Happy Australia Day family friends and fellow citizens. Hip hip hooray for all of us who are fortunate to live in such a great country!



Norm demonstrating his pride in our flag on our poor old sunburnt lawn!

Route - Traralgon to Mount Baw Baw via Tyers, Yallourn North, Neerim South (coffee), Neerim Junction (fuel including premium and the last before the Mount) and Noojee, Icy Creek, Tanjil Bren, Mount Baw Baw (delicious lunch at the Tavern) and return via Tanjil Bren, Icy Creek, Hill End, Willowgrove, Yallourn North and Tyers.

NB: If you want a more detailed summary of services available in the area travelled here you will find that in previous entries by entering Local rides in the Search section on the right hand side of the blog and hitting Go.

We had an EasyRiders ride coming up and wanted to do a route assessment so thought we’d check out the ride today. The weather was beautiful and it was a delight to be on the road. The fragrant smells of the harvest (fresh cut grass and newly bailed hay) were abundant and the tourists were few and far between so a great mix. Have included a few shots of some of the sights you can see along the way.



Lush ferns and tall trees wherever we looked, beautiful.



Moss covered rocks and ferny glades with and without water depending on where you find them.



Spectacular wildflowers and the higher the altitude we got to the more prolific they were.



A view from the deck at the Tavern back across the Latrobe Valley to the Strzelecki Ranges. We are told that on a clear day you can see the ocean..…though I suspect you may need binoculars.

[First leg – Traralgon via back roads (staying off the highway and away from holiday traffic) through Glengarry, Toongabbie, Cowwarr, Stratford (coffee), Lindenow, Bairnsdale, Bruthen (fuel), Swifts Creek, Omeo (lunch), Dinner Plain (all closed up, couldn’t support the local economy here), Mt Hotham (same deal as Dinner Plain), Harrietville (a welcome lemon lime and bitters) and Bright

NB: If you want a more detailed summary of services available in the area travelled here you will find that in previous entries by entering Local rides in the Search section on the second page and hitting Go.

We had a lovely ride with very little traffic and as is always the case it was magnificently soul restoring just to be in the high country. Ahhhhh!



A view from the heights of Mt Hotham.



A street view in Bright. Lots of tourists and cycle riders here but plenty of options for accommodation food and places to relax.

Second leg – Bright to Mount Buffalo, Ovens, Mount Beauty then through the Tawonga Gap and back to Bright.



A view on our way to the summit of Mount Buffalo.



And a lunch shelter near the lookouts on Mount Buffalo in front of the historic chalet.



A view of Mount Bogong on our way to Mount Beauty

Third leg – Bright via Mansfield, Yea to Melbourne (Glen Waverly) to our home away from home the Novotel for some more chill time before heading home.

Well here we are just out of customs at Tullamarine. The smiles never look as enthusiastic on the returning shot. Ha ha.

We had a great trip and were delighted with how it all went and thought I’d list some of the things which helped it work so well and what we have learnt to make the next trip better.

Worked well:

Grip heaters – will never have a bike without them and were hugely grateful we had them this trip especially the last two days.

Toll transponders – after doing some research on what systems were used in the states we were going to travel in we decided to use EZ Pass transponders and they were brilliant. There were only a couple of roads and bridges that weren’t covered by them and they made life so much easier than having to fish around for coins with gloves and in wet weather and also makes the tolls cheaper. When we have made a decision on just which states we will travel in next year we will see if we keep these ones or use another sort. If you think Australia isn’t very good at doing things on a National basis let me tell you we have the toll thing worked out …. but then we do only have 6 states and 2 territories which are considerably fewer egos and bureaucrats to deal with than 52!

Panniers / saddle bags – my bike had a good (lockable) set on already and Norm arranged to have some fitted to his bike which worked well. This gave us enough room to carry the backpack we carry when on foot and also for all the wet weather gear, bottles of water and anything else we need access to through the day when we’re travelling.

GPS / Garmin – will never travel without one. Even if we misread the instructions (because we can’t hear it on the bike) or misjudge a turn we just have to have a bit of patience and we will be redirected to get to where we need to go anyway. Enough said.

We had a great trip and were delighted with how it all went and thought I’d list some of the things which helped it work so well and what we have learnt to make the next trip better.

Bike seat – I checked out a 950 bike in our local Yamaha shop before we left to see how they felt and I decided the seat was too hard for me so arranged a cruising seat for my bike and glad I did. I didn’t once have a sense of having a sore butt even with some really long days on interstates. Might think about getting one for my bike here even though the seat is thicker than the 950’s.

