As hoped for, the weather cleared up some on Thursday, so I hired a bike for a couple of days to ride the Great Ocean Road. The plan was to ride until dusk and spend the night at the closest motel, then head back the other way the next day. I decided on a Yamaha FJR1300. It's a sport/touring bike that's designed to provide comfort for the long haul like a road sofa and agility in the corners like a crotch rocket and it delivered pretty well on both counts.
I left Melbourne at 10AM (Yep, I skipped out on the Wings game, so I didn't get to see them win it. Yay Wings!!!). After about an hour of freeway travel I was at the start of the road, then it was one breathtaking view after the next. It started with some nice sweepers cut into the side of the cliffs that overlooked the ocean, then turned inland to twist through a dense forest, before winding along the rolling farmlands until it returned to the coast once more. Words really can't do it justice, but it's easily the most scenic I've ever ridden. The clouds returned on Friday and it rained a bit, so the return ride wasn't as nice, but I loved the trip nonetheless. I didn't have too much trouble driving on the wrong side of the road until I returned to the city. I made a couple of wrong turns, but the GPS soon had me on the right course and the drivers here are more patient than you'll find in Atlanta.
All in all a great capper to my stay in Melbourne. Next stop, Brisbane!
8 comments:
looks like a good choice in a bike.
woulda been better if you were on the "CADE"
Looked like a really great ride,
me n Tim are like so jelious.
Who wuz takin your picture?
Love You.
yeah, that's a nice bike. Looks like a nice road too...So - how fast were you taking the corners ? :) I have been banned from riding by the Air Force pending results of my flight physical...It's killing me.
Take care...
That is awesome! I can't even describe the amount of jealousy here. You should have gone with a CBR though. :) Glad you're having a good time.
- Leon
Looks pretty sweet. Did you see any funky down-under-only wildlife on the road?
How far did you go before headding
back? just lookin at the map.
Love you.
Mom & Dad
Ya'll be sure to check out the picasa album. There are some great picutres in there !
Greatest Ocean Road...
Yeah, check out all the pics in the Picasa album. I haven't been able to get them to link from the blog post yet.
So, I made it to Warrnambool just as it was getting dusky dark. The bike shop guy warned me about riding around that time as that's when kangaroos are out the most, but fortunately I didn't see any critters. I wasn't flying along, mostly around 60 to 100 kph. It was about a six hour ride each way.
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