By sea, air and land.

There's no escape. In a daring plan, one family member and accompanying support vehicle sails under cover of darkness to rendezvous with the rapid-deployment squad (of one) travelling by plane the next day. Forces thus assembled make their way to the Scottsdale supply depot, followed by a rapid head-on advance towards the small town of Weldborough where the target awaits. The assembled force will split up and surround Ben as he sits, unsuspecting, by his tent in the state forest. Once in the company of family, we three will begin a detailed exploration of local eating establishments and significant sites in the north east. A news blackout will be in effect for the next seven days. A detailed photographic record of the operation will be posted on Wikileaks. During our absence, home base will be guarded day and night by a fourth family member and a highly-trained attack labrador.

Camped in the state forest.

Ben's set up camp in the state forest, off Mt Paris Dam Road, about 5km from Weldborough. He tells me, "the dukes been a bit lethargic on startups, flooded for today..." so a new glass-fibre battery and spark plugs have been added to the shopping list, along with a replacement speedo cable and oil filter. Some items have been purchased already (just in case, and just as well!) Looks like we'll be spending a few hours next week getting the transportation back into good order. The other request was to bring over Ben's old running shoes since running has recently been added to the outdoor fitness regime. Oh yes, almost forgot, must remember to buy an extra vanilla slice (or two) at the Scottsdale Bakery on Saturday morning. Could be wrong but I don't think that vanilla slices are part of the fitness regime.

Back to the Weld.

SMS received 2.24pm: Did the trick. Back to the Weld.

Parts arrived in good time, it seems.

Spare parts on the way.

Bike parts are on the way and expected to arrive on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. In the meantime, Ben's staying at the Barilla Holiday Park in Cambridge. Once the bike is fixed, he'll head back to Weldborough. Two family visitors arrive in the north east on Saturday. One's an old hand at the sea voyage and will stay for a week while the other has never been to Tas before and is flying over for a three-night visit.

Operating and skippering a sailing vessel.

Ben's sailing this weekend. Sandy Bay, Hobart.

Passage course: Enjoyable weekend cruising the channel* leave Saturday overnight and return Sunday. Learn and practice all the skills for operating and skippering a sailing vessel.

* D'Entrecasteaux Channel

Evening update: By all reports the sailing was great fun. The 32ft yacht, named Redeemer, had one instructor and three young trainees. The trainees sailed the boat for most of the time and were set many challenges throughout the two-day course. They put ashore for meals and slept the night on the boat. Travel to Hobart and back to Cambridge didn't require a taxi; a friend drove Ben to Sandy Bay and the instructor drove him back to Cambridge afterwards.

In a bit of a pickle.

"I'm in a bit of a pickle," is how the phone conversation started. Ben had stopped to look around Campania Cemetery, one of many historic places in Tas. While there, he met an older bloke and it turned out that they had a common interest in fossicking. Ben got to visit the man's house and saw an impressive collection of gemstones. Meanwhile, in the cemetery car park, the fully-loaded red Ducati mysteriously tumbled off the side-stand (again) snapping the clutch lever off at the base (again). With no spare lever, no tools except for one pair of pliers, an 8.30am sailing course in Hobart the next day and the sun rapidly setting over the cemetery, it seemed like a fairly good time to phone the folks. The RACT were called but rang him back to say there would be a delay getting a tray truck. They weren't needed, however. Using pliers to operate the hydraulic clutch, Ben limped the bike 20kms to Cambridge. The bike can be safely left there over the weekend and it's close enough to Hobart to take a taxi to this weekend's sailing course. While he's sailing around on a yacht, we'll try to find a replacement lever and express post it over.

Saturday morning update: Spare clutch lever found, purchased and posted Express Post. "Guaranteed next day delivery", according to the envelope but won't actually get there till Tuesday or Wednesday since the guarantee only applies to week days and city locations. Cambridge is between Hobart and the airport but outside the list of locations!

One year ago - Berlin.

A three week trip to Berlin-Buch, Germany. There were a couple of free days to see some of the sights of Berlin and then a long flight home. There's a return trip to Berlin required sometime on or after October 2012.

That was just one year ago.

Mickey mouse ears and a tail bag.

More items are on the way via the postal service: a new Andystrapz roll-top tail bag with a capacity of up to 25L; and a replacement set of mirrors for the Ducati since the current mirrors have been damaged for some time. Mirrors to suit a 1998 Ducati Monster M600 were found by posting a wanted message on the Oz Monster forum. The response, from a forum member in Queensland, appeared exactly 20 minutes later: "You mean the mickey mouse ears? I have a pair you can have if you pay shipping." Following an exchange of messages and a Paypal transfer, the mirrors were posted to Ben's Weldborough address the very next day.

Waiting.

Last year we'd often take the dog for a walk to the shops. Ben would go inside to buy essential food supplies while Jazz and I waited outside. Jazz still gets a walk every day but it's only occasionally that we go past the shops. Each time she sits and waits for Ben to come out.

Winter becomes spring.

The seasons roll around and sweet-scented jasmine is flowering in our garden. Down south, in Derby, there's an extra two hours of daylight, when compared with the winter solstice; and they're gaining an extra three minutes of sunlight each and every day. Not sure of Ben's location at the moment.

Afternoon update: As it happens, he's in Derby today enjoying the extra sunshine, in between the clouds. Didn't get to Ridgley, stopped at the bridge across the Tamar and decided to go back. The Sony Ericsson phone has been playing up lately, some problem with the speaker and is now completely out of action. It's been replaced with an iPhone and activation requires a computer, hence a trip to the online access centre in Derby.

Riding to Ridgley.

Ridgley
(web image)

Heading west today, across the Tamar and down to Exeter, then along the winding back road to Devonport and across a section of the northern coast, destination Ridgley, 15 km south of Burnie. If I'm not mistaken, this will be the first time Ben's been in or near Devonport since he first arrived in Tassie way back in January.  The boat's not sailing today so a quick trip home wouldn't be possible even if the inclination was there. What's at Ridgley? A taekwondo class.

The North East Football Union grand final was held yesterday. The Winnaleah Magpies defeated the Ringarooma Robins in front of a 1000-strong crowd at the Scottsdale recreation ground. Ben enjoyed watching the game but decided against following the locals back to a crowded Winnaleah pub.

(Final scores: Winnaleah 13:9 87 def Ringarooma 9:6 60)

Looking forward to summer.

Looking forward to the summer. From Wednesday's Facebook chat:
ok ill stick around in december for ya
sun should be out
beaches will be warm
fishes
rainforests
smooth roads
and fresh air o course

theyre having the 8 ball competition recently too
good to have and watch
every thursday
im in the weldborough team for support
havent lost a game with me around
i dont play i just have a beer and talk

5,000 screaming Tasmanians!

Geale vs Albert in
Hobart. (Web image) 

Ben didn't ride down to Hobart for the title fight. He said he wanted to experience a large crowd at an event and it sounds like he missed a real screamer.

The 30-year-old Tasmanian outlasted Albert to claim a unanimous victory on points in front of more than 5,000 at the Derwent Entertainment Centre... Geale said the parochial crowd made a big difference. "5,000 screaming Tasmanians is so much better than 5,000 screaming Germans, I can tell you," he said. (source: ABC News)

All nice and neat though.

We now have a description of Ben's room in Weldborough. From yesterday's Facebook chat:
its nearly full
theres sieves hanging off the wall
a guitar
motorcycle gear
camping gear
a bow hanging on the wall too
fishing rods on the ceiling
all nice and neat though

Plus pics just downloaded from the iphone: