Devonport - Hobart
24 October 2014
Master Map
Tasmania holds a special place in my heart. It was where I grew up, went to school, made lifelong friends, learned to sail and ride motorbikes and lived for 40 years. My children were born there and one still lives in Hobart. I left for various reasons, but not because I'd come to dislike it. Even though the weather is much less conducive to riding bikes than where I now live in Queensland, it is still possible to ride all year round if you're prepared to deal with the cold.
It's an island, rugged in parts. Stand on the beach near Strahan on the west coast looking west and there's nothing between you and South America. Only South America, the South Island of New Zealand are nearer Antarctica.
I woke to a cool and overcast morning as the ship came alongside in Devonport. By not long after 0700 I was on the way out of Devonport following the ST and Guzzi of the blokes I'd boarded with the night before. It was cold and threatening rain, so there are no photographs of the early part of the trip.
The guys I was following had told me they took the ferry to Victoria at least once a year to go for a ride. They were both older than me (well, I think they looked it) and had been doing it for quite a while. I followed them to a place called Exeter where they were stopping while I was pushing on to Launceston. In Launceston, I was to meet an old mate who, in age falls into the 7.42% group of CB1100 forum members. He's had lots of bikes and has recently bought a Ducati Monster 659 which has been tuned down a bit to make it a learner-legal bike in Australia. I think he bought it because it offered a bit of excitement without being as heavy as an in-line 4. He had timed the first service so he could meet me in Launceston and ride to Hobart with me. How kind was that?
Actually, it occurs to me that I should record here a vote of thanks to Graham. He and his wife came to stay for a few days in 2013 and while we were chatting about bikes I told him how much I liked the CB1100. He turned up a few reviews and really went to work on me to buy one if that was what I really wanted. I did. Thanks mate. It was a great decision.
I met him at his hotel and had a cup of tea to warm up before we lit out for Campbell Town, 70 odd kms to the south. We stopped there to refuel and have a belated breakfast. Actually, I think it was Graham's second breakfast!
Even though tuned down a little, the Monster had no real trouble keeping up with the CB1100
We then turned east to ride the Lake Leake Road, one of the better riding roads among many in Tasmania. It climbs briefly over a range before falling away to the east coast and has a number of really good, fast sweepers. As we got to the top of the range, an irritating drizzle set in. I regret not putting on my wet weathers.
On the Lake Leake Road
I love the east coast of Tasmania. It's a great place to ride a bike. It's not too twisty, but it's by no means straight either and you can get along at a good pace, particularly when you know the road a bit. It's amazing how it came back to me as we made our way to Orford where we met my youngest son for lunch. I ate an excellent focaccia and enjoyed a welcome coffee while I dried out a little, warmed up and marvelled at how much weight my son had lost since last I saw him.
After lunch it was on with the wet weather gear, although I had a bet with Graham that it would stop raining once we were not many kms inland. It did, and that was great because the Orford to Hobart road was always one of my favourites as a young bloke. It's better now than it was due to widening and a better surface and the enthusiast can maintain a cracking pace.
At Sorell we stopped and said our goodbyes as Graham was heading in a different direction. It had been a good ride and I'd enjoyed seeing the Ducati up close.
I made my way to Hobart where I got off the bike for a couple of days to go sailing with my brother. It was one of the reasons I'd decided to come to Tasmania. Although other parts of Australia offer a more benign climate for sailing few, in my view, offer the range of convenient coastal cruising as Hobart. There are plenty of relatively isolated, sheltered bays to drop the anchor and some semi-sheltered waterways offering excellent sailing. Sailing has long been one of the things that has given me great joy, particularly cruising. The forecast was reasonably good and I was looking forward to seeing some old haunts again.
