Leaving Home

The last three days were insane! A massive thank you to everyone who came along on Saturday, even if it was just to see us all off from Kariong. The turn out was very overwhelming, we ended up with about twenty bikes.

 

The day took off to a good start riding down the Old Pacific highway from Kariong through to Calga where we stopped for a break and to say “Hoo Roo” to some people that couldn’t make the day ride. The ride was a bit slow and everyone was feeling the heat through city traffic. But every one was smiling again thanks to Briony and Steve with there cold drinks and B&E rolls! We rode through the Royal National Park on the south side of Sydney, which probably wasn’t the best idea on a Saturday.

Getting frustrated with the traffic, we made a call to head for the hills. Maquarie Pass, which heads from Albion Park to Robertson was a fun road. Tight 90 degree bends, on and off camber corners greeted us to a good feed at Roberston pie shop.

We said farewell to some of the guys that were going back to Goulburn. The rest of us headed down through Kangaroo Valley toward Nowra, An epic section of road winding up and down through the valley. We went through some serious heat with the road literally melting under our tires, it would have been close to 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of Kangaroo Valley.

Braidwood Road took us across from Nowra to Braidwood, wide open bends with long straights gave the bigger bikes a chance to open it up while the smaller bore bikes were left in the reeds. An unexpected 15k stretch of dirt made things fun for us guys and girls on dual purpose bikes.

The short ride over the range from Braidwood to Araluen had some guys loose there brakes but everybody arrived  safely at Araluen Valley Hotel.

 

After many beers, a few games of pool and a good counter meal everyone was keen to hit the sheets.  There were a few dusty heads and glazy eyes the following morning, nothing a good breakfast couldn’t help though.

Things almost got a bit emotional saying good bye to Mum and Dad, but Mum held herself together pretty well!

Most of the group headed back towards the Central Coast, Two of my sisters came and spent another night camping with me. We headed towards the coast from Araluen and then north towards Durras looking for surf. The waves were flat but the water was great for a swim.

With a bit of searching we found a camp spot on the Clyde River called Shallow Crossing. Although we got slammed with rain and the girls tent was almost a swimming a pool it was a good night.

Waking up in the morning to a empty tank of fuel wasn’t a good surprise, a dodgy fuel hose and a broken hose clamp let 25 litres drop on the grass over night. luckily enough Susie had plenty of fuel in her KLR650 and I was carrying spare fuel hose. We limped back to a petrol station about 30k away. After the drama was resolved we sad our final farewells, the girls headed home and it was time my solo expedition got underway.

I headed straight for the dirt and back to a camp spot I found the previous day on Araluen road in the Deua National Park. Just in time for a swim in the river and enough daylight to dry my tent out.

 

Another huge thankyou to everyone who came along! I couldn’t have asked for a better time with better people. Special thanks to Briony and Steve for putting on breakfast for us all. I hope you all had as good of a time as I did.

 

(This post is a few days old as I haven’t had internet connection, and I’m having problems up loading photos, ill do my best to get some photos up soon, keep your eye on the photos page!) 

 

Keep riding! Billy.

 

Behind The Scenes

Tomorrow is the big day that TwoWheelsOneCountry becomes a reality! It’s looking like there is going to be an epic turnout of bikes coming for a squirt. A few just down the road and a bunch putting in some k’s to come stay the night at Araluen. It’s been and overwhelming experience so far and its only just the beginning!

Behind the scenes it hasn’t been all smooth sailing. From frustrating long nights trying to get the bike ready, to leaving behind the girl I’ve spent the last two and half years with. Especially only weeks after getting home from living out of each others pockets for 4 months backpacking around Europe. It’s hard enough telling your boss that your not coming back after Christmas. But working up the balls to tell someone you love, that your going away inevitably is a whole different ball game. Lucky enough for me Lauren showed nothing but support. We’ve had our ups and downs since, but we are still best mates and she still continues to inspire me every day! This wouldn’t be happening with out Laurens support and I cant thank her enough for everything she’s done.

 

Deciding to take on an adventure like this has been not just a challenge to be prepared and ready for what ever is thrown at me or the bike, but a massive challenge mentally as well. With all the support and people who have gotten behind me, the thought of things turning pear shaped and being forced to throw it all in, hangs over me all the time. But I guess that’s what why its called an adventure! And I think I’m still scared of the dark!!

But anyway, another massive thank you to everyone that’s helped out along the way! Hopefully everything goes to plan, not that I have one. Keep your eye out over the next few days for a up date on how the first day goes.

keep riding! Billy.

