My meat; your poison...?

The route is firm now. Had dinner at my neighbour's last night and we had a long discussion about the trip. He has done Brisbane to Ayers Rock before but on a 4WD and with his family. His route was across the Simpson Desert via the Outback's "Development Road" (unsealed) from Winton to Alice Springs via Boulia. It does cut the journey by about 500 km but those are roads only recommended for well equipped and well built 4WDs. Well, if I was riding with another person on a "GS" (that's the adventure/enduro BMW bike R1200GS, for those who don't know BMW bikes), I might go for it one day but I'll settle with the nice sealed highway road for now. Two things I don't want to damage; my bike and my back! And I might even get "blotted"!

Here's the confirmed route as posted on the wall of my home office. The pins mark the refueling and overnight stops. The shadow on the top right of the pic is the shadow of my fishing rod - a hobby that got shelved temporarily (literally, as the bookshelf is next to the map!). I guess the breams, whitings and flatheads have to wait for a while...

Have done more bits and pieces of the planning over the weekend. Found out that I can actually buy "octane booster" to increase the RON of my unleaded fuel for areas where I could not get anything above 91 RON. According to Shaun (my neighbour) they'll be hard to get once you past Roma travelling West. I also got a nice recommendation from a fellow bike enthusiast on a sports camera that I can attach to my helmet, or maybe the handle bar or even my wrist! That'll be very handy when taking scenic pictures while riding - hey, I don't even have to stop my bike! I immediately remembered how I missed taking the beautiful view of Gowrie Mountain as I entered the plains after Towoomba heading West last time. I will not this time. But I also realized the budget just got bigger and bigger... hehe... Oh, also need to add a top-box for the bike for the extra stuffs to carry... oh, and the new jacket, the new helmet, etc.

Talking about budget; my "accountant" has made me prepared the budget for the trip. Numbers are not looking very good. Fuel, accommodation and food are already half of the budget. Maybe the BMW jacket is a luxury that I will not need after all... :-( I'm sure if I was shivering in the middle of the night if I were to choose to sleep in a tent rather than a motel or hotel, the nice comfortable hi-tech BMW jacket will be the last thing on my mind anyway! Cut cost??? Hmmm, I know I sucked at that!

Anyway, it's not the destination, it's the journey. It doesn't even have to be perfect. As what Don Williams Jr. said, "The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." Tim Cahill said, "A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles". So, I'll be counting friends I made along the trip - and also friends I might lose before the trip, haha! My "courageous adventure" could be your "ludicrous trip".

And finally, in the words of Damien Blade "Ride hard, or stay home... Oh, and guys... lose the watches..."
(Guess; which movie?)

... bye...