What we learnt this time:

We usually do the bike handover on the same day we leave but given that more snow was expected this year we returned them the day we returned to Chicago so the day before our departure and found this was a lot less pressured. It gave us comfortable time to repack our cases and consolidate what we needed to bring home and a chance to relax a little and debrief before we climbed on the plane and it was good. We also had a couple of free days before we picked the bikes up which gave us a chance to recoup a little before starting off on the bikes. Both experiences a plus so will aim to schedule that into future trips.



I don’t know, somehow it just isn’t as exciting to have the cases out on the table when we are unpacking them instead of packing them to go away, hardly surprising I guess.

We couldn’t have undertaken our trip without help from a lot of people so thought we would list them and thank them officially. Perhaps some of you can use some of these services now or in the future.

Family:
Our family and other employees - make it possible for us to get away in the first place by doing what we normally do when we are home and at work. Their contribution to making our getaway possible is truly IMMENSE and we couldn’t do it without them!

Our nephew Kevin- who helped us negotiate the legal aspects on the east side of the Pacific.

Bike Sales and Service:
DuPage Honda Yamaha
27 W 215 North Avenue
West Chicago, Illinois 60185, USA
Web – www.dupagehondayamaha.com

Robert - Sales Manager who sourced our bikes and Mike - business owner and his team who prepared the bikes and will store them for our return.

Bike Sale and Service:
Parkway Cycle
http://www.parkwaycycle.com/
1865 Revere Beach parkway
Everett, MA. 02149, USA

Robert (DuPage Honda Yamaha) organised for us to have our bikes serviced here which was about half way through our trip. We also organised to get a rear tyre replaced on my bike and a GPS replacement for Norm when his died.

Traralgon Motor Cycles
http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/dealers/ ... otorcycles
Lot 8 / Princes Highway
Traralgon East, Vic. 3844, Australia
Lot 8 / Princes Highway

we are grateful for their help in letting us measure up the size of the 950's and helped me determine that I wanted a cruiser seat and not the one which was standard.

Last but by no means least – Travel Agent:
Pinewood Shopping Centre
33-45 Centreway
Mount Waverley, VIC 3149, Australia
Email - travel@travelplus.com.au

Sue Ritter- TravelPlus Australia – Travel Agent extraordinaire who works with us to help us finalise our route and sift through the many accommodation and feature options and her input to our final decisions are greatly appreciated.



There is consolation in getting back on our bikes at home and heading out…..and it gives us some quiet time to start planning the next adventure! It was also a treat to get home to a garden in full bloom with spring colour but not as awesome as the many huge hugs we have had with our children and grandchildren on our return home. How fortunate are we!



I have countless great memories of our trip together but the two best are first of just being with Norm exploring a wonderful country full of incredible scenery, people and opportunity for the two of us just to be together and second the huge number of soaring eagles throughout the country. Many different sized eagles in incredibly varied countryside but the one thing in common is the graceful strength of their soaring over the top of us. Just loved it!

Thanks for joining us. See you for the next trip.

For those of you who may think the ride was all beer and skittles (to quote Norm) quite apart from an occasional bit of crappy weather we came across some questionable road as well and here is an example over Norm’s handlebars. …… For the record, Norm negotiated this particular bit of crapola to get some great photos for me but I declined and stuck to the tarmac.



And a quirky mail system in the hotel from a bygone era which is still in use. We also saw one of these where we stayed in the Radio City Apartments in New York City but assumed it was defunct. This is the inlet on the 2nd floor.



The staff here told me the postman comes in with a huge old key to unlock it to clear the mail. Mail can be dropped into it from any floor above and it is cleared from the ground floor and this is the unit on the ground floor.

Bits and Bobs:

Yesterday when we were having lunch at a Chinese Restaurant the waitress saw I was struggling with chopsticks and asked if we wanted forks and I said yes. When she returned she noticed Norm was using his chopsticks (very effectively) in his left hand and asked if he also wrote with his left hand. When he said yes she said that in China they say people who write with their left hand are very intelligent to which Norm of course replied that they say that in Australia also … and I’m not allowed to tell you that she laughed then.

Last night’s Accommodation:



Hotel Baker
100 W Main Street
Saint Charles, IL 60174

A lovely stately old building with surprising public spaces and large areas for weddings and other functions. Very nice restaurant with helpful staff there and elsewhere throughout the hotel. Spacious comfortable room and lovely comfortable bed to retreat to for our final night.

