Weather

The weather here is now getting warmer. The other day it was 31 drgrees and we were out cutting the grass and generally doing some gardening. Gill was also on spider patrol going round all the windows spraying some harmfull chemical to kill the Red Backs and any other creature that walked over the chemical librally sprayed around each window. Can't blame her as none of us fancy a bite from one. With the warmer weather the snakes are starting to come out of hibernation and few have been spotted at work and you need to be bit more careful of were you walk in the long grass along the side of the new road we are building.

I like the warmer weather as BBQ season is back on, the evenings are getting lighter and i can come home and sit in the back garden and have a beer now.

Any way I have put a weather gaget on the blog so you can check out the weather here in Wagga Wagga anytime

My New Bike

A couple of weeks ago I bought a new bike (just happened to have a few Aussie dollars under the mattress) After a few months I settled on a Suzuki GSX650F. Mark actually suggested it.
Anyway I’ve had the bike for a couple of weeks now and put 750Km on her. Yes it’s a she as I prefer to ride the opposite sex. I must admit I’m very pleased with her. She starts at the first push of the starter unlike a few bikes I’ve had. The engine just purrs away not missing a beat, a quick blip of the throttle and the engine whines up to the 12000 rpm in no time. Once on the road the gear box is pretty smooth with none of those nasty clunks you get from some bike if you don’t hit the sweet spot of the gearbox.
The bike is fitted with Bridgestone battleaxe BT010 front and BT020 rear and they give good grip and feel. The handling is better than any bike I have ridden and I feel confident on it. Power output is about 80bhp not too many horses that’s probably why I feel comfortable. The steering is relatively light but you still get a good feeling on what the front end is doing and the back end is well planted and when it does let go it lets you know in a gentle fashion.
The brakes are a little too soft for my liking and could do with a bit more bite. This may well develop as they get fully bedded.
Overall a good middleweight sports tourer. I am still running her in a the moment and will give you an update once I have fully opened her up

Snow

Last weekend we went to the snow! We drove for 2 ½ hours along the Snowy Mountain Highway and as you will see by the photos the closer we got to the mountains, the lower the cloud was, and the temperature dropped from 10 down to about half a degree. Within half an hour of seeing a few flakes of snow on the ground we went to very snowy conditions with the snow falling fast and soon the whole of the country side was covered in the white stuff.
Charlotte and Hollie were getting more excited by minute as the snow was getting deeper and deeper. We arrived at the beginning of the Snow Fields and had to pay $27 for the car and passengers just for the privilege of being at the snow. When we arrived, we parked up and had an early lunch of hot noodles and chocolate cookies – thought we had better fill up before we got too cold and wet! Then it was time for a snowball fight. It was difficult walking in some of the snow as it was very deep and quite soft, our feet were sinking in, and at times we were up to our knees! The picture of the wheelie bin shows how deep the snow was.
We hired toboggans from the ski centre for the girls (obviously pretending that they were just for the kids). Much fun was had by all, but Hollie proved to be the best tobogganer, she seemed to get the hang of it much faster than the rest of us.
When we started to get cold, we headed to the ski lodge to get some coffee and hot chocolate which did the trick in warming us up then we went off for a walk and watched the skiers and the ski lifts. The ski chalets on site looked very inviting to us, we peered in through the windows and walked round the outside, spotting on the upstairs outside balcony a Jacuzzi and barbeque area. It would have been good to be able to go in one of them to have a hot bath, get changed into dry clothes then barbeque some sausages on the balcony. However... we had to get changed and warmed up in the car before heading back to sunnier climes back in Wagga. A good day was had by all.