Clowndogs 13 Days 4000 K's - NSW & VIC

Squeezing every last ounce of luxury out of the motel room I slept late, ate a good breakfast and didn't saddle up until 10am ​

Well rested and without the burden of breaking camp I felt fresh despite the heat as I made my way towards Whitfield.​

I had initially planned to ride through to Mansfield and stop for lunch before moving on, but as I neared Whitfield I decided I would stop and see if I could locate some proper sunscreen. I only have three options when it comes to skin tone, white and pink and red, and my face was heading towards the later, fast !​

Grape vines, mountains in the distance and an easy cloud or three, this place was easy on the eyes.​

Departing Whitfield, sunscreen in hand, I somehow managed to veer off course to head up the King Valley Rd which later becomes the Upper King Valley track. After confirming my error I doubled back to locate the original route. This was another one of the rides listed in the Australian motorcycle atlas and I had not come 1500km just to bypass it due to a lapse in concentration ​

As it turned out , the accidental side-trip was quite really a nice little road but I turned around before it went to dirt, snapping the odd shot along the way​

As with other valleys, King Valley has it's share of vineyards but my better judgement decided against stopping for a sampler​

This little critter waddled across the road a little way in front of the bike, timing his low speed dash to perfection. By the time I circled back for a photo he was casually walking into the bush on the opposite side, heading for a destination best known to himself.​

After a quick scoot back to Whitfield I turned onto the correct road and began the climb​

Unfortunately, limiting a panorama shot to 700 pixels in width leaves you with a fairly small image, but I think it still worked well enough with this shot of Otis Rd. Next time i might try doing one with the camera on it's side, perhaps that will help ?​

Another area ravaged by bush fires but making a comeback​

This goes a bit beyond leaf litter but at least it's easy to see​

I have a photo of this without the car but I think it helps to show the scale and majesty of these trees.​

I promised some funky trees with leaves still attached so hold on to your seats !​

I took loads of pictures of this one, which really stood out. It's trunk was black as pitch while all the other trees in the area were sporting the usual assortment of brown trunks.​

Mansfield was a great lunch stop despite the heat. I was easily able to locate a shady parking spot, a nice shady park bench, and an air conditioned take-away shop, all within a stones throw. I took a lazy 90 minutes to nibble down a mexican burger and sip away a cold drink before heading towards Jamieson and my final destination for the day, Lake Eildon.​

For the second time today I managed to ignore both map and GPS and get off course, ending up on Rifle Butts Rd as I left Mansfield.​

I decided to forge ahead as the road links up with my intended route after a short distance​

Besides, the scenery wasn't half bad​

It wasn't long before I was back on the black stuff and back up to speed​

Just short of Jamieson I turned west towards Lake Eildon as the road began to snake it's way across the mountains.​

Not wishing to walk the 20 meters from the parking area to take this shot I decided to try and park a little closer.​

Working my way from side to side across the track I was focused on finding a patch of ground level enough on which to park. So focused was I that I inched my way further and further down the path, blissfully unaware of the turning space rapidly disappearing around me. Eventually I found myself lodged sideways across the track with gravel under left foot, air under right foot and no room to turn and ride out. After a few failed attempts to reverse the bike I sat for a moment pondering my predicament, sweating like a demon, cursing my stupidity and balancing the bike. Getting off the bike was not a possibility as there was no way it would stand by itself so any manuvers would have to be done from the saddle. I began by clearing rocks away on my left side to gain some traction as my right foot was only hitting air. Next I began a series of backward heaves, each time jumping on the break to secure my newly acquired position and ensure the bike didn't roll back forwards. My last tactic, once I had sufficient room in front, was to rev up and spin the back wheel, bringing the back end around just enough to allow me room
to ride out and continue on my less than merry way.​

Good lil shot tho eh ? , worth it ! ​

Here is another typical stopping point for me. Steep decline, uneven footing, gravel underfoot. Some cats just don't learn, but I do love a good photo. I quite often ride along very slowly, waiting for all the components of a shot to line up just the way I want them to, and quite often I find a metre too far or too short and the components fail to lineup.​

I eventually made my way onto some long straights and began looking forward to calling it a day, I could tell Eildon was not far away now.​

I managed to keep costs down by opting for a hotel motel as opposed to a stand alone motel. $65 didn't buy me the same level of facilities but with a bar n bistro attached, it was hard to fault.​

Just look at the furnace outside trying to claw it's way under the door and into my lime green hideaway. This is the second place I have stayed in named after a trout since I bought the bike, but who keeps score ?​

Air-conditioning, hotel motel style​

Hairpins right on my doorstep​

As the day cooled off slightly I made my way to the bar n bistro for a well deserved cold one and a steak to wash it down.​

Tommorow is new years eve, with the mercury set to hit 41 stinkin degrees around 1pm. I only have a short ride of around 100k to get down to Mt Dandenong where I hope to take a look at William Ricketts Sanctuary, after which I will make my way to Team WTF headquaters for a good old chin wag with Pete, aka Glitch, before booking myself into a suburban Melbornian motel for two days of R n R.​

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Only a short ride on the books for today but I managed to find my way onto the ever popular Black Spur, without even realising it! ​

The strom was dressed and ready before I was, and eager to get a rolling !​

I managed a nice early start to help avoid the heat but first I wanted to take a quick look at the Eildon dam​

And here it is, Lake Eildon dam during magic hour. I make a mental note to try and discipline myself to rise early and capture this time of day more often, or at least try to catch the evening matinees.​

After a quick look around I hit the road and headed south towards the Black Spur and William Ricketts​

I arrived at Mt Dandenong around 8:30 and topped up with a quick breakfast bar in between riding a few loops trying to locate the sanctuary. The Black Spur was a wonderfull ride and quite stunning.​

I located the Sanctuary at 9am and noted the opening time as 10am. Oh well, time to kick back and enjoy the morning, and the views.​

10am came and went, and a call to the number listed for information resulted in the sad news that the sanctuary would not be opening due to the severe heat conditions expected later in the day. A little disappointed, I cut my losses and made my way to WTF headquaters.​

Apparently, Goodie had been alerted to my impending arrive and promptly left the country . Unfortunately for him, Pete was a little slower and was unable to escape. I managed to catch up with him for a few hours. Pete was a top host and a good sport, regaling me with stories and walking me through the genisis of the WTF stable. It was great to meet a tornanti in person and such an affable and passionate adventurer.​

Pete offered to join me for the ride out of Melbourne on the 2nd (day 7) and to show me some of the back roads he knows so well. I greatfully accepted and with that I left Pete to his business and settled into some local budget accomodation for a day and a half of relaxing nothingness.​

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