Sunday 9 December 2012

"TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY" . . . . SO CLOSE TO HOME YET FAR ENOUGH AWAY TO BE A WHOLE OTHER PLANET . . . . SUNDAY ARVO RIDES ARE ALWAYS AN ENJOYABLE CONCERN FOR ME . . . . A FREQUENT DESTINATION SOUTH OF THE BORDER REMAINS BLISSFULLY UNFUCKED BY THE TAINT OF MODERN TIMES . . . . SAY GIDDAY TO THE TUMBULGUM PUB . . . . SAY GOODBYE TO ARTIFICIALITY AND BULLSHIT !!!!

Slept in this morning, needed to after simply too much of many good things the night before, it's not often that I miss an early away on a Sunday but shabby is as shabby does, so the morning flight plan was scrubbed as I smoked my way through half a pack of Marlboros and drank enough caffeine to keep an army of truckers on the move and pissed about on the interthingy . . . . went and picked up my dear octogenarian mum from her place of worship, home for lunch and by the time I'd fed ma belly the sky was clear, the temperature was hot but not super humid and it was time to get the fuck outta Sufferers Parasite and into the weird blue yonder. 
Even my propensity to encounter orificers of the law was not going to keep me away from the long way over the mountains, across the border and down to the groovy little sugarcane town of Tumbulgum on the banks of the beautiful Tweed River . . . . typical Aussie mountain roads, lots of twisty bits, some decent surfaces and some fucking shocking, B-grade, mortar crater filled goat track, nonetheless there are gorgeous views of some ancient volcanic plugs and towering granite cliffs, a low level prison and always the chance of an encounter with wallabies, roos, wombats and complete idiot riders going way beyond their actual capabilities.
It was a bloody fantastic two hours on the Purple Penis, no cops, no kooks, no creatures and no new mega size potholes to throw spanners at my works, a perfect arvo on two wheels, that feeling that stays with you every second you're in the saddle was at its absolute zenith, that's why we do this shit, that is the be all and end all, the Zen of Motorcycling, minus the maintenance, total fucking bliss !!!

To cap it all off while I was chillin with some of the good, honest, local folk from the American MC at the Tumby pub, sipping a frosty ale and shooting the pleasant late afternoon breeze, some classic two wheeled action rocked up to get me salivating in my beer . . . . first on the scene was the lovely 1970 K1 750/4, bloke's had it for thirty plus years, a totally together and purposeful bit of kit for he and his missus, complete with period Rickman Ace bars and a very tastefully modded Guzzi bikini fairing . . . . followed shortly thereafter by a delightful 1973 RD 350 Yammy, original fucking everything, paint, badges, pipes, levers, indicators, seat, guards, shocks, the entire box and dice, and it sounded sweet as a nut, no ghastly two stroke clatter and cackle, rather the nice muted tones of one of the crossed tuning fork mob's finest mid size rockets in utterly fine fettle . . . . I love bikes !!!

It wasn't going to get any better than that, I said my goodbyes, threw the lid back on, pointed the steer tire to the north and headed for home . . . . all was good with my world, well, as good as I have a right to expect.

6 comments:

  1. mate, i'm ever so slightly jealous, looking at your photo's, blue sky and sunshine?, fuck me, what's that all about then, here in merrye olde england it's been a typical december day, grey cloud, steady drizzle, cold and we got around six and a half hour's of 'daylight' [i use the term loosely!] whoopee-fucking-doo! better get back in the shed with a brew and get something done, time's a wasting, big-up's mucker, lovey.

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  2. Looks nice and warm down there. If I didn't know where it was, looks a lot like the areas above my valley town...say near Placerville AKA 'Hangtown'. Nice Honda and Yamaha. (though it drives me a bit buggy when I see that points cover turned the 'wrong-way'...). Makes me nolstalgic for my '72 Honda 750, which has been off the road for too long.Only ever rode one RD, a first year 400. Real fun wheelie machine, a lot more refined than the 500 Kaw I had. The shot with the three bikes is nice, covers a range of type and style.

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  3. Cheers gents . . . summer in the God Zone, always a good thing, apart from the heat, then it wouldn't be summer I suppose. Glad you're going hammer and tongs on the 'Macchi Lovey, it is blowing my mind every time you post more pics . . . Pete, you funny old stickler re the direction of the points cover, it wouldn't have taken to much to improve on the complete non handling of the Kwaka, assuming it was a triple at least . . . ha ha ha !!

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  4. Hum sunshine, bikes, friends and fresh beer. that's what i call a fuckin good sunday.

    Cheers !

    Kisses.

    Ollie.

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  5. Yeah, it was a triple. My brother had one with a Ceriani front end, Girlings on the rear,replacement swing arm bushes, and additional frame bracing... which vastly improved the handling. His also had a big bore kit made up of Bultaco 250 pistons, I believe. Topped off with the loudest non silenced racing chambers this side of the Mississippi. Spent most of the time on it's rear wheel....waste of a Ceriani front end I'd tell him...

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    1. Pete, only goes to show how much corrective surgery was required to have them perform like a motorcycle rather than a V1 minus its gyroscope, never heard of the 'Taco barrel swap option before, wow !!! It musta been a potent little sucker . . . and L O U D !!!

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