Yep tis raining ... and more rain on the way apparently. I can't complain, we've had a very dry season and the rain is pretty welcome. But it has to stop by ... ooooh, the middle of next week would do. For now it can pour as much as it likes as I'm working nearly every day this week and half of next week, from Thursday I'm officially on holidays! And I'm gonna ride ... rain, hail or shine .. I'm getting on my bike and going ... somewhere, not sure where I guess I'll know when I get there. OK hail might be a bit much ... even rain if it's as heavy as it is now will probably stop me. But if the sun's shining that's it .. I'm riding!!
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| Felt strange picking up the little point and click to take this pic. |
I have had stuff to do though, I got my new camera yesterday after work and spent a couple of hours playing with it last night, working out the menus a bit, that wasn't too hard as they are very similar to all the other canon cameras that I've owned recently. And I played with it a bit more this afternoon, trying to keep the camera dry but get some pics of the rain. That was interesting.
I've filled the rest of my time browsing around on Ebay, I'm trying so hard to restrain myself there but that is how I got myself the camera and since then I've found myself just going for a look quite often. Tis fun and I even got myself a nice retro 50's tablecloth. Not thrilling I know but I can't wait til that one comes in the mail!
I've been doing a bit of the last minute things for when the Shadow Riders come to visit us. I've set up a ride of a lifetime for them with the help of the awesome crew of the local Dragon Boat, they are going to take a bunch of the bikers in the dragon boat and see if they can paddle as well as they peddle (OK I know they ride not peddle but I couldn't go with 'row as well as they ride' cause I have been told quite emphatically that it's "paddling" NOT "rowing" and I don't wanna get into trouble).
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| Photo from Outback Dragons Inc |
I've been keeping a good eye on my favourite blogs and I even got a mention on one of them. Shybiker posted all about my photography efforts on the last day that we saw blue sky. That was exciting!
The famous moto blogger FuzzyGalore recently posted about a book she got, filled with places she wants to go look at, she finds the best places and shares them all with her loyal followers so I cant wait to see where she ends up. That post got me thinking about where I want to go for my next big ride.
I tried to embed the map here of where I wanna go but it wouldn't work so you can follow this link if you are interested in maps. Otherwise let me tell you where I wanna go. I would like to make a big kinda loop of outback NSW. I've always been fascinated with those towns in outback NSW and one of the ones I've always wanted to visit is Broken Hill. Broken Hill is a mining town close to the New South Wales/South Australia border which has a fascinating heritage that I have wanted to explore for ages. While I'm up that way I want to head up to White Cliffs where they mine Opals. They have some amazing underground living arrangements there including an underground motel
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| From: undergroundmotel.com.au |
Riding through your beautiful country is on my bucket list. I'll get there before I die! Until then, I live vicariously through your adventures. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll try to have more adventures just for you! There are so many things I still want to do and see, it will take a lifetime. Don't forget to drop in and say g'day when you come to aus.
DeleteBrenda:
ReplyDeletefor your google maps, log into Google then create your map. when finished click on that "LINK" icon and a new screen pops up giving you the HTML code to post on your blog.
I can't imagine life without a dSLR camera. I have always had a good camera but I carry a P&S (Point and click) for quick ease of use. Your photos will improve immensely once you know when to alter the settings, plus you are in control of where your focal point is. A cheap (inexpensive) lens to get is the 55-250mm. It is sharp but has a bit less contrast. You need to bump it up in your editing program
Your trip should be exciting. That's a BIG loop. The satellite view shows a lot of BROWN. Does that mean it is going to be very hot there ?
have a nice trip and stop often for photos. Remember we don't know what it is like there so we need to see through your eyes (ie: your lens)
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Hi Bob,
DeleteYeah I did that for the map but it didn't load, we've had cruddy internet connections since it started raining, we even lost power for a while today and the ceiling fell in at work today too .. Dubbo isn't really prepared for wet weather.
I'm not sure what the lens is that I got with the camera, but I did have to bump up the contrast on the top photo a bit. So far I'm really loving the SLR and wonder why I waited so long to get one. Be prepared for questions Bob :)
Yep it's going to be hot there and not a trip to be made in summer or winter cause it gets cold there too. It's still very much one in the wish list but hopefully we'll get there before the end of the year, maybe next spring. Oh that brown on the satellite view is mostly red dirt.
I'll definately take plenty of pics for you!
Wow, a 2k trip, and yet yst a glimpse of your beautiful country. I will certainly look forward to your road reports. And if it is in your budget, try out this underground hotel, it looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Sonja :)
DeleteThere is so much to see in this country, I'm so glad sometimes that I started riding the bike cause you do get to see more of it.
If I get to White Cliffs the Underground Motel is definately in the budget, it's something I've wanted to see for a very long time.
Oooh trip planning - fun!!
ReplyDeleteI love that first picture with the rain on the grass blades. was that with the new camera? I bet the little point and shoot felt light in comparison.
That underground hotel looks really fun. I hope you get to stay there so we can all live vicariously through you!!
Thanks Brandy,
DeleteYep that pic was one of the first that I took and I did edit it a bit but am pretty pleased with how well it coped with all the cropping I did, with the point and click I'd try to get something like that and it would be all blurry by the time I was finished. Yeah the little camera is so light now, and it used to feel so heavy when it was in my jacket pocket.
Dont worry if I get within 100km of that place I'm staying there, and I'll take heaps of pictures to share of course :)
I wish I was coming.....:(
ReplyDeleteAww Rog :(
DeleteBut hey you have such a beautiful country to ride around in!! I wish I was riding over there .. who knows once I've conquered Aus I might just come across to you :)
Beautiful photos! Looks like a great camera.
ReplyDeleteI hope some day to go back to Australia. Last time I was in a Jeep, maybe next time I'll tour around on a bike! Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see your blog posts about it :)
That underground motel looks pretty cool!
Take care
x
Bel
b-by-bel.blogspot.com
http://jeep-girl.blogspot.fr (new blog)
You would enjoy Aus on a bike Bel, there's so much to see!!
DeleteI'll definately have some interesting blog posts, first I have to finish planning it .. and talking Terry into it too :D
Have a good trip! And send some rain our way - very dry here and affecting our farmers.
ReplyDeleteWould be happy to send some rain your way Andrew, though it's hitting the coast harder than here at the moment so maybe they will send ya's some. I hear what you are saying bout your poor farmers, ours always seem to get the bad luck .. drought for months or even years then when it rains, it does it when they are trying to harvest or just before and it ruins crops. It's a hard life for a farmer.
DeleteWill definately have a great trip, even though it's likely to change before we get to do it, I'm pretty determined to see the things I've mentioned!
It's good to make big plans while you going through a regular day at work - you think of all the fun things you will be doing on your days off.
ReplyDeleteThat dragon boat paddling is harder than it looks - the "paddling/rowing" is more of a thrusting and pull backwards - good exercise for the arms though! Hope they all enjoy it...
Hey Suzu :)
DeleteYeah planning rides at work is the best part of going to work, I come in contact with a lot of people throughout my work day and chatting with them is pretty much part of my job description, so I get heaps of ideas and tips from lots of people every day to help with my plans.
My boss is a dragon boat paddler and I've watched her lose weight and gain so much fitness over the last 12 months or so that I dont doubt that it's hard work. I cant wait to have a go myself and the guys are all very excited about it .. I haven't told them yet about how that heavy boat gets from it's storage container to the river .. I'll leave that part as a surprise for them :-D