boolarra Sth and Churchill.

Total distance 130km.

29 March - Walhalla

When I left work this afternoon it was still sunny and quite mild. A perfect opportunity for a short ride. Headed up to Walhalla not expecting anything to be open. I passed my usual coffee stop and sure enough it was closed but on the way back out of town the lady who runs the cafe came out to see if I wanted a coffee. What a stroke of luck. Had my usual, chatted with a bunch of guys who were very interested in the bike, and then a very relaxing ride home.

Total Distance 100 km.

27 March - Traffic Management, Farmworld and Noojee

Today the annual Latrobe Regional Hospital Fun Run was held in Kay St Traralgon. Every intersection on Kay Street was closed from 07:00 to 10:30 and each intersection had to be manned by a Traffic Management Volunteer. Our branch of the Ulysses Club usually pitches in so this morning I fronted at 06:30 (in darkness) for the briefing prior to manning my post at Lafayette/Kay St at 07:00. By 10:00 all the competitors had completed the 10km run/walk and we were able to remove the barrier and stand down.

By now the ambient temperature had risen to a level you'd want to ride in and I rode to Lardner Park to catch up with Zane and Nicole and the kids at Farm World which is an annual exhibition held there on the last week of March each year. There's lots to look at even if you don't live on a farm. Sian and Isabella also joined us later. When I got back to the bike with the aim of riding home the long way I immediately knew something was wrong when the handlebar grips felt warm - yes I'd forgotten to switch the heaters off and the battery was just about dead flat. Fortunately I quickly found a couple of helpful guys at one of the display stands who had a vehicle and jumper leads and I was soon on my way. I must rewire the heaters to switch off with the ignition.

So, back to my original plan and a very pleasant ride home through Neerim Sth, Noojee and Willow Grove.

Total Distance: 180 km

20 March - Walhalla, Willow Grove, Trafalgar, Thorpdale, Churchill

Finished extending our pergola yesterday (98%) and couldn't face climbing a ladder today so I decided to take advantage of a fabulous day to take a leisurely ride along some of the best roads around. Started with coffee in Walhalla sitting beside Stringer's Creek and then headed back through Erica and turned right to Willow Grove. From there through some wonderful farming country (everything is green this year) to Trafalgar and then into the hills to Thorpdale. Finally headed back through Churchill and got home at 4 pm which left time to clean up all the tools etc from the extension work. One of those 'golden' days.

Total Distance 190 km.

14 March - Mirboo North

First ride after the Tasmania Trip. Took a break from some construction work around the house to take advantage of the great weather for a quick ride to Mirboo North. A bite to eat and a great coffee at Dallianace and a beautiful ride back down through Boolarra in brilliant sunshine. I noticed this door, presumably in the middle of renovation job, where I parked my bike and snapped it with the iPhone.

Total Distance 108 km.

4 March 2011 - Back on the Mainland

After a late departure last night, we endured a fairly rocky crossing of Bass Strait. It certainly made for a fitful sleep and just as things calmed down, around 4 am as the ferry entered the heads, it seemed like a very short time before the PA announcement that we we would need to man our vehicles in the next 45 minutes. Melbourne looked grey and damp from our port hole but as we rode off the ship it was still dry. However by the time I reached the Pakenham bypass the rain had pretty well settled in and continued until Traralgon. Got fuel and breakfast on the BP before Drouin and then rode the rest of the way home, arriving just on 10:30.

Well that's the end of an adventure planned, in my head, more than 12 months ago, in fact a large part of the decision to buy a bike and start riding. And what an adventure it was - we circled the island of Tasmania in an anti clockwise direction and with Marcus' experience and guidance managed to travel some of the best motorcycle roads in Australia. We avoided most of the rain had no breakdowns or mishaps and enjoyed great views and a lot of memorable moments. Now comes the sorting of the photos and videos.

Total Distance for the trip: 2,285 km