BORDER RUN
“THE USUAL PRINCES HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SNARL HAS GONE, REPLACED BY A DYSTOPIAN ZOMBIE MOVIE SCENE”
The perfect road, through the perfect landscape, on a perfect day; devoid of traffic, wildlife and cops. I was in a marketing Twilight Zone. The temperature is 21 degrees, the sky blue and I have 160HP to propel me across magnificent hot mix corners cutting through this strange, deserted landscape. It was getting close to that perfect motorcycle moment... only a mix of responsible citizenship and desire to keep my license held me back.
However, I was on zombie watch. If I saw one, I was going full “Isle of Man”!
I’m on the Princes Highway south of Eden, just north of the Victorian border. The combination of fires incinerating the landscape, then record weed growth after rain has produced a dishevelled, derelict countryside. COVID and the resulting border crossing uncertainty has emptied the road. When I say empty, I mean nothing. The usual Princes Highway traffic snarl has gone, replaced by a dystopian, zombie movie scene.
It’s usually not like this. Low speed limits, slow-moving caravans and trucks, incompetent drivers and fatigue-inducing speed limits (enforced by the state with a tax collector’s enthusiasm). That’s life on a typical Australian highway. Usually.
Not today.
The concept of this ride was to come up with something suitable for NSW residents in uncertain times, when crossing state borders comes with a possible 14-day “user pays”
