I didn’t manage a lot of sleep during the ferry crossing. I had just booked a recliner chair and it was difficult to sleep due to the noise from other occupants. One chap decided to call his family at 2am. Not very thoughtful of him. The crossing itself was quite smooth and had I had a cabin I’m sure I would have slept well the whole night.
I pack some of the items I had into my back pack and after a trip to the bathroom for a wash, etc, I went to the dining room area and made myself a coffee and read a book for an hour or so to pass the time.
The ship arrived at the port at its expected time of 07:00 and we were soon called to our vehicles as the hatches would soon be opened up. I have done this trip many times and knew it would be another 10 minutes before people would be able to drive off. All the members of the Outlaw Bikie club came down and were packing their bikes. As they finished packing they decided to warm up their bike even though everyone had been ask to wait until the hatches were open and they were directed to move out. The main reason for this is because the ship soon fills with exhaust fumes. Not to mention the noise competition that commenced. So after chocking on fumes for 15 minutes or so we made our way off the ship and through quarantine. We quickly headed through there and as we turned the final bent off the wharf area we were met by the police. I was approached by an officer and asked if I was a member of the “Outlaw Bikie Gang” to which I responded no as I was there just to visit my and my wife’s parents. To my surprise the officer then said I could go on my way. I gathered by the amount of sniffer dogs that they may have been looking more for drugs rather than the fruit the quarantine officers normally look for. Maybe they check for drugs for good reason but I couldn’t help thinking that they, the bikies, had all been put in the bad egg basket. But the officers had a job to do.
But I was free to leave and leave I did. I headed for the inlaws house where my wife had arrived the previous afternoon. The day was overcast but not raining. It’s a good highway from Devonport to Ulverstone and not too far so I arrived just before 8am. After such a poor night’s sleep I decided it best to get a few hours sleep and make a decision then if I should start the FarRide.
After dozing for a few hour I got up and had a shower and thought yes it was a good time to start the FarRide. There is a link to FarRiders on the right column of my blog that explains what FarRiders is and what its about. I have been doing them since about 2009. But only do the rides now when to I have time free.
East Coast inland scenery.
I planned to do a bit over 500km that day and got a start docket of 1.37pm. that would leave me an easy ride to complete the FarRide the next morning. My start km was 99833. I guess this ride will tick the 100,000km mark for me.
Start kilometres
As I started the ride the weather improved all the time and by midafternoon was mainly sunny. I planned to ride from Ulverstone to St Helens via St Marys. Some excellent bike roads are in Tassie and I planned to ride North West of St Helen towards Scottsdale.
Excellent Bike roads and it gets better
99,999km
Well sure enough I rode through the 100,000km mark. I was fairly pleased with this as apart from a fouled fuel injector I have only ever paid for and done regular servicing.
100,000km
I continued on towards St Helens and travelled through a few town but was conscious of the time and pressed on and didn’t stop for scenic photo’s. I was heading down towards St Marys and looking forward to the pass that heads down to St Helens. As I arrived in town my bike started to misfire which progressively got worse. The engine misfire got so bad that I pulled to the side of the road and the bike just stopped. I had a look for obvious problems but when I turned the ignition on and off there was no signs of power at all apart from the time display.
Google map image as I forgot to get a photo
As luck has it I had stopped right in front of a garage. I went in and asked if the mechanic could have a look for me. He was a little hesitant and said he had managed to dodge motorcycles for the last 20 years. Anyway he had a look and the diagnosis was a dead alternator. I wasn’t going anywhere quick. He said he was happy to put the battery on charge for the night and hopefully it would get me home the next morning.
I needed accommodation and just up the road was the St Marys Hotel. Guess that was as good a spot as any.
St Marys Hotel
I was greeted by a lady who was very friendly and helpful and the room was arranged. I quickly dropped my gear in my room which was very clean and quite good for the price I paid. It was a double room and the $60 included breakfast.
I grabbed a couple of items needed for an unplanned overnight stop and headed back to the Hotel.
A Wall clock with a differance
A Rundown of the bikes history
By this time it was 6pm and so I settled in at the bar for a cleansing ale or 2. After all I may as well enjoy my misfortune. I had a great evening and I couldn’t ask for better company. The locals are a great lot who made me feel welcome. I was becoming quite hungry and all I had for lunch was a bowl of soup. I noticed Lamb shanks on the menu and thought that was what I would have. I asked for the small serve as I wanted some bread also. Glad I ordered the small as it was a huge meal! There was no way I was going to get through this. And by the way it tasted fantastic but I just couldn’t finish it. How anyone could get through a large serve I wouldn’t know.
Lamb Shank. Yummm
The night continued on but by about 10:30pm I thought it best to get to bed for a good night sleep.
If anyone happens to be passing by this pub and wants an overnight stay with a meal in a friendly pub then do yourself a favour and stay here. Even if it takes you an hour to get there “Stay Here” you will not regret it. I was so impressed with their hospitality that I will put a permanent link to their site on the side bar of my blog.
Coyote 