Three travellers

When theres less travellers and not much to see, travellers start to talk to each other. I cant explain in any other way, why I met today so different personas during few hours.

There's the guy who is bicycling around Aussieland, started from Darwin. He's guzzling water 1 l per 10km, about ten times as much as I.

Then I met Dan the Canadian who quit his software job, and started a new career as a touring entertainer. Juggling chainsaws and pitchforks is the current act. Hes actually driving all around the globe, but after riding through three blizzards in Canada, prefers now warmer climates ;)

A bit later on cliffs I swapped war-stories with a 90-year-old Italian, who had joined partisans at Italuan/Yugoslavian border. Actually I just listened while he recalled how he won his medals. Ciao! Forgot to rake a pic of this vigorous old man.

Getting hot

Now it's finally getting as hot as expected 40C at Ceduna, with strong and hot wind from inland. It's a good day to rest, as I reached Ceduna at midday, just before the heat is really on! On the way there was a historical water hole, a little walk away from the highway. In this weather I dont take unnecessary steps in full riding gear though ;)

Before Cedena there was some dust clouds on the air, first I thought about bushfire, then of sandstorm, but it was just a bit of dust. Air humidity is at 4%, so I guess these clouds are normal.

Come to think of it, the Street Guard II suit that I am wearing does cope with heat pretty well. Ventilation slits at armpits work better than what you would expect and the textile has been coated with some heat reflective coating. Some of the Rukka suits are made in similar fashion, and do work equally well. My suit is now over five years old and after this journey it might be ready for retirement. The arms have some microholes in them, so in long rain water starts to seep in. Also the original black color starts to be faded into reddish-brown in places.

If I choose to try a Rukka garment next, the only problem is that extra long arm-version has to be a custom order from factory. BMW does offer special sizes off the rack. Both of them would be really good, but which one would suit me better?

Riding day, pt. 4

Eyre peninsula doesn't have too much attractions on it, except some really nice coastal line! I wondered down one road that had the scenic sign on it, but it ended into a quarry... as the road was a mixture of sharp rocks and loose sand, making an u-turn was an easy decision. Specially when bike went on reserve! Another road then again provided magnificient views from a coastal cliff. Met also a local metalhead sheepfarmer with 16000acres of land. He had problems in believing about the usual size of farms in Finland :-)

Australian Aviation Museum

In Port Adelaide resides a small museum that specialises in aeroplanes with an Australian connection-worth visiting for cultures' sake! Maybe the most interesting part was their backyard, where's their restoration workshop. It was nice chatting there about old aeroengines and their current projects. Amazing, from what sorts of remains they can restore showpieces, given that the work is done on voluntary basis!

Some lovers had written their initials "forever" at oneof the rest areas, and now they're in the Internet. And what gets to 'net, also stays there...

More kakadus at the camping site. I guess they're common :)

Riding day, pt.3

Tavoite oli ajaa Adelaiden kulmille, B101-tietä pitkin,joka myötäilee merenrantaa. Tässä onnistuttiinkin ja tietä riittää, yhtä paljon suuntiin molempiin!

12 Apostles

The biggest tourist attraction along the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles, greatrock formations standing in the sea. Well, they were nice even in the rain.

I've started to suspect that the sunny attitide of the locals might come from the Vegemite stuff. Unfortunately the paste is like concentrated "mämmi", and is totally an aquired taste. Even on a top of a toast...

Best thing today was the road itself. Fortunately most of the caravans had the sense of staying out of the f-ing road! Up to 60km of this winding road, with 80km/h top speed limit and mostly 45km/h recommended speed ;) If only without rain it would have been perfect!

Great Ocean Road

I finally found the sun! Although one of the rare Australian whisky distilleries is in Melbourne, I felt like riding past the city. On the map the easiest way past Melbourne was via south and taking ferry across the bay. Along the way there was another airstrip that offered Adventure Flights, this time with bi-plane (a Tiger Moth). Unfortunately the weather was still not good enough in the morning, but I'm convinced that there's plenty of opportunities along the way...

Only problem with the ferry was that local Harley Davidson Social Clubs had decided to do their annual endurance race through Melbourne. All the clever ones were at the terminal, basicly blocking the place. But I managed and made a mental note not to get involved with harharharleyleyleyleys.

The Great Ocean Road offers plenty of beautiful lookouts, beaches and tourist traps... but it is a truly great looking coastline.