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[106kB 640x480] Mouth organ practise

[43kB 640x480] The Olgas

The problem was that to smoothly ride over corrugations I had to travel at 80kmh. Then along comes a patch of deep sand and my 300kg started to fishtail, the solution to that being to accelerate. Sometimes I was frantically trying to slow down before getting into real trouble.

[30kB 640x480] A few minutes after going over the handlebars the first time, pictures taken by Fraser who came along at just the right time - I'd only seen one other vehicle that day. God must have been keeping his eye on me! [44kB 640x480]

It was in the sand that my little mishaps happened. The first not far from the world's remotest community near Tjukayirla Roadhouse and the entire contents of my right pannier (the workshop and spares dept.) ended up over the track. Both boxes were 'S' shaped and the mountings cracked. The front end mashed up completely including, most unfortunately, the fantastic Touratech computer, rear wheel badly dented, front wheel buckled, front disk and wheel spindle bent. I landed on my right shoulder which feels like it's going to take 6 months for the pain to go away - I'd done a similar injury a few years ago diving off the harbour wall in Dubrovnik Croatia. I spent a few days with Jim and June at the Roadhouse banging the bike back into shape and learning the Blues.

[56kB 480x640] Accident damage after going over the handlebars.

Yes the Blues. I was having difficulty up to now playing them on the mouth organ. Then, all of a sudden, they came naturally. I'd found the silver lining! In fact I composed a little song, "Bush Blues". The first verse is: "I started playing the blues when I was riding through the Outback, I rode through twenty countries there was forty thousand on the clock. I'd been to Uluru Rock, then pointed my motorcycle West. I started playing the blues when I was riding through the Bush." I just haven't figured out how to sing and play at the same time!

[72kB 640x480] All repaired and ready for the track after first over the bars tumble.

There was still 300km of track to go. Off I set and just 130km before tarmac over the bars I went again. This time the left pannier contents spewed everywhere. During this flight the flash thought was "wow I'm still airborne" before landing on my spine.

[68kB 640x480] Friendly emu at Tjukayirla Roadhouse.

[72kB 640x480] Damage after 2nd over the bars experience.

The bruising gets better by the day now. Amazingly along came a 4WD just as I was hauling the bike back up, right at the same instant as my first over the bars crash, on a track where I encountered just one to three vehicles per day. Someone was definitely looking after me. I covered the remaining 130km in the dark, the lights being lined up perfectly for the first time on the whole trip - it was brilliant they were still working (nice one Simpson Detour), because I feared that if I waited to morning the pain would be too much and besides, I wanted a beer. Needless to say much of the earlier repair work was destroyed.

At Laverton some Aboriginals led me to Sam who was driving his truck to Perth two days later and I accepted his offer of a lift. Anyone can ride on tarmac, I'd done the hard bit on my own.

[35kB 640x480] The tarmac ends and the dirt begins, gulp, here goes...

[42kB 640x480] Corrugations in the track which can shake you and your bike to bits. Ideal speed over this is 80kmh.

[65kB 640x480] Aboriginals out for a Sunday drive, I found 4 adults, 15 kids and a pick-up taking shade under the biggest tree for hundreds of km! Mum is holding some freshly hunted 'bush tucker' lizards (Aboriginal food).

I got to know some Aboriginals in their land and enjoyed their company immensely. They were very friendly and polite. Several times the first words from Aboriginal women to me were, "We can speak your language you know and we are quite civilised". They are extremely proud of their land won back after legal battles during which time they had to prove that they had legal title to it. You don't find nomads anymore, at least I didn't, they live in houses and appear grateful that Western society has brought them TV, fridges and all the other trappings of modern life. Many of them were drunk though, over 80% of males over age 14 are alcoholics in some areas. They have lost completely their spirit. Alcohol is banned from Aboriginal land and one man complained to me that they had to go 600 miles for a beer.

Traditionally the men hunted and the women were the gatherers and did everything else. It seems now the women do everything, in one case one woman was expected to push a broken down car with four men in, who wouldn't help her because 'it was her work'. They did ask me for tobacco or for money on occasion, but they took 'no' for an answer, there was no relentless harassment common some Asian countries.

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Their national political leader, whilst himself being on some sort of rape charge, recently said that state social support (unemployment benefit etc.) had destroyed their culture.
Hopefully in time Aboriginal peoples will find their destiny and a new role in the universe.

[45kB 640x480] Town Hall, Kalgoorlie WA, the famous gold mining town.

Gold mining is big out here. I had a look at the town of Kalgoorlie which is at the centre of it, they say one day it will collapse in on the mine shafts! Alongside the big open-cut commercial mines, private prospecting is popular and metal detectors have revolutionised the hobby which turns some into millionaires while others never find any significant nuggets. The nuggets look like chewed-up chewing gum, no I didn't find any but someone proudly showed me their biggest find.

I'm going to ride the over 4000km back to Darwin because Perkins Shipping will send my bike to Singapore for free - I couldn't get any such deal in Perth. First I'll sort out some sort of cruise control because my body's right side is still protesting at the severe abuse it's sustained recently - I don't think any ribs are cracked though it doesn't seem to be painful enough for that. As for the bike, of course it's OK, after the old crowbar and lump hammer treatment!

Pictures of this whole episode will be on www.millennium-ride.com soon.

Simon

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