A perfect day for ...

 Forestry burnoff
(web image - David Fitzgerald)

It's fine and calm in NE Tasmania, a perfect day for ... lighting fires! Let's hope Ben's nowhere near this:

"Forestry Tasmania will today conduct a large burn on East Coast...  We've been waiting all season for the right conditions, and today is about the best we can expect to achieve a good burn and minimise smoke impacts... While we expect most of the smoke will move away to the south and south-east, it is possible that there may be some smoke in St Mary's if there's a strong afternoon sea breeze." (From today's Forestry Tasmania press release.)

edit: Phone call from Scottsdale (well away from the East Coast) where Ben's getting lunch at his favourite bakery and buying medications at the chemist just over the road. A couple of "old blokes" (60+) sought him out recently for advice on finding gemstones. They happily accepted his invitation and accompanied him on a fossicking expedition the following day.

Ten ducks.

Minus something!

It was cold last night, certainly below zero. Ben phoned from the Weld River this morning where he's out and about looking for gemstones. He recently replaced a broken indicator on the bike and also needs to top up the hydraulic clutch fluid and possibly bleed air out of the line, something he hasn't done before. We're not sure that he has the right tools for the job so it might require another visit to Scottsdale. There's also a lapidary faceting machine for sale in Hobart that he's interested in. However he needs to learn more about cutting before laying out any cash. In the meantime, a 1980's book on gem cutting has been bought on eBay for delivery to the Weldborough Hotel sometime next week. The hotel is very quiet at times and the kitchen is closed some evenings.

New bike boots.

(web image)

The old boots have fallen apart. New boots have been ordered and should arrive in the post next week.  Boots are from Andy Strapz in Frankston: Forma Adventure Boots, black, size 12. They fit me so they'll fit Ben.

Bikers need alot of gear: helmet, jacket, gloves, pants (kevlar or leather) and... good boots.

Lapidary in Launceston.

Ben's on his way to Launceston today and intends to join the Lapidary Club of Northern Tasmania. The club has tools and equipment for gem faceting and polishing as well as plenty of local knowledge and expertise. He's also hoping to meet an 83 year-old gem-cutter named Rex who lives in Riverside, a suburb of Launceston.

This kit might have saved
the day - and the tyre!
(web image)

11AM edit: May not get there, the rear tyre is flat. Hoping to re-inflate it at Branxholm and limp the next 20km to Scottsdale where there's a bike shop. RACT is another option. It's odd that, just yesterday, we were talking about tyre repair kits - should have remembered to 'touch wood' or something like that. It could be worse though, at least it's daytime.

12.30PM edit: Rode back to Derby, pumped up the tyre at the service station, then rode to Scottsdale where it was replaced. The tyre was worn through to the belts - probably from riding on a deflated tyre. The now-expensive trip to Launceston continues...

Where's the cheese?

Pyengana cheddar
(web image)

The flying visitor has returned from across the Tasman. For some unaccountable reason, the request for a small wedge of Pyengana Cheese wasn't acted upon and the bars of  Mt Elephant Fudge were accidentally left behind. According to reports, the rather hurried trip went well.

VTR roars into life.

Honda VTR 250 at the Doublecheck
Auto and Bike Repair Shop.

Ben phoned today from Launceston. His flying (and driving) visitor arrived safely and spent part of the day in Tasmania's second-largest city. The trip didn't quite go to plan owing to a mix up with place names; Winnaleah and Weldborough aren't really close to each other geographically but both names do start with 'W' and end with 'h'.

Fishing and fossicking both start with 'f' and end with 'ing'. Fishing has been a useful beachside activity and fossicking in the mountains looks like it could yield some interesting results. The local jewelry wholesaler was impressed by some of the stones.

The big news of the day is that the VTR 250 has been reassembled and the engine was run for the first time in over three months. It didn't exactly 'roar' into life, the sound was more like "putt... putt... putt." Initially it seemed that the engine had completely seized however the problem was due to excess oil in the cylinder. Once running, it would only idle but not rev and that was due to loose carburettor mounts. Finally it ran smoothly but would not climb the steep driveway and that was due to me not being able to ride a motorbike. Not having a helmet or other bike gear, personal safety equipment consisted of a Tasmania baseball cap, a Las Vegas hoodie and garden gloves. Will the bike ever return to Tasmania? Stay tuned.