All photos related to this blog entry can be found at Grant & Julie

Grant and Miss Crumpet, Piggy's replacement

Well after talking about it for what seems an eternity, the time for us to get back in the road has finally arrived.
There have been a few hiccups along the way, the biggest being the GFC ate all our savings, but we have managed to overcome those hurdles and are ready to get moving.

We will start this trip by riding the east coast of Aus to Adelaide, hopefully catching up with friends along the way.

Once in Adelaide we will ship Crumpet to the UK and spend time with family. The next step is to fly to South Africa to visit some of Grant's long lost family before being reunited with Crumpet and our UK based friends. After that will the plan will evolve on its own accord. We "hope" to tour Europe for the summer and head down the west coast of Africa for the European winter... After that is anyone's guess.

Kermit Rides Again

We are lucky this time round regarding bike prep as Crumpet is virtually identical to Miss Piggy, therefore all the old accessories that Grant had bought or made fitted straight on, cleaned and shined up a bit though.

The biggest job was fitting the "Grant Guerin" made Chain Case as Crumpet needs a few mods in the fit up. It has now been on for 5,000 kilometers and all is well.

One of the biggest changes for this ride is that we are taking all the techno stuff that we are told is necessary, like a lap top, an iPad and intercom. Still no phone or GPS though. Not once in our last trip of nearly 150,000 kilometers through the Americas and Africa did we need a GPS And it is unlikely that we will need it this time.

Change out of altenator

Our physical preparation, this time, has consisted of getting fit, however Christmas came, the love of red wine and sweet things have slowed us up a little. That and Grant undergoing two hernia operations in the last five weeks has definitely slowed him down. Better to be slowed down now than ruptured hernias in the middle of somewhere!

If you are interested (or not...) below is the list of items we are taking in case you intend to go bombing off around the world on a motorbike.

Clothes - this is total for two people
2 pairs thick socks
4 pairs thin socks
6 pairs of underpants, knicker, or jocks
3 pairs of bras
2 long sleeved shirts
6 T-Shirts
2 pairs Casual trousers
2 pairs Jeans
6 hats - 2 peaked caps, 2 hats, 2 beanies - Grant has developed some weird hat fetish!
4 scarves - 2 light and 2 heavy
4 thermal tops
2 alpaca jumpers (pull overs)
2 pairs of sneakers
2 pairs of riding boots
2 motorcycle jackets
2 helmets with intercom - mind you if the intercom keeps playing up it wont be leaving Aus
2 kidney belts (back support)

Linen and Bathroom
2 towels
Toiletries bag
2 sleeping bags
2 silk mattress covers
1 silk over sheet
2 pillowcases
2 mattresses
space blanket

Kitchen
Trangier cooking gear
Cool bag
2 plates
2 mugs
food storage bag
1 litre mentholated spirits (stove fuel)
2 x 2 litre spare water containers
2 x 1.5 litre bottles of water

Computer Equipment
Net Book 11"
iPad mini
Enough cords,cables, plugs and adapters to drive you insane
camera

Other Items
Tent - Citadel by Macpac 3 person (+ groundsheet)
first aid kit
sewing kit
2 water bottle holders/carriers
2 back packs
spare parts bag
Water filter
workshop manual
Man-draulic diary
Bike Cover

Looks like a lot