Canberra Awareness ride - Sat 28th Jan

[cws]

So, anyone else partaking in this ride to Canberra this Saturday?

http://www.netrider.net.au/calendar/?action=details&id=335

[big dog]

... did my back in over Christmas and am still getting physio. Be a good run on the LT, except for the boring bit down the Hume :) .

Hopefully will be able to ride the bike again in a couple of weeks. See what happens.......

The ones that do go, ride safe and protest loud eh?

[Daza]

Chris,

Taking Friday as leave to turn it into a 4 day weekend and Jen and I and the LT and Uni-go are heading south, not sure to where but down Batemans Bay way and points further south....

[rmg08057]

Chris

What are the main current issues for Australian riders which would drive participation, especially at the Federal level? Is it specific matters, or general awareness?

[cws]

Hi Ralph. I think like anywhere, at least in the cities, its just general awareness.
Yesterday while going to work I had a cage veering left across my lane as we rounded a sweeping LH corner at around 80kmh, they could not have taken the proper precaution of looking over his/her shoulder before starting to move across. Didn't bother indicating either.
A few seconds blast on the horn and a quick flick of the wrist to ensure I was in their sight lines got them pulling back to their own lane again, thankfully. Its always amazing how the "slow drift across" always seems to slow down time, you watch it unfold and hope for the best outcome...
A friend who attended a previous Canberra ride some years ago, I think this is the third time its been run, tells me it was great, a huge number of riders took part, so I'm expecting to see a few thousand bikes by the time we hit Canberra.
The ride down the main freeway is pretty boring as a rule, since there is a good 2 & 3 lane highway pretty much all the way from Sydney to Canberra these days.
I know a number of riding roups will hit the backroads for a more interesting ride, I'll have my partner with me though, she's not so into the quick bends, so it'll probably be a cruisey run for us, around 3-4 hours down, then back again.
And its not often a group of bikers can officially shutdown the main road into the nations capital....!
So generally I guess it to raise awareness through media publicity, put a show of strength in numbers to the lawmakers/politicians that there is a large voting group on bikes, and have a fun ride for the day! At least thats what I'm hoping for.

[cws]

Hi Daz.

I wish you fair weather and a great ride.
Would like to catch up sometime and have a look at the Uni-go.
Seriously starting to think about a trailer, pity the Uni-go's still seem to be unavailable, even from the new US manufacturer from the web info.
There seems to be plenty of 2-wheeler suppliers in OZ though, which might suit the carrying requirements better in the end. I'm determined to be able to take my kneeboard with me ;-)

[cws]

Yeah, watch that back big-dog. Did mine a few years back, wound up having an op to get it sorted. Pretty much right now, with limitations.
Great excuse to seriously consider the 05/06 models with the hydraulic centre-stand though ;) . That was a major consideration in my choice.

[big dog]

That's the idea mate, to try and look after the back as the LT is not really a light weight. There was a thread in the K1200 forum a couple of days ago where someone was able to get the 05 centre stand unit and fit it to their (I think 03 LT) and gave the post mortem on the job. Sounds really easy to do and something that I would seriously consider if someone threw one at me (all offers considered thanks :) ).

Have a safe trip south.

[cws]

Well, this ride has just taken on some additional meaning for me.
Learned last night that an aquaintances brother was killed on Monday while commuting to work early morning near Penrith. Apparently a women pulled out in front of him in an 80km/h zone, and he couldn't avoid her. She uninjured, he dead........
I didn't know the guy, but it still hurts to hear it.
Stay safe.

[rmg08057]

Thanks Chris. I hope this ride helps the "pro-lane-splitting" proposals that have been submitted to the group working on the uniform national road code.

[Daza]

[QUOTE=cws]Would like to catch up sometime and have a look at the Uni-go.
QUOTE]

G'day Chris,

Anytime.... come for a coffee. I'll send you a PM with my mobile number.

Daryll

[cws]

Hi all. There are some pics and small videos (taken with my little Canon Ixus 500) on an ftp server, where you can access them for a short time if you're interested.
Click on the link below:
ftp://ftp.al.com.au/private/dfb/canberra_060128/

you may need to download the .avi's to get them to play.
cheers