DIARY

Watch this space as the trip progresses for updates on where we are and what we're doing... To see previous entries from Start to 26th Nov 2000, CLICK HERE.

Tuesday 13th February

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a lot has happened in the last week so bear with me while I try and put it all together. We arrived in Bunbury after doing a media interview with GWN and then went to the YHA which is right in town and discovered how beautiful Bunbury is now. Friday morning we were welcomed by the Mayor of Bunbury and also the Deputy Mayor who invited members of Huntington families and people working in the areas of community health to have morning tea. great to meet a few of the locals from Bunbury and our list of new friends keeps getting longer. That evening we caught up with the local Ulysses mob who took us out for dinner. A good opportunity to get deep and meaningful about Harleys and motorbikes in general. We had a fun night, pity we couldn't go on the ride with them on the weekend but we had a few prior engagements. Saturday we saw the start of the outrigger race and met with Peter (Dot's son) from a Huntington family who was competing. Then off to John and Marian's, another Huntington family for a cuppa and chat with family and friends. Damon took John who is symptomatic for a blast on the Harley. The grandkids didn't want to miss out so they had a ride too. Then it was off to catch up with another family, Chris and his son before heading back to pack and get the bikes ready for the big day. A quite walk thru town that night signalled the closing of one momentous chapter in our lives and the beginning of the next. We really didn't want this to end as we have had a wonderful time meeting many Huntington families, made lots of new friends and experienced some very exciting moments on the trip. As I have often said to people, we haven't had a bad day yet. Karma was certainly looking after us. Sunday morning we loaded the bikes and headed out, our first stop was for fuel and to meet Frank, a fellow Ulyssian who wanted to ride with us. He let Damon ride his Softail up to mandurah which convinced Damon that not all Harley's are uncomfortable. In Mandurah we meet the riders from the various clubs which came down to see us safely back to Perth. Tracey got a huge surprise when her Aunty Mary from England turned up in jacket and helmut to join us for the ride. Tacka from the MRA did a good job of organising evertone and at 9.30 we set off for a gentle ride along the coast. It wasn't until then that we began to get excited. I looked at Trace and she was smiling bigtime, The familiar sites becoming more and more frequent. The entourage of bikes cruised along the beachfront and then into Perry Lakes where everyone was waiting. It was very overwhelming to see everyone all at once and there where big hugs all round. after speeches and thankyou's we went back to Tracey's mum and Dad place for celebrations and a game of Fast Scabble where the family bonding process took effect. Thankyou to every one who has helped us on our journey, from sponsors, friends families and motorcycle clubs to the people in the street who helped in small ways. To the members of the media for their help in getting our message across, and to everyone in the Huntington's Community who are a part of our big family. We wish you all the best for the coming year. May your dreams like ours come true. If you think that this is the last you'll be hearing from us WAIT, We are already planning the next adventure so stay tuned. Bye for now.

Tuesday 6th February

Back on the road again and we are now in Manjimup... Damon's foot is making a good recovery, many thanks to Chris for the good advice and care. After getting the spark plugs changed over at Great Southern M/Cycles and a photo for the local paper we headed off escorted by Bob S another BMW owner ( they must have a breeding colony for BMW riders cause there is so many of them) who rode us out as far as Denmark and then turned back. An overnight stop at Coalmine Beach which is a must if you are down this way, near Walpole. Today was a ride through the trees that the South West is known for and great riding country. A phone call from a person who is from a Huntington's family from Albany who heard us on the community radio doing an interview. It's very encouraging getting that sort of feedback.

Saturday 3rd February

Sittng comfortably in Bob and Chris' house in Albany after spending a wonderful night in Hopetoun, a little hideaway by the sea with a great pub overlooking the ocean. We were met at the Bluff Knoll cafe, in the Stirling Ranges, by the Albany Vintage and Classic Motorcycle club, of which Bob is the president, and they rode us into town. The background to us being at Bob and Chris' place is that we met them on the road north of Carnarvon at the Nanutarra Roadhouse, which is the turn off to go inland to Parabadoo and Tom Price. They were travelling north on their BMW outfit and trailer, so we got chatting and they gave us their guide to free camping in WA, which you might remember Trace mentioning way back in the beginning of the trip. It seems funny that we met up with them in the first week of our trip and now six months later we are catching up with them on the last week of the trip. And what a collection of classic bikes they have in the shed, a place where you could spend many hours whiling away the time. It was handy that Chris is not only a bike enthusiast but a nurse as well because she managed to borrow some crutches and pain killers for Damon who damaged a tendon in his foot. Just as well we have a few days to rest up.

