Chapter 1 aka Prologue
It was another rainy day of early May 2022, another Blursday when I did not do anything worth storing in my memory cells hence it is just a vague recollection, and more of an impression on what really triggered me to plan this ride.
There are always some ideas, some projects, inspirations, that go through my mind. Most of the thoughts are just transiting through my head whilst motorcycle related ones are carefully stored. All in separate, “watertight containers” that can withstand the test of time and sprout after a random period of time, frequently with a semi-unexpected twist, or three.
This particular thought of doing the Commonwealth Star themed ride was sitting in my head for quite some time. If I had to make a wild guess why it sprouted when it did, I would probably blame the Covid-19 which had stopped me a few weeks earlier from riding the Anzac Day ride this year. Ok, so there was also me trying to justify my recent purchase of 2019 Yamaha XMax - a better, more economical way of doing what I like. After a few minutes of connecting all the dots, I decided to find a good town for the previously mentioned ride which in my mind - had to be Dubbo. There are a few reasons for the choice and the main one being that the star-towns can be picked up neatly, and once plotted on map, the route resembles the Commonwealth Star, at least my impression of it. Then the usual happened, I picked my satellite destinations which were: Molong, Forbes, Nevertire, Orange, Coonabarabran, Dunedoo, Gilgandra.
I am not sure if anyone ever experienced it, but when something is meant to be, it just fits nicely together. The total distance of the Star performance, per Google Maps, was 1,637 kms, and it was already servo-to-servo, with most of the stops, open non-stop. The initial plan was for me to ride to Dubbo a night before, stay there, wake up early and then do the ride.
A few days later, after an unsuccessful attempt of buying a “limited series” SS2000K sticker from NZ, I modified my plan to include my return trip to Central Coast which gave me 2000+ kms needed for the certificate (so I could get my bloody sticker!). After that, couple of nights later, TJ posted his report on the Scooter 1000 Insanity GOLD, then Hairymcsweary posted the Scooter 1500 Insanity certificate which made me think of the best combination of the certificates and what I really would like to do with my weekend
The final decision had been made – to do a Scooter 1500 Insanity on my 292cc XMax and nest Commonwealth Star SS1600K. One thing I am happy about, looking back, is that I was not aware that I don’t seem to be a huge fan of stopping so frequently during a long distance ride!
TBC. (I have to return to my real life, because this is not real)
It was another rainy day of early May 2022, another Blursday when I did not do anything worth storing in my memory cells hence it is just a vague recollection, and more of an impression on what really triggered me to plan this ride.
There are always some ideas, some projects, inspirations, that go through my mind. Most of the thoughts are just transiting through my head whilst motorcycle related ones are carefully stored. All in separate, “watertight containers” that can withstand the test of time and sprout after a random period of time, frequently with a semi-unexpected twist, or three.
This particular thought of doing the Commonwealth Star themed ride was sitting in my head for quite some time. If I had to make a wild guess why it sprouted when it did, I would probably blame the Covid-19 which had stopped me a few weeks earlier from riding the Anzac Day ride this year. Ok, so there was also me trying to justify my recent purchase of 2019 Yamaha XMax - a better, more economical way of doing what I like. After a few minutes of connecting all the dots, I decided to find a good town for the previously mentioned ride which in my mind - had to be Dubbo. There are a few reasons for the choice and the main one being that the star-towns can be picked up neatly, and once plotted on map, the route resembles the Commonwealth Star, at least my impression of it. Then the usual happened, I picked my satellite destinations which were: Molong, Forbes, Nevertire, Orange, Coonabarabran, Dunedoo, Gilgandra.
I am not sure if anyone ever experienced it, but when something is meant to be, it just fits nicely together. The total distance of the Star performance, per Google Maps, was 1,637 kms, and it was already servo-to-servo, with most of the stops, open non-stop. The initial plan was for me to ride to Dubbo a night before, stay there, wake up early and then do the ride.
A few days later, after an unsuccessful attempt of buying a “limited series” SS2000K sticker from NZ, I modified my plan to include my return trip to Central Coast which gave me 2000+ kms needed for the certificate (so I could get my bloody sticker!). After that, couple of nights later, TJ posted his report on the Scooter 1000 Insanity GOLD, then Hairymcsweary posted the Scooter 1500 Insanity certificate which made me think of the best combination of the certificates and what I really would like to do with my weekend
The final decision had been made – to do a Scooter 1500 Insanity on my 292cc XMax and nest Commonwealth Star SS1600K. One thing I am happy about, looking back, is that I was not aware that I don’t seem to be a huge fan of stopping so frequently during a long distance ride!
TBC. (I have to return to my real life, because this is not real)