APC Rally – Prologue

The APC Rally officially begins tomorrow from Wisemans Ferry in Australia, but for me it really began on Wednesday.

Frantically packing, checking and rechecking that I had everything I need, then rushing to the airport only to sit for an hour on a gigantic airplane next to a fat guy that reeked of rotting fish while the weight planners for the airline figured out how to make the plane safe to take off.

My suggestion to the illustrious weight planners was to remove Mr. Dead Fish, but that suggestion was ignored. Instead they made the last two rows move forward. And somehow that made the plane safe to take off.

Three days later, we landed, my riding buddy Dan met me at Sydney airport, and we immediately went to pick up my rally bike. I’d been in touch with the rental company oh… I’d say about a billion times… pestering them to make sure the brake pads were new, the tires were new, the tubes were new, the bearings were good, ect. Every response was an enthusiastic “OK! No Problem, Mate!”

When I arrived to pick up my trusty ride, I learned my first bit of Australian slang. “Ok! No Problem, Mate!” actually means, “Fuck off. I ain’t gonna do it, mate.”

After a bunch of haggling, I left with my trusty ride, complete with new tires, new brake pads, and questionable wheel bearings. A few hours of general bullshitting and bike loading followed. My trusty ride, a nice, beat-to-hell-already Suzuki DR650 was transformed from a regular beater bike to an APC Rally worthy beater bike.

Proudly Flying The Flag of the Kingdom of Rhode Island

I learned from the rally organizer that I am the first American to participate in the APC Rally, which is kind of cool. Hopefully I will be the first American to complete the APC Rally as well.

We are off for the ride of a lifetime tomorrow at oh-dark-thirty, which is Australian slang for too fucking early! really looking forward to adding to my Aussie vocabulary.

My personal SPOT Tracker Page: Frenchy’s APC Rally SPOT Page

The Entire Rally SPOT Tracker Page: APC Rally SPOT Page

Updates will be sporadic to non-existent. My plan is to enjoy every minute of this ride, then write up a bunch of lies about how great I rode throughout when I am safely back at Blogger Central.