Wednesday 31st January

The Haffla in Kal was a great night with bright costumes and fantastic dancing and even the odd slave auction to add to the fun. In the afternoon we did a tour of the Langtree's Brothel with Kathy. This is a purpose built brothel and all of the theme rooms were amazing, and we got try out some of the beds with mirrors everywhere to see what it would be like. We all liked the European Love Stool and for more info on how to use it you'll have to do your own tour. Well worth a visit on your next trip to Kal if you want a good lesson in the history of the town. On the Sunday we met up with Steve and Pat from the Esperance Ulysses who rode with us to Norseman where we met the rest of the Esp crowd who rode up to Norseman and then after a photoshoot for the local paper we worked our way down to Gibson pub to wash away the thirst of the days ride. A bbq was organised and Tracey was invited to give a talk about the ride. A great night had by all. The last couple of days has been busy preparing the media for the big ride on the 11th and we both feel a little strange that the end of the trip is so close. But don't despair we are already planning the next big adventure. More about that later.

Saturday 27th January

Where has the time gone? Only 2 weeks to go now and I seem to have lost 10 days somewhere! We are in Kalgoorlie at the moment and have been here a couple of days. We also had rehearsals at Brookman St Theatre for the bellydance concert that is on tonight. Im doing a dance too so it should be lots of fun. Kathy who does lessons here has organised it and is donating the proceeds to Huntington's. She has done a lot of work and is lending me a cozzie too! THANKS KATHY!!!!! Before we came to Kal, we had been through Port Augusta where we caught up with Robin from WIMA (Women's International M/cycle Assoc) in Perth for a couple of days. Nice to have some girl chat for a change. In Port Augusta, we had a call from Bob in Iron Knob to say that their local artist, Yvonne, had heard us on the ABC radio and wanted us to get to Iron Knob so she could do a portrait. We managed to get there on the way to Port Lincoln for a couple of hours and had a great chat. I just love the name!! From Iron Knob to Port Lincoln where we had the bikes serviced by Cowleys Motorcycles (thanks guys). The grapevine works well when you are on the road and we got a call from Raye in P/L who had caught up with the Robin we met up with in P/Augusta and she invited us over for coffee. Everywhere we go people have been just so wonderful to us.Left P/Lincoln and headed north where Damon had a very close call with a very big roo, missed by inches, and I think the roo was freaked out just as musch as Damon. From there to Ceduna where everyone knew who we were as we were in the Sunday Mail, which came out that day! Ceduna is a small place though. Cute caravan park. At the edge of the Nullabor, the weather was great and we went from Ceduna to Cocklebiddy, nearly 800 kms, in one day. The time change helped of course but it was perfect riding conditions. Then the next day we went from Cocklebiddy to Norseman, around 450 kms and camped in the caravan park. There has been a lot of riding in the last weeks but lot of fun...

Tues 16th January 2001

We left Adelaide at 6am on the Saturday to ride to Mildura because the predicted temp was going to be 41.0C degrees. The first hour was quite chilly going thru the hills and gently warmed up throughout the trip. We stayed at The Rosemont Guest House (YHA) a beautiful little oasis after a long ride. We did a media interview on the Sunday and didn't leave until 11am to head to Broken Hill. It was just as well we didn't find out what the temp was before we left. We knew it was going to be very hot but when we got to Broken Hill we found out that it was the hottest day on record 46.8C degrees. We had to ride 300k's in that heat so we were stopping every 60k's to drink some water and then keep moving. When we arrived in BH we were met by some Huntington's families and Dominica Walter the Genetic Councellor in the area who had been co-ordinating our arrival. I think we drank the pub dry of water before having a beer in celebration of just getting there. The Tourist Lodge (YHA) pool got a very good workout and we did most of our preperations whilst in the water. Tracey did her radio interview sitting in the pool. Very good media coverage in both Mildura and Broken Hill.

