With online shopping being all the rage in 2020, we thought we’d try our hand at it. However, we failed to get the memo that most people were getting ‘on the net’ to buy their groceries, bulk packets of toilet paper and enough sanitiser to cleanse even Scott of his sins. Instead, in Dumb Things fashion, we bought motorbikes.

Well, well, well, it’s been a while. And things have changed while we’ve been gone. Lachie has got himself a sensible job. Scott has got himself a sensible car. And I was wondering if it was time for me to settle down with a wife, a mortgage and possibly some kids. Life had other plans.

But let’s take it back a few steps. It’s May and things are starting to get tedious in Victoria’s first lockdown. Any trips, shoots or work that I had planned for the year looked like it was going down the toilet and so we needed something to cheer us up. Right about this time, an all-too good to pass up deal on a DR 650 popped up on Gumtree.

I snapped it up right away, and never one to let a foolish plan stop him from diving in headfirst, Lachie then proceeded to purchase an equally well-equipped DR. Mylene, our favourite Baguette, was next. So within about 72 hours, all three of us had purchased DR 650s and were making plans for a trip around Oz.

Only there was a catch. All of the bikes we had just bought were in different states. None of them were in Victoria, and all borders were closed...

No matter though, with two cross-continent motorbikes transfers and one state-border handoff, we managed to get all our bikes on home turf. Only a few weekends tuning them up and we were ready to go. However, during this time, Lachie had managed to land himself a dream job at Tahbilk Winery. Don’t fret though, he still plays an integral part in this story.

So while Lachie was now out of the trip, Mylene and I weren’t giving up. Trying to be inclusive, we set off from Melbourne and made the first port of call Lachie’s new digs in Nagambie. Plans for a day of exploring the surrounding area with him and Ana were quickly curtailed by three things; Lachlan Thomas, a bee, and anaphylaxis.

While eating lunch, a bee snuck up on the poor sod and gave him a nip. Luckily, this was one of the few times Lachie actually had his epipen handy, and even luckier, we didn’t need to use it. However, Seymour Hospital did insist on giving him a nice dose of adrenalin and monitoring him for a couple of hours. So somehow, even though Lachie wasn’t actually joining us on this trip, he still manages to be the first one to visit a hospital. In fact, I think he broke a new record. It took a month or so in Argentina for him to pay a visit, two weeks in Mexico and a week or so in Bolivia. This time, we were only a few hours out of Melbourne before he checked in. Well done Lachie, I’m sure your parents are very proud of you.

From Nagambie, it was smoother sailing. We spent one night in Wangaratta before crossing over the border into NSW. With the first border milestone out of the way, we enjoyed the nice roads and chilly nights camping before cruising into our glorious capital city, Canberra.

More to come. I promise ya.