Epilogue

The Aussie Redneck Tour has ended for me and what it trip it has been. It started as a joke almost and turned into a real thing quite quickly. The real thing turned into one of the nicest trips I have done in my years of travelling.

The people I met, the places I have been and things I did all left memories, good memories. That is what travelling is all about for me, meeting people, seeing things and go home with lots of good memories.

The boys did well in their last days although Crackles again tried to become the next Evil Knievel. A few scratches on the bike, elbow and ego and he was off again ;) Last I heard he was heading into the sunset with the love of his life !

I have had a bit of sad news though. The Kawasaki can't make it to Holland !! That is, I don't have European type approval, although the bike will be near identical to European types, and the Benelux distributor does not want to endorse his type approval onto my bike. So the choice is to pay a fortune and get type approval here or to sell the bike. I will probably do the last as the total cost of getting it here is getting to be ridiculous (remember Holland has a special tax on bikes and cars that is not yet outlawed by the EU).

Sad indeed as the bike and I have become such good friends, ah well I still have the Fireblade and although it is not as comfy it is definitely an awesome bike as well.

To all of you who have followed the trip via this site, thanks for your interest and hopefully we "meet" again !!

12 August 2007 Sacramento

My last day on the most awesome bike I have ever owned. Sacramento, the capital of California was the destination. The Capitol is one similar to the Washington one and looks awesome in the bright Californian sun. I had to take some pictures in front of it, to show the Governator what a real bike looks like ;)

Then I went to Old Sacramento, the original settlement to get my touristy stuff and some more pictures. I got talking to a few more bikers and just chilled. This was it, the end of a beautiful trip.

I returned to the Vineyard and de-rigged the bike completely. Empty tank, battery disconnected, ready to be crated and shipped. Sad goodbyes to the most loyal friend on this trip, not for 1 single second did he disappoint me.

11 August 2007 San Francisco

My favourite US city was next on the list for a little visit. I decided that some pictures of the bike in San Fran were required, particularly the Fisherman's Wharf sign as well as the Golden Gate of course. I was also hoping to say hi to my friends at Pier 39 (the sea lions that is ;) and finally get my trip to Alcatraz.

Alas the day went a bit different from what I expected. The traffic from Sacramento to SF was the worst ever !! It took me at least 1 hour more then would normally be required on a working day and this was Saturday. Bearing in mind I was on the bike and able to use the bit of space between the cars as well. I don't know what was going on in San Rafael but it must have been very special as thousands of cars headed that way.

When I got to SF, it was immediately clear that the city was taken over by that most horrible plague of all times : TOURISTS. No parking (not even for the bike), too many people everywhere so that was enough for me. I decided to move on towards the Golden Gate. There is a little park near the marina that is a very nice spot.

The temperature was so low and the wind was blowing so strong that I actually loved wearing the leathers this time. For the second time in the entire vacation, I wasn't feeling like a lobster on its way to the dinner table !!

The windsurfers were out in the Bay, I was suprised to see no kite surfers at all !! Maybe the sport hasn't caught on in SF like it has everywhere else around the world !! Anyway, after the pics were taken, I rode across the Golden Gate !! A worthy end to the vacation although a windy one.

The trip back was uneventful apart from a little bypass I have never seen before (remember I have been to this area at least 10 times over the years).

Back at the vineyard we had pizza and cake for one of Stevens cousins. The whole family was there and they sure know how to have a good time !!

9 August 2007 Sacramento

Steven and I go into Sacramento to have coffee and have a look at the new TriTool facilities. They are massive compared to the present building and allow for an enormous expansion of capacity in production, storage, service, logistics, engineering etc. These guys have a nice challenge ahead of them in the next 5 to 10 years. Luckily the offshore industry (one of their major areas of business) is soo booming.

I also talked to Lards and Chris in the morning and they are hightailing it to the Grand Canyon. Lards thinks the roads to it are awesome, and that means in Ducati terms that there must be some awesome bends. Pity for him he is on a Harley as they don’t like to go round corners AT ALL.

Craig has done another booboo and scratched his pride, bike and elbow. It is unclear whether he thought he was back in Oz and decided to drive on the other side of the road when a truck approached him or whether he has mistaken the Road King for a dirt bike. Anyway, his little venture in the dirt resulted in aforementioned scratches of which I believe the physical ones are the least of them all ;)

They hope to make it to Las Vegas as well as time is running out for them too. I plan to go to San Francisco on Saturday and spend Sunday, kicking back and packing up. I am going to miss the ZX terribly !!

Our late night dinner in Sacramento was very interesting as well. One of the guys in the restaurant/bar we were at (great Italian food) had a bit much to drink. So we convinced him that he couldn’t ride his bike home, a very good looking Harley chopper. As I was completely sober and wearing my Draggin Jeans and biker shoes as well, I offered to ride the bike home while Steven drove him home. The ride was a different experience again. The fat 350 mm rear tyre and lack of rear suspension were one thing to get used to as well as the leaning back sitting position.

We made it home without a scratch and I handed the bike back to a very relieved owner ;) !!

