An anniversary and a trip down the Great Ocean Road

Today (19 August) is our 1 year anniversary so as previous mentioned, on the weekend we packed the bikes and headed to Aireys Inlet for 3 days of riding and relaxation. What did I learn this weekend? Those two words don't necessarily always go together!!!

Day 1

We left Melbourne on Friday afternoon and headed straight for Aireys - wanted to get there before dark. 'Aireys Inlet Getaway' was the first place we had a weekend away so we thought it fitting to go back. We were even in the very same cabin!!

Day 2

One of the charms of the accommodation are the birds. The owners give you a little container of seed so that you can feed the parrots, rosellas and cockys every morning. The native birds are well aware of this and if you haven't opened the door by a certain time each morning, sometimes they'll even knock on the door to get you to feed them!!

So we say good morning to the birds (about 5 x cockys and some other green parrots as per pic below) and what a friendly bunch - as you can see by the pics. J was feeling very 'at one' with nature and was enjoying the experience when all of a sudden I hear "oh f%*$( ... bastard bird". Cannibal cocky has taken a huge chunk out of his finger!!! After a few "oh for god sake, toughen up" from me, he showed me where the bird had mistaken his flesh for some seed and it was quite a nasty bite. I did get the giggles though :-)) Needless to say there was no more feeding the cockys after this.

On Saturday, we went to Lorne for breakfast at a place called 'Kafe Kaos'. This was to become our 'regular' for the 3 days. They made an awesome coffee!!

After a lazy breakfast it was back to the cabin for an hour or so and then on to Leopold. We headed to Torquay, through Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove and arrived at Bern & Perry's place by about 3:00pm. For those that are unaware, B & P have become our cyber friends due to us both building a Porter Davis house and it was awesome to finally meet them in person. We have definitely made some long term friends there I hope. Guys - you rock!! Make sure you keep the bikes because we'd like to do some rides with you in the future. Their house is absolutely beautiful and HUGE!! Their pantry is about the size of our lounge room :-)) Well done to you both - you are well deserving of such a beautiful home. See you soon I hope.

After a great catch up and a cuppa it was back to Aireys Inlet. We stopped in Torquay on the way back as J's bike was just about to clock the 100,000 mark!!! We then stopped on the side of the road (just outside of Torquay) when it hit 0000. "A new bike .. I have a new bike" came the cries from J.

We stopped for some Chinese takeaway at Anglesea and back to the cabin. We had been given a bottle of Bolinger Champagne for our wedding and for the past 12 months have been agonizing over when we should drink such an expensive bottle of grog!! We decided that our 1 year anniversary was as good a time as any so after the open fire was raging .. the DVD player ready to go and the chinese food served, J popped the bottle.

OH ...... MY ......... GOD! No champagne will ever live up to the standard of this drink and I don't know how I can ever drink the cheap stuff again!!!! lol. Thanks Derek & Sue for letting us into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, if only for a moment. Can I ever drink the cheap stuff again??????

Day 3

Today would be a big day and unfortunately, the weather was unkind for most of the day. In true 'Melbourne' style, we definitely had 3 of the seasons (no sign of summer unfortunately).

Off to Lorne again for breakfast and then through to Apollo Bay where I have found my mojo and started to really enjoy the corners at a good speed. What an awesome stretch of road and it soon because my favourite.

I managed to get from Lorne to Apollo Bay without using the brakes, and while I didn't break any land speed records, it was certainly quick enough for a new rider. We continued through the Bay and on to Lavers Hill where we stopped for a coffee and a stretch.

Through the Otway Ranges (very very cold) and we saw this sign (see below) that made us giggle.

We eventually ended up at the 12 Apostles, where, as per the last time we were there, it rained!! Still, it really is quite spectacular and we went onto the look out .. in our helmets ... looking like idiots ... but very dry!! Who are the idiots now people!!

We stopped at Apollo Bay for a late lunch and then back to Aireys Inlet.

It was becoming a bit of a joke between J & I to see how long we could go before using the breaks. I was definitely improving on every corner so my aim with every stretch of road was to get around the bends at a reasonable speed, with no breaks. I was feeling very confident so as we were leaving Apollog Bay I made a bet with J ... first one to touch their breaks at a corner buys dinner.

Who won the bet? He ordered the most expensive piece of steak he could.

Sunday was a huge day and the riding had really taken it out of me. While the fire was starting up I'm sure I dozed off a couple of times so I figured straight after dinner at the pub, it would be in bed for me. I think I was snoring by about 8:00pm!! What a party animal. It had been an awesome day though and I knew my riding had improved because of it.

Day 4

Yep, you guessed it ... back to Lorne for breakfast (after checking out) and we thought we'd head to Colac before coming back to Melbourne. The road from Lavers Hill to Colac is meant to be great for motorbikes so we figured we may as well do it while we're out this way!!

Well it was an awesome road and a whole lot of fun on the bikes. Why the hell would you travel any other way!!!

Lunch at a pub in Colac where they had surprisingly good food, back to Lorne for a final coffee at Kafe Kaos and then on to Queenscliff where we caught the ferry to Sorrento and back home again. I think we did about 400kms that day.

So all in all ... other than the weather being the only dodgy thing .... the weekend was absolutely brilliant. My riding improved immensely and it was very evident when we were almost home. Due to some road works near the entrance to our estate, we have to go down to a set of traffic lights and do a U-turn. On the other side of road are 3 lanes and every attempt to date to get around the lights has been me ending up in the far lane as my skills at turning in a tight circle were pretty crap. Well last night, I made the U-turn and went straight into the lane closest to the lights!! Woo hooo .... did I feel great about that.

I learnt so much about my bike and how far I can push it in the dry and in the wet. The bike has hit just over 3,000kms now and I'm learning every day.

Yay!! I love my bike.