Hello reader! Hopefully it's actually "readers" (plural), but I don't have particularly high hopes. As per my South American travel blog (http://andrew-in-south-america.blogspot.com/), this is really just for me - a place to document any travel adventures I may have from time to time. Perhaps my kids and other family members might also find it useful as a place to follow what I'm doing? Anyone else who stumbles across it might also find some elements of it interesting or maybe even useful at some point.
My plans for travel in Australia are, as per just about everyone else in the country and probably most of the world, on hold due to current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. The positive side of the travel restrictions is the opportunity to plan what I'm going to do in a bit more detail which, given the scope of Adventure # 1, is probably prudent if I'm ever going to pull it off.
What is Adventure # 1 you rightly ask?
I'd like to say that it's going to be a mighty and epic adventure, sure to be full of derring-do and bravery, not to mention sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and bucket loads of cash. I suppose it could be some of those things, but given the way the world usually works, it's highly unlikely to be all of them. Shame really. Might be actually interesting to read about if it was! What I'm actually going to do is try to set a record for the fastest lap around Australia on a Moto Guzzi motorcycle.
Now, while that's all fabulous and exciting to think that I could set a record for this, it is worth noting right here at the outset that there's no chance of setting a record for the fastest ever lap around Australia on a motorcycle. This is currently held by the pair of Rich Willey and Gary Van Straten and was set in 1987, when the crazy guys managed to complete the lap in the absolutely astonishing time of 6 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes on a pair of 1,000 cc Kawasakis, seemingly with very little sleep and presumably with a bunch of speeding tickets! Previous records are recorded here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_records_for_fastest_motorcycle_ride_around_Australia). Given the circumstances of the ride, it is unlikely to ever be broken. Stories of this and earlier records are readily found by a quick search of the internet, so I won't bother with more links.
The lap distance is approximately 15,000 km. I say approximately because there are obviously variations in the route you can take, however there's apparently an official one for record attempts! I intend to mostly stick to this route, but really I'm planning to do as much of it by Highway 1 as I can. There is a bit of a problem with Highway 1 up in the Gulf Country of Queensland and the Northern Territory, where the road is dirt and with long and uncertain distances between fuel stops. While I'm sure it is do-able, I'd like to have found a map showing distances and fuel locations, but sadly the relevant tourism authorities for that area see fit to NOT publicize something of this sort on their websites. I'll also be travelling unsupported, so I don't want to put myself into the middle of absolutely nowhere on roads less traveled in the event something goes a bit awry and I need to flag someone down. I'll therefore have to make do with what I've been able to glean from other sources and in the end, probably just wing it.
More to follow...
My plans for travel in Australia are, as per just about everyone else in the country and probably most of the world, on hold due to current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. The positive side of the travel restrictions is the opportunity to plan what I'm going to do in a bit more detail which, given the scope of Adventure # 1, is probably prudent if I'm ever going to pull it off.
What is Adventure # 1 you rightly ask?
I'd like to say that it's going to be a mighty and epic adventure, sure to be full of derring-do and bravery, not to mention sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and bucket loads of cash. I suppose it could be some of those things, but given the way the world usually works, it's highly unlikely to be all of them. Shame really. Might be actually interesting to read about if it was! What I'm actually going to do is try to set a record for the fastest lap around Australia on a Moto Guzzi motorcycle.
Now, while that's all fabulous and exciting to think that I could set a record for this, it is worth noting right here at the outset that there's no chance of setting a record for the fastest ever lap around Australia on a motorcycle. This is currently held by the pair of Rich Willey and Gary Van Straten and was set in 1987, when the crazy guys managed to complete the lap in the absolutely astonishing time of 6 days, 17 hours and 6 minutes on a pair of 1,000 cc Kawasakis, seemingly with very little sleep and presumably with a bunch of speeding tickets! Previous records are recorded here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_records_for_fastest_motorcycle_ride_around_Australia). Given the circumstances of the ride, it is unlikely to ever be broken. Stories of this and earlier records are readily found by a quick search of the internet, so I won't bother with more links.
The lap distance is approximately 15,000 km. I say approximately because there are obviously variations in the route you can take, however there's apparently an official one for record attempts! I intend to mostly stick to this route, but really I'm planning to do as much of it by Highway 1 as I can. There is a bit of a problem with Highway 1 up in the Gulf Country of Queensland and the Northern Territory, where the road is dirt and with long and uncertain distances between fuel stops. While I'm sure it is do-able, I'd like to have found a map showing distances and fuel locations, but sadly the relevant tourism authorities for that area see fit to NOT publicize something of this sort on their websites. I'll also be travelling unsupported, so I don't want to put myself into the middle of absolutely nowhere on roads less traveled in the event something goes a bit awry and I need to flag someone down. I'll therefore have to make do with what I've been able to glean from other sources and in the end, probably just wing it.
More to follow...
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