Hiring a bike in Sydney

Got up early, went to class and taught till their heads were so full of knowledge they were ready to burst. for some reason, they didn't get the hint that they were free to leave. they all sort of milled around and waited for some unknown sign to go home. Good lot tho, hope to see the new ones next week are half as good. Went back to the hotel and got set for my trip. Had to get some new gear for the trip (sweaters n warm clothes), so i went to a local shop and did that. Then i called OzMoto and had them get ready for my arival.

I sorted out a train to central station, then got off and got a connecting line to Penrith... with the help of a local aussie named Olivia and her friend from Santa Cruz named Gretta (gretta used to date ryan, who wrote drempels, geiss and milkdrop). Turns out they were headed to Penrith as well, so we sat and chatted for a bit. Freaking amazing how awesomely friendly aussies are. In route they told me that they had big plans to head to Coogee, and i was welcome to come. We got off the train in Penrith and parted ways, and i was off to find my bike.

Up until the moment i talked to Steve on the phone for that last time, i was convinced that OzMoto was a company that operated out of a shop somepalce. When he told me he had to use his mum's car to come get me, i started to wonder. When we pulled into his home outside of Penrith, i really started to wonder. His shop consisted mainly of a PC in the living room where his daughter played simpsons season 1 dvd's. His paperwork basically consisted of copying my driver's license and having me sign a piece of paper with some info about the deductable in case of wreck. Then we went out to his garage, where he had an 1150GS with desparate need of a new transmission, a 250 Yamaha and a myraid of helmets and a couple jackets. I found an AGV that fit and he went into another room of the house to grab me a Dainese jacket... which he said he only lent to me since he knew i'd take good care of it. He also gave me a rear bag for the bike to cary my gear, and we got back in the car to go get the bike.

I pulled up with him to a little car port in the middle of a small industrial complex, and there was the F650GS just waiting for me. We took the 650 to the Log Cabin Inn, where i checked myself in and steve excused himself. Wow. A total stranger just gave me his GS for a credit card imprint. wholy crap. What other sport in the world does such a thing happen? In retrospect, it seems more like he was using OzMoto to fund his motorcycle habit than he was really running a profitable business, but it also felt much more comfortable dealing with a person instead of a corparation. Basically this was a stranger lending me a bike for the cost of the new sprockets and chain he had just thrown on.

When we were all finished checking in, i ran into a guy named Steve (different guy) who invited me for a drink. i dropped my gear in the hotel room and went down to the pub for a couple pints with his mates. in less than 5 mintutes i was dubbed a mate... and they called me "mick". i sort of giggled at first, and they all said "like mick dundee", and i sorta had a feeling they were having a laugh at my expense. Then one of them said "like mick doohan", and i instantly felt much better about being mick. plus i now had newfound respect because these guys are obviously into GP

As i got to know all of Steve's mates, Olivia and Gretta showed up to take me out to Coogee and show me a good time. After stopping by Olivia's, we all headed to meet her friends and take off. Joel and Lauren met us at McDonalds, and off we went to Coogee. It was a cool little college type town, and we went to the Coogee Hotel to have some drinks. Overpriced drinks.

From there we went to the Palace Hotel, where i was stopped at the door to the club for wearing sneakers. the woman gave me a really hard time about wearing "trainers", so being the smart ass i am, i kicked them off and said "there, now i'm not wearing trainers". Bad idea. I instantly met a dickhead bouncer who escorted me back down the escilator, away from the club everyone else had just gone into. Fuck, looks like i'll have to sit down here and have a drink until everyone else notices i didn't make it into the club. Oh wait, the nice bouncer says i have to wait outside. Great.

I sit in the cold for like 10 minutes before Olivia finally notices i'm not around (thank god) and comes out to tell me that we should just go back to the Coogee Hotel and have a couple shots and wait for everyone else. We walk back across the street and drink several shots of tequila before everyone arives. In that time, we meet a guy and his wife who just got back from hong kong, and before that they were in rome, tuscany and Chamonieux. Quite friendly, another plus to the aussie people... minus the dickhead bouncer.

Everyone else joined us shortly thereafter and we basically headed home at that point. Everyone apologized to Gretta and I, being out of towners, saying Coogee is usually cooler and more happening. Personally it was just nice to spend an evening with some locals, watching a good group of friends interact and getting to be a part of the whole thing.

It was still a pretty amazing evening. I got to meet a couple of random strangers on a train who took me out and showed me a good time. I got to meet another stranger who gave me the keys to his F650GS and told me to just bring it back on sunday sometime, and then drove me to a hotel. I had some drinks with someone i barely met at an ATM while checking into a random hotel in some town i hadn't ever heard of before, and he AND his mates took me in, taught me a little something about rugby League vs rugby Union, bought me some pints and had a good time.

I hope riding that F650 is half the adventure that getting it was. I may never come home.