Spazzy Tassie '14...aka...The Lake Leake Chronicles

robbieb said:

Haha, seriously though, shame about the camera, especially to have happened half way through the trip

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The biggest shame was that no one captured the moment when my Strom wrestled me to the ground. Luckily I am in peak condition and was able to"BOUNCE" to my feet before being incapsulated in the thing. now Mr MasterCard has to find a new camera.

dougman1 said:

The biggest shame was that no one captured the moment when my Strom wrestled me to the ground.

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I only take my camera out for beemers .

jo said:

I only take my camera out for beemers .

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Pfffft


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With loads of stuff happening since bailing from a soaking wet Ferry apron, it looks like this time I’m carrying the tail-end candle of the ride reports.

And what a crop of great stories and excellent pics it’s turned out so far…you guys are making it hard keeping up! Really…it’s a joy to use those few minutes here and there to have a peek at your posts and drool over those pics!!

Before it’s into the lies and photoshopping, here’s a BIG THANKS to all who came along, showed their faces at Lake Leake and made the daily rides a spectacular affair by adding some “choice ingredients” that had us all in stitches, day and night.

Tassie itself put on the best possible face and stretching it right across the 2 weeks, while only making sure on the last day to also give us a quick taste of what it could’ve been…

2 weeks of absolute bliss, incredible skies, stunning cloud formations, stumping vistas, mostly dry roads and that special autumn-light that puts a gobsmacking, golden sheen on land and features, softening contours and bringing landscapes to life.

Fan-bloody-tastic!!


And all that before adding the key ingredient….the people and folks along the way, the guffaws, the bloopers, the little hitches and belly-aching laughs. Then again…with many of the old “Big-Ride” crews around, things just couldn’t turn any other way.





I hope, the pics will bring across some of that “golden fortnight”…



“Sitting at the dock o’ the baayyay…”



Westgate Bridge “curler” from across the Princess Pier waters.




Black is back…and everywhere!




Fuzz brought some family along, hehe.


Happy times ahead.











R2D2 and his mates…a welcome replacement for Charley Bormann & Co, who went a couple of days earlier.






Some Moo Brew Stout got the shit ‘n giggles-gauge tuned quickly.
Not that the Cascade Special Stout was much behind, though…both great brews, that!










What seems like a couple of hours later (and 400hectares of Tassie’s Old Growth level with the ground now, thanks to Fuzzy’s vivid Katoom dreams ), the meet-up in Devonport proves a bit chaotic, but things come together quickly thanks to Annette and Paul and their tribe putting on a cracker of a welcome.





Some really got their hopes up and started talking about virgins and paradise and all that, before the use-by dates…



…while the family moggie tries for a quiet get-away before things get outta hand.





Friendly faces everywhere!

Even the meet-up with Hans comes good after bailing him out at the Caravan Park …they wanted to hang onto the happy Austrian for a few more days.

Well…it isn’t everyday that someone’s crazy enough to fly around half the globe just to ride Robbie’s old “burning-HOOOTTT XT” to a bush-pub for a few nights of lies and shenanigans around the camp fire, hats off to one hell of a traveler!!

Getting up the neighbourhood before leaving our hosts with shaking fists and foaming mouths across the fences and all that…







Straight into the North Coast Hinterland and places like Eugenana, Melrose, Paloona and Clerke Plains.
Never heard of ‘em? Me neither…but Christ, I’ll be back to those parts… still kicking the slobber off the boot-tips 5 weeks later.
Mt. Roland in all its glory...





Preston Falls near Gunns Plains…bummer, they upgraded the old, bumpy single-lane goat track which made for a slightly adventurous descent into Gunns Plains until a few years back.
Life at The Falls…when unable to read signs.















More hinterland, more places like Upper Natone and Hawkesbury, across the Snowden Plains on deep gravel to Oonah and Kella East to Kellatier for more gravel and stumping views....DE_BLOODY_LICIOUS!!!... along the West Calder Hills to the coast at Wynyard, target for some fuel and a late lunch.
A quick fly-by at Table Cape with a look across to Wynyard…





…then cutting south and back into the hills again towards Meunna and Preolenna. Even the Awesome Wombat has to stop sometimes for a shot here and there…it’s just too much of a great thing, eh?





Somewhere around Meunna the Austourers seemed to somehow be spooking a ~200 head herd that’s already half across the road and in the milking shed pen... into panicking, reversing direction and starting a hell of chaotic mess, belting into their mates and steaming down the paddock they just came from. To be fair though…even the farmhands were baffled and had never seen anything like it!!







The tiny National Park at Rocky Cape is always worth a visit…on a GOOD day. Like…NOW.









The afternoon grows long, it’s time for one more little loop and onto those narrow backroads of the Stanley Peninsula, the Highfield Farm and views across Halfmoon Bay. Let’s forget the grumpy shit at the Stanley intersection servo where we topped up….coming along?


Looks like a pack of Austourers in the process of cutting the legs off the lookout tower to take it away with them…

THAT’s what it’s all about…Crusty and Fuzz have discovered the local farmers honey.









Stanley…The Nut and Rocky Cape in the background.










Grim indeed. For that lovely 800pound bundle-of-steaks on 4 legs, that is…

















Shiat, it looks GOOOD, dunnit??
















As the light turns ever more golden…






Time to get into town and front up at the reception of the Caravan Park to sort some beds.

We didn’t really have to tell him where to go…





Cute…








….and tasty!




Spreading out the day again…






Bloody great kickoff, mate!





Oh, that cap? We burned it at Lake Leake…and yes, he brought a KTM one….and sox…and a spoon, watch, T-shirt, jumper, jox, gloves etc etc
BUT….Tassie-Dave still beat him with the Ducati-BrothelCreepers!
(while riding another Trumpy!!)


Christ, those guys are like clergy…preaching anything under any flag they can find... as long as the wine is good!

Glenn wasn’t quite so sure yet…another few days and we-bent-‘em-like-Beckham, though….





…while Andrew knows what’s on the cards…



Now, this one here…that’s one to watch!!Closely!!
Just check THAT smile. Yup, that’s trouble!




Same here…but Crusty chooses to show us his backside tonight.
The offer of sticking his tongue in Doug's ear is still a day or 2 away....

Great pics mate!

I could have used a pair of KTM boxer shorts at the thermal springs...

Great write-up pete. Sounds like it was a blast!

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

Great pics mate!

I could have used a pair of KTM boxer shorts at the thermal springs...

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Things went orrite, didn't they?
No mum's shielding their kid's eyes of all that Wombat Goodness?

veom said:

Great write-up pete. Sounds like it was a blast!

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Sweet Jeezaz...was it ever!! LOADS more to come!!

Seems that the bribe to the cloud-pusher up there was worth every penny…it doesn’t get much better than a clear, blue sky.



The Nut getting tickled by the Morning’s Gold.




Another load of Bacon ‘n Eggs at the Moby Dick’s Breakfast joint packs down any spiky bits of last night’s dinner and we’re off for some backroads to…and around…Smithton.
Note….those alu-boxes on Glenn’s Strom are still somewhat symmetrical. You won’t see ‘em like that again….








Near Redpa






Some blackbellies further inland colour the landscape, fast racing shadows flitting across paddocks, fences, dams... and the tiny settlement of Marrawah. Gotta have a peek at Marrawah Beach and Slaves Bay though…it just looks too good.


Could be Bluff Point in the distance, northern end of the local surf beach.




























Jason (WindyRider), who’d clocked a couple of hours on the Tiger coming up from Ulverstone to join us for a day or 2.