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.
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:
Closer to home
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!
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