Preamble

Preamble before the tour

The initial proposed 11,376km route. subject to change on a whim.

For those of you who know me, you'd remember my last grand tour by mountain bike, which was the Andes Trail mountain bike ride in 2012. The 11,000km, 5 month ride along the Andes mountains from the equator, to the southern tip of South America.

Now I'm presented with another opportunity to see more of where I live, which is Australia. This time on my trusty 2013 Suzuki GS500F motorbike. Not known for its high performance, but it is known for its high reliability. Since buying it 8 months before now, I've already travelled 41,000km on it, and it's living up to its great reputation.

This time I meet with friends in Orange NSW, then we all proceed to Bundaberg Queensland to see in the New Year.

A few days after New Year, my friends turn back for home, and I'll continue solo to Cairns, Port Douglas, across to the Gulf of Carpentaria, down to Uluru, Adelaide, Great Ocean Road, a loop around Tasmania, then back home via the Snowy Mountains.

I'm expecting this trip to take roughly 6 weeks. Stopping for a few days where I like, otherwise camping a single night and continuing. The route may change on a whim based on advice along the way.

The only concern I have at this stage is whether my lower back will come back to haunt me like it did towards the end of the Andes Trail. Otherwise, watch this space.