Our memorial ride for David "Davo" Jones

#1
The following is our "Davo Memorial Trail" ride copied from the FarRider forum.

How we met Davo

It was a stormy rainy Melbourne Saturday night in July 2008 the time was around 10.30pm, Lynne the Pillion and I rode our FJR out of the garage heading to a service station in Lyndhurst approx. 10km away from home. It was the night of the annual Icicle Ride which is organized each year by the BMW club Vic. We arrived safely at the service station where it was starting from, we were both excited as this was my second Icicle Ride but was Lynne’s first. Riding in the night was new to us and up till then had ridden mostly in daylight.

After fuelling up I had backed into the gutter in front of the service station’s shop, when a guy on a Kawasaki GTR 1400 parked right next to us, he said hello as we did to him and I asked him where is he from, thinking which suburb of Melbourne. He then advised us that he was from up near Noosa Heads in Qld, to which I said you must have left a week ago or something, he said no I left on the Thursday just gone at midnight. My brain immediately started to calculate in my head that would mean this guy rode more than 1800km in 48 hours to get to the start of the Icicle Ride, no one can do that I thought quietly to myself. To my astonishment, he then added that he didn’t ride direct to Melbourne but rode from near Noosa to Adelaide to visit a sick child (On behalf of a charity I think, some earlier FarRiders will know about this) and then to the start where we had met him. We politely said oh that’s good and moved on. This was too much for us to take in, and when Lynne enquired who was that guy I responded with I think he said his name was Davo and this bloke must be spinning us a tale or two! We both discussed the conversation of where he said he started from on Thursday midnight just gone, rode via Adelaide and then onto Melbourne. I said to Lynne I seriously think we have a serious nutter here, both disbelieving what he had just informed us of course, oh but he did also mention something about a Long Distance group called FarRiders, whoever they are?

We had a great night riding which finished around 6am at a hall, it wasn’t until the trophy for the furthest km’s travelled by a rider to get to the start was presented to David “Davo” Jones that I started to think maybe there was some truth in what he was telling me earlier in the night.

We got home had as good sleep but this guy Davo was on my mind, and I wanted to find out more about him.

So, next morning I googled FarRiders and Davo Jones and found to my astonishment that he certainly was not full of it. He had ridden some huge rides including the Trans Australian from Byron Bay NSW to Denham in WA and return, a distance of 10274km in 5 days, 21hrs and 17 minutes on the new Kawasaki GTR 1400. This chance meeting with Davo started my interest in Long Distance riding.

Lynne suggested, why don’t you do a FarRide by myself to see how you cope with a 1000 km day and to test if it would be possible for both of us. East #10 FarRide to Thurgoona Country Club NSW was being held on 16th May 2009 and was a perfect distance from home to the lunch and return in the day. Unfortunately, things happened and I couldn’t make that one.

The 5th September 2009 was when the shocking news came through that Davo had a bad accident in the U.S while competing in the IBA rally. The FarRide forum that day was watched by many FarRiders waiting for any news on how Davo was, all hoping for a good outcome, but soon after the shocking news was announced that he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. Lynne and I both couldn’t believe that Davo that we met by chance a year earlier on that wet July night was gone.

East #11 FarRide was the next one I could aim for at Tottenham Hotel on 19th September 2009 coincidently the same day as Davo’s funeral, so it seemed the right time that I register for the Tottenham FarRide as a mark of respect for Davo from me and on behalf of Lynne, which I did. I remember that day was the first time I heard the FarRider # 1 poem and was recited by Nico.

I had become captivated by this Long Distance riding caper and not only the challenges it throws up at you when you least expect it, hydration, and fatigue, but also the love of the open road and where it can lead me.

Lynne did her first FarRide on the 6th February 2010 to Nambucca Heads and I think it is safe to say that she has become passionate and addicted to Long Distance riding also.

We both rode the “Davo Memorial Trail” with honour and dedicate it to Davo’s memory.

Thanks, Davo!



Our Davo Memorial Trail Report



Prior to leaving Melbourne Lynne the Pillion had phoned all the pubs we have to visit to ensure their opening times. The Managers of the Mitchell and Tottenham Hotels were very vague but 10am was deemed to be normal?