 

Come For a Ride

The big day is creeping fast with less then two weeks to go! I plan to leave on the morning of the 18th of January.

I am blessed enough that I have a awesome bunch of people that want to ride with me on my first day. So I am putting together a bit of a plan so we can all meet up and have an awesome time! The plan is to ride from the Central Coast to a place called Araluen, which is about half an hour from Braidwood in the southern table lands of NSW. I have reserved 15 to 20 beds at the Araluen Valley Hotel. Its $62 per person including breakfast. They have counter meals for dinner until 7:30 and cold beer!

Anyone is welcome to come along on the ride, the more the merrier! Even if its just for the first leg. If you would like a bed at the hotel let me know and ill gee it up for you!

So here’s the plan for the ride.

Saturday, 18th January 2014

Meet at 7:30am at Kariong information centre, which is in the Mt Penang parklands area, behind the fire station. try get away by 8:00. There is a Shell service station on the other side of the highway to fuel up.

Head down the Old Pacific Highway to Pie In The Sky. There is probably going to be people who just want to do this first leg, so we will stop there for a bit.

Carry on through the city via, Pacific Highway, Ryde Road, Lane Cove Road heading towards Woranora, to pick up my cousin Steve. Which is about 5 minutes from the Royal National Park.

Head into the Royal NP and start making our south towards Wollongong and Kiama. If we stick to the coast roads they should be pretty fun, well get to ride over the Sea Cliff Bridge and along Grand Pacific Drive.

There will be a few boring parts like the Princes Highway but the fun parts should make up for it.

From Wollongong, head towards Albion Park and head out through Macquarie pass National Park, (this is the fun part) heading towards Robertson. Hook left at Robertson and head down through Kangaroo Valley back to the Princes highway at Berry then on to Nowra.

A couple of k out of Nowra we’ll turn right onto a road called BTU road which links up to Braidwood Road. From there just follow your nose and hopefully some fun bends to Braidwood then onto Araluen for a good night with good people!

The next day I will be shooting south on some dirt roads, but there will be a crew riding back to the Central Coast probably taking a more inland route, but ill let you guys discuss that over a few beers on the Saturday night.

There is going to be a few range of different bikes, so we will stop every 150-200 k’s for fuel or coffee or ummm beer. I hope this all makes sense! If you have any input or questions let me know.

Remember, anyone is welcome and the more people the more fun it will be!

looking forward to seeing you all there.

keep riding!

Billy

Thanks!

I want to say a HUGE thankyou to a bunch of awesome people who have got behind TwoWheelsOneCountry. I wouldn’t be where I am today without these people’s help through not only this adventure but past adventures too!

Narelle and Steve Walker. They have been pretty close family friends for a long time now and between this pair and my parents there isn’t much of Australia they haven’t seen! They kindly gave me a StJohns first aid kit. Perfect size to fit in my front guard bag. Touch wood I wont be relying on it to often!

John and Sylvia (Johns mum) Funnel. My family and I have been riding with John for a few years after he bought my Pops BMW off him. He’s always keen for a ride and can be pretty hard to keep up with sometimes. After installing a handrail on Sylvia’s driveway, she kindly bought me a Kogan action camera, it’s similar to a GoPro. I’ve got it mounted up front on my bars, ready to take some good shots and hopefully get a few videos.

Sean Condous from SRC fencing, Sean is another one of our close family friends. I’ve grown up surfing, skating, riding and racing BMX with Sean and my Dad. Legend of bloke and was a pretty good boss for a few weeks too. SRC fencing have kindly sponsored me with a $100 prepaid credit card! That could be a couple of tanks of fuel or food for a couple of weeks.

Last but not least, my family! All three of my amazing older sisters, Belinda, Tullia and Susie. We all have a pretty tight bond, they continue to inspire me everyday with there achievements and goals and always support me with mine. Stuart and Dan, Susie’s and Tullia’s partners. Wether we are riding, surfing or working together there is never a dull moment, couldn’t ask for a cooler pair of blokes to have around.

Mum and Dad! When I told them I was going to do this I think they got a bit jealous. They have both been right behind me the whole way and with out there knowledge and experience I wouldn’t be doing this!

So thank you to everyone who has helped make this dream possible, it wouldn’t be possible without you all.

I have set the date to depart on the 18th of January, I’ve got a few people who want to ride with me on my first day and stay the first night. In the next week or so I will be posting some more info about the first day, maybe a plotted route and info on some accommodation for the night.

In the mean time, keep riding!

