Bikes and Beers in the Victorian High Country
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It’s Friday afternoon, at the desk, aircon whirring in the background. Checking your watch reveals there’s only another half an hour til the boss will start packing down and heading off home.
Your phones buzzing. They’re ready. Or at least as ready as they’ll ever be. The Thumpers are gearing up for a weekend trip on the bikes.
Who’s packing what? Which roads are we taking? What time are we meeting and where?
Its 6:18pm and we’re sitting in backyard having a beer.
Brook’s stuck in traffic.
There’s plenty of time. We’ll figure it out.
There isn’t much space on the bikes. Keeping it light is always the aim to avoid throwing off the weight distribution and balance when on the road. Especially through the twisties.
Running through the mental checklist it seems we’ve got it sorted. Swag? Check. Trangia? Freshly cleaned. Axe? Strapped on. Food? We’ll get it on the way. Knife? In my pocket. Pillow? Too big – we’ll leave that behind.
As we’re about to close the roller door on the way out, Mickey remembers he left the Aeropress in the kitchen. Lucky. Tomorrow morning would have been a nightmare.
The thump-thump-thump of the big bore single splutters to life and the final checks are done before hitting the road. Weaving through traffic the stress of the work week is replaced with an air leak through the visor, excessive engine noise and a slightly loose cam chain slap. Perfect.
And now we wait – it’s almost 7:30pm and we’ve been on the side of the road for over half an hour now. Brook’s late. We’re not surprised.
Our initial plans of arriving before dark are out the window, the /6 BMW boxer pulls up with an all too familiar sound of tappets and the smell of fuel and oil fills the air as we hit the road once again.
Sidebar
Our first stop isn’t too far out of Melbourne – just past Marysville. The roads are great, scenery is gorgeous. It’s just good to get out of town for a couple of nights – even better when you’re with your mates.
It’s dusk now and as the roads are getting quieter, we’re getting closer and I’m starting to think about how we’re going to divide up the four beers we have between the three of us.
Coming round a long sweeping left hander I see a kangaroo on the side of the road and immediately hit the anchors. Looking back at the other two behind me I see a swerve followed by a near miss. Good thing I packed spare undies – right?
Getting to camp late and in the dark is almost unavoidable on a Friday – the swag gets set up easy enough but the boys continue to battle with their tents for a while under borrowed light from the motorbikes.
Priorities are rearranged – luke-warm beer, food, fire.
Blowing the dust off the Trangia it looks just the same as the day I left it – after using it daily on a motorcycle trip from London to Istanbul it’s sat collecting dust for some time. Nevertheless, the faint glow of the spirit burner underneath tells me the rice is cooking and dinner will be ready soon enough.
After some persuasion we have a fire going, wet wood always makes it a more difficult and drawn-out process, but it’s enough for us to sit around, tell stories and have a bite to eat.
Exactly what we came here for.
The axe Mickey brought helps carve up what we’ve foraged into more usable pieces and before you know it the fire is really starting to kick off.
A fresh bottle of scotch appears but doesn’t last too long as we continue to chat late into the night about the ride, the bikes, why Brook was so late and what happened with that bloody Kangaroo!
As it turns out – it was actually a wallaby that had jumped out from the side of the road, headbutted Mickey’s leg and bounced back into the bushes!
In the morning we’re greeted by a mild headache, the smell of campfire through all our clothes and the unanimous decision to use our remaining water for 2 cups of fresh Aeropress coffee from Proud Mary. The sun starts to shine through the tall gum trees surrounding us and we know it’s going to be the perfect day to jump back on the bikes ready for the next stop at stone cottage in the King Valley with the Fitzroy Thumpers.
Words: Elton King
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