Australian FJ Anniversary Rally; March 8, 2014

[CanDman]

After a few conversations behind closed PM's....the Saturday meet would be better suited if it were a lunch get together instead of a dinner......so I will leave the meeting time and place up to Doug and Rich to decide...a patio Bar would be awesome...and if anyone wants to go out later that night...we can decide then when and where............wooohooo.... I am so excited !!!!!
Kev

[CanDman]

..Ok...so I am not sure whether or not any of have had any run ins with a true Canadian...but just to give you blokes an idea..what we're all aboot...here's a little number that I think will say it all..

         OUT FOR A RIP - OFFICIAL VIDEO

Can(a)D(a)man

[Arnie]

To all those North Americans coming down for the rally.....

Make sure you allow at least a full day between arriving and doing anything that requires any of your higher mental abilities.  Jet lag is real, and you will not escape.

We are happy you're coming and want you to all be able to leave :-) 

So, caution is advised.  Jet lag when travelling to the West has always hit me harder than Eastbound.  Your body needs to adjust to time of day being 12-14hrs different.

Arnie

[CanDman]

To all those North Americans coming down for the rally.....

Make sure you allow at least a full day between arriving and doing anything that requires any of your higher mental abilities.  Jet lag is real, and you will not escape.

We are happy you're coming and want you to all be able to leave :-) 

So, caution is advised.  Jet lag when travelling to the West has always hit me harder than Eastbound.  Your body needs to adjust to time of day being 12-14hrs different.

Arnie

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I don't know about Seppo's but you will have nothing to worry about with me.....I did 80 hrs straight without a wink !!!!!!!! 

[X-Ray]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I don't know about Seppo's but you will have nothing to worry about with me.....I did 80 hrs straight without a wink !!!!!!!! 

What The??

[X-Ray]

..a patio Bar would be awesome...
Kev

I'll just throw in a suggestion. Plenty of bars/restaurants here   http://riverquay.com.au/the-location/      with river/city views, very nice. The grassed area in the photo is where most of them are. Southbank at night is pretty spectacular as well, with the lights of the city right across the river. Good and central for most people as well, ( perhaps not Doug ). But anyway, I'll go wherever.  

[CanDman]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I don't know about Seppo's but you will have nothing to worry about with me.....I did 80 hrs straight without a wink !!!!!!!! 

What The??

sorry........that was 96 hours without........my (X) wife wanted to reno our basement back in 98.....anyways she was having a party on the Saturday night....2 days into the project I realized that I needed to pick up the pace.....so I got up Wednesday morning at 6 and didn't go to bed until 11 pm on the Saturday ....... back then I would have done anything for my woman.......well I learned my lesson......lol

[CanDman]

After a few conversations behind closed PM's....the Saturday meet would be better suited if it were a lunch get together instead of a dinner......so I will leave the meeting time and place up to Doug and Rich to decide...a patio Bar would be awesome...and if anyone wants to go out later that night...we can decide then when and where............wooohooo.... I am so excited !!!!!
Kev

Ok.......after having discussed it with Mr. Cornpipe and Redrover ...(redrover we call Kevy over).....the place where we will meet ........druuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmm roooooooooollllllllllllll
The local Yacht Club close to Dougs place at 1 o'clock ......so if you can make it....that would be awesome 

CanDman 

[X-Ray]

That would be Mooloolaba Yacht Club by the sounds of it. Sounds good to me, 

[oz.fj]

That would be Mooloolaba Yacht Club by the sounds of it. Sounds good to me, 

I think I could nearly most certainly possibly make it
Will have to see how the work load is.
Darran

[CanDman]

That would be Mooloolaba Yacht Club by the sounds of it. Sounds good to me, 

I think I could nearly most certainly possibly make it
Will have to see how the work load is.
Darran

awesome....

[ribbert]

A message for the Northern Hemispherians (excluding the Poms)  joining us for the Aussie Rally.

I live near and frequently ride what is internationally recognised as Australia's best known road, The Great Ocean Road. It attracts tourists like flies.

Every year there are countless accidents, several fatalities (always bikes) and endless near misses from people driving on the wrong side of the road. I have encountered dozens of them but to date have avoided anything nasty with no more than heavy braking, swerving and giving my middle finger a good workout.
Even in a car or van with the constant reminder of driving from the RHS of the vehicle, they still forget!

On a bike you have no such reminder and your focus much more on the riding.

It is so common that several years ago they installed these along it's length.



This is a group of a dozen or so riders from the Netherlands (on the GOR) who had just 20 mins earlier had a discussion about this very thing, then the lead rider took a corner on the wrong side of the road. He was lucky (just broken bones but not dead) that he glanced the oncoming car rather than hit it square on. It was not a tight corner and some evasive action was taken by driver and rider. For most of that road you would be lucky to get a nano seconds warning and unlikely to even get the whole word out, with just a "SH..." before impact.



The roads to, from and around the Rally site will be, for a number of reasons, near deserted on weekdays at that time of the year. I'm talking a couple of oncoming cars per hour average. Plenty of time to forget. I have ridden that entire area midweek in March the last 2 years and the absence of other road traffic is almost eerie.

I have seen a number of bikes with silver duct tape over the bottom of the instruments with a big arrow and/or the words "keep left" boldly written on it. Don't laugh, it's easy to forget and you only have to do it once at the wrong time, and if you're lucky, it will only be your holiday that's ruined.



For those that have not visited the area before, it offers great riding, whichever direction you come from (but Victoria's the best) and Jindabyne itself has a post card view over the lake and is very pretty.
Its close proximity to the snow fields has influenced a lot of the architecture and gives the place a ski village feel, a novelty for some of our QL and NSW friends.

There are 3 routes available for those of us coming from the South, and like the kid in the lolly shop, I can't decide which one. I'm salivating at the thought of riding any of them.
I love riding that part of the country and depending on work will take the longest route home over a few more days, zigzagging through the high country.

March is a cracker time of the year up there and the weather on average as good as it gets.

Valley after valley like this:



And this:



And if you like remote, you can come in this way:



And plenty of this:



The Govt. inadvertently sign posts all the good bike roads.
However, for the benefit of the tourists, this is NOT somewhere you want to see kangaroos.

Looking forward to meeting our international travellers (6?) and the rest of the Aussies, should be great fun, see you all there.

Noel

[The General]

A message for the Northern Hemispherians (excluding the Poms)  joining us for the Aussie Rally.

I have seen a number of bikes with silver duct tape over the bottom of the instruments with a big arrow and/or the words "keep left" boldly written on it. Don't laugh, it's easy to forget and you only have to do it once at the wrong time, and if you're lucky, it will only be your holiday that's ruined.

For those that have not visited the area before, it offers great riding, whichever direction you come from (but Victoria's the best) and Jindabyne itself has a post card view over the lake and is very pretty.
Its close proximity to the snow fields has influenced a lot of the architecture and gives the place a ski village feel, a novelty for some of our QL and NSW friends.

Looking forward to meeting our international travellers (6?) and the rest of the Aussies, should be great fun, see you all there.
Noel

Good points Mate! Great pics too!       ummmm......Duct Tape....might need somethin a bit more psycho delicate for Candy! 

[CanDman]

A message for the Northern Hemispherians (excluding the Poms)  joining us for the Aussie Rally.

I have seen a number of bikes with silver duct tape over the bottom of the instruments with a big arrow and/or the words "keep left" boldly written on it. Don't laugh, it's easy to forget and you only have to do it once at the wrong time, and if you're lucky, it will only be your holiday that's ruined.

For those that have not visited the area before, it offers great riding, whichever direction you come from (but Victoria's the best) and Jindabyne itself has a post card view over the lake and is very pretty.
Its close proximity to the snow fields has influenced a lot of the architecture and gives the place a ski village feel, a novelty for some of our QL and NSW friends.

Looking forward to meeting our international travellers (6?) and the rest of the Aussies, should be great fun, see you all there.
Noel

Good points Mate! Great pics too!       ummmm......Duct Tape....might need somethin a bit more psycho delicate for Candy!  

....I hope I am not becoming too much of a bother...

[CanDman]

Thanks for the tips there my Christmas rack (-o-) Ribs... even here in the great white north I'm usually on the left side of the road anyways....I can't stand sitting still....must be the cold...I am looking forward to meeting.....I have been obsessing about this trip for 2 years......it will be great to put faces and voices to everyone over there from in here.


..........and if 'Tempus Fugit' was a little bit out of your radar, here's a little number for those who don't have any crack in your whip ...... (a 30 yr old horse can get long in the tooth).....anyway......you can trot along with Doug with this song.........


      Open road song