Maitland to Melb, do-able in a day?

I'm keen on hooking up with a few blokes from here who are doing a
Tassie trip the first two weeks of November then picking up the Snowy
ride on the way back. Trouble is they're getting the 9pm ferry from
Melbourne on the 2nd and I'll be in Maitland for a mate's wedding on the
1st.

Assuming I dont have a horrendous hangover etc (possible, not probable),
is Maitland to Melbourne a realistic target? Travelmate reckons 1009km
and almost 11hrs going the Hume through Albury etc. I've only been to
Melbourne once before, about 5 years ago in a car and I came through
Dubbo (cause I wasnt leaving from Maitland obviously!) instead, so I
dont know if there is a better way to get to Melbourne.

Is is easy to get to the ferry? I've got a naked bike with a centre
stand and side stand, is there anything I should be careful about with
the boat trip? I seem to recal reading on here that they tie the bikes
down, can you do it yourself with them providing tie downs?

Suggestions gratefully accepted, including offers of $3.50 and a kick in
the nuts

Cheers,
Ash

 

I'd say that you'd be really pushing it, and that getting into Melbourne
on a rainy night after a ride that long and pushing to make up
for lost time is going to put you at risk of spending your holidays
in hospital. That's just an opinion, though ...

Assuming we're talking about the Spirit, and assuming the new ones
are like the old one, they tie it down for you, basically a tiedown
over the seat pulling it up off sidestand and onto its wheels,
then compressing the suspension a bit to hold it in place. A guy
on a K-bike wanted to put it on center, but they wouldn't let him,
since apparently the steel stand/steel deck interface doesn't do
a lot for friction . They tied it down so it was practically
vertical anyway, so he was happy enough. If you're worried about
the tiedown strap marking the saddle, throw your jacket or
sheepskin under the tiedown. Don't forget that you can't get into
the vehicle decks when the ship is underway, so bring warm clothes
with you.

Might be worth seeing if you could catch the ferry the next day
and break the ride up ... after all, Tassie is pretty small
compared, so catching your friends up won't be too hard.

-----sharks

 

You can do Sydney to Melbourne in 8 hours, just stopping for fuel, and
going.

its 1000klms from Cronulla to Frankston Via Westgate bridge...

Do Maitland to Melb in a day, piss easy.

 

Whereas I'd say "yeah, so long as you start early, and go the boring way, you
wont have any trouble at all"...

Have you done 1,000km+ days on the bike before? Do _you_ reckon you could do it?

I've done Sydney<->Melbourne via routes like the coast to Bega, up thru Cooma
and Thredbo, The Harrietville, Mt Hotham, Sale, and into Melbourne in a single
hit several times. Last trip was back in Feb, and I made it into Melbourne in
easy time for a 7:30pm dinner.

You need to start early (I like to be under way by dawn, do a few hundred km
before breakfast), you need to be "bike fit", and you need to keep an eye on the
time, and plan alternate routes for the last bit in case you need them (in Feb,
lots of the backroads thru the snowies were closed by fire, so I ran the last
few hours into Melbourne via the Hume).

If I was you tho, I'd be trying to plan getting at least a few hours south of
Maitland on the evening after the wedding. 2 or 3 hours could almost get you to
Goulburn or Nowra, which'd chop off a fair chink of the trip and make the next
day a lot easier...

big (for extra points of course, you do it on a 250...)

 

Yeah, true. My reply was assuming that by 'wedding', you meant
'enormous pissup into the wee hours' and quite possibly
'enormous pissup plus you get to shag a bridesmaid'. If by
'wedding' you mean 'tea and biscuits and the registry offfice
and a peck on the cheek from Grandma', then obviously your
scope for misadventure is smaller.

You'd want, in short, to make an early start, and if you can
jump the gun a bit all the better. Having the 9pm deadline
is the big problem, since otherwise if you're fading out
at Echuca or whatever you can afford to pull over for a
wee kip.

-----sharks

 

The furthest I've ridden in a day so far is, according to Travelmate,
720km (hello BT). I did that comfortably (though comming back the next
day was a bit of a struggle, thanks Mick ;-) and since then I've upped
the gearing slightly for a more relaxed cruise and added some dead
sheep, so I reckon I could do 1000km+ days. But I have been wrong
before

Hmmm, yes. I've got a mate who lives in Sydney which isnt that far, but
it all helps I suppose. I'm thinking I might find out about catching a
boat the next day...

Well, obviously Trouble is, when you get to highway speeds on the
XT oil consumption nearly outstrips fuel consupmtion so I doubt I could
carry enough oil!

Cheers,
Ash

 

Ah, didnt think of that.

