Long Dayyyyy...,, Up at 5:45 and down in the garage by 6:30. The lift at the MARRIOTT to the garage level was broken so I got a guided tour of the maintenance areas of the hotel to get down to my bike. The MARRIOTT Brisbane -BTW-was a great choice if you decide to visit Brisbane. Excellent location and great rooms and staff. I'm going keep this blog a little short and talk more about the two day combined ride in the next blog. Once I loaded up the bike I was on the road by about 6:45 but it took 45 minutes to get on to the M1 and eventually the A1 and out of the City. I covered only 12 miles in those 45 minutes. Brisbane may only have 2.5 million people but the city ... read more

JUST A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT REMINDERS, First, when I send a lot of pictures you have to click below the text to see the rest of the pictures beyond what is embedded in the text ! ALSO and OF MORE IMPORTANCE - If you haven't made your way over to the www.cureduchenne.org/Jimsride website, please don't put it off. 100 percent of your donations are going directly to Cureduchenne and will be used to find a Cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I've been bragging to the Aussie's about how generous people from the fastener and industrial distribution industries are in the US/Europe/ and Asia so please help me keep face :) We've got a long way to go to reach this years goal. I've got a lot of comments on the ride T-Shirts - Don't forget a ... read more

Day 4-5-6 Day four was bike prep day. I had to replace a screw in my windshield which came in after I shipped the bike back in July, remove the garmin from my bike and put in the Australia chip, and finally get gas once the chip was installed. I had 11 miles of fuel in my bike so I couldn't afford to get lost (easy to do in Sydney). I made it to the gas station no problem and was able to hit Harry's meat pies and some of the Aussie naval fleet (see pics). Harry's is a local favorite and was pointed out to me by Alan who is the concierge at the Marriott Harbour hotel (also a fellow rider). Side note for those planning to travel to Australia the Marriott Harbour at Circular ... read more

T minus 1 After nearly 11 months of planning coupled with a heck of a lot support, I'm finally down to my last item checklist. Packing for a trip of this magnitude is a challenge, particularly knowing what ever I take basically needs to fit into the two waterproof duffel bags sitting on my passenger seat. The weather will vary a little but it should be 40-50's at night in Sydney and 60-70's during the day when I arrive. The further North I go the warmer the days will get (nights will be about the same). I chose this time of year because it is one of the drier times through out the areas I'm going to ride. Here are some fun facts about the trip: Approximate planned Miles - about 5,000 ( doesn't include side ... read more

Pre-Blog #1 Hello Folks, It has been about 10 months since the last posting of the 'Gaelic Turas ride 17' through Ireland & Scotland. Those of you who are first timers on the blog can still go into www.mytb.org/Jimbmw and read excerpts and view pictures from last year’s motorcycle ride through Ireland and Scotland. If you've been around following the blogs over the years, you know that I dedicate my rides to Cureduchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Over the years many of my local friends and relatives, along with my extensive fastener industry family here in the US, Asia and Europe have donated over $30,000 to the Cureduchenne cause. I'm looking for sponsors this year to help move the donation dial -100% of donations go right to Cureduchenne and are used to help find a cure. You can ... read more