The Davo Memorial Trail takes you to destinations where Davo held FarRides. For us to complete the Davo Memorial Trail we must obtain a photo of the bike in front of each of the required Hotels, also a photo of us at the bar inside each Hotel (which means you must be at each Hotel while they are open for business), a start docket at Cooroy to prove we completed our 1000km day within 24 hours. 3 corner receipts are also needed to prove the route we take is the authorized route.

So, that means we need 2 photos at each of these Hotels in this order, Cooroy Hotel (Davo’s home town), Mitchell Hotel, Amaroo Tavern in Moree, The V Wall Tavern in Nambucca Heads, Tottenham Hotel, Thurgoona Country Club, and the Wilmington Hotel. We also require 3 corner receipts, 1 at Mitchell, 1 at Thrumster and 1 at Hay.

Tuesday 27th December 2016
We got our 2 required photos, 1 being the bike in front of the Cooroy Hotel, and the other being the 2 of us at the bar inside.





Day 1, Wednesday 28th December - Cooroy to Moree
We rode the short distance from the Cooroy Motel to the CBA ATM just down the road from the Cooroy Hotel where LTP got our start docket with a time of 3.08am (AEST). Start odo 104376km.

A great time to ride firstly north through Gympie then west on the Wide Bay Hwy where we found a fair bit of traffic coming the other way, not sure where they head to? Near Wondai while still dark we had a Kamikaze Rabbit running in front of bike, left, right, left right he darted in front of us, I think he had the well known Rabbit medical condition known as “Ericaitus” which is when our 4 Erica driving lights shine up his arse and he doesn’t know if he is coming or going, he made the right choice in the end and turned left away from the bike, no Rabbit stew today. We cut across to Chinchilla on the Warrego Hwy then west to Mitchell for a corner receipt and pics at the Pub.





The road south to St George is notorious for Roos so I was cautious for the 210km length but apart from 2 Roos standing still on the side of the road, we found many others laying in the shade of trees trying to get out of the 38 degree temps. A bite to eat and to cool down at the BP in St George was what we needed before we continued though the border town of Mungindi. This town is rare as it has 2 Police Stations, 1 on the Qld side and 1 in NSW. I had the band Hot Chocolate playing loudly through the RT’s speakers as we approached the QLD Policeman who was moving his sprinkler hose on the lawn at the Police Station, I don’t think he was happy with our music selection, “You Sexy Thing”, we both waved to him, he didn’t wave back. Photos at the Amaroo Tavern in Moree were taken.





Moree was our overnight destination and this was our 1000km day, we arrived at 4.54pm (AEDT). We stayed at the Gwydir Caravan park in a cabin which was quite cheap, $77.00 for the night.
Day 1 total odo = 1025km.

Day 2, Thursday 29th December - Moree to Coonabarabran
Although it was a warm 22 degrees when we left Moree at 4.50am we knew it would cool down to around 16 through Guyra and Ebor so we started with a jumper on under the liner less motorbike jacket.
Gravesend is an interesting name for a town as we headed through Warialda to Inverell across to Tingha to refuel at Guyra. We started to catch cars the closer we got Dorrigo and then Bellingen where we kept an eye out for Triple Treat, I think we went past his house. The Christmas Traffic was quite thick as we approached Nambucca Heads but we arrived at the V Wall Tavern ok.





The traffic was very thick riding south to Macksville with frequent stopping, which was a pain on the bike in the 42 degrees. I am glad we weren’t riding north though as the line of traffic going that way was approx. 30km long and mainly stopped.

A corner docket at Thrumster was obtained after queuing up at the bowser with cars and we charged up our neck coolers and my cool vest for the first time for the ride.

