22 October 2020

So it seems that COVID-19 is not going anywhere anytime soon and that the WA border remains closed to the majority of us on the inside who want to get out (for a little bit at least) as well as those on the outside who want to get in.  The grand plan of my hot lap of Oz in 2020 is therefore dashed, given that I have no interest in crossing the north of Australia during summer.  It's most definitely a winter thing for me at least.

I've therefore been considering other rides that can be completed internally within WA.  The obvious ones are a lap of the SW of WA, of which there are several possible "sub-routes" the one might take.  Another one might be a ride out to the WA border, or to north along the coast and back to Perth through the interior, and so on.

The northern options don't really appeal to much at this time of year due to the heat, so I have been thinking more about the SW options and the one I can't help thinking of is one that might see me gain membership of one of those crazy long-distance bike riding "clubs", in particular the introductory rides that cover 1,600km in 24 hours.  The route I have decided on is Perth - Coolgardie (B) - Esperance (C) - Albany (D) - Williams (E) - Perth, which is actually around 1,800km.  If I can get as far as Williams, the various web pages I've consulted tell me that will be just over 1,650km, hence meeting the objective.

One additional exciting bit of news, for me at least, is that my son is joining me on the ride.  He'll be on his Kawasaki Versys 650, on which he has already ridden Perth - Melbourne and return, although not quite as long a days as this trip will require.  I think it will be a nice adventure to have together, and even he seems quite excited to be doing it!

I've decided that I will be taking the KTM on this trip, as it's been a long time since I've taken it for a decent ride.  It's recently serviced and also had to have the clutch slave cylinder replaced recently, so hopefully it behaves well.

We'll be heading off at around 1pm.  The plan is to get past Esperance tomorrow night, maybe as far as Ravensthorpe, but we will see how it goes.  If we don't manage to do the trip to Williams in 24 hours, that'll be bad luck.  The aim is always to make it back home safely.  Everything else is a bonus.

The trip can be viewed/followed by the following link;

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=24c3d5f91846a6f9fc&p=sillyboys

I will, of course, be posting a trip report of some sort once we get back.  Not sure how many photo's there will be as there won't be much time for stopping and smelling the roses!

Time for sleepy bo-bo's now.  Will need to be well rested for tomorrow.