Some people love solitude. They love the thought of living off the beaten track in their own private paradise, away from the foibles and the kids of Mr and Mrs Average.

This is not a slight on average. Average is what most of us are, me included, but still people (like me) dream of it not being so.

Anyway, we stayed in this cabin a few years back. It was way too far off the beaten track even for me, but I enjoyed the stay and I also enjoyed the leaving, and I also enjoyed the early morning espresso coffee we managed to find on long drive home.

Life is kinda fickle. Just when you’re confident all is well, when you think all your planets are aligned and the moon is full and the universe has your lucky number and is displaying it to the heavens — then, just as you smile and say to yourself, ‘what a great day’ or ‘I wouldn’t be dead for quids’ or ‘wow! what a fantastic road’ or something equally nonsensical, it’s then that it so often happens. You find your self sliding down a road on your butt, looking frantically around, wanting to make sure your faster sliding motorbike isn’t about to thump your already dented pride, even harder.

“Spring’s begun”
I say then see
the hole in the wall.

Haiku by Kobayashi Issa | Link

About an hour down the road I never made the right-hand turn. Everything was cool — the day, the road — everything except my ability to round that corner on two wheels. I was surprised at just how far the bike and I slid. We limped on for another two hours to the nearest town.

Four years ago three of us rode from Sydney to the Flinders Ranges via the Great Ocean Road and Adelaide. We spent a few days looking around, riding the many gorges and enjoying some wonderful scenery. We then rode back through some of the most desolate parts of Australia. Straight roads, not even a curve for hundreds of kilometres.

I’ve been missing my bike today. Maybe it’s because I feel like getting away or maybe it’s because I just wanna ride. There’s a special freedom when you’re in the Aussie outback on a bike — it was a big part of my life for many years — four wheels just doesn’t cut it.