I picked up a motorbike carrier the other day from a mate who had one going spare—brand new in the box and too good a deal to pass up. Thanks, Tarik. Today was the day to put it together and bolt it onto the car, which all went smoothly enough. Feeling quietly confident, I moved on to loading the bike, encouraged by the manufacturer’s optimistic claim: “Just walk your bike up the ramp.” Yeah… not quite.

Attempt one involved pushing the bike up the ramp under my own steam. That quickly turned into several attempts, each ending the same way—halfway up, out of puff, and carefully backing it back down before things got awkward. So, plan B: use the engine. Simple, right? Not exactly.

First hurdle—the side stand. Of course, it was on the far side. I figured I’d hop on, flick it up, then dismount on the opposite side. Turns out, convincing your brain to casually dismount the “wrong” way is harder than it sounds. Add in feathering the clutch and throttle while stretched up like a chimp trying to reach the bars, and it all became a bit of a circus.

Eventually, I managed to get the bike up there, but securing it was another juggling act—trying to hold the bike upright while fiddling with straps isn’t exactly graceful. Lesson learned: a set of shackles on the footpegs (Thanks, Stu) is definitely on the shopping list to make this process a lot easier next time.

As for getting the bike back off the rack… that’s a problem for future me.

Oh—and I’ve still got to sort out a number plate mount and lights. Always something.

It had been a while since I’d last had the chance to get out bush on the bike, so when the opportunity came up to explore some new tracks in the Brindabella Range, I wasn’t going to pass it up. The goal for the day was simple: make it to McIntyre's Hut. I’d come close on a previous ride but turned back before the final descent—this time, riding solo, there were no excuses.
Rolling out from the servo at Weston, I made my way towards Wee Jasper via Sawyers Gully Road, before linking into Doctors Flat Road and entering the ranges along Webbs Ridge Trail—a section I hadn’t ridden before. From there, I turned onto Folly Trail, quietly hoping the name wasn’t a sign of things to come, and that it would connect through to McIntyre’s Trail.
Fortunately, it did.
Reaching Waterfall Trail brought me back to familiar ground—the exact spot where I’d turned around on my last attempt. This time, I committed. The descent was every bit as steep as I remembered, possibly one of the steepest I’ve tackled, demanding a slow and deliberate approach. Bit by bit, I worked my way down until the trail opened out at the campground and the hut itself. Goal achieved. I took a moment to soak it in, wander around the hut, and enjoy the quiet before turning my attention to the climb back out.
Heading back up Waterfall Trail was no easy task. The climb was technical and steep, and not helped by a rookie mistake—I thought I was in first gear when I was actually in second. A few stalls on the tougher sections made that lesson stick, but once corrected, the rest of the climb became far more manageable.
Back at Webbs Ridge Trail, I turned left and soon after right onto Dingi Fire Trail, eventually linking up with Two Sticks Road. Along the way, I stopped to help a couple of riders looking for directions to Flea Creek before continuing towards Mount Coree. The climb to the summit was rewarded with complete solitude and sweeping views—no one else around, just the kind of quiet that makes these rides worth it. I spent a bit of time taking it all in before beginning the descent.
With the day winding down, I followed Two Sticks Road to Curries Road, dropping back towards Brindabella Road. A short stretch of dirt soon gave way to bitumen, signalling the end of the off-road section and the run back to Weston, and eventually home.
All in all, it was a cracking day out—blue skies, warm weather, and a solid mix of challenge and reward. A couple of close calls kept things interesting, but the bike stayed upright, and I finally ticked McIntyre’s Hut off the list.

​Here is the map of the route I rode.

And here is my Video of the day's adventure.

This is very much a n00b review of the DMD2 app. I’ve only had it installed for a few days, just enough time to start getting familiar with how it works. I’m planning to purchase the Thork Racing DMD2 Nor7e when it becomes available and have preinstalled a GPS mount on my bike in preparation for the navigation system's arrival.
For reference, I’ve included a photo showing my current navigation screen configuration.

