A Tribute to a Wonderful Friend
To be honest, we hadn’t known each other long. Some say we were just getting to know each others personalities. All I know is that she was a true friend and a sturdy beast. The tragic circumstances under which she was lost are hard to recall without bringing up all of the sadness and pain of that clear Friday night a week and a half ago.
I’d ridden into New Farm at about 7pm. The plan was to help Ed move furniture and bric-a-brac from his old rental on Sydney St to the apartment he’d purchased approximately 850m away. The evening was going well and we’d shifted one significant load of gear into the new place. Ed recalls seeing the old girl parked on the street when we arrived back. We went inside, loaded up his panel van and then disaster struck. The van wouldn’t start and we waited nearly an hour for the RACQ to change the battery. Within that hour the bike had been lifted onto a trailer or placed into the back of a van and whisked away to another life. There has been no sign of her since. I’d like you all to please take a moment to look at the photo below and remember my darling in her true element, on the farm, basking in the waning glow of a late-winter sun. She was a beauty. She will be missed. (please read below)
Right, so the upshot of all of this bike thievery is that I don’t have a vehicle to do my World Motorcycle Journey on… I’ve lodged an insurance claim with my insurer, who will hopefully be able to reimburse the total cost of the bike by next week. I’m looking at about a fortnight to have a replacement, which in anyone’s terms could be considered “cutting it fine”. Departure date is 16th October so all of the run-in, initial servicing etc. will need to be done in about four weeks. I’m really really hoping this gets sorted because I have a flight booked for the 5th December onwards to Kuala Lumpur, which will require me being in Darwin by that date, which in turn will require a motorcycle. Some of the documentation (Carnet in particular) will also require a registered bike before I can apply.