Monday 9th January 2001

This update from the AHDA offices in Adelaide after a huge ride-in with Ulysses, Yamaha and WIMA members escorting us from Murray Bridge to a park in town. A beautiful ride and a memorable experience! Huge thanks to Harold and Angela in Murray Bridge for putting us up for the night and to their son, Gordon, who gave up his bed. Thanks guys! Channel seven were ther taking footage and the local paper aswell. We can only hope that it appears somewhere as nothing has turned up yet. Seems like it would be easier if we had an accident or robbed a bank or (as Damon keeps pushing for...) ride down the street naked! The last time we updated we were in Warrnambool pre-new year staying with Pat and Dini, friends of my parents. We actually went to the Grampians for New Year itself which was great and not even too busy as we stayed in a camp ground in the park itself instead of in one of the towns. We had a few other people camping neat us and we all had one big bonfire for the night. Damon and I had an early ride back the next day but took it slowly as it started to get really warm. We had another couple of nights in Warnambool and then made our way to Mt Gambier where we camped for two nights. Some Ulysses, members met us outside Mt Gambier at the SA border and rode in with us and the local paper was there as well. Actually, Mt Gambier media was really good. CAught up with people from a Huntington's family in Mt Gambier and then moved on to Murray Bridge, then Adelaide. It's hard to believe the time has gone so fast. We managed a ride with the WIMA girls on Sunday for breakfast which ended up being a scenic run but balanced by some great browsing in the shops at the stop where we had coffee. We have been staying in the home of Damon's friends Tony and Lisa who are holidaying at Carrickalinga and we have the whole house to ourselves. It is very strange after being in the little 2 man tent to suddenly be in this huge house with so much space.

Sat 29th Dec

Merry xmas to all, we are sitting in a cafe in Warrnambool sipping cappucino. we had a great time in Melbourne with Graeme, Lauris and the family in Narre Warren Nth. (Thanks for looking after us) On xmas eve the boys got together to set up the kids toys and playsets that didn't have instructions while the girls sipped champagne and gave verbal feedback on our antics. Prior to xmas we went to Gippsland for a few days and stayed with Wendy and Laurie Powter who opened up their house us to stay in. Laurie gave us a guided tour of the lastest in technological egg laying facilities which was a sight to see. Then dinner overlooking the Latrobe valley from the dinner table. Next morning was off to Sale and Bairnsdale to do media before heading down to a beatiful little place on the coast called Alberton to stay with a Huntington's family. We stopped at Yarrum to pick up a few things and because both of us left our wetweather pants back in Melb we thought it would be wise to let the big black clouds that were looming to pass over. Good decision because within a couple of minutes the heavens opened up. We sat in the pub and played a game of scrabble and watched the streets fill with water and frogs jump down the main street. Half expecting an Ark to float past we waited for the rain to ease before taking a gamble on the dash to Alberton which was only 6km's away. Dodging the raindrops we could see the town but there was a farmer taking his cows across the road for milking, so we were stuck there while the rain came down again. Bummer. It was great to catch up with Robyn and the family. We both appreciate the opportunity of seeing and discussing the many different perspectives of Huntington's. Next day saw us working our way back to Melb via Warragul to have a BBQ picnic with Magaret and co at a beautiful camping spot on the river. After xmas we headed to Geelong on the 28th where the Ulysses club met us just out of town and rode us into Geelong along the new upgraded waterfront and the to the lunch with people from the local Huntington's communtiy which was organised by Marlene Carter who presented us with gifts from Geelong. The Mecure Hotel donated a room for the night which was very much appreciated. Drinks with the Ulysses club at the hotel was great and if you are ever in Geelong and you want to hear a good story about ducks, bums and ransom's, make sure you catch up with the Ulysses mob. Rain followed us along the Great Ocean Road but Damon still managed to film the great views and wonderful winding roads that led us to Warrnambool where we arrived to do the media before catching up with Pat and Dini who we are staying with whilst in town. Wow what a meal to welcome some weary travellers. We slept really well last night. Today we head to the Grampians for New Year then back to Warrnambool.