We had lovely hot showers when we got in yesterday afternoon but by the time I’d finished dinner I still felt cold I donned my long coat and hood to do the blog which Norm thought was worth a photo. Todqy's top here was 45F / 7C and it is usually 60F / 15.5C so a long way from what we have experienced the last day or so.

There was some snow overnight at Fort Wayne and heavy fog this morning so we put off our departure until a bit after 9am when the fog was lifting. As we headed off I cranked the grip heaters up to 5 and discovered that it was slightly less cold than yesterday morning because I could actually feel that they were on…a marginal improvement only. The forecast was for scattered rain and snow flurries throughout all of the area we were to travel in and snow coming into Chicago so it felt a bit daunting. I’m glad I didn’t know at that time that it had been snowing for most of the day in West Chicago at the bike shop yesterday. What we experienced on the way today was fog, drizzle, rain, ice rain and snow so nothing left out other than serious hail. The snow actually looked beautiful but thankfully didn’t last long enough to settle or to freeze on the road surface and then of all things when we were about two thirds through the trip the sun came out for about an hour and we had blue skies, go figure. At least it was dry to travel on all the interstates through Chicago and to stop to have some lunch and then clouded over and became very dark and threatening but a huge bonus was that it didn’t start to rain before we got to the bike shop. Another big bonus in all of this was that in spite of the cold we travelled through some idyllic farmland which I would love to see when the weather is such to allow for stopping to take photos (the weather definitely not allowing for that today) not to mention more spectacular leaf colour. How fortunate were we!



We stopped in the outer suburbs of Chicago for lunch and found China Square with yummy noodles and also this old bridge which was very quirky. The shed / building on the top looked a bit weird I thought. Notice the blue skies which disappeared soon after we got mobile again.



We dropped the bikes off at the bike shop in West Chicago then headed for our hotel in Saint Charles and this is a bridge over the Fox River and our Hotel built in 1928 is to the rear right of frame. There used to be a waterwheel just in front to the right to generate power for many years for the early industries in the area.



And a second shot on the bridge itself it is quite pretty.



And a shot from the rear of the hotel across the river to the Municipal Building and yes it’s marble.



And an incredibly well manicured garden just off the terrace, great for a wedding shot which they have often here in a number of incredible spaces within the building.

Bits and Bobs:

We couldn’t have done our trip without some terrific help from our nephew Kevin in Louisiana and also Mike and Robert and the team from DuPage Honda Yamaha (27 W 215 North Avenue, West Chicago, Illinois, 01185 – www.dupagehondayamaha@hotmail.com ). The bikes are both safely back in their care now until we return next year after a lot of planning to decide what we will explore then. How blessed are we!

Now after leaving a lot of bike gear at the bike shop for storage until next year we are in our hotel sorting out our luggage and repacking and reminiscing about what a great experience we have had and looking forward to massive hugs when we get home to our children and grandchildren. It seems a long time since we have done that … and there’s a good reason for that. Getting home will be great!

I will post a brief entry tomorrow before we head off and then some time after I get home a debrief. See you then.

Last night’s Accommodation:



Hilton Fort Wayne at Grand Wayne Convention Centre
1020 S Calhoun Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802

After riding a good distance it was lovely to be welcomed into the warm spacious surroundings of the hotel. The staff was great, the room spacious and comfortable and the bed sublime, we just sank into it. We had a lovely meal at the restaurant but after such a long ride felt cold by the time we got back to the room which I think was our core body temperature being a bit too low. We parked the bikes across the street undercover for $7.00 and had a yummy included breakfast. This is a big convention space and the public areas were many, spacious and comfortable, Very nice.

PS: Forgot to mention that the top temperature here in Fort Wayne today was 44 degrees Fahrenheit / 6.7 Centigrade
Overnight low tonight expected to be 32 degrees Fahrenheit / 0 Centigrade so figure it's going to be a cold one tomorrow and that doesn't even mention the impact of the wind chill factor.
Just went outside after dinner tonight to see if it was snowing already and it feels a little milder than earlier and the wind has dropped .... we will see what the morning brings.

One of the University Buildings we discovered last night. Much smaller of course but it reminded us both of elements of the Guggenheim Museum we saw in Spain trip.



