TribalMoto Travels: Day one - riding the Great Ocean Road

Before I get into day one..... check out this quick video of the Great Ocean Road ride, taken with our new Insta360. You can watch our videos and subscribe at TribalMoto Travels. These videos let you scroll around and view the full 360 degrees around the bike...give it a try!

 

 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS!

As I carried my bags out of the Airport Terminal my first thought was, how the hell am I going to carry all this on the bike! As much as my OH would have helped, I needed to do this for myself. I'm thinking, including bag and pannier weight, I carried an extra 25 kilos or so on the back.  

I haven't named her yet, but I think she was as nervous as I was... she is 4 years old and had only done 850kms, so we both knew we were asking a lot from each other!!!

I LOVED packing ready for this trip. 

 

Off we go!!!! Our first little leg was 1.5 hours country highway riding from Woodend, to meet my bro in Geelong. My first ever ride on the new Speedmaster 1200 was pretty gutsy. After a short practice run, the luggage went on. I was surprisingly relaxed.... until I put on my new winter gloves!!!!

Being pretty cool (the weather that is... although this bike has increased my street cred I'm sure lol), I thought I'd whip out the new winter gloves. Of all the potential issues, the GLOVES were the issue. It wasn't until I actually went to ride that I realised how much they dulled my senses and restricted my movement. After having a small panic attack, I decided to swap them to my summer gloves.

Lesson to everyone, make sure you test new gear before you head out... especially on a new bike!!!!

DUCK DOWN! Not far into the trip, and just as I'd tested the cruise control, a family of ducks (no ducklings thankfully) decided that the other side of the road was nicer. As they waddled across, I tried SOOO hard to thread the ducky needle. It didn't end well and I spent the next few hours hoping the duck I hit went quickly up to duck heaven. I am totally an empath. 

A quick brekky In Geelong and we were on the way up the Great Ocean Road - WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

The traffic was soooooo crappy, but I loved this ride as the slowness gave me the chance to practice my slow riding, clutch, roundabouts etc. Sadly for the boys, I found myself continually having to share my excitement of how happy I was and how comfy I felt. Sorry not sorry. ;) The bike just purrs.

After crawling into Lorne we decided it was a great spot for lunch. Got a park for all 3 bikes and a seat outside a cute cafe right in front of them. A perfect place for watching our bikes and for me to remind the boys again how much I love mine.

What I've noticed is that people REALLY wanna chat... Men and women alike, but on this trip, mostly excited older ladies.

From day one, this bike, with me on it, seemed to be of interest to people. I guess we stick out a little more when not in the usual motorbike locations. So riders and non riders alike seem keen for a chat.  

With the traffic nuts, we made the sad decision to return to Geelong. We were all keen to continue, but it was already a long day one ride for me and I think I'd reached my limit.

Funny how the ride home always seems quicker. Exhausted, but suuuuper happy, we checked into our hotel for the night and headed for a well earned beer. 

We put the bikes to bed and had a great little dinner at Waa Waa Gee on the Geelong peer with the full moon as a backdrop. Highly recommend!

 

I was SOOOO proud of myself today. I didn't crash, drop the bike... hells I didn't even stall it! I had more fun that I ever imagined it would. Buying this cruiser was the best decision for us.  

Panniers are from Finnmoto.com.au. They are stable, lockable on the bike and the pannier itself, clean off well and look great. Very happy.

Dry bag is an SW-Moto Tech dry bag. Straps on across in four places and I honestly never felt it was on. Great fit sitting on the pillion seat. 

Gloves are Land Lady D30. Very warm and protected against wind and rain. But thick, restrictive and reduced feel a lot!  I also found them hard to put back on when the insides came out with my fingers lol. I suggested to OH that I needed to carry a chopstick with me haha  

Hotel for the night was Eden Oak. Originally the Geelong Conference Centre, it had only reopened 2 days prior to our arrived, and after a full refurb. The way it was laid out reminded me of a school camp I'd been on as a child and the 6 push button light settings at waist height had me pressing  random buttons cause I couldn't see a think! The 6 pack of free beer really helped.

Waa Waa Gee - Korean restaurant on the end of Geelong Pier. Beautiful walk with the backdrop of a full moon, ferris wheel and helicopter taking off. Not your usual jetty view. 

Insta360OneX2 - I am blown away by the capabilities of this device. Easy to use, I've managed to snip a video or two to attach here and the quality is great. Next steps for me - learn to stich videos together for a more interesting watch. Subscribe and keep an eye out on our YouTube Channel TribalMoto Travels, for more! 

DAILY SCARE-O-METER:

Scare factor: a pretty chilled 7 - pretty good for day one and was mainly because of the duck!

Butt factor: mild. Loving this position and seat. Let's see if that lasts haha

Body Factor: comfy, happy, bit of a sore back by the end but expected. Is a little harder to be nervous on this bike as its such a cruisy position lol

Tech issues: no stalls. Haven't found N by accident yet either... WINNING!

KMS: 350

Thanks for reading.

Annya x

NEXT UP: RIDING THE WIND.... day 2 had is on a ferry ride from Queenscliff to Sorrento, and over Arthurs Seat. What could possibly go wrong? lol