Wed 20th

Back in sunny Melbourne after a FABULOUS time in Tasmania. Things couldn't have gone better with regards to meeting people, the media and a bit of sightseeing too. In Hobart we stayed at the YHA who made us very welcome and caught up with Angela and some of the other people connected with Huntington's at the Association Xmas part which was also a farewell for Les, who has been with the Association for many years. It was a great night with around 45 people and wonderful to meet up with everyone. We also went up Mt Wellington one afternoon and I thought it would snow it was so cold! From Hobart to Port Arthur to see the sights. A great road down there! and then back to Launceston the night before the Toy Run. We stayed with maureen again (thanks Maureen!) and her black eye was much improved and she also donated some toys for us to use on the Toy Run. The Toy Run was AWESOME. We rode from Launceston to Hobart with the Ulysses and others and then, over 5000 bikes assembled at the Hobart Entertainment Centre before riding through cheering crowds to the Salamanca Markets. It was one heck of an experience. After the Toy Run we camped at New Norfolk and the next day headed through Queenstown to Strahan. From Strahan we did media in Rosebury before heading to Cradle Mountain to camp for our last night in Taz. Hard to believe it has gone so quickly. The campsite at Cradle Mtwas the most expensive so far but had great facilities. No competition I guess as there are no other camping facilities out there. As we left the campsite, we stopped for morning tea at a reststop, went for a walk and then discovered my rear tyre was flat. oh dear. I had to babysit the horizontal, one tyred bike and the luggage while Damon rode to Burnie (about 40 kms away) with his bike and the flat tyre strapped on the back. We originally thought it would take ages but it ended up being a little over 2 hours which was pretty good. Then the fun part trying to get the tyre back on the bike! All this meant we got to Burnie late and unfortunately missed out on catching up with Joyce and Shirley from the Association again. We literally checked our phone messages in Burnie and then headed for the ferry in Devonport... The trip back was as good as the trip over and we even managed to catch up with some Ulysses members on the ferry who had been on the same boat on the way over too. A small world! Both Damon and I have heaps of washing to do now and then it's off to Morwell tomorrow...yippee....

Tues 12th

here we are in sunny Hobart after having arrived on the ferry last Thursday morning. Thanks to TT Lines for donating the trip across and back. We arrived in Devonport and were met by Joyce from the Tas HD Association and stayed at the YHA in Devonport before heading to Launceston the following day. The media has been great and interested as well which is wonderful and, after we were in ine paper on Friday and 2 on Saturday, people were starting to recognise us! In Launceston we stayed with Maureen who had had a fight with a wall the day before we got there and was very colourful and bruised. Saturday was the Association's December meeting so we caught up with them then and then went to the Maritime Union Xmas party at the Casino. A great night and a fun band too. Sunday we met with teh Ulysses Club members for a ride around the Launceston area through some wonderful roads and scenery before heading to someone's farm for lunch and the arrival of Santa with lollies. Next stop Scottsdale for camping and we were spoilt with Carol singing in the neighbouring park. From Scottsdale to Hobart via the scenic route took a bit longer than we had expected but was worth the ride. Amazing scenery and roads. We're staying at the YHA here til Thursday morning and are having dinner with some HD people tonight.

Wed 6th Dec

In at the VIC assoc today before heading off to catch the ferry to Tasmania. Last Saturday was a quiet one of catching up and cleaning the bikes and the opening of Damon's friend's Subway store. Sunday was great as we met a couple of bikers and a police car at the Association and rode to the Arthur Preston Residential Services facilities to meet up with some of the residents there and have a look around. It's an amazing facility and I feel like I should reserve my spot now as there's a waiting list of course. Next we headed to the Scout Hall down the road and met up with some local Huntington's families for a Xmas Party and to celebrate the International Day of Persons with a Disability. Harley Heaven in Melbourne gave the bikes a quick look over and an oil change and they're still going strong. Thanks guys!

Friday 1st December 2000

Last Monday 27th saw the arrival of Damon's 40th birthday, so he can now claim to be a legitimate Ulysses member after masquerading as a 40 yo for the last 4 months. We did the rounds of the media interviews during the day and some of the Mc Donald clan got together to help Damon celebrate the big day. Onto Ballarat for an 11am arrival where the local support group had organised an opportunity for some local medical people and Huntington families to hear Tracey talk about the ride. Anita and Ernie Simmons opened up their home and hearts for us while we were in town. They put on a bbq for the local Huntington families so we could catch up with everyone. We were made to feel like we were part of the family with big hugs all round. Young Tyler (5yo) made sure we were not leaving town without giving him a ride and a big rev of the Harley. More of Damon's rellies in Ballarat so it was a quick coffee with Ian and Trish and family. Thankyou for your support for the ride. Thursday was another great radio interview before a teary farewell with Anita and off to Melbourne we go. A gentle run into the city along the through the country side before getting caught up in the busy pace of traffic. Everyone seems to be rushing everywhere without smelling the roses. Afternoon tea with Tim and the gang at the Victorian Huntinton Association before weaving our way through the peak hour traffic to stay with Damon's friends, Graeme and Lauris, while in Melbourne. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------