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These three stills taken from video shoot by Guz Hirst of Epsitech in Melbourne on 6 October 2000. This will soon be available on the web (you can use it for free as long as Epsitech is credited, unless you're a TV station in which case contact Epsitech on gordon@cavva.com.au) Great work Guz. Melbourne, as you see, is lovely down here on the coast and around the Grand Prix racing track sitting just outside the central business district. I seem to be looking a bit thin. Never mind its roast beef tonight!

Motorcyclists' Rights

The Motorcycle Riders Association had a demo in Melbourne, against continuing local authority efforts to ban pavement (sidewalk) parking in Melbourne. The tactic of the authorities this time is to recruit the help of the local disabled association. However, as usual, independent meetings between the riders and this group showed that there is no problem. The MRA scored well when it pointed out on local radio that if the plans went through there would be less car parking places in the city centre!

Globally, I've managed to have some chats with government advisors and motorcycle industry bods. Australia is gearing up to harmonise with the latest European bike standards. A good way we can help stop probable future Euro demands for 78 decibels would be for bikers in Australia and the US to lobby against their country's introduction of the Euro 80 decibels, which unfortunately has been adopted into UN regulations, but don't let that stop you. Manufacturers could still sell their Euro 80 bikes here (as they are now) even though this leads to increased noise on the street, but it would serve as a damn good marker and make great ammo for us in Europe don't you think?

We had a number of activist-type people at a lunch gathering organised by Ralph Green, who advises local government on biking matters, when we raised Aus$280. Ralph is a member of Melbourne's recently-formed international adventure motorcyclist group. It was great to swap stories. At WIMA we raised Aus$150, and I even got a massage out of that thanks to Cat at 'Tune Up'!

Motorcycle activists will be familiar with Swedish Professor Claes Tingvall, chased out of Europe by concerned motorcyclists after his call to ban biking. He's in the local paper here today, going on about the need to have barriers installed in the middle of roads to separate traffic going the other way. How would one pass a broken down truck or swerve to avoid an accident without causing another one? We hope you're liking Australia Mr Tingvall, Siberia is also nice these days.

Fundraising

We've raised Aus$3000 here. This is US$1500 on current exchange, not very good eh? As I head further West I'm playing the "Over East they're all tight-fisted" card (with a few very honourable exceptions) because parochialism and state-pride is serious business. It's all very uphill though, I wish I'd had things all planned out because I don't have three weeks to spend in each possible fundraising centre before moving on.

Tracker on the web

I won't be able to get this working properly until Singapore due to the need to get the smaller antenna replaced too. So if you see me heading up to Siberia in November please note I haven't gone mad.

My bike

I always had Melbourne in mind for the first major service. It really feels like new (but doesn't look it!) what with new sprockets, brake discs, front caliper and fork oil change and beef-up - big thanks to Suspensions R Us. New rear wheel bearings, sprag clutch and clutch springs and repairing some of my butchering - thanks to Bert Flood Imports. Some exhaust work and, wait for it, shallower pannier boxes! Yes I can now go round corners properly, in fact I have not yet managed to scrape them at all, but then there's hardly no weight on right now. Fantastic work by Black Mamba Racing.

HD in Frankfurt Germany sent most of the stuff down to Australia, whilst the downunder branch paid for a portable waterproof display. Elizabeth Street's Italian dealer has helped tremendously, as did Honda and Motorcycling Australia, the FIM organisation, who invited me to have a stand at the forthcoming Superbike round at Mallala near Adelaide.

Did I tell you about the new shocks I got in Sydney? Nice solid (but unfortunately chrome) items, thanks to Koni and Proven Products for those.
It reminds me of the time I fell off in the outback. I found myself fishtailing down the hard/soft shoulder and went down. Concussed, for some reason I quickly photographed it before a car came past, picked it up, but couldn't remember what the hell I was doing here in the middle of nowhere.
I was in a bit of a state "WHAT IS GOING ON?" All of a sudden I felt very alone and vulnerable. Then I spotted something to focus my attention: where did the ugly chrome shockers (the Darwin ones) come from? I was furious that someone had sneakily exchanged the lovely black ones for these plasticky-looking shiny items. Then it came back to me, what I was doing and why, and I became immensely happy once again. It was just a simple falling-off session that threw me for a while.

I still don't know if I'm going directly to Darwin from Ayres Rock or round Western Australia, I'm waiting to hear back from some contacts in Singapore.
But I wish I went anti-clockwise round Australia because the wind would have been behind me. If I can go to WA maybe I'll chance the unsealed outback roads, if it's not too hot, I can choose between the corrugated 'Gunbarrel' (no thanks) or the Great Central Road.

So today I'm off north again, tonight staying with former Member of the European Parliament Hugh Kerr, a New Labour rebel and dyed in the wool biker, who has bought a small hotel. I met him while fundraising at a superbike race meeting, this guy comes up from behind and says "oh you made it then", he was one of the dozen MEPs who had sponsored the Ride last year.
In fact it's easy to see why so many foreigners come to live in easy-going Australia, I'm getting to quite like the place. Of course it's a Western society, which I'm now fully used to after the developing countries and in a strange way feel like I'm back to my old self again, but it's all a bit difficult to explain in a short update like this.

Just got to pick up some plastic water carriers (10 litre minimum) and a video of the TV news the other night, Channel 10 did a great job, before heading off to the red centre and a bit of off-roading.

So, there we are, be happy.

Simon