Tuesday 19 March 2019

Why fly/drive when you can ride?

So it all made sense... well sort of.

Deb had some errands for me to run in Sydney and then Canberra.

Easy, fly to Sydney, rent a car.

Do the business there and then drive to Canberra.

Same there and then fly out of Canberra back to Brisbane.

 But then a thought came over me.. why not take the bike?

Ride to Sydney, CBR and then home via the Snowy Mountains.

The Long way home!

Thing is... planes and cars are basically weatherproof..... one day I shall learn.

Packed up the GSA and man was it loaded. Didn't realise paper work could weigh so much.

Down the Pacific Highway and up over the range via Bellingen and Dorigo to spend the first night at Armidale. Brochure drop the next morning and then down Thunderbolts Way to the Pacific Highway. The first time I had ever travelled along that road. An amazing ride. Must go back for a look around in the car when holidays roll around.

Eventually I arrive in Sydney.. but along the way I took the Old Pacific Highway and had lunch at Pie in the Sky.


Had one of the best meat pies ever here for lunch.

Arrived in Sydney late that afternoon as storms hovered overhead. Checked into the motel and had an early night.  This time I remembered to remove the lamb's wool seat cover from the bike before it rained. (Don't ask!)


An early start in the morning, a couple of people to see, one of whom was the Auto Expert, John Cadogan. His Youtube videos are legendary. And he is the place to go to buy a new car! John has been very helpful in coaching me on video production for the bride's shop's website. His knowledge of all things photographic is amazing and he is a mechanical engineer to boot.


You smile for the camera John and I will see what this button does!

After a couple of the best coffees I have ever had, I bid my farewell to John and head to Canberra. Now the GSA has 2 GPS systems on it and I run them in parallel and of course.. they both had different ideas in how to get to CBR. Only one of them has an on screen map so I follow that one as I dice with Sydney traffic and big trucks and threatening skies.

Finally, Canberra bound.

Now this GSA is an amazing bike to tour on. Long range with a large fuel tank, cruise control etc. But sometimes even it needs fuel and my backside needs a rest. Stopped at a service centre along the way and filled the beast up. Filled myself up with V and a couple of Panadol and away I went. Debra's old school friend Cheryl offered to put me up for the night. Sadly when she came down to open the garage, she locked herself out of her unit. So a quick long way ride around via Uber to a friend's place to get the spare key was my start to a couple of days in Canberra.

When we got back.. the bike was still there (bonus!) so into the underground garage it went.


Cheryl's FB pix.. "A man and his bike"

A great steak that night at the local football club and the next day I had the morning free. So off we went in the Mustang to the Old Parliament House to see an exhibition of the best political cartoons of 2018. Some really good stuff there. We went our separate ways then as I had some business to do and later in the day I managed to catch up with old school friend Tor Fromyr. Now I saw Tor last year and it was the first time in 50 years. And it was as though we had just seen each other yesterday. I always kid Tor that he looks like a Russian Spy. Cannot wait to get him into the studio for some black & white photography when next he comes to Brisbane. In the meantime.... we had a quick catchup in this fabulous cafe somewhere in Canberra.



Talk about Euro feel cafe!



Tor's comment was that I should take care with whom I associate with in the nation's capital.

Recently I wrote about my late father. In my small collection of his "stuff" was a victory medal from I think WW1. It was not his. In fact I have no idea how he came by it, but I always thought I should try to find a home for it. Using the search engine on the War Memorial Site I could not locate the owner. But I did find my late Uncle Jack and my second dad, Allan Gay.

Seemed to me that this medal in the top drawer in my office was just a piece of metal. Imagine the joy for somebody out there being reunited with a long lost relative by receiving their Victory Medal? It had to find an owner. At this point I thought perhaps the folks at the War Memorial in Canberra could help. I emailed Dr Brendan Nelson and asked him for advice. I had photographed him for an assignment when he was a cabinet minister many years ago. He actually remembered that.

So Friday morning finds me in Dr Nelson's office handing the medal to him.


I hope it finds a new home and brings some joy!




DR N and me... Deb was horrified by my wardrobe matching!



Dr Nelson is (was) a keen motorcyclist and only recently sold his beloved white Hayabusa. He just loves the form of motorcycles and told me he would have two inside his house.. if only his wife would let him. Understand that.. makes perfect sense.


Now that's a bike!

So while I was at the War Memorial I thought I would have another look around.


G for George, what an aeroplane.




What a magnificent design even by today's standards.




This aeroplane can tell some stories.... Google it.



The bridge of HMAS Brisbane, now resting on the bottom of the ocean.




First time I have seen a centurion tank in the flesh. had a toy one as a kid.



