OFL's Guestbook

Duplicity and Bottle Trees
Hi mate. Final comments: Glad you had obviously exactly the type of major bike expedition you craved. Excellent to catch up. Disappointed United not yet coming thru with your well-deserved upgrade. I do need to point out that Sydney is obviously its absolutely typical self: all spectacular waterfront show (undeniable). But it's not for nothing that other Aussies traditionally referred to it as "Tinsel Town" or (in lettered circles) "The Emerald City". (I have also heard "The Armpit of Australia" - humidity & congestion). I'm always impressed by people voting with their feet, and it is a fascinating fact (obviously unknown to new foreign immigrants, who flock to the glitz in droves) that net within-Australia migration is massively in favour of every other large city (A,B,D,M,P etc) versus S! Life in S drops off very rapidly away from the waterfront (like two streets back!). BOTTLE TREES! Yes, it is indeed a Bottle Tree (or Boab), jus like that wot yu wud 'av seen if yu 'ad gawn from Broome to Darwin like wot yu 'ad planned. Sprinkled all across the countryside. Wot a coincidence! Now you know what to expect next time! Or, alternatively, you can just multiply this image by hundreds, imagine the countryside, and pretend you did the other bit. What a stroke of luck!

Well done that man
Always an achievement to complete a long motorbike ride and not A: develop haemorrhoids B; fall off it (usually whilst parking and then be trapped under it like John Wayne and dead horse) C: have mould growing in your clothes and D: not take up rolling your own fags. Mind you, I think you should re-title the blog “Bakery tour of Oz”. Still, who am I to talk? Nonetheless an excellent blog, a great trip I am sure, and mercifully free of Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance in its latter stages. See you soon. BTW Any idea who won the ashes this year?

Naughty Boy!
Professor Bourne, you've been a very naughty boy haven't you? Look at me when I speak to you. (Or am I picturing a 15 year old taking a short-cut across the corner of the Hope Valley Reservoir scrubland on our cross-country run, and being rumbled by Bawden or Senior or whichever teacher? Or perhaps not using his chisel away from the edge, on the end-grain, in woodwork?). [Google maps shows the short-cut corner of what I now recognise as Awoonga Rd and Lower N.E. Road very clearly!! - but can't link it unfortunately.] Certainly, as you claim, you were no doubt busy doing something grotesque with the tools during woodwork, because these are Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) as opposed to Kauri (Agathis robusta). It's all coming back now isn't it? But much more important, I fear that my warning that you had to be careful to find a good place to see the Karri, has gone unheeded. The photo is clearly of a stretch of miniscule Jarrah trees (Eucalyptus marginata) with maybe one baby Karri tree at the end of the road. Hence: "not so impressed"! Also the road is a significant divided road. Believe me, the towering, smooth-white-trunked 300 ft Karri are still a majestic sight - "cathedral like" seems to be the most common reaction in a grove of them. But, in my experience, and as warned, they are only to be found in a few, more side-roady locations. Think I mentioned a particular reserve/drive just south of Pemberton which is spectacular. And then there's the giant climbable ones, like Gloucester Tree. Oh well, next time. Seriously, I should have taken more time with directions to that Reserve - sorry - but looking on-line now I still can't see it's name. I'd know it if down there, which is all that happened when we took the offspring down.

Mmm, a nice latte
Too much thinking is not safe for the middle aged man and I would counsel against it. As soon as the meaning of life floats into view it should rapidly be replaced with an analysis of Glenn McGraths line and length or, for example, under what exact circumstances you could get a date with Jennifer Aniston or be called up to open the batting for your country in its hour of need. Furthermore your note about an Austin Cambridge reminded me of my first day at Uni, I was driving there in my Dad’s Cortina MkI when said Cambridge pulled up a bit sharpish at a Zebra crossing and I, being distracted by Tony Blackburn on the wireless, smacked straight into the back of him. The Austin Cambridge had a huge metal chassis. The Cortina a flimsy monocoque. No contest. Finally, and sticking to the subject of avoiding all things philosophical, I too had a Harley which had all the engineering sophistication of a Byelorussian tractor and the exhaust used to fall off with terrible regularity. On a trip to Spain we made it exactly 5 miles off the ferry before the oil tank exploded and we were stranded for 4 days. On the bright side I did later sell it to a London Cab driver for more than I paid for it, which somehow made up many years of being forced to listen to their philosophy of life whislt being forced to pay through the teeth for it…

Better than 'O' level geography class
Phil, it's great to read your fantastic blog. I chose "Australia" for school geography projects twice, and this is even better. This sign caught my eye - R.F.D.S. are my initials. Penny and I just got back from climbing Mt. Adams in the White Mountains with Johanna. She's been doing trail maintenance - trench warfare, more like. According to the interweb, we have "DOMS" - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness... How's your rear end? I just signed up three of us - Johanna, Alastair, and me - for a weekend 'motorcycle rider education training' in late September. I may even have a license by the time I next see you! Never too old, eh. Cheers, Rob.

Successful launch
Had a great lunch yesterday afternoon at the British pub "Shakespeare's" in San Diego while taking our intrepid motorcyclist Phil Bourne to the airport to launch his excellent adventure. A few goodbye tears from family and friends. While his wife appeared less than pleased about the whole thing, as one local Ukrainian grandmother put it, "She'll be fine as soon as she goes shopping." Ride safe, the credit card companies need you alive. (So do we.)