Journal of a Geelong RAT

Mickey Bourke's Annual Ride

2011-10-13T20:57:00.024+11:00

What's the weather going to be like on the week-end was the question I kept asking as it got closer to our day of departure on Saturday morning. We were off on a week-end trip to Koroit staying at Mickey Bourke's pub.It's a ride that was initiated by Rob & Priscilla from Melbourne years ago and has become an annual pilgrimage. Last year I departed the group at Lavers Hill, deciding to come home

Here, There, Everywhere

2011-05-30T21:05:00.008+10:00

Not sure how much everyone's getting out for a ride these days but I know my days out on two wheels have been few & far between.First of all we went to the UK for all of March & then when I got back I ended up working between Hobart & Melbourne. Hobart's beautiful - great food, coffee, scenery and people - check out 'Next Door' in Collins Street if you're down that way - best coffee & great

Back to Reality

2011-04-07T21:22:00.000+10:00

Well it had to come to an end sometime. The last part of our travels was spent in Hong Kong which we explored for 4 days. It's still as hectic as I remembered it back when I was here 4 years ago.Next time I come here it'll be to stay in a hotel on Hong Kong island - after 4 days of getting harassed by hustlers trying to sell me a suit, handbags or a Rolex watch in Nathan Rd I felt like jumping

Doc Martin

2011-03-17T05:43:00.004+11:00

I've arrived in Port Isaac in beautiful North Cornwall. It's a little fishing village that's well known by fans of the TV show Doc Martin as Port Wenn. Last night, sitting in an old smuggler pub with oak beams and a roaring fire with a pint of local cider and a plate of fresh haddock, it felt like i was in heaven :-)There's lot of fans of the TV show wandering around taking photos and with

Life in the ole blighty

2011-03-07T21:37:00.007+11:00

Well it's just over a week now that we've been back in sunny England. The weather's been chilly but beautiful blue skies & sunshine every day - just like the Spring days I remember.The little country lane ways in the Cotswolds have come to life with daffodils, snowdrops & crocus flowers. I just wish I had Trumpy over here - the roads are unbelievable. Twisty & hilly with great surface and no

Just flew into Hong Kong

2011-02-28T01:47:00.004+11:00

Well its 1:45am in Australia & 10:45pm here in Hong Kong - we've just arrived in Hong Kong airport and have a couple of hours before we board for the second torturous leg of the journey to London.It's an amazing airport, built on a bed of rock formed from demolishing two adjoining islands. The mud on the sea bed had to be removed before the foundation rock could be laid - it took two years for

Arrow Exhausts on the S3

2011-01-09T09:02:00.007+11:00

Well, I took the plunge while the AU$ was looking good against the US$ and bought a set of Arrow exhausts for my bike. It was an awesome buy from www.pure-triumph.com in Florida with a saving of nearly $500!!Once I got them in the mail I couldn't wait to get them on - but one problem - they needed a new tune loaded on the bike's ECU!So, I rang around and the advice from the service department was

Happy New Year 2011

2010-12-25T13:22:00.011+11:00

Well another Xmas has passed by and it's time for all the life changing & good living things we promise to do every year...It was a great Xmas - we actually saw snow and didn't even have to travel to the UK!We had a quick visit to beautiful Bright - a quick break before the Xmas rush. It was very cold and wet with lots of flooding but snow was the last thing we expected to see.On a wet night

Adelaide - quick visit across the border

2010-11-13T15:59:00.007+11:00

A good opportunity came along a couple of week-ends ago to take a trip across the border to South Australia & visit Pete & Leone. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were locals but now they've settled into life in the city of churches - Adelaide.We decided to drive across and took the most direct route through Horsham & Bordertown & planned to arrive about 3pm - it took us 9 hours in the end

Saturday Ride & lunch at Otway Estate Brewery

2010-10-24T21:08:00.009+11:00

I heard from a mate during the week about a week-end trip he goes on every year. He gets together with a few friends & they do an annual pilgrimage to a little pub in a place called Koroit. I looked it up on Google maps & its just outside Warrnambool. Anyway the pubs called Mickey Bourkes and they reckon it's the best Guinness in Victoria!Unfortunately, I already had a lot on for the week-end so

Summer's almost here again...

2010-09-12T20:07:00.008+10:00

Well it's been a long Winter this year, or at least it feels that way for me anyway. I just don't know how I survived living through those Winters living in the UK with minus temperatures & riding bikes in Levi jeans and a Wrangler jacket! Now it's thermal underwear & I'm still freezing - must be getting old!It was good to get a text from Muz a few weeks ago to let me know there was a ride to

What's been happening...

2010-03-29T13:00:00.008+11:00

Well it's been a while since I got to do any updates on the blog - lots of distractions have kept me away from getting out on the Speed 3 and there's been little time for sitting down in a quiet corner to update the blog! First of all the big surprise that Pete & Leone have gone off to Adelaide to live - it all happened so quickly and they moved over there last week - all our best wishes go with

Castlemaine Weekend - Saturday 6th March 2010

2010-02-28T19:27:00.005+11:00

The labour day long week-end's coming up soon so we had a chat last Thursday night about the next overnight trip.It had been rumoured that Petersborough was the destination but there's been a change of heart and Castlemaine is where we're heading on Saturday 6th March.Accommodation is the Campbell St Lodge - a historic building close to the town centre. Cost is $95 for a double room & there's

Gone but not forgotten!

2010-02-04T20:52:00.005+11:00

It was sad news earlier this week when we heard that Stefan had lost his life last Saturday afternoon in a fatal bike accident on the Moriac Road.We'd known Stef for almost 3 years and although he often drove us mad, he was a likable character. There was always a new bike on the go or some customization happening - like when he sawed the ends off the mufflers on the bonnie!There were memorable

Plans for week-end trip = Labour Day weekend

2010-01-30T11:56:00.006+11:00

I had a couple of interesting photos sent to me by Leigh a couple of weeks ago. Sounds like he was cleaning up his computer and came across some old photos from some of the early RAT ride days & trips.I remember both trips when the photos were taken - one of them was particularly memorable as we experienced our first flying VFR and a group of bike riders that had more faith than we had! That was

First ride of 2010 - Happy New Year

2010-01-03T15:44:00.006+11:00

Well I never expected to see so many old faces at Deans Marsh - seemed like everyone was there this morning! I got up early looked outside to check the weather - overcast and maybe some drizzle but at least none of the torrential rain like we had on New Years Eve. Its great to see rain but keep it to week days when we're all at work!The ride down to Deans Marsh was the usual straight ride - just

Busy Sunday!

2009-12-14T19:37:00.005+11:00

Well it was a busy day yesterday with a ride in the morning and then Mick's for a BBQ in the afternoon. Some of the blokes at work had planned to go for a quick ride in the morning down to Wye River for lunch - it just happened to be the same day as the Toy Ride.But I figured I could give the Toy Ride a miss for one year. Anyway, only 3 of us turned up for the work ride - 3 others failed to show

Great ride down the Ocean Road with a few guys from work

2009-11-15T20:35:00.010+11:00

One of the guys at work that rides a Speed Triple ask me if I fancied a ride on Sunday. I had to think for a minute - I've been out on the bike every week-end for the past few weeks, maybe I should have a week-end off!! It didn't take me long to come to my senses, weather was going to be good & a quick sprint down to Lorne via Deans Marsh & Skenes Creek sounded good - didn't have to think twice!

BRIGHT – Melbourne Cup Weekend Nov 11th 2009

2009-11-14T22:36:00.017+11:00