Climbing up the Oxley Hwy saw temps of in excess of 40 degrees but the good thing is we had the road to ourselves and some fun was had giving the sides of our tyres some wear. We stopped at Walcha for fuel and a cool drink and the temps dropped considerably to low 30’s which was very welcome from the higher temps. An easy run across through Tamworth, Gunnedah to our overnight stop at Coonabarabran.
Day 2 total odo = 975km. Total for the DMT till now = 2000km

Day 3, Friday 30th December – Coonabarabran to Finley
Today was going to be very hot again with temps in the low 40’s so we knew we must keep our hydration up as we had till now.
We left Coonabarabran at 5.50am headed via Warren and onto Nevertire for the pic for young “Nevertire Nic”. Arriving at Tottenham Hotel just before 10am opening time, waiting, waiting, knocking on the door only to find no action from inside. Lynne tried ringing the publican but no answer. While I was knocking on the door Lynne overheard a couple of older ladies sitting diagonally opposite the Pub, saying “He is not open stupid”, well Lynne told me what they said and with that I turned towards the ladies and greeted them with a sarcastic “Good Morning Ladies”, needless to say we didn’t hear a whimper out of them again. Another phone call and the door opened promptly with Rick apologising for opening late, no problem we said. Rick was a nice guy telling us he has run the Pub since 1977 but has it up for sale at the moment.





We cut down past Ootha, this is where the “Utes in the Paddock” are located and are well worth a look if you are in this area, we had seen them before so kept going through Condobolin making sure our eyes were wide open looking for FarRider Annie as we passed her house. Onto West Wyalong, Temora and stopped at Uranquinty for a break as the heat was becoming a struggle, refreshed in no time with electrolytes and an icy pole we had found the Thurgoona Country Club for photos.





We decided to stay at Finley for the night rather than Hay where we had previously booked, a couple of phone calls later had a room booked for the night.
Day 3 total odo = 952km. Total for the DMT till now = 2952km

Day 4, 31st December – Finley to Port Augusta
A fresh morning again as we pulled out for the final day at 6.35am with just over 1000km required to make the finish.
Deniliquin came and went in my mirrors and that saw us on the Hay plains soon after, with a few Emus to contend with but were all well behaved with their chicks in tow. Hay for breakfast and our last corner docket sounded good and with the temps starting to rise we were soon there.

Between Hay and Balranald is the famous farm gate, “Hells Gate” so a stop was needed to get some pics for Kimmie.

We had a great run through Mildura, Renmark and Morgan where there was lots of boating people around refueling their ski boats, would be nice on the Murray River I think to myself.

There a few different routes from Burra we can take but we chose to go via Peterborough, Orroroo and onto our last Pub stop, the Wilmington Hotel. Speaking to Jan behind the bar on arrival she asks where do I sign your paperwork, no not today Jan but would you mind taking a pic of us, not at all she said and insisted we go behind the bar for the pics, the 6 locals drinking there were happy when I announced “free beer while I’m behind the bar”, I was ushered out of the quick smart I can tell you. The locals know about FarRiders and most seem to have heard of Davo’s exploits on a bike.





Our DMT ride was well and truly coming to an end now as we rode down Horrocks Pass where a sheep and her lamb were trying to play with traffic on the wrong side of the Armco fence, we pass them ok then parked at Davo’s Plaque for the pics.



The Port Augusta BP is our last stop on the DMT so refueled and pics taken



Day 4 total odo = 1010km. Total for the DMT = 3962km
Start Odo = 104376km.. Finish Odo = 108338km

We headed for our motel for the night before going to the Ian’s Western Hotel for dinner with Lynne the Pillion and we had a celebratory toast for Davo. Again we both thought back to that rainy night in Melbourne where we just by an off chance met Davo, and that brief meeting started us into Long Distance Riding. We have seen many parts of this great country that we would not have otherwise seen.

The Davo Memorial Trail is a very enjoyable ride with no time limit so you set your own pace that suits you, it crisscrosses a variety of country side offering some really great views along the route. I hope you have a go at it one day, for Davo. Thanks Davo.

FarRider # 1 Davo
IBA # 22575
 

kwaka

Premier Member
#6
Thanks for posting and great to reread this again.

Davo, what a legacy he's left us all!
He sure had a knack for getting people involved in infected with this long distance caper! That chance encounter of yours has led you two on so many LD adventures across this great land of ours. Those and especially your DMT are a lasting tribute.