Form an orderly queue

Cheers,
Ash

 

Doh! *slaps forehead*

Cheers,
Ash

 

Do it at what ever speed you feel comfortable. If your unsure, take 2
days, and actually ENJOY it, stop at Holbrook check out the submarine
on the side of the road, Ettamogah pub at Albury, etc etc etc.. Lots
to see.

As others have said, if you havent done many long days before, dont
try it, it IS a long day, and people get tired.

I fell asleep at wheel at Broadford on way from Shitney once.. wrote
off my bike that was in back of Ute, and no insurance. $13k to the
ute, and lots of other shit

 

Yeah, agreed. I was slapping myself for being so dumb, of course 1000km
in 8 hrs = more than 100kph. Depending on the road (mobile tax
collectors or not), I usually cruise at 100-110, but if its a backroad
120-140.

Damn that sucks. I've nodded off in the car a few times, but its very
fustrating, as soon as I stop for a rest (or driver change) I'm not
tired. Get back behind the wheel and you're punching out the zzz's in 5
mins flat. Its because its so fucking boring driving at 100kph, as soon
as I come to a twisty section of road I come to life. Pity its too
expensive to drive faster (I'm not much of a gambler and the gov gets
too much of my $$ as it is, so I usually stick to the limit).

Cheers,
Ash

 

Ow... and you were almost there, too.

 

Mnnnnyeahhh, gotta watch that one... on my most recent drone up the Hume, on
the way home from the SBK, I was making a conscious effort to back off and
get ready for corners with plenty of warning; after 10 kays of nothing to do
but scan ahead for roos and try to keep your helmet in the super-quiet spot
in the slipstream above the tip of the screen at 160, you get a bit numb,
and it doesn't wash off after you peel into the first sweeper... OK, this
was at midnight on a day when I was up at 6:30am, but the principle's the
same...

I'd say the trick is to try not to make too many stops (like, run the tank
to near reserve by each time you stop), but to make them a bit longer than
just fill up, pay, and **** off... stretch legs, walk around, close eyes,
that sort of thing.

 

The first part would be easy, but do you really fancy riding through (I
presume) a strange and large city, with tram-tracks, and poor sign-posting
on the south side, in the dark after a long day on dead-boring roads?

Once on the ferry you won't have a problem. Protect the seat with your
jacket or sheepskin, and they tie it down against the suspension, on the
sidestand. They know how to do it, you just keep out of the way.

You'll enjoy Tassie after a liesurely ride and an overnight cruise, and you
can catch up with your mates by doing an extra couple of hours on the first
day.

 

Assuming I dont have a horrendous hangover etc (possible, not probable),

I've done Phillip Island to Newcastle via Melbourne in 13 hours sitting on a
steady 120kph, so 11 hours to Melbourne should not be too hard.

Don't even think of drinking beforehand though...I'd be leaving around
4:30-5am if I were going to do it with an aim of hitting Melbourne at 5pm.
That would give me a spare couple of hours for a snooze if needed and a
clear hour to find the ferry while still being at the ferry an hour before
departure.

-Ross

 

They ask you to be at the ferry at 7.30...to queue up. I was at the bar watching them load and a kid showed up on a bike about 10
mins before departure. Bikes are tied down at the front of the ship, and that is the end they load from in Melb. They supply a
tiedown, you just need a towel or gloves or sheepskin over your seat. It's a painless excercise. One tip, pay for a bed, DO NOT GO
on the cruise seats. Get on, go to the bar, start drinking and go to bed at 1am. Get off in Devonport and ride straight to Maccas
for McGrease.

See you in the shed for warming II


smack

 

Ive done Brisbane to Melbourne on a beemer in 17 hours...

 

<pissin comp>
I did Sydney Los Angeles in 21 hours.

 

Feh - what was _that_ in, a DC3??? Its only 13 or 14 hours these days...



big

 

Thanks for all the responses. At this stage I will either leave the
wedding reception earlyish (after not drinking) and stop at my mates
place in Sydney with a view to leaving there around 7:30am Sunday
(should be early enough methinks). Or party on at the wedding then
catch the boat on Monday and find my riding companions in Tassie.

I prefer the first option as I'm assuming theres going to be less
traffic on a Sunday in Melbourne. But ultimately I'll make my final
decision after talking to the other guys to find out where they're going
on their first day in Tas before I book.

Mmmm, 11 days in Tassie, then the Snowy ride on the way back. Now,
anyone want to buy my car to help fund the trip ;-)

Cheers,
Ash

 

Awesome, thanks Smack, I'll let 'em know.

Cheers,
Ash