Ride Report.

[ribbert]

Last week I mentioned my intention of taking Friday off work to go for a ride and enjoy the wild weather that had been forecast, something our North American and Canadian friends would no doubt find strange as it's the very thing that prevents them from riding for much of the year.

Well, just for once the weather bureau was right and the media hadn't exagerated the magnitude of it. Wind, rain, hail, snow and ice with temps most of the day between 2.5 and 5.0 degC

Near horizontal rain and wind so strong you start to wonder if the wheels really can get blown out from under you in the wet.

It was a 650 km loop that took us through a number of different weather conditions. I did the exact ride the Sunday before in cool but pleasant conditions, weaving inland down to Port Campbell and then back around the coast.



This is from the verandah of our lunch stop (we ate inside) but does nothing to convey just how wild the weather was.



You know how good food tastes on a day like that, you can imagine then how welcome this was.



Coastal snow in Australia is front page headline news.



This was the Otway Ranges on Sunday


We also encounted ice on the road that required a wait until several vehicles had travelled over it and broken it up, it wasn't quite cold enough to re freeze but required great caution not to stray from the tyre tracks.

With the wind chill dropping the temp to around minus 6, I remained warm and dry all day except for wet feet. I had knocked off one of my sliders and dislodged the other one the weekend before.



My Aldi's 2 piece rain suit had its first good work out and was great. It looks like it will be very durable as well.

The weather having blown itself out, (still freezing though) a last look at the coast before buckling up for the last 200km home, mostly in the dark.



This shot was taken the Sunday before from almost the same spot looking the other way.



Apollo Bay

The photographer told me the camera had made some adjustment to the exposure because to the naked eye, all he could see was a ball of very bright light, he could see nothing of me or the bike. I am very happy with them and thoroughly enjoyed riding home in the dark.



This was daylight at some distance.

Not many photos of the day as the very conditions that would have made great shots also made it near impossible to take them.

Still, for those of us living in moderate climates, the chance to get out into wild weather was a lot of fun. Would I do it again this weekend? You bet!

Noel

[aviationfred]

Awesome photos and scenery. The ocean breaking on the rocks is stunning. Riding in snow is an adventure by itself.

 It does take special people to ride in adverse weather. During our winter months I will ride the short distance of 7 miles to work in temps ranging from 10*C down to -8*C. I will throw in the towel if there is snow and ice on the road. IMO the risk of throwing the bike down the road is too high.

Here is a photo of a ride I did the day before Christmas 2 years ago to drop off a part to a new forum member. A 4 hour round trip raining buckets. By the time i made it to my parents house it was 10*C and still raining.

Fred

[markmartin]

I always love the ride report photos. Having a world wide forum of contributors sure keeps it interesting.

Nice scenery Noel.

Keep 'em coming!

[ribbert]

I always love the ride report photos. Having a world wide forum of contributors sure keeps it interesting.

Me too Mark, anyone and everyone's. Snapshots from all over the world from the seat of an FJ, great stuff. And, if I'm reading them it means I'm sitting in front of the computer, not out having my own adventure.  

Noel