Went Geocaching today.. - needed a boat to get into both, so we'll have to see about getting us a dinghy :)

Got the car back finally! Kinda a good thing really, since I've just scored a cold from riding the bike in and out to work in the rain..

Death to Kangaroos!

Bugger bugger bugger! We hit a kangaroo heading back out to the campsite last night!



Other than that, it was a great camping trip (though trying to light the campfire again this morning when it was -6 and raining, was a bit of a lost cause!)

Just what I needed - I've scored a bout of the Flu *and* Laryngitis! So not only do I have a throbbing headache, but I can't talk! I suppose on the upside, I get the week off work, but personally I'd rather not have the sore throat, throbbing headache, and hot and cold flushes!

WOOHOO, the bike is on the road again.. Picked up a new (well, old, but not screwed like my previous one, if you know what I mean) engine this arvo. The 'new' one was a little older than mine, and didn't have the Electronic Ignition of mine, nor the front-mounted gear lever, so we had to swap a few things over, but GOOD GOD does it run nice! Where the old engine, you were hard-pressed to kick it over with the kickstarter, you can kick-start it with your hand, it's so easy to turn over! Plus where the old engine had uneven power up its rev range (what I thought were a number of power bands), this engine just gives the same amount of power all the way from 1200rpm to 10,500rpm (where I decided to back off.. - redline is 9-12,000rpm), and it's SOOOO quiet.

So yep, I'd say the previous engine was screwed when I bought the bike - it's never run like this.. plus it starts with one tap of the starter, even when cold..

(Yes, I'm quite happy about it.. :)

ARRGH!@#! Nope, the not-quite-on-song wasn't the mufflers... Headed home Sunday morning, got about 30km (just got out of the Citylink tunnel), and she went boom in a big way - right-hand inlet valve broke off the stem and totally rooted the piston and head.. (see piston and head) Looks like I'm stuck in melbourne till we get her rebuilt.. Major props to the bloke who stopped and asked if I needed a hand.. Major anti-props to the *censored* in the little blue honda with ACT plates who decided to try cutting down the emergency lane, and ended up stopping sideways about a foot from me.. (Yes, he's going to be *really really* sore, if I spot him when I'm back in Canberry....)

Grrr, broke a tappet adjuster just before Tarcutta on the way down to Melbourne for dad's birthday... Dad had to come up to Wodonga to pick me up, and we spent the whole of today (Thursday) working on the bike.. She's going pretty good now.. - not quite on song, but maybe that's just the new mufflers I put on Wednesday morning..

Whoa, what a walk! Couldn't find the geocache (3 feet of snow on Mt.Gingera!), but what an awesome sight! Pics from the top of the mountain are here...

Well, we're off doing a geocache in the brindabellas tomorrow.. - park the car on mt.ginnini (1800mASL), and hike the rest of the way up.. - should be an interesting trial for our weekend hike in Namadgi in a fortnight :)



Watch APRS for VK2TDG-7 :) That'll be us hiking..

Who said shop-bought is better? After finding out it'd take six months to have a custom-built pack-rack for my bike built and shipped from NZ, I decided to take a trip to bunnings and get some supplies.. I think the result (below) was quite impressive for an hour's work with the angle grinder.. :) (Plus I've got 85 LITRES of carrying capacity now!)