Billy

Good people

When I got home in September from backpacking around Europe, I was strapped for cash, didn’t have any work and was wondering how I was going to fund the next adventure.
I wasn’t keen to jump straight back into fabricating or welding but didn’t know what else to do.
Luck had it, with some help from my brother in law. I managed to line up a day of work, dogging a crane for HABITAT Tree Works.
Now works hardly work! With an awesome boss and top crew of blokes to work with, it definitely makes getting up in the morning much easier.
I had only been with HABITAT for about two months before making the call to make this dream a reality. Telling your boss your not coming back after Christmas isn’t an easy thing to do. John was all for it and showed nothing but support from the word go.
Getting behind me to document the whole experience and put myself out there to be known by the public.
HABITAT Tree Works have been kind enough to sponsor me with my GPS SPOT device.

The SPOT is a small pod, as big as the palm of your hand. It has four options of contact, to inform up to ten email addresses of your precise GPS location. The four options being, OK, HELP, SOS and personal message.
This device could be a lifesaver if things get messy off the beaten track!

I have to say a massive thank you to the HABITAT crew, and a extra special thank you to John and Manuela for getting behind me on this adventure. With people like you it helps things along just that little bit easier!

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a safe New Year! Ride and drive carefully.
Billy.

Happy Days!

Another week down and a few nights in the shed had me making good progress. I knocked up some pannier racks out of 6mm stainless round bar. Mounted them to the top rack and where the pillion pegs would normally bolt on, they are plenty sturdy enough to hold my panniers. While still having a small amount of flex that if I drop the bike they will bend before they break. Touch wood!

Having knocked that over, I was pumped to get away for a night and test out some of my other gear!
Saturday night was free, so with my sister wanting to get some off-road experience on her KLR660. I marked out a route to ride from the central coast to Allyn River, in the Chichester state forest via a few of the forests roads.
We scored awesome weather and all the tracks were in pretty mint condition. Susie went well on the KLR, having minimal experience on the dirt she was only a few seconds behinds me. Just trying to stay out of the dust I reckon!
We stocked up with supplies and quality hunter valley vino at Gresford and found a top spot by the river by about 4pm.
We washed off all the dust in a chilly little swimming hole before lighting up a fire and cooking dinner under the moon.
The 360 degrees furno stove performed well, turning ice cold water into quality coffee in only a few minutes!

I went for the wanderer tent and bed roll, being fairly cheap I was a bit sceptic but the tent rolls up to as big as a small sleeping bag and has plenty enough room for one person and all my gear if the weather turns sour. I’m up for a new sleeping bag before I hit the road, the current one has seen much better days.

After a good nights rest we woke up and hit the road fairly early. Heading home a similar way to the ride up, meeting up with our parents for the last leg from Wollombi to home.
It’s a blessing having a family that ride bikes, we can all hang out doing what we love!

With an epic weekend behind me and realizing a few small creases I need to iron out in the bike, like get a screen, bigger foot pegs and a few other little mods. I’m keen for the next few weeks to come.

Don’t forget to follow my Instagram @twowheels_onecountry for more photos and videos!
Keep Riding.
Billy

Rack n Roll

Today marks about a month and half until I plan to hit the road and make this dream a reality!
With time slowly getting away from me, I thought I better start acting on mounting my luggage. I could have gone the easy option of buying a rear rack and pannier frames. But being a Boilermaker by trade.And having the gear to do it, I figured I would fabricate my own. Lucky enough I had a piece of 6mm aluminum in the shed. A friend who has access to a CNC machine needed some welding done. So We had a deal and we both got what we wanted! It turned out perfect, He machined me a plate 480mm x 360mm with 30mm x 100mm slots spaced through it evenly for more then enough loops to tie my gear onto. Thanks Johnny!!.

With an awesome top plate to work with. I couldn’t ruin it by mounting with mild or stainless steel. I purchased some more aluminum plate and drew up a shape to mount from the original rear rack holes to the top plate. After a few blunt jigsaw blades I managed to cut out some pretty tidy plates. A couple of holes to mount the indicators, a hand full of rivets with some aluminum angle and some help off my 18 month old nephew, it all came together pretty neat!

With all Saturday spent tinkering in the shed, today I made sure I got out for roll on the DR. Caught with some old work mates and went for a slide from Gosford up into the mountains towards Cessnock. After a couple hours of bitumen road and catching up with each other’s story’s, I decided to take the long way home through the Watagans state forest. I take for granted how lucky I am to live within 10 minutes ride of some of the most awesome bush and trails that Australia has to offer. You could spend forever in this piece of bushland and still not see everything it has the offer. We definitely live in a lucky country!

