19th & 20th Apr 2017

Geelong to Melbourne

We had a great family dinner with Matt, Anna and the kids. After lots of chatting and finding out about their business and how they got started, we all crashed. Matt was off super early to Melbourne, to sort his Indian Visa, and Anna was kind enough, to lead us into Geelong, to deliver the bikes to Road and River, where we’d organised some new tyres. We went back to the Nevermind shop with Anna, who had to get to work, and walked down town for breakie. Box Office, was recommended, so we located it, a short walk from Nevermind, and enjoyed a relaxing morning, in the quirky little cafe, made from a sea container. Great spot, lovely coffee and food.

The rest of the day, we just strolled around, very slowly (stupid dick legs), waiting for our bikes to be ready. Shortly after lunch time, we got the call, returned to Nevermind, where Matt was back, Anna was with customers, and after more chatting about India, we were dropped at Road and River. Bikes all sorted with 70/30 tyres, so we’ll have a bit more confidence on the gravel, we took off to JB Hifi, for a new GPS. An easy job, we thought!

Not much tread left on these babies.

As is common, with upgraded technology, nothing is the same. So old Destiny, is 4.3″, and the holder we’d got for Will’s bike fits that size GPS. All new ones are 5″. Of course! Bloody hell! There was one Tom Tom, that would fit, but we already have a Garmin account, with maps, so we don’t really want to change. What to do, what to do! Fuck it, (Will’s leg was starting to really hurt, patience was waning) just get the 5″ one and we’ll figure it out. So Will rigged it up with a couple of cable ties and a hair lackie, and we found our way back to Matt and Anna’s in Torquay.

Will is always thinking outside the square, and we don’t leave home without cable ties.

A local Thai restaurant was the go for dinner, and we had a delicious meal, with lots more chatting. We can’t thank Anna and Matt (and the kids) for putting us up and putting up with us! They are super busy getting their business going, and bringing up kids, but they had time for us and to help us get sorted. More amazing people.

Some better tread, the sights of Geelong, and Invalid beer just for me.

Thursday was get to Melbourne day, for the start of Steve’s (Will’s brother) Birthday Week. Everyone was arriving into Melbourne today, at different times, and we had arranged an apartment in St Kilda through AirB&B. We didn’t rush, as it is only an hour and a half away, on the boring, busy M1 highway, and we can’t check in until 2pm. The new tyres felt heaps better, holding on to the road well in the windy conditions. Bloody wind is only marginally tolerable on the motorbikes, and made for a horrible journey to the outskirts of the city. Once inside the perimeter, it was less windy, but much more traffic, and lots of signs, exit and entry ramps, and would you believe it, we missed our exit! Oh poop! Now we were in the CBD, where I definitely didn’t want to be, and doing a blocky, to get on the right road. It wasn’t too hard, and I only had to toot like an Indian at one driver, coming into my lane from the right, who wasn’t looking. No stress, as I had seen him coming, I just wasn’t going to give up my spot behind Will, so needed him to see me and wait. All at low speed too.

Thanks so much Matt, Anna and Nevermind Adventures. Great stay.

Getting to St Kilda, was pretty straight forward, just the slippery tram lines to be wary of. We arrived early, they key was there ready, so we just went in. No dramas. We got unpacked, located a supermarket nearby, and did a bit of shopping. A self contained apartment is what you need in the city, if you don’t want to go broke. Bill (Will’s dad) was arriving around 3:30pm, and Geoff (the other brother), was coming in soon after, so had a car sorted to take them both into the city. We would meet them in there, and then come back with Bill. We’d need a Myki, which is like a Smartrider card. We got three, so we could all travel on our own if we needed to. I love the trams here, as you get to see lots on your way around Melbourne.

So Bill is a disaster magnet, and seems to have a knack of having plans fail whenever they involve him. This time, Geoff’s flight from Cairns to Melbourne, got diverted to Brisbane, due to the pilot having a heart attack. Holy cow! So Bill’s phone is off, Geoff tries 6 or 7 times, gives up rings Steve, relays message, Steve tries Bill, Steve calls us to relay message, we try Bill, no answer from Bill, who is by now wondering around the airport. Long story short, poor Geoff, finally gets to Melbourne around 8:30pm, about the time Bill finds his way to St Kilda, with the kind help of airport and bus staff, arriving at the same time as our Indian take out for dinner. All in all, simple gone bad, but ending well….ha ha ha ha.

An easy day for everyone that turned out a bit harder than it should have. Tomorrow is Steve’s birthday, and the beginning of what I expect to be a huge week of fun, footy and food.