It seems Howard forgot to certify my ride. It came a week after a reminder e-mail though he did put the wrong year on the header but the correct year in the rides description.
Here is the ride report from 2016 Memorial ride.
My plan for this year’s memorial ride had to be shortened due to guests from overseas staying with us and helping them getting ready for their four month tour around the country. My original plan of a four day ride had to be shortened to two days as I wanted to finish the ride on Friday in Wilmington.
After a transit leg from my home in the Adelaide Hills to Port Augusta on Wednesday with a brief stop for a banner shot I checked into my motel for a few hours’ sleep before a planned 00:00 start the following day.
After obtaining two witnesses signatures from two different petrol stations it was up the Stuart Highway into a starless night. The forecast was for heavy winds from the north and rain developing, I spent the next five hours trying successfully to out run the rain and fighting the strong headwinds on my way to my first petrol stop 540 km. away at Coober Pedy. Due to strong wind forecast I packed an extra 5 litres of fuel and glad that I did as my fuel consumption was greatly affected. With no signs of wildlife so far the two roos on the edge of the road just out of Coober Pedy got my pulse racing when they decided to cross the road in front of me.
With the sunrise came the beginning of a great day for riding with the winds dying down, no sign of rain and temperatures in the low 30’s. A quick fuel stop in Kulgera and I was into Alice Springs ahead of schedule in under 11 hours.
The open speed zones were still there and they were taken advantage of perhaps for my last time. With the increases speed also came an extra fuel stop in Ti Tree before my next stop in Tennent Creek. As I was passing Wycliffe Well I was still well ahead of schedule and stopped for a picture for my wife who loves anything to do with UFO’s. I should have paid attention to the surroundings and I would not have stopped here on my way back.
I also reached the 1600 km mark here in 13 hr.45min.
After my petrol stop in Tennent Creek in which I had a quick Gatorade I reached my turn around point of Renner Springs, refueled and was now heading back south to Alice Springs with one more fuel stop planned before the end of day one’s ride.
My plan was to stop at Devils Marbles Hotel for my last stop but had the idea of a UFO souvenir for my wife so Wycliffe Well was chosen. When I arrived it was just getting dark and I had to weave my way around the locals who had gathered there for the night. With no lights on the pump I waited for about 5 minutes for them to activate the pump and then with the lack of light proceeded to over fill my tank. Feeling uncomfortable about leaving my gear on the bike I took in my helmet gloves and gps but was still worried about it in the dark while waiting 10 minutes to pay while some of the locals argued with the owners about buying alcohol. With a great deal of vocal abuse yelled at me I was in a hurry to get back on the road and enjoy the last couple hours of the open speed limit and today’s ride.
I reached Alice springs and for th day 2560 km in 22 hours, I then found my hotel, took care of a few minor issues on the bike and got a good four hours sleep before being back on the road by 04:15 It was a beautiful night for a ride as the temperature was in the low 20’s and very little wind. This was soon to change as in about two hours the temperature had dropped to 9 and a strong south west wind was making itself known.
Layers were added at sunrise and I spent the rest of the day fighting with those winds that were trying to pushing my bike around the road. Fuel stops in Marla and Glendambo got me back into Port Augusta around 15:30.
A quick corner docket in Whyalla and then back through Port Augusta before another corner docket in Quorn before finishing in Wilmington, a little over 42 hours and 4023 km after I started.
After that signatures were signed by familiar faces a great weekend was had with the help of a few ales and multiple bottles of red.
Thanks to Nico for organizing this year’s memorial ride, I am already looking forward to next years.
Total GPS Km. 4023
Total Time: 42 hours 11 min
Jeffrey