Check out the photo gallery page for more images.
Keep riding!
Billy

Now we’re cooking!

Had a busy weekend with work and play, so didn’t get a lot of progress on the bike. Ticking small boxes is better then no one though.

I managed to get around to a few local bike shops and pick up a few little bits to help me along the way. Purchased new clutch and brake levers, rear brake lever, and gear selector. Carrying parts like this will be handy if I have an off in the bush and the originals come off worse for wear.
Also picked up all the pieces Ill be glad for if I get a puncture. Two spare super heavy duty tubes, tyre levers, CO2 canisters and pump. Keeping everything compact is hard work. I’m currently working on a tool roll and tube. Trying to substitute weight while using minimum space, keeps me thinking and consistently coming up with new and different designs.

Keeping my electrical equipment charged has been taken care of with a dual, water proof, 12 volt power plug. Wired direct to the battery with an inline fuse, means I can charge on the go or at night when the bikes not running.

After spending a few hours in camping stores weighing up pro’s and con’s on cooking gear. I finally made the decision to go with the 360 degree furno stove and pots. They are super compact, weigh less then 500g and can boil a litre of water in under 4 minutes. Perfect to warm up a can of beans or hand full of pasta!

Slowly getting things together but I still have a lot more to go. Looking into navigation and GPS tracking devices with SOS options, incase things turn extremely pear shape. It’s all part of the adventure!

Keep riding! Billy.

First Test

Today was my first ride after spending a fair amount of time and money on the DR over the weekend.

I bought the bike 3 weeks ago, picked it up locally on the central coast for $4900. It was fairly stock with the only mods being, Renthal bars, alloy bash plate and a set of peg lowering brackets. The bike was like new, only 13000k’s, new Mitas tyres, and not a scratch on it! I purchased it off the second owner, who had bought it to set up for touring but his wife had better plans.

I had been looking for a few weeks, so I knew what accessories I could get my hands on quick, and already had a bit of a wish list. Before I had it off the back of the Ute and in the shed I knew I was up for heavy-duty suspension straight away. And after a big slide on the right side in the bush that weekend it wasn’t going out again with out the upgrade.

That Monday I found a bloke in Queensland wrecking his DR650 after being wiped out by a 4wd. I scored his Corbin seat. fork legs with emulators, heavy duty springs and top spaces. And 8kg rear spring with re-valved shock all for $750. Stoked!

With news that the motorcycle show was being held in Sydney in a few weeks. I held off on buying any more gear to see if I could find some bargains. The motorcycle show was good, but not everything I expected. With a few good stores but not a lot to buy, I still managed to pick up my luggage from Australian made manufacturer, Andy Strapz. On my way home from the show I picked up a second hand 33litre Safari tank, which I found advertised on Gumtree for $300. Just as well I didn’t hand out the $650 Safari wanted for a brand new one!

Acting like grommets in a toy shop, my guru mechanic (Dad) and I stayed up until midnight fitting all my new goodies. The bike transformed within 6 hours, from a spongy looking farm bike, into a real adventure weapon.

With the bike being unregistered, I wasn’t able to take it for much of a ride. Due to being rained out of work during the week, I managed to get the DR registered and out for a spin. What a difference! With the new front forks, it doesn’t dive under heavy breaking and handles %200 better on the road and the dirt, the rear shock felt a little hard but the bike wasn’t loaded. The Corbin seat feels like I’m sitting on the couch at home, I wouldn’t have last a day on the stock motocross seat. With the big tank only half full I didn’t notice much weight difference, a small amount of front end wobble at faster speeds on the road, but nothing significant. I’m over the moon with the mods so far and looking forward to a few more late nights in the shed with the old man.

I’ll be working on the bike constantly over the next month getting it ready to take off in early January. Documenting every part of it. Hopefully getting away for a weekend or two for some test runs. Don’t forget to sign up for email notifications on the home page and follow me on Instagram @twowheels_onecountry.

Keep riding! Billy.

Two Wheels One Country

Hi and welcome to Two Wheels One Country.

This is the site where I will be blogging and uploading photos of my adventures.

Follow my Instagram page as well for photos to keep up to date with my journey. Feel free to like, comment and share any of my posts. Feed back will be the best thing to improve my writing and knowledge, so don’t be afraid to drop some pointers. I look forward to sharing everything I get up to and I hope you enjoy it as much I do!

Billy.