The morning started brutally cold and dry, but no frost or snow and we headed south west for Fort Wayne with grip heaters on 5, 2 layers of merino leggings under draggen jeans and waterproof pants and 2 layers of long sleeve tops under my leather vest and double lined bike jacket then waterproof jacket on top and started what was a brutally cold ride throughout the day. We discovered as we left that we had apparently entered Cleveland by the back door and as we progressed through it found a much better maintained and affluent city and started approaching the skyscrapers but turned off before we go to them and headed out of town. This is a shot of the skyline from the internet.

We had few stops today due to lack of services on the roads we were on and because we wanted to get the trip over and done with. A bonus was all the magnificent autumn / fall colours we saw on the way as well as the huge amount of farmland we passed through. Our first break was to warm the fingertips on the exhaust outlet then the second at Bellevue for a hot chocolate and fuel, the third at the Beaverdam truck stop and intersection of a number of highways and man did we see some trucks coming and going. We sat in the sun in the window of McDonalds for our lunch and the fourth stop about 40 minutes on from there for another fuel stop then into Fort Wayne. I had even managed to cut the grip heaters back to 4 and momentarily to 3 by the time we got in.



Once we booked into the hotel we decided to go for a quick stroll around town and discovered that the ferocious wind we had experienced on the bikes over the last two days hadn’t let up and froze as we walked so didn’t stay out for long. This is an impressive streetscape across the road from the shop where we got a welcome hot coffee.



An impressive Fort Wayne Courthouse building. We also found another one on the other side of our hotel which was interesting.



And this is the Immaculate Conception Cathedral near our hotel where we finally got to light the candle we wanted to.

A bit disturbing sitting here doing the blog to hear the TV weather talking scattered snow showers here overnight and then scattered rain showers between here and Chicago tomorrow with snow coming into Chicago later in the day. Mmmm, and I thought today was cold. We had planned to drop the bikes off on Thursday but plan to drop them off tomorrow instead to get the travel done and hopefully beat any serious snow. We will see!

Bits and Bobs:



This is the sort of salt damage cars experience here with the salting of roads in winter and this is pretty mild compared to some we have seen on the road.



I can’t imagine there is anyone who hasn’t seen the Griswold Holiday movies and this sign both cracked me up and freaked me out.

Last night’s Accommodation:



The Glidden House
1901 Ford Drive
Cleveland, Ohio 44106

After riding a good distance through some very marginal areas it was with relief that we arrived at our accommodation which is just beautiful. The building is Heritage Listed and has been beautifully maintained and provides a lovely space to be in. The room is spacious and well-appointed with a roomy bathroom and parking on site (we can even see the bikes from our window so would certainly hear if an alarm went off). Also nice and handy to many good sites including the Museum of Natural History and lots of other options if we were going to be here for longer. The staff has been welcoming and helpful and the included breakfast lovely. We enjoyed being within the building. Felt spoilt.

Last night’s Dinner:

La Albatross – An award winning restaurant behind the hotel and along the lane so a short walk and what a find it was. From the moment we walked in past the kitchen to the reception we could see kitchen staff working flat out and the serving staff (heaps) all but running back and forth. We had to wait at the bar before we could be seated as did many others. The menu was huge and every meal that went past us looked and smelt delicious as did what we ordered ourselves. We asked if it was a busy night and were told it was reasonably slow for a Monday. When we asked how busy they got we were told they seat 500 on a Saturday night. Great to see all the part-time employment for many Uni Students who are in the area. Our Hotel also use it for their room service so another good recommendation.

The morning started cool mild and sunny which was good considering we had been looking at forecasts telling us we are unlikely to get into Chicago without snow. Enough of that, we donned another layer of woollen long johns and tops and waterproofs over the top and headed west.



We soon headed north towards Lake Erie but before then there was plenty of water and this is typical of most areas where boating is a summer pastime. Boats wrapped up ready for the winter.



And a bridge we would probably have ridden over had the GPS not sent us on a shortcut but we wouldn’t have got the photo then so good news. On our way we discovered large areas where most of the leaves have already fallen, others where the leaves are falling around us and even others where little colour change has occurred. This was mainly near the lake so I guess the temperatures have been warmer near the water.



We headed for the Peninsula at Presque Isle and moved through an obvious summer playground region with all sorts of theme parks including a massive rollercoaster with a section literally flying over the roadway as we headed along Peninsula Drive. Cafes, fuel stops and most shops were locked up tight as a drum waiting for the next summer season. That said there were heaps of people walking, running and driving along the Peninsula anyway enjoying the dappled sights of trees and water and even sandy beach onto the main lake area. The majority of this area is a State Park and there are huge areas set aside for camping and picnic sites. This is a shot Norm took of three birds, not sure what, pheasants? Bush turkeys?



