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The Southern Loop

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THE SOUTHERN LOOP click on image to enlarge Some people believe that the Earth is flat, others believe that the Apollo Moon landings were filmed on a back-lot in Hollywood.  Some are convinced that our climate is being affected by the Milankovitch Cycle or that the burning of fossil fuels is of no concern. I believe that the Earth is a sphere and that the Moon landings did occur, and while  I am unsure of the cause,  I am convinced that our climate is changing. The Summers' of my childhood, many decades ago, were always hot and dry and ran from mid  December to late February.  Nowadays, Summer seems to run from mid-November to late March and has become hotter and wetter. This year's Grand Tour started on 01 March, which coincides with the start of our Autumn, a period historically of cooling temperatures and reducing rainfall, making for pleasant riding conditions. Instead, this past month we have "enjoyed" multiple consecutive days where the temperature has bee...
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Routing

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 ROUTING If you have read my previous blog "Planning", you will know that I identified most, if not all the potential locations licensed to sell & serve alcohol within my home state.  These should fall within the "Bars and Taverns" bonus group, so Step 1 of my routing task was completed. Time now to think about which routes to take in order to bag the various bonus locations, and as I mentioned in a blog last year, we seem to have two schools of thought on how best to proceed. The first approach is the Think Less – Ride More school, which involves riding down your driveway, making a hard right-hand turn at the letterbox and disappearing into the distance looking for locations meeting this year's Grand Tour requirements. This school's theme song might be the classic " Get your motor running, head out onto the highway, looking for adventure, whatever comes our way . . . . " The second approach is the Plan the Ride / Ride the Plan school, which...
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Planning

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  Planning In   2024, the Grand Tour had a start date of 01 January, so it was during December last year that I waited with increasing anticipation for the announcement and details of the 2025 GT.  But alas, December came and went with no information other than a Kevin Costner type comment that " it will happen ".   I had growing hope in early January for a 01 February start date, but as we rolled into mid-January, it became obvious this date was not going to happen either. My hope then was for a 01 March date as my riding season was slipping away, however I was prepared for a 01 April date, which had been the preferred start date for many previous GTs.  Then on 26 January, the GT announcement was made, and the details were published. Coincidentally, 26 January is Australia Day when we celebrate the first British settlement in Terra Australis ( Great Southern Land ) in 1778.  It should be noted that this remote British settlement was only established b...
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