Big brother is probably not watching...

There is now a Google map down on the right hand side under the 'profile' section. Quite neat, you can zoom in and out to see where I am at the moment. Tweaking it gave me a headache so I'm not doing anything else to it. :-D

For those that want to know exactly, I am here: South: 32deg 11'07.3 East 116deg 03'16.4

I'll go outside from time to time and moon the satellites to see how often they update their photos.

Go go gadget cartographer!

Click here for a bigger version

That, dear friends is what we in the business call 'bloody stupid', but I'm doing it anyway. That should hopefully give those that are interested a general outline of the route I shall shortly be embarking on (honest!) The only 'iffy' bits are the Cape York area, which is outlined as the toughest 4x4 track in Australia and involves many, many river crossings, the Gibb River Road and the Great Central Road as the distance between fuel stops may be stretching the bikes capacity somewhat. Still, there's only one way to find out! Of course it's not set in stone and I'm sure there will be alterations to the route as I travel around.

Work here in Perth is rapidly nearing completion and the final items of kit have just arrived in the post.
Gadgets! Gotta love em.

Exhibit A - A handy little GPS system:

Exhibit B - An EPIRB (or PLB)

Hopefully I'll never have to use the EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon), but it's good to be prepared for any eventuality. Plus of course it's another outdoorsie-type gadget, and you can never have enough of those.

I've decided to try and catch the train from Perth over to Melbourne via Adelaide, it'll be an interesting trip and it's only slightly more expensive than getting a direct flight. It does mean sitting in a train for about four days, but if nothing else it can be training (har har) for the buttocks in preparation for spending umpteen months in the saddle. I've also decided not to cut my hair as a scientific and social experiment, nothing to do with laziness honest. It will also answer the question that has been plaguing the minds of scholars everywhere across the globe...How much of a muppet will I look with long hair?

Also on this trip I will probably be addressing these important questions:

How long can you wear one pair of socks before they become self-aware?
Just what does a didgeri do? (aha! I crack myself up)
Just how deep a river can you cross on a motorbike before you float away?
What does a pie-floater taste like?
Is the duck-billed platypus taking the mick? I mean honestly it's a beaver with a prosthetic nose!

I will hopefully NOT be answering any of these questions:
What is it like to float away down a river on a motorbike?
What is it like to share a sleeping bag with any number of bitey and rather toxic insects?
Do crocodiles take good care of their teeth?

Any pressing questions you want answering, feel free to send them in! :-)

Ahh...the things I do for science...

Act two, scene one...

...finds the hero of this tale somewhere else. So instead, I'll have write something...

I've now been back in the UK for well over a month. The wedding was well worth the flight back and I'm glad I was able to make the effort and attend. I've uploaded a few photos from the event, so anyone that was there can take a look at http://www.arseaboutface.com/wedding for some remarkably un-embarrassing images. Had a great time, and met some great people. Hope the rest of your time together is just as much fun Richard and Eoife.

Managed to get myself completely kitted out with motorcycle equipment (see above, very dashing image) while I've been back, so I'll be ready to get on with adventuring as soon as I return to Australia. I'm hopefully due to fly out at the end of August. (Terrorist plots / acts of random paranoia permitting of course)

I even tried to write a few begging letters to see if I could get any kit for free. Unfortunately I've never mastered the art of self-promotion, so my efforts garnered me pretty much squat in the way of free goodies. I did manage to get a good discount from Arai for the helmet though, so kudos to them for stepping up to the plate and helping out.

I customised it a little bit as you can see from the picture above. (it's a cartoon 'Sly-Fox' which I use as an avatar when lurking around the internet. Fascinating eh?!) Other than that I got a couple of polite "oh we've expended our budget for the year" responses, but most people didn't even bother to reply. It just doesn't help not being famous when you're scrounging I suppose. :0)

Other than a very short blast on a bike in New Zealand last year, I've not really ridden a bike since I passed my test! I'm sure it'll all come flooding back though. Just keep the round black rubber things in contact with the ground as much as possible I reckon, what could possibly go wrong?!

Oh, I always do all my reading in full bike gear, it erm...aids the concentration, yes that's it.

Lights will guide you home...

...although in my case I'm also hoping a couple of pilots and a very large aeroplane will be involved as well.


So here I am in Western Australia. Armadale to be precise, just outside the city of Perth. Not a great deal to report as I've been spending most of my time pretending to be a web-designer. Not doing too bad a job too, even if I do say so myself. All this work does have a purpose (what work hasn't?), the fruits of my labour will be one of these:
Which I will then proceed to take on a grand and frankly rather insane expedition around this:

It will certainly make my blog entries a little more interesting once I'm on my way, so make sure you all check back on a regular basis! :0)

A couple of people have asked why exactly I'm taking a vehicle that clearly has two wheels missing, around a very bloody big country. I'll erm.....let you know once I figure that one out myself.

First things first though, a flight back to the UK for the wedding and a handy chance to pick up some nice European riding kit. Hooray for shopping!