Now at this point, any normal person would drive to Canberra airport and fly home. No.. not me, I am going to loop through the Snowy Mountains and ride back to Brisbane. So I saddle up and head to Cooma for the night. If you ever saw Gold Finger, you might remember a scene where the Koreans put a giant mirror up and the reflection of Bond's Headlights confused him and he crashed the Aston Martin. So the motel I stayed at had this really long car park.... my room was at the end. As I rode along slowly looking for room numbers on the doors I looked up and suddenly saw another motorbike heading right for me. Talk about panic.. but no.. it was me looking at my own reflection. The end wall was all mirrors. Nearly dropped the bike...


Notice the mirror behind the bike!




The next day was Saturday.. so a day of touring and then head for  home. Up early and off to see the sights....



Cabramurra at 1488 metres. It was 14C with a really cold wind blowing. 

First port of call was Cabramurra the highest town permanently lived in all year. Cold as a mother in law's kiss. That wind chill factor was something else.



Had to park the bike this way so the wind didn't blow it over.



Then it was down the mountain.. a full 10 C difference in temp to boil the billy.



The good old Aldi camp stove.



Nice and sunny today!



Really freaky. Just a ramp down to the underground and lots of wind coming out.



Time to head for home. And the last picture....

This is the most amazing place. I need a good week's holiday down here. Saw wild brumbies, waterfalls and all sorts of amazing things. Need more time to take it in. Rode home in two days and managed to miss most of the storms once north of Sydney. I literally just got the bike locked in the garage, the door came down and then the biggest electrical storm hit Brisbane. Lightning, thunder you name it.. we had it.

All in all an awesome trip....

GPS and telemetry data here.


GPS trip computer 



Telemetry 1.



Telemetry 2.



Telemetry 3.

Amazing stuff. And all 50 years since man walked on the moon. Now even motorcycles have telemetry.

Thursday 7 March 2019

40 years ago today, I lost my mentor.


I remember it so clearly.. the phone rang and awoke me from a troubled sleep.

I looked at the bedside alarm clock... 4:15 AM.

"Hello, this is Mark."

"Mr Taylor, it's the Royal Brisbane Hospital here. I am sorry to advise you that your father passed away at 4:00 AM this morning!"

I knew it was coming, but it still hit hard.

"Please leave dad where he is.. I want to come and say good bye. I will be there in 15 minutes".

I rang my mother and sister in law Pam answered the phone.

"He's gone Pam."

She said she would bundle mother up to the hospital .

Quickly I dressed and drove the Toyota the short distance from Alderley to the hospital. Parked in the first spot I found and headed up in the lift. Friend from childhood Dr Ken Brand had told me that when this moment came, I should go and see him and say good bye.

The ward sister met me on the verandah.... she asked if I was OK and I sort of mumbled yes. My then wife elected to wait it outside, fair enough.

I went into the ward and saw his bed surrounded by curtains. I gently opened them and stood next to my father in his death bed. They had combed his hair straight back, the way he never wore it. And both of his arms were under the sheets.  The things I still remember, I stroked his head and he was still warm. I said my good byes and thanked him for being a great father. Again I apologised for being a crappy son during my teenage years... yes I really was that bad.

Strangely I didn't cry. (Little did I know that would wait for his funeral!)

Out onto the verandah I walked as my mother walked in. She was very teary. She cried by my father's side and apologised for not being with him when he passed.

So 6 AM finds me back at Armagh St, the family home. I stood at the top of the back stairs watching the day dawning and felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Dad's suffering was over. And did he suffer that last week.. especially the night before when I sat by his side holding his hand and talking to him. Pam brought me a cup of tea and I can still taste that sweet white tea even today.

The next 40 years seem to have flown by.. until today when I went to the cemetery to "visit dad" on the 40th anniversary of his death.

So many questions never answered, so much advice on life that I could never get from my father.

Recently I had this discussion with good friend Tim Roberston who lost his dad at 22 and he made similar comments. My father's business acumen was legendary and I really could have done with his mentoring during my early years in business.

My father lived a great life. A WW1 survivor (he went to war at 16) he also beat a post op infection that nearly killed him in 1944. There are buildings in Brisbane that still stand today thanks to his incredible vision and optimism to convince his group to build them for a growing city.

A charter member of Brisbane West Rotary he got a new lease on life at 67 as he helped to build that club. At his funeral it was said that he was granted a long life in which to live his Christian philosophy of service before self.

And that was Ron Taylor to a T. Always service before self.


RRBT at his desk in the Buffalo Lodge.


On my 21st birthday he told me that success in life can be achieved by understanding these 4 things:

1. Nothing of any value is ever achieved without some sacrifice.

2. Life isn't fair, get used to it.

3. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.

4. Service before self. Always!



Great to see you again dad.

The funeral was a celebration of his life, yet very sad as well.

I am so sad that Debra didn't get to meet dad, he was always keen to see women to do more than be housewives. To that end he set my mother up in her own business, Commercial Supplies Unlimited.

He would have thought the world of Debra and how she takes care of women who have been through the anguish of breast cancer.

Perhaps he is looking down.....