​Today, I loaded a simple GPX file created in the DMD2 planner, and also downloaded another GPX file, which I transferred via Google Drive. It would be great if this process could be streamlined into a single step — similar to Google Maps’ “Send to phone” function — rather than its current method for transferring files.
​*Update* Looks like this is possible with a subscription or a full DMD2 nav system.
The route itself was just a straightforward ride to work, with the intention of inverting it for the trip home.
First Ride – No Turn-by-Turn (User Error!)
On the ride in, I didn’t have turn-by-turn navigation enabled — mainly because I couldn’t find the setting (more on that shortly). The navigation page displayed the track clearly, much like most navigation apps.
I deliberately went off course at one point to see how the app would respond. I really liked how it draws a line — complete with distance — back to the track. That’s a genuinely useful feature.
The second time I went off route wasn’t intentional. I was focused on riding, forgot the route briefly, and missed a turn. When I glanced down, I realised what I’d done. That was the moment I decided I definitely wanted turn-by-turn prompts enabled, just to give me a heads-up like “next turn left in X metres.” Using the off-track line, I was able to work my way back onto the route easily enough.
Finding Turn-by-Turn
Once at work, I was determined to find the turn-by-turn function. The answers I found online pointed me toward:
GPX Settings → Tracks Extra Instructions
But I simply couldn’t find it. After quite a bit of digging, I eventually discovered that enabling:

• Enable Curves Angle Instructions
• Show Angle Text for Curves

…provides the turn-by-turn style prompts I was looking for.
With that sorted, I inverted the route for the ride home and set off.
Where It Came Unstuck
This is where things got interesting.
I was watching my shiny new turn-by-turn instructions when it told me to take the second left. The problem? In the ACT, some roads are widely separated, and following that instruction would have taken me down the wrong direction of a one-way section. I should have taken the first left instead.
Tip for young players: the app doesn’t account for this when you invert a track, and it won’t automatically reroute around one-way systems in that scenario. It would be fantastic if that functionality were added in the future — though I understand that may not be straightforward.
For now, it just means you need to apply a bit of rider awareness when reversing routes.
Overall Impressions
Overall, I’ve found DMD2 significantly easier to use than OsmAnd, which I’ve been running for a couple of years. I’ll continue using DMD2, especially since it will be the standard system when I buy the Nor7e. It’s reassuring to know I can still add a shortcut to OsmAnd if I ever need it — though I suspect that will be unlikely.
Customisation is generally very good, and I particularly like being able to control my music without leaving the app.
Feature Suggestions
A couple of small tweaks I’d love the developers to consider:

• Speed indicator: It would be helpful if the speedometer icon resembled standard road speed signs (even if just a red-outlined square). That would make it quicker and easier to confirm your speed at a glance.
• Fuel/range indicator: A different colour option for the fuel/range display would improve visibility. My bike doesn’t have a fuel gauge, so I rely heavily on range calculations.
• Inverted route logic: If the app could better account for separated carriageways and one-way systems when reversing a track, that would be a fantastic addition — even if it’s a long shot.

I’ve added a new page to the blog, now available in the top menu: GPX Files. This page will be used to share GPX files from rides I’ve completed, and occasionally from rides I’m planning for the future. Feel free to have a look and make use of them on your own adventures.

While out exploring Tallaganda with a few mates, I managed to snap my clutch cable halfway through the ride. From that point on, it was a matter of getting home without stalling — easier said than done. The trip back included several creek crossings, followed by the added challenge of traffic once I hit the asphalt.

Somehow, I made it all the way home and only managed to annoy a couple of car drivers along the way. A solid reminder that adventure rides don’t always go to plan.

​I’ve had a bit of a dream for a while now — probably since the first month of owning my bike. That dream has been to move towards a more rally-style setup for adventure riding, complete with a proper navigation system. Not long after, I discovered the DMD 2 navigation platform. I was immediately drawn to the larger tablet-style units, but it quickly became clear that the biggest option would be a little oversized for my bike, so the smaller 6-inch model seemed the sensible choice.
That was until DMD announced a new 7-inch unit, scheduled for release in March this year. That changed everything. The size looks like it’ll be just right for my setup — now I just need to work out how to mount it properly.