And a shot of some of the wetland area with a little colour behind. The balance between beautiful colour and green was about half in half throughout the park which is amazing since snow is forecast to be here by tomorrow night.



And a shot of some quirky caravan type floating houses which I don’t think we have anywhere in Australia. One of a rego plate for you Kevin!



We got into Cleveland by 3pm warm, dry and relieved. We are near the University Circle so went for a walk to check out the ‘Little Italy’ area and had a delicious cappuccino and a wicked snack then headed back and wandered through the University area. This is a shot of some of the differing architectural styles at an intersection on our way back.



One of many impressive University buildings.



And on to the Botanic gardens which were closed but this is a shot of some parkland on the perimiter.



And an attractive display at the Garden entrance.

Bits and Bobs:



We went into the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Little Italy to say a prayer and light a candle for our friend Ian Miles who died yesterday and this is a sign which is on the entry.



And some posters under the rail bridge on our way back. Like these better.

Last night’s Accommodation:



Horton House Bed & Breakfast Inn
504 Market Street
Warren, PA 16365

A delightful experience of living in a stately home which is an outcome of the lumber boom in the 1700’s and is generously shared by the two brothers who were our hosts. Room really spacious and light and airy, bathroom small with shower but adequate and generous inclusions in the bathroom not to mention all sorts of things available downstairs. The bed was comfortable and the included breakfast delicious. The only negative for me was that we could lock ourselves in our room of a night but the only key we had was for the back door to let ourselves in and out of the house so couldn’t lock our room when we weren’t in it. There was room in the garage for our bikes which was appreciated and they had the softest toilet paper we have found since coming to Canada and the USA which might sound a silly little thing but so nice.

The morning started cold but clear and sunny with cloudy patches so we took a couple of pics in Coudersport then had breakfast and headed west.



Coudersport station, very cute.



A corporate building for the defunct communications company Adelphi. The locals call it the Taj Mahal. A very impressive building almost completely empty and the jobs it offered the community have gone.



The Kinzua Bridge built in 1883 to carry coal from one ridge to another but became a 301foot high tourist attraction as well being even higher than the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. In the 1900’s it was upgraded and strengthened to cater for heavier locomotives and loads and kept going until the 1960’s when it was only the tourist trade which used it. It was undergoing a multimillion dollar upgrade in 2003 when storms were forecast and it became dark early and the crews went home. They returned next day to find that 2 separate tornados had swept through and lifted up and dropped two sections of bridge then a 3rd lifted and twisted an end section as well. The 1883 bolts on the original foundations were what gave away. It remains a tourist attraction today.







The leaf colour has been all but absent today with most surroundings being silver with an occasional splash of colour except on randoml slopes which must be protected from the colder weather though around Warren where we are tonight there is still a lot of green and only slight change. Go figure. This was what I thought might be a bit of a last hurrah as far as the colour goes as we stopped to admire the Kinzua Dam in the Allegeny National Forrest.



And the dam behind the tree and bikes.



And a shot of the spillway on the Kinzua Dam which supplies a hydro power station.



A quirky looking building in Warren when we pulled up for a bowl of chilli for lunch where we discovered a café which has a jam session every Sunday afternoon for whoever turns up with instrument or voice and they were very good. When they discovered we were Australians they started playing Waltzing Matilda and enlisted our help to sort their song book and sing with them which was a bit different. It was fun.



And a train bridge in Warren which we liked.



And the hallway we discovered in our B&B. A bit freaky!



The front porch was much less scary.

Bits and Bobs:



One for the grandchildren. If this isn't a haunted house I don't know what is!



And for everyone else. A sign we found at our morning hot chocolate stop (no cappuccino or latte which wasn't flavoured)

Last night’s Accommodation:



Gail Eustace Dupont Guesthouse
109 E 7th Street
Coudersport, PA 16915
What a treat it was to find this little getaway. This is a room above the hair dressing salon of the owner beside her home and it is just beautiful. Spacious, comfortable, decorated beautifully with lots of extras like complimentary food in the pantry and helpful hosts. Excellent value for money! Would definitely recommend and use again if we were ever in the area again.

Last nights dinner:

Olga’s - Café and Bar – awesome ambience in an old building with a completely refurbished interior some 20 years ago and looks magnificent. Staff