Saturday, August 20, 2016

Eastward bound

I was on pins and needles yesterday morning waiting to hear if the bikes have been released especially after I called at 10:30 am and there was still no news. I got really worried when Arpan from Star Movers stated that officially they take 24 to 48 hours , but they are usually much faster than that.



Then I got the call around noon and all was OK we would get the bikes delivered as promised with in 2 to 3 hours. Yes I don't need to make another one night reservation with the hotel. Once they were delivered we started working right away organizing our panniers and finding places for all out things.



Ali told me last night that he got a message from Simon and that he will be riding with us from the hotel until our first rest stop (coffee break).



In the morning we packed our bikes and Found Simon and his friend Mr. Andrew Macksey waiting for us, after a brief chat waiting for some of us to finish getting their bikes ready we decided it was time to go if we ever wanted to reach Southern Cross in time.



Ali and I started our bikes and we waited but Husain's bike wouldn't start. The battery was almost dead . we decided to try to dry start while going down a ramp in the hotel parking but no such luck. Then Husain stated that he had a powerful battery that can jump start his bike, it was out of charge. So Ali went and talked to Simon, and Andrew stated that he had a battery pack that could jump start the bike and went home to get it. less than an hour later we got Husain's bike started and we headed on our way. Luckily it a Saturday so the traffic was light.



We first stopped at a petrol station and filled up all the bikes. with only ten minutes of riding we wondered if Husain's bike would start, fortunately Andrew still had the battery pack just incase , but it turned out that we didn't need it. Husain's bike started right away.



We rode until we reached the Great Eastern Highway (Route 94) and then continued for almost an hour until we stopped for some coffee a said goodbye to Simon and Andrew.



We spent some time adjusting our stuff and setting up cameras that resulted in us not being able to reach Southern Cross since we were warned not to ride during dawn or dusk ( thats when the animals come out to play) , and we don't ride at night so we got as far as we could which was Merredin.



We found a place to stay at the Tourist Park Merredin (Caravan Park) where they had nice small Chalet type with a bed a fridge a bathroom, and a heater which we were thankful for. My room came with two friends in the form of small black spiders in the corners, one right above my head feasting on all the insects that would get in once you opened the door. Dinner was a quick ride to the local Subway for a nice tuna sandwich, tomorrow we try to get to Kalgoorlie .