Bright

It's been awhile since I've done a long ride and Saturday presented an opportunity to realise that ambition. I had more than the ride in mind, specifically I wanted to:

• Go for a long ride.
• Test the new padded seat.(Air-Hawk)
• Further test the new helmet (BMW SportIntegral).
• Determine the contact details of a wine bar in Bright.

The weather on the day was variable between rain, fog and clear. I never got to see the sun, just a patch of blue sky now and then. The terrain was variable too, freeways, long straights, tight corners, wide roads and not so wide roads.

The route

Churchill, Pakenham, Healesville, Mansfield, Whitfield, Bright, Glenrowan, the Hume to Melbourne and finally the Princes Highway home.

Rain from Healesville to Alexandra, Mansfield to Whitfield, Gapstead to Porepunkah and Nar Nar Goon to Moe.

Fog between Mansfield and Whitfield and a patch near Broadford.

There was only really one substantial stop and that was at Glenrowan for dinner at McDonalds. The only other stops were for petrol and gathering the contact details of the wine bar at Bright.

Overall travel time was about 11 hours and traveled 967 kilometres: 477km there, 490 back

The helmet

The last time I wore the helmet for a long ride was the day I bought it and I found that my jaw muscles were very sore from the constant pressing. This trip my jaw muscles were a bit sore, but nothing to complain about. Either the helmets getting bigger or my face has gotten used to the pressure.

The big gripe for the day was the way the visor handles moisture: It doesn't! The inside of the visor doesn't fog up, but films of water do, and these cause some rather interesting refraction effects. I was fighting the film all day as the weather was cool, top of 14C and lower at the higher elevations of the trip. I found that a band of moisture formed at eye level that wasn't even, and that resulted in distortion and blurring. This all came together traveling between Mansfield and Whitfield. I had the combination of rain and fog, a tight twisty road that I didn't know and cars behind me. A rather dangerous combination. I found that I could obtain a clearer view by angling my head up or down, as I wasn't getting as much distortion and blurring, but you couldn't keep that up for long.

I was dismayed to find that BMW DON'T provide a pinned visor for the SportsIntegral helmet. Surely a major oversight. I used the Hyper Optiks stick-on product in my last helmet and it was wonderful. I know what my next purchase will be. I bought the last Hyper Optiks product at Southbank Motorcycles and gave them a call earlier in the week to purchase one. I was informed that the wholesaler has become bankrupt and they can't find an alternate source. Looks like an Internet purchase coming up.

The seat

I purchased the seat on the recommendation of a fellow Ulyssian who he and his wife think is the best thing since sliced bread. (podcasts if you are younger.)

I manage the long trips on the standard seat, but I sure do explore every possible angle of the seat surface over the period of a day. Today would be a good test of how it performs. I had visions of going forever without any discomfort, but that didn't eventuate. After an hour or so I started feeling a little tender and I struggled with it for the rest of the day. I guess at the end of the day my rear was in better condition, but you still know you've been riding.

I may have to play with the inflation level, maybe I have that set incorrectly?

The wine bar

A few years ago, I was playing my resonator guitar outside of the Bright Pizza shop waiting for it to cook. Across the road is the Alpine Valleys Wine Bar. The manager and another man were outside their establishment sharing a cup of coffee. They beckoned me over and asked if I'd like to perform at the wine bar. I declined, but the thought lingered on. My plan is to win a gig or two over a weekend and take in a local festival as well, hence the need for a contact number. Hope they still have entertainment.

The jacket

The trip was a good chance to try out my nearly new DriRider jacket in the rain. Overall I was dry except for the area behind the zip. Not sure if anything can be done about that.

Conclusion

It was a long day and I was tired, cold and sore. On Sunday I was in no hurry to get out of bed let me tell you.

The trip was however most enjoyable, glad I made the effort.

P.S. I couldn't justify the price and the difficulty and purchasing a new Hyper Otiks sheet, so I reused the one I already have. In removing the sheet from the previous visor, all of the gasket was left behind on the visor. What to do? A visit to Bunnings and I purchased a roll of 'Cling Double Sided Mounting tape - Heavy Duty'. I slit the tape in half as it was too wide and stuck it to the Hyper Otiks sheet. The hardest part was sticking it to the SportsIntegral visor. Because of the shape of the visor and the limited amount of space, it took me a few attempts to get it right and sealed all the way around. I filled the tiny gaps between the double sided tape with rubber glue - have to keep that nasty moisture from getting between the sheet and the visor.

The result? Fantastic, no moisture build up inside the visor. There was a fog this morning and no problems. Ah, what a relief to be able to see clearly in all situations!