Well, the ride was completed successfully on Friday (23/9).
Left home home at dark o'clock (0300hrs), out to Midland (bottom of Greenmount) and waited for Russell. It was bloody cold, and only going to get worse as we scaled the scarp over to Northam and beyond
We took photos of the bikes at each of the Art locations, but Northam was always going to be difficult, because it would be dark, and access to the CBH yards there is secure. So we did our best -
Then on to Merredin - Still cold. Temps were around 2C for most of the run so far. First refuel here (corner docket required)
Next stop - Katanning. No silo art here, but they do have street art. We refuelled (again) and found a nice bakery. Bad move, precious minutes lost
but the pies went down perfectly (that was breakfast for both of us)
Next stop Pingrup. Some of these local servo/corner stores are hilarious. Russell needed a splash and dash for Big Bird, I was fine, so decided a small chocolate bar was all I needed. The lady behind the counter wasn't going to wait while I searched for the chocolates, then made a selection. She disappearred thru a doorway. When I negotiated my way back to the counter, she was nowhere to be seen. A bloke in the Post Office area (these establishments really are a rabbit warren) motioned to me that she was at that counter, so I walked thru, only to find she had returned to the front counter. By the time we arrived at the same counter, she did not look happy, and when I asked for a receipt (for a small chocolate bar), the look I got was priceless. Anyway, I digress. Pingrup Silos -
Next stop - Newdegate (and this was almost halfway - at 791klms in)
Then on to Ravensthorpe (and the beginning of the run home). A fair bit of time was 'lost' up until now, getting photos, then getting receipts for each major corner and the occasional faffing around, but now we had the chance to lift the moving average speed as there was some bigger distances between here and Albany, then finally Perth.
Onwards to Albany via Jerramungup (for a quick leg stretch).
Albany stop took a bit longer - refuel, clothing change in prep for the cold run home and thru the city to the wharf area to get the shot.
The run home included a splash n dash at Williams then up to Perth. Some untimely precipitation occurred during this leg. Bloody annoying, as my visor was failing to clear the water and made it hard to see the way. Together with my stupid decision not to put the pinlock visor on, I was having a really uncomfortable time as lead bike. Throw in the fact that despite dipping my lights in a manner that the oncoming traffic could see I dipped my lights, they still wanted to flash me. As an exercise, I turned the Denali's (dual intensity) off, and just ran with the Yamaha's standard (LED) system - no issue.
Ah bugger them, my safety is more important - Denali's back on.
I arrived back home about dark o'clock (again) - around 2320hrs. Russell SMS'd me that he made it home ok, I responded with the same.
A great ride. I had run the plan thru my head and on the desktop PC over and over in the weeks leading up to the run. It had been a long time since I had been in the saddle for this duration and I was no younger than the last 'attempt'. So the ride to Paynes Find a few weeks back was a great way to remind the body/head, what was in store.
Thanks for accompanying me Russell. It was great to be able to ride this one with a friend.
The reception from the Organic Speed Limiter over the last 24 hours would suggest she's not keen to see me do this again. We'll see
I'm going to send documentation via the email method.
***Question: Do I send the paypal remittance before I submit the documents, or do I send the documents, then pay by paypal, then send the payment confirmation. Also, is payment made to an authority here in Australia, or does it go to the USA, and if so, can anyone tell me what the going rate is for a SS1600 certificate please?