Welcome to 2020.1

Yes indeed, where to from here?

As we settle into a new year I feel like I've plucked a random point on a GPS screen while blind-folded and hit Go... Round and round we'll go. Where we stop, who knuckin' knows.

I get the feeling in me bones that if we thought 2020 was an odd year, this next one might be even weirder. I have absolutely no basis for that assertion, just a feeling in me waters.

How come the road never looks steep in a photo?
On the bike this felt nosebleed steep!

Last time I related the story of having the wives along and meeting them at a campsite. They drove the 4by and we headed off on the bikes. It was really nice to have them in our world instead of them patting us on the heads and encouraging us to enjoy ourselves.

What it did, is re-enforce the joy of travelling on a bike. Trimming the gear down to the bare minimum, here one minute and gone the next. The 4x4 thing was nice but packing up was an hour-long sweaty exercise. Shades, big tents, water cans, stove, table, cots, fry pans, washing up bowls, buckets, fridge and various other sundries complicated things.

There'll be more 'family' outing, they were terrific but travel on two wheels sets the Gold Standard.

T Shirt of the Month

Just for a laugh, not for sale unless we get swamped by demand.

Testing, testing...1.2.

Hamada

I was sent a new addition to the Held glove range to evaluate just before the last trip. At the same price as the brilliant Sambia, they'd want to be pretty bloody flash to supplant them on my mits and the walls of Strapz HQ!

The plan was that Tomaselli and I would swap gloves at intervals to get a clear comparison of both. For context, this was the Australia Day weekend, a heatwave.

Featuring a goatskin palm as opposed to the Sambia's kangaroo, they get the grippy lettering on the index and rude fingers, a nice touch that the Sambia could inherit. Supposedly dye stable, they weren't quite in the 35-degree dirt road riding we were plugging away at. The Sambia have a few more Kliks on them but they've kept the black stuff in the leather for the whole time. The Hamada left black marks on our sweaty palms. Not bad but notable.

The Sambia's 'roo perforated palm feels thinner, the result is a better feel and more airflow than the Hamada. The latter does flow more air over the back of the hand, however.

Both gloves are immediately comfortable, with all the seams laying in exactly the right place as I've come to expect from Held. Hey, they have been doing it since the 1940s! Both have perforated panels between the fingers too.

All-in-all. A nice glove... If you've never ridden in Sambias.

Hamada isn't a starter for Strapz HQ, at the same price as Sambia, the best gloves I've ever worn, it's a no brainer.

Aussie Slang Spot

Mr Reliable Frosty, came back at me with the following additions to the having a Dingo's Breakfast.
   Train Terence at the Terracotta
   Water the Horse (how did I miss that one?)
   Tap a Kidney
Justin came up with a cricketing related term.
    Take a slash down the leg side

This month let's stumble about words for being inebriated.

Pissed as a fart
Full as a goog
Elephant's trunk may be a pommy one but a goodie.
Legless
Wobbly boots
Tanked
Sh1t faced
Blind, usually pronounced "blyyyynnnd"
Maggotted

Telstra'd

Argghhhh.....

We are still having problems with our phones. Anyone calling when we are engaged on another call will get a 'disconnected' message. We aren't.

Initially, as we changed over from a mongrel ADSL system NBN (No Bloody Nouse) we had a swag of odd lines left that were doing nothing and costing a monthly fee. I asked my manager to rationalise and sort the system to suit the NBN set up. It got handballed to a lacky and they cut off the second line unbeknownst to yours truly (cranky).

I finally got it sorted only to find I'd lost the second handset.

I've called my manager for a replacement, can't help. Call Faults, no idea, as it's a phone configured for Telstra I can't just buy one off the interweb and have it delivered in three days I was stuck. After tearing the manager's manager a new one

I even tracked down the person who works for Panasonic who is the 'Telstra' manager... Still no help.

So, hang in there if you get a disconnected message and abuse the recording on my behalf... And please try again later.

An irreverant Brum and Holty ham it up on the Pablo’s Christmas party Yarra cruise, circa early 1990s.

Vale Gary “Harold” Holt and Neale Brumby

by Janette 'Mrs Strapz' Wilson

2020 will be remembered as a tough year, one which saw erratic markets and supply chains, uncertainty and disruption. We saw the worst of human nature on our TVs but often the best of it in person. Sadly, we lost more than our liberty for a few weeks.

One of the toughest parts of 2020 for families though was saying goodbye to one of their own. In Victoria we lost two of our own, in a couple of the motorcycling industries most personable and friendly gentlemen, within a few short months, not to Covid-19 but the other big C. The unfairness of timing making it seem all the more tragic with restricted numbers at funerals making it difficult to mourn our losses.

Gary “Harold” Holt worked in the industry for decades as a motorcycle tyre fitter at Pablo's in Richmond then as a salesman for Moto Italiano, later becoming a gun salesman for Southbank BMW. So many Melbournians have “Harold” to thank for matching them with their perfect ride. He was well known and loved for his happy disposition and friendly nature. He had a soft spot for his Ducati and riding in general, I’m not sure he even owned a car. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

Just a few months later another industry icon Neale Brumby “Brum” lost his battle too. One of life’s gentlemen, Neale Brumby will be familiar to early customers of Melbourne Suzuki, having been several times the winning recipient of the salesman of the year award. Later he and wife Viv took over Heavy Duty and made it a staple for all things Harley Davidson-esque incorporating motorcycle tours of the USA into their business. He recently handed the Heavy Duty baton on to Mick Withers.

Neale too was friendly and happy, kind and larger than life with the ability to spin a yarn into pure gold. He made everyone feel special in some way, always with a smile and a compliment. He was both irreverent and a family man. He will be missed by many but none more than his lovely family, his wife Viv and their four children. You can read her goodbye on the Heavy Duty website.

Both of these men have been a part of my life for more than 30 years, I’ve attended their weddings, and they mine, and we’ve shared some amazing times. The shock of losing them is still dawning six months on. They were devoted to this motorcycling life and well-respected members of our industry. They will be remembered fondly by motorcycle businesses and friends alike.

They were both the stuff of legends.

Less Testing Times

Another newie tested when I pulled a sickie on Australia Day Monday was to play Gungadin with the Seat to Summit Watercell.

Dromedary Bags by MSR have been a Strapz HQ staple for years but they taste terrible. Great for 'safety' water but not too flash to drink.

I'm pretty impressed with this baffled bag, it does taste a little 'plasticky' but not too bad. It's easy to fill and has a nice positive pouring and locking function on the lid. This made me feel that I wouldn't have a fail losing my water supply.

Leave it in the sun, screw on the little cap and it's a shower.

At this stage, I only have a few 6-litre bags available but will be stocking up with more soon.

Go here for more info and to snap one up.

That's it, I've hit the wall. Nothing else to write at yer for now.

Copyalater

Andy.