8 August 2007 Bonneville to Youngs Vineyard

Up early and straight to the Bonneville Speedway. The access road ends in a lake of salty rainwater from where cars drive to the actual speedway. I don’t want to go there with my gorgeous new bike as I know how much damage salt water does to a car or bike. I do get a chance to talk to one of the ladies from the organization that does the races.

After that I start heading for Reno, a 600 km trip from Wendover. When I arrive there, after a long drive through the desert, there is a big hot rod thing going on and I have seen some very very nice hot rods there! As it is still early, I decide to go towards Lake Tahoe to spend the night there but arriving there it is clear that finding a bed won’t be easy. There are a LOT of tourists here due to the summer holidays.

So I decide to ride a bit further and further and further and then I finally do end up in Plymouth at Young’s Vineyard (Shenandoah Road) about 1 hour before dinner at the Rock starts.

About 1 min. after my arrival one of my colleagues from Heerema also arrives and it is nice catching up with him as well. And shortly after him Todd arrives as well and him being a fellow biker and friend as well that makes for another great reunion.

But it is especially nice to see Annette and Steven and their kids, Steven’s dad and Jaye and Mondaine again !! Annette has no problem switching back to Dutch (OK she just got back from Holland 3 weeks ago !). I haven’t seen or spoken to them for 2 years and a lot of things have happened since. It is pretty late when I finally turn in for the night, staying in the guest room that overlooks the vineyard. What a gorgeous sight !!

www.youngsvineyard.com

7 August the ride to Salt Lake City

After breakie, I set of towards Salt Lake City for a very windy ride. The weather was nice and warm but very windy and that does not make for a nice ride. Salt Lake City was nice though, I first went to the visitor centre opposite the Capitol building. The suburb around it has some very beautiful houses !!

After that I went to Temple Square, as Salt Lake City is the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints better known as the Mormon Church. I got a tour from two Sisters and have to say it was very interesting.

The buildings are gorgeous, the original temple (not open to visitors) is absolutely stunning on the outside and the rest of the buildings around Temple Square are gorgeous as well. The feel of this area is almost un-American on one hand but on the other hand the large buildings are very American. Anyway, the city is worth a visit !!

Then I set of towards Wendover or the Bonneville Salt Flats. I checked straight into the motel and plan to go to the flats tomorrow. The World of Speed starts on the 11th of August so I expect the preparations to be in full swing.

I talked to Gavin tonight and they are just outside Denver after a short ride. Gav and Chris had to go on a hunt for parts for the small camera as it is failing and they also got a new small camera as extra / back up. The boys met with the Denver copper but no chilli ;). Tomorrow they plan to ride through the Rockies.

6 August 2007 Yellowstone Park

The weather was beautiful when I woke up, so I hurried to get ready and have breakfast. A nice fresh waffle with syrup and cinnamon sugar is the perfect start to the day ;). I loaded up the bike and set of towards Yellowstone. As soon as I turned of the Interstate, the scenery turned to stunningly beautiful. It was awesome to follow the Yellowstone river into the park.

Thanks to one of the bikers that was at Buffalo Chip, I already had my entry ticket (that I transferred to an Aussie staying in the Super 8 in Pocatello). The park is gorgeous despite the huge amount of trees that are dead and fallen over. I loved the geysers and hot springs and all the mineral deposits. The riding through the park was awesome and I would love to take some time hiking in it when I get a chance ;)

After the park I rode for another few hours and arrived in Pocatello Idaho around 7 in the evening. Checked in and went for a very sumptuous dinner in the restaurant next door ;) I have now sufficiently compensated for my lack of food the days before.

The last bit of the trip the Idaho landscape turned into a flat and dull landscape. I definitely left the beautiful hills around Yellowstone. The 100 to 150 km around Yellowstone were awesome.

The boys from Oz (report from Chris by phone evening 6 August 2007 around 21.30 – 22.00)
Lards made himself a legend by doing a big burn out in the Arena at 2 in the morning that eventually resulted in his tyre blowing out on the way to Sturgis the next morning. Apparently he set the grass on fire!!

The boys had to fit the new tyre themselves as the tyre place couldn’t do it and that was after the tyre could only be delivered at the end of the day. So they left the Buffalo Chip around 9 in the morning but didn’t get very far. Oh and they also had plenty of rain (I didn’t get a single drop till late in the evening).

Chris also told me about the Poison show at the Buffalo Chip that was “applauded” with hundreds of bikes being revved to the max !!! These petrolheads are just completely of their rocker by the sounds of it !! Imagine the amount of exhaust fumes in the air and the amount of petrol just gone for nothing (that means more work for us offshore blokes ;)

The boys are in Wheatland Wyoming to meet with a copper that is going to make them chilli, apparently Craig met him on an earlier trip and invited them for the chilli cook out ;)

The film crew also met a cyclist on a trip through the US on a push bike / bicycle. The poor guy (described as very tall and thinner then Chris ;) was dead on his feet as far as the boys reckoned. They gave him some of the cold Gatorade from the eski / cooler and filmed him and talked to him. Awesome dude, keep going !!!