I did a bit of a road trip over Easter that involved travelling to and reporting on the annual Broadford Bonanza festival. This year they got 1200 entries in an event that covers every discipline of motorcycle sport except drag racing.
So here I am, loaded up with camping gear and two changes of motorcycle protective clothing for Broadford race track (take away the road race suit and trials helmet and boots and the lower bag is halved in size). It was a great few days as I rode by myself, so just me, the bike and a lonely road. No responsibilities except to myself and my own safety.
I took this "selfie minus me" out on the flatlands of western rural Victoria, near Minyup. Victoria may be the smallest mainland state of Australia but if you ever ride out here on the backroads be aware that it's a long way between farmhouses if you get a puncture or run out of fuel.
I bought and modified this 2001 Triumph Bonneville as a "round-town bike". So that basically means it's a Street Tracker. It worked well on what turned out to be a 2000km weekend ride. Not an interstate master-blaster but at a steady 110km/h you get time to look around and get into a different zone of riding. (The old Army ammo box on the side housed emergency rations: an emergency toolkit sourced from a KTM I used to own, a road-worker's wet-weather suit, quality muesli bars and an old metal hipflask I'd filled with Glenlivet 12yo whiskey). Life doesn't get any better than this.
Here's a couple of pics of the event that photographer Russell Colvin took. We worked together over the weekend filing reports and feature for a variety of magazines.
Julie Skewes loaned her Bobber out for the track sessions while she went swinging in a sidecar.
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