TAKING THE AIR

YOU DON’T NEED A destination to go for a ride. When I was starting out on my motorcycling life, it was a point of honour that we’d start out on weekend rides without any idea where we were headed. Over the mountains, or along the coast. And then? Who knew. Usually we’d be back in time for work on Monday but there was that time when we found ourselves in the Hermidale pub late one Sunday afternoon, having ridden up from Nymagee, and we just knew we weren’t going to make work the next day.

So we had a few more drinks. Getting lost isn’t that hard.

“Being lost in Australia gives you a lovely sense of security.”
– BRUCE CHATWIN, THE SONGLINES

These days I do like to have a destination. Perhaps it’s because I have moderated my alcohol intake, or because I have to have something to tell Mrs Bear about where I’m going when I disappear for a couple of days; maybe it’s because all my friends have proper jobs where they