The week that was……

Hi everyone,

This week I’m going to try and give some insight into each day of the week and what we get up too, and the rides we have…….

So lets start with Monday, and here we go….

MONDAY

The morning started around 7:45am as we headed off to Grafton. The trip today was a good one, there wasn’t a lot of traffic and often Monday trips are slow for the first 10km until we get out to the highway…..(Caravaner’s leaving town often drive at 70km/h or less, but today there were none!)

The free-flowing traffic continued the whole way and it was a fun ride to work. Once we reached Grafton we were incredibly lucky to spend only 5 minutes from the Gwyder Highway/Bent St Round-a-bout to get to the other side of the bridge. It’s only 1.5 km from that point, Google maps says it takes 2 minutes, but last week (and on many occasions) it takes 20 minutes to travel that distance…….Once again the NSW RTA has put forward their “4 ways to get traffic in and out of Grafton easier and quicker proposal” but only time will tell if any of the “solutions” are put in place. So until then, we deal with the traffic and the “two lanes of peak hour traffic onto a one lane bridge” problem….

And the trip home was good too….Anthony was really looking forward to getting out of work today and today the trip home only took about 50 minutes….which included the bridge!

So that’s it for today and tomorrow we deal with a new day and a new ride…….

TUESDAY

Today we had a bit of a wet ride. There was a massive storm last night at about 1:30 – 2:00 and so the road was still wet, but by the time we got close to the Cowper turnoff, it was looking like it was going to rain……very soon. So Anthony pulled over and put on the wets and off we wet….and thankfully he got the wet weather gear on in time as the rain came down almost straight away.

But despite the wet weathcr, it was still a fun ride. The bridge run took about 10 minutes today, but it was a good morning out on the road.

Coming home tonight was dry, a bit cool and a great opportunity to open up the throttle and enjoy the road.

WEDNESDAY

It was a shorter trip today, but still good. Weather was a bit warmer than it has been and Anthony had worked up a sweat by the time we reached the office. To amuse himself this morning, Anthony decided to take each corner in the best possible way that he could – taking into consideration safety, keeping enough room from other road users etc…..but the task was to enter and exit each corner in the most efficient and safest way possible…..No the road isn’t a race track, but that doesn’t mean that riding on the road can’t be enjoyable. So getting the most out of every turn was the morning’s priority.

The trip home was different……it had been a long day so getting home as soon as possible was the priority….and the other road users decided that they would all drive at least 10 kmh slower than the speed limits…..so frustration started to set in after the first part of the trip…..but we plodded along and arrived home.

Three down, two to go…..

THURSDAY

Today I didn’t go anywhere. It was Road Safety Day for the kids at school and they had to take their bikes, so Anthony and Vicki rode their bikes with them and then went to work. So I’m in the garage, looking forward to Friday!

Derbi’s weekly celebrity pillion passenger is featured below, and because its my blog, I can have more than one….and I have no idea who she is, but its Thursday, and today we feature a girl who we will call “brunette tatto0ed girl”

FRIDAY

Today we started with a short ride to the office, then after an hour had to go to one of the other offices, so we were out on the road again – we had a truck almost back over us at one point, the traffic ahead of us stopped, Anthony figured that perhaps there was a car up ahead turning into a carpark, or something….no, it was a tradie in the ute in front of us, stopping to talk to a mate outside the pub, so he puts it into reverse with us right behind him – and thankfully he stopped after a few blasts of the horn……….then we headed back to town and then home for lunch.

After lunch it was back to work with another ride.

And then after work we delivered some info to a client, headed past the shops for some stuff and it was then time for home…..

It was a great week on two wheels once again……

Have a great weekend everyone,

cheers

Derbi.

This week’s official winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger, is an Indian actress and professional model. She starred in Slumdog Millionaire and in 2009 she became (one of the many) faces of L’Oreal…..But the big news this week is that she will star alongside Daniel Craig in the next (23rd) Bond film. She has been featured on Askmen.com’s most desirable women list, she lives in the call-centre capital of the world….she is Freida Pinto.

Get up, Get out, Have fun!!!!

Hi everyone,

It’s been a bit of a quiet time for me for the last couple of weeks……I have been off the road for a bit and looking forward to getting back out there next week!!!

We Googled “great motorbike rides australia” recently and number two search was IronChef’s “Motorcycle Paradise” Checkout his site – it’s awesome!!

One popular bike around the net at the moment is the Ducati Multistrada 1200.  Hell For Leather Magazine featured a story recently about the Ducati that got binned by a journalist who was testing the bike off road….not pretty!!  The Ducati seems to be awesome in Urban, Sport and Touring riding modes, but whether its Enduro mode allows it to be a true competitor for the BMW GS1200 Adventurer or the new Yamaha ZTZ Super Tenere 1200 remains to be seen….

Here’s a shot of it from the recent Gold Coast Motorcycle Expo….Personally I think it’s a sweet looking bike….

This example was shipped out especially from Italy for the expo….well done to Ducati Australia to organise that.

Today its also time to say G’day to a fellow two-wheeler who’s not only a great guy, but he also knows the best beers and where to find them!! …..but most importantly he’s is Anthony’s brother!  So let’s give it up for Gavin and his Suzuki GS500….Gavin moved from a 50cc Daelim scooter to the Suzuki last year.  It’s a sweet looking ride…(and Anthony is absolutely itching to have a go on it!!)  Have an awesome day tomorrow Gav – you are awesome dude!!!

While scouring through the photos on the Mac recently, I came across the following one.  It was taken by Vicki one fine Sunday afternoon when we were out for a ride around the southern end of the Gold Coast.  This shot was taken up on the hill above Kirra point.  The camo-clad guy chilling out in the background under the Rusty Eagle is Anthony, and I’m loving the way that I look in this shot….Vicki, you are so incredible, and your photography, your talent and creativity and your ability to capture images and emotions is truly awesome, inspiring and a work of art…. We love you!!!!

So that’s it from me this week, have a good one and we’ll see you out there soon…..

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger is an American NCAA Basketball player and 2006 American Idol Finalist. She is the daughter of a US Senator, and TV reporter.    She has been an actress, she is the 6th highest basketball scorer in Massachusetts basketball history, (male or female).  She is 21 years old, and has a NICE pair of boots….she is Ayla Brown.