Race to the Spirit

Starting Odometer: 63650km
Distance today: 285km
Today's map.

Today was a tough mother and that's no lie.  With the bike fully loaded and ready to go, LT and I shared a long, sad goodbye in the driveway.  To help her deal with her feelings, I stuck the camera in her face and took a photo.

Things were pretty tense in my helmet for the first half hour of the trip.  I had to fight the urge to turn back to my upset girlfriend and wrap her in an uncomfortable, leather-clad hug.  Things settled down as I got into the groove, feeling the Rev fighting the gusty conditions up the Midland Highway.  There aren't many stretches of Australian road that can be as beautiful - and as notoriously dangerous - as this one.

My bladder, the need for rest and fuel stopped me at Oatlands, Evandale and Westbury along the way.  I never bothered to check Google for an estimate of how long it would take to ride to Devonport, so I found myself leaving Westbury quite late, with the sun dropping like a stone in front of me.  With 75km to go and the ferry already open for check-in, I started to freeze and panic that I wouldn't make it in time.  Legions of insects sacrificed themselves on my visor, making the darkening landscape look like the set of a zombie film - legs and guts everywhere you looked.

 In the end, I rolled onto the big red boat with 20 minutes to spare.  I shared my excitement with the other bikers including a dwarvish man riding a postie bike to Perth, a lady taking her Vespa on a trip to Queensland and an incredibly camp gentleman off to 'see someone' in Victoria.

Whenever I hear the pokie machines on deck 7 of the Spirit, I remember somebody's comment that the ship is Australia's 'largest floating RSL.'   The food is garbage, the bars are full of grey hair and gin, and the staff are hand-picked from only the surliest police line-ups.  I scarfed down a muesli slice and a flaccid meat pie, took off my shoes and my belt and lay down to sleep underneath my 'ocean view recliner'.

 

Checking the lifeboats. 

 

Mmmmmmm....delicious pie.

As the pie and the motion sickness tablets started to party in my stomach, the ship started to roll in the choppy Strait.  Soothed by the motion, I pulled the blanket over me, ignored the loud American couple a few seats over and was rocked to sleep.