The Reflection

When I got back, many people asked me - what did you get out of the trip? It was actually a question that I asked myself too; many times during the journey. To be honest; when I first came up with the idea, it was probably just to enjoy riding my bike, to see the much-talked-about Ayers Rock and to experience motorbike adventure the way I have read in many travel books like I mentioned in my posting "My sources of inspiration". So, without sounding too philosophical about the whole thing or pushing the whole adventure to such a grandeur level that some might think it wouldn't deserve, it was actually and truly (1) a soul-searching expedition and (2) a prove that I am still capable of achieving something extraordinary if I were to put my mind into it - something I want to be able to tell my kids (and grand kids) many years to come. What I got was my renewed and inspired self and a better understanding and appreciations of my life's priorities and direction.

I must also confess that there were times before the journey that I doubted whether I could (and would) actually go ahead and do it but by the time I told quite a few people about it and especially when I started blogging about it, it seemed like there's no turning back. It seemed to me like I am now expected to do it and I also see myself representing those who thought about doing something like that themselves. I do like to think that I was doing it for others too. There were also some times during the trip that I told myself what a crazy idea this was, but as much as not doing it in the first place; turning back halfway was unthinkable, and definitely not an option - so I moved on and kept telling myself to make the best of out of it, no matter what.

Perhaps another question also that always been playing in my mind during the journey, especially towards the end was, will this be the end; or more frighteningly (especially for my wife); the beginning of it all? To be truly honest, it probably at some point, stuck itself at "That is it. I'm done. I've proven myself. I'm never doing this again!" but gradually crept to, "Hey! I did it... Gee, if I can do this, maybe I can also....". I guess this is the syndrome that hits, for example, mountain climbers. Always in search of higher and tougher mountains to climb. In my case; what would it be?

Longer distance?
  Tougher terrains?
    More extravagant things to see?
      Convince my wife to come along??? (This would be toughest one!)
        R1200GS-Adv??? Hehe...

For now, let me just reflect on some of the specific experience(s) along this journey:

Highest points:  

1. Hitting the road at the crack of dawn on Day 1 and realizing that all this was really happening
2. Seeing The Red Centre for the first time as we approached Uluru. A moment of triumph.
3. Arriving home at the end of the trip and being greeted by the family

Lowest points:

1. The speeding ticket
2. Riding in the storm between Gendambo and Pimba (wet, cold and very windy) - the hot chocolate at the end of it was probably one of the best moment too...
3. Riding in the rain between Gunnedah and Tamworth (wet, twisty road, no SatNav and it was getting dark fast)

Best routes:

1. Blackall to Barcaldine - morning sunshine, red tarmac, emus and low flying eagles
2. Peterborough to Broken Hill - beautiful prairies... I like those little purple flowers along the road
3. New England Highway - scenic, gentle twist, shady, many interesting stops - and was getting much closer to home

Toughest routes:

(It's quite difficult to chose these as it also depends on the timing. Almost all routes seem bearable and even interesting early in the morning during sunrise and when the weather was kind. Being tired and having to ride in extreme hot or cold or even rain would certainly give a totally different perspective. What I chose here were based on their specific situations, and not necessarily conditions)

1. Winton to Kynuna (Matilda Highway) - straight, hot, with nothing to see on either side. Struggled to stay awake! And oh, watch out for the county police!
2. Most parts of Stuart Highway between NT & SA - straight and exposed. You wouldn't want to be caught here in the wind or the rain or cold - there's virtually nowhere to hide for shelter!
3. Any route when it was getting dark - you definitely wouldn't want to be stranded at night in the Outback

10 valuable lessons I learnt from the experience:

1. A little bit of "craziness" in life is good - do something way out of the ordinary - it rejuvenates your believes and sharpens your senses
2. Take time to really deeply reflect upon your life and assess your journey so far - it pays for the long run ahead
3. This is a bit of a cliche but still true - if you really put your mind (and soul) into it; you can achieve almost anything
4. The treasure that you have been chasing is sometimes right under your nose - treasure what you have and make the best out of it
5. Insect repellent works with flies as well
6. Speed kills - or at least will make you broke
7. I'm too old (and spoilt) to be camping
8. Australia is such a HUGE country (and empty for the most part of it)
9. "Shoo-roo" does work
10. Outback bugs are BIG (and thanks to my windshield and full-face helmet, otherwise it would have been nasty... yuck!)

Who could have been my sponsors?

I know I decided not to have any sponsors (except for one) so that I won't be governed by them in terms of what I do, where I go or what I use but I did notice that I use the following items quite a lot, so if they want, they could be my sponsor for my next adventure (and my proposed tag line for them)!

1. BMW - reliable performance (if you can afford the price)
2. Shark - safety in style... works better for good looking people...!
3. RM Williams - boots for riding horse or motorbike! They make nice shirts too!
4. BlackBerry - it's camera is actually quite good!
5. No-Doz Plus - for those long boring stretches of roads... and when even coffee could not help
6. Red Bull - tastes like **** but it works!
7. Arcoxia - without it, you would probably not be able to get out of bed in the morning!
8. Garmin - takes you to where you want to go (just don't get it wet!)

I just spent some time browsing through all my blog postings way back from May - nearly 40 of them. I still call it a "dream" that time. To be truly honest, despite my show of determination to do it, secretly I, as  mentioned above, still had doubts about the whole thing. What kept me going was the support I get from friends (that's all of you - although one remains until the last day that the idea was ludicrous!) and family and what has started as my own personal dream has become something that inspires others and I really can't back down on that.

All in all, it was a great experience. "To the Red Centre and Back" has been a truly enriching and rejuvenating journey; both intellectually and spiritually. I can honestly say that I came back a different person - one who appreciates more of the things in his life especially those close to him. I also felt wiser and more prepared to face the complexities and hardship of life. But as any good feeling goes; it doesn't last forever so I supposed there will be a time in the future where I will have to answer to the calling again - to be out there on the open road, in search of myself again. Where will I go to next...??? I mean, where will WE all go to next?

I would really love to hear them from you all, so do send me suggestions and ideas... and I will get my wife to allow me to go...

[Final note: I can't thank you enough for the support that I get from you all especially from my beloved wife who had to put up with me spending our money for the preparations for the trip and for the sleepless nights she had to go through worrying about me while I was on the road all alone. Thanks for all the comments on the blog and Facebook that keep my spirit high knowing that my friends and family do care about me. Thanks to Mak and Abah for not scolding me when I had my first motorbike accident 25 years ago (and thanks to Abah for "bailing" me out from the police station, hehe...) - otherwise I would have been scared to ever ride again... I just wish they're still here to share this moment but I know they have been there with me every moment of the way...]

Thank you all...

Day 10: Tamworth to Home (581.4 km. Grand Total 7,018.5 km!!!)

[I just realized that it has been more than 5 weeks since I completed the expedition, now that I finally got around to writing this post about the last day of the journey. I supposed normal life routine is always quick in finding its way back in and procrastination itself creeps in quite fast too. Nevertheless the memories from the travel are still fresh in my mind and until today I still get to talk about it whenever someone asks about it. I find that I have one of the best dinner party stories to tell and one that will last a long long time… Anyway, on with the story…]

I started the day with mixed feelings – happy to finally be getting home today but at the same time sad that this epic journey of mine is about to come to an end. I was up early and the weather seemed to be exceptionally well. I have a feeling today will be a very smooth and exciting ride - a great finale. The ground was still wet from the heavy rain last night but the sun was shining brightly. The crisp morning air and the gentle breeze made it such a perfect moment to reflect on how exhilarating the last 10 days have been. I only have less than 600 km to cover today and my aim is to reach home only after the kids are back from school so I can really afford to take it easy today. I put on my last change of clean clothes (the one I saved for the last day - can’t arrive home stinky, can I?) and enjoyed an instant cup of café latte with tea biscuits (for breakfast?). I have been capturing “moments” during the journey and this is definitely one of it!

[Note: I looked at this pic later and thought that I actually look good (as in, slimmer) but my wife later pointed out that she thinks I looked sick! But the 5 kg I lost was finally noticeable…]

First stop was Armidale. I purposely chose this route in order to make the scenic New England Highway which is famous for its twisty highland route much loved by bikers as the last leg of the journey.

This is the pic along the road as I was about to enter Armidale – I bet I can find many Malaysians with pic at this exact same spot – for some unknown reason…







I made a quick stop at the Tourist Info centre in Armidale just to have a look around and then take a quick ride around town. This is probably one of the nicest little towns I have come across so far. It could be all those tall green trees from the temperate coniferous forest all over the place and the mild mountain weather. It’s one of those towns I can imagine as my retirement place. First I thought of having a coffee and breakfast somewhere in town but the decided against it as I was sure there would be plenty more to see along the route anyway.

I was right. This is one of the most amazing roads – gently twisty (not like Mt. Nebo and Mt. Glorious in Brisbane!) and very scenic. Every now and then you will come across nice little towns with friendly faces and plenty of things to explore if you want to. I’ll be sure to bring my family here one day, maybe in a motorhome.

Here’s a video I shot from the mounted camera. Warning: Not for those who are prone to motion sickness… hehe…

Talking about video, I actually captured close to 20 short clips of the different routes I have taken throughout the journey. It was quite interesting to see how the scenery and surroundings change along the way and the extremities of some of it. I later showed the video clips to my wife which were on average about 15 to 30 seconds long. She wasn’t impressed until I told her to imagine looking at the same scenery like a looping clip for 2, 3 or even 4 hours at times – now THAT’s endurance!

I didn’t take as many pictures as usual but here are at least a few that captures the route:

Rest areas here are definitely more shady and relaxing











Closer to home

Lucky I wasn’t wearing my speedo that day!!! Haha!

Some stretch really looks like my hometown Alor Setar! This one really reminds me of Jalan Langgar!

The weather does get a bit warmer and then much warmer in the afternoon especially on the last stretch between Warwick to Brisbane but it doesn’t bother me at all. Nothing seems to be able to bother me today! Yup, I’m heading home and nothing can be in my way. I was literally holding back my speed as I didn’t want to reach home too early before the kids come home from school so there’s also more opportunity to reflect upon the whole journey. There was a lot so as far as writing goes, I will write all that in a separate posting by itself.

It certainly cannot be any more dramatic than riding slowly as I approached my house and finally stopped in the driveway. The house seemed awfully quite. I opened the front door and out came the whole family yelling, “Surprise!!!!!” What a great welcoming home event it was.

Here’s my pic, at the end of a triumphant journey, with what matters the most to me… my family, my number one fan and supporters!

…and here’s the little welcoming home poster they made me…