Sunday 12th September 2010 – my first full day in Australia and my mate took me on a Moto Guzzi Owners Club ride out. At the first stop I found my knees had completely seized up from being on the back of his Rosa Corsa which has pillion pegs about 6 inches below the seat! Noticing that I was having difficulty dismounting, one of the other owners organised for me to go pillion on the back of 2 other rider’s bikes that had more leg room. The first one was a California model and the driver had us sweeping through bends so smoothly I actually forgot my usual fear of cornering. The second driver had an even more comfortable bike but was a much faster driver, so much so, that we overshot a left turn and had to do a U-turn to rejoin the pack. For some reason the driver crossed over onto the right side of the road and then turned straight into the path of an oncoming car in the left lane. Just as I was imagining the pain of taking a full broadside hit and ending up in a wheelchair, the driver had the presence of mind to accelerate onto the grass verge at the side of the road. Luckily we just missed the car, but ended up in a bog instead. Another rider came to our assistance and together we managed to push the bike free of the marsh. After that he slowed down a bit and at the next stop I was handed back to my friend's capable charge. Not bad for a first day adventure!