​Mounting and protection became the next challenge. My current phone mount leaves the device fully exposed to the elements: branches, flying rocks, dust, and, of course, bug splatter. I’d previously tried a Bajaworx windscreen, but the helmet buffeting was unbearable and quickly ruled it out. I even toyed with the idea of building a small fibreglass cowl based on the headlight shroud, though that project never quite got off the ground. Then I came across a GPS mounting system from NICECNC — the same company that made my existing GPS mount. It looks like it might strike the right balance between protection and airflow, without introducing unwanted buffeting.

To fit the NICECNC mount, however, I’ll need to remove the crossbar from my handlebars, which means this project is turning into a multi-stage upgrade.
Stage 1: New BarsTo remove the crossbar, I needed to move to a 1⅛-inch diameter bar setup. That meant replacing several components:

• Handlebars
  
• Bar clamps
  
• Barkbuster clamps
  
• Grips (which were nearly worn out anyway)
  

With that done, it was off with the old and on with the new.

Stage 2: GPS MountNext, I’ll need to relocate the ignition and USB charger to make room for the new mount. Hopefully, I won’t need to replace the odometer with something smaller. Until the new navigation system arrives, I’ll continue using my SP Connect phone mount and phone.

Stage 3: Navigation SystemOnce available, I plan to purchase the DMD 2 NOR7E along with the remote controller and complete the installation.

​For now, Stage 1 is complete — and the rally-style transformation is officially underway.

I have designed a new T-Shirt. This one is a dig at the BS that comes from the mouth of Donald Dump and his cronies!

​I bought a new pair of motorbike gloves today — the DriRider RX Adventure (Summer) gloves.

The reason I thought it was time for new gloves was because of the issues I’ve had with the others. The Rjay gloves (black) use neoprene around the wrist. Although they’re comfortable, the neoprene has started to fall apart from pulling them on. The Fly gloves (black and orange) felt great in the shop and fitted nicely at first, but once my hands got hot and swelled, they became difficult to take off and put back on. On top of that, you can see they only stitched the Velcro at the tip, and the rest has pulled away — anything to save a buck.
Hopefully, the RX Adventure gloves will solve all those problems.

The old gloves will be kept as spare gloves that I will pack when I go on multi day adventures. Just in case I lose one, or they get muddy and wet.

I recently picked up one of the new DJI Mic Minis — a neat little gadget with just two buttons. No manual included, but honestly, who needs one for something that simple? One button for power, another to link it to the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro. Easy. I paired it, tested it, and it worked perfectly. Job done… or so I thought.
Turns out, this clever little mic has a surprise feature — it shuts down after 15 minutes in its default mode. How was I supposed to know that? Who records a quick test clip, then sits around watching a microphone for a quarter of an hour?
Yes, yes, RTFM. But there was no FM to read!
Fast forward to my latest overnight motorbike trip. I set the mic up neatly in my helmet, ready for some crisp, wind-free audio. The first clip sounded great. But after that… silence. Most of my trip narration? Gone — lost to the wind. Thankfully, the camera’s internal mic seemed to step in and save the day (even though I was sure I’d turned it off).
During the ride, I noticed the mic’s LED had gone dark. I restarted it a few times and even mentioned it to Jason, thinking maybe it had a power-saving feature and would reconnect automatically each time the camera started. Nope. Not even close.
This morning, I finally did what I should have done earlier — Googled it. Turns out, there is a manual, hidden away online, and you need to connect the mic to the DJI Mimo app to change its settings. By default, it powers off after 15 minutes of “inactivity.” Oh, and you have to manually enable noise cancelling too.
So now I’ve turned off the auto shut-off and switched on noise cancelling. You’d think those would be default settings, especially when DJI claims the battery lasts 10 hours. That is, if they mean with it running constantly and noise cancelling turned on!
Oh, and surprise, there is a software update for the mic as well.
Lesson learned. Next time, I’ll be back to narrating the old-fashioned way — and hopefully, the next adventure will sound as good as it looks. Grrrrrrr!

This map highlights all the routes I’ve explored in adventure mode so far. At this stage, I’ve only completed two rides that stretched beyond a single day, but that’s about to change. On Friday, 3 October, I’ll be heading out on another overnighter—adding a